Category Archives: Party Inspiration

40th Birthday Card Party

Card Party

Oversized Playing Cards

Steeler Fan recently celebrated his 40th birthday.  A couple weeks ago I offered to throw him a party but he declined. Five days before the big day he decided that he did, in fact, want to have a party.

With so little time to prepare, I decided to make it fun and playful. He agreed to having a Card Party themed celebration. Here are the few snapshots I managed to take before our guests arrived. 

The DECORATIONS were few but very effective.

I found the oversized playing cards and black balloons at Party City. They really seemed to set the tone for the evening.

Since ladies were going to be in attendance, I added a few floral touches.

GAMES were plentiful as were the guests.

  

Of course there was Poker which was very popular.  We also had a table set up for Spades players.

 For the non-card playing guests, we had Dominoes and…

my favorite, Scrabble!!

The FOOD was pretty good too…

 

 Deciding what to serve was a challenge for me.  I wanted to make it nice without forgetting that this was a masculine party.  These are the snacks we served.

Margarita Shot-Glass Shrimp and

Crispy Shrimp Tarts from the June 2007 issue of Pillsbury Summer Appetizers.

Subway sandwich slices.  Also on the menu were Tequila Lime Chicken Wings, Buffalo Chicken Wings, Empanadas, Meatballs, Spinach and Artichoke Dip & Nacho Cheese Dip with Tortilla Chips.

There were Apple Slices with caramel dip,

Brownies and Chocolate Chip Cookies.

 To wash it down….bottled water decorated with scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby, fruit punch, sodas and

cocktails from our specialty beverage station.

Steeler Fan and his guests had a great time at the Card Party.  Thanks for stopping by!

by TLillian Posted on 02/25/2010
Posted in Birthday Celebrations, Party Inspiration, Party Themes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

1st Saturdays

Brunch Buffet

On the first Saturday of each month, some of the ladies in my family gather together to share brunch and some great conversations.  At each gathering we typically decide who will host the next event and the hostess chooses a theme around which to plan the meal.

This year we skipped our brunch in January and had almost bypassed February until I received a call from one of my aunts Friday night.  She had been contacted by one of her nieces.  They wanted to know where we were meeting this month.  I wasn’t sure what to do.

Since no brunch menu had been prepared and no location had been previously chosen, we decided to “brown bag” it and my little sister agreed to host.  It turned out perfectly.  We packed our own lunches and, instinctively, we each packed a little more to share. 

The brown bag offerings were as diverse as the topics that hovered over the table. 

Chicken Salad Croissants

Jello

Jello

Potato Salad

After it was all said and done, we worked out the calendar for the rest of the year and now have something fabulous to look forward to every 1st Saturday.   This is one of the best times I experience each month.  As I share the details of future events, I hope it will inspire other women to carve out similar moments in their lives to do the same. 

Thanks for stopping by! 

by TLillian Posted on 02/08/2010
Posted in 1st Saturdays, Party Inspiration, Simple Gatherings | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Chartreuse, Brown and Pink Paisley Baby Shower

I recently hosted a baby shower for a family member.  Since the mom-to-be is expecting a girl, I wanted to do something “pinkish” without going totally pastel.  So, I ventured into Hobby Lobby, which is one of my favorite crafting stores, and spent some time on the scrapbook paper aisle. The papers chosen were a heavy brown card stock, pink vellum and pink paisley scrapbook paper.

When I started working on the layout of the invitation I added a header, which was printed on off-white sketchbook paper and incorporated a touch of chartreuse to balance it.  After patiently trimming a couple dozen of these by hand, I added pink and lime green swarovski crystals.  The result was a nice pink and brown invitation with lively splashes of color.

 The baby shower favors were inspired by the paper bag favor labels found at Flights of Fancy. I found brown bags on sale ($1 for 50 bags) then printed the labels on sketchbook paper. The labels were trimmed and attached to candy filled bags with double sided tape.

 A small glass frame held a thank you message and invited guests to take one home.

 As shower attendees arrived they were invited to sign a guest book which we placed on a mobile cart adorned with children’s books, a cute pair of baby socks, plastic pink pacifiers and a 3-tier diaper cake.

 

Refreshments

Guests enjoyed brie topped with honey, almonds and dried cranberries along with fresh fruit and personalized bottled water as they arrived.

A cute little baby carriage held napkin wrapped forks and knifes. 

Later, heavier refreshments were served which included beef and turkey burger sliders, lemon pepper wings, smoked ribs, pasta salad and waldorf salad. On the sweeter side, there were chocolate chip cookies, brownie bites and strawberry cupcakes.

Although I wish I had taken more pictures, I hope you enjoyed the ones that were.

by TLillian Posted on 12/28/2009
Posted in Baby Showers, Party Inspiration, Party Themes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off