Stephanie Howell

Simple New Year's Eve Decor

Jimmy's birthday is New Year's Day. And though I've never been a big New Year's Eve parrrrrtay kind of girl (I'm much more of a pajamas/TV/board games NYE kind of girl) when he asks for a party, he gets a party.

On January 30 He decided he wanted a party. Cue the frantic list making on my part. But I can't lie. I love it.

I was able to make the party look super fancy with minimal effort. I used all of my fabulous My Mind's Eye Paper Goods decor along with some of my favorite vintage clocks and candles.

Here's what I came up with:

I'd been looking for a reason to buy these fabulous Kate Spade-esque champagne glasses and you bet this was a good reason!

All of the MME items are available at paper source. I used the:

trend confetti (this stuff is amazing, love the varying sizes)'

party fans

mini banners

 

Easy, glittery, and fantastic.

Happy 2015 lovelies. :) xoxo

Harper's Mermaid Party

First, let me start of by saying I got almost all of these ideas from Pinterest.

Pinterest is pretty much the best party planning resource EVER. You can see my party board HERE.

I'll share sources for as many items as possible...and if you have any questions I'll answer them in the comments, as always!

shirt(custom):amy tangerine, skirt:borrowed from friend (handmade), hairclip:gap kids (i added a gold shell)

fans:oriental trading,paper lanterns:target(spritz),glass bubbles (added with gluegun): michaels, tulle and sequin trim: michaels

These were tied to the stairs right inside the front door. The balloons are all from oriental trading, but i will NEVER buy balloons there again.

I purchased these Mylar balloons (6 came in the set). And when Jimmy took them to be inflated they were ALL torn. Such a rip off.

More Oriental Trading fans.

This was my favorite decoration. Oriental Trading tissue pom poms, streamers, and glass bubbles from Michaels.

My awesome MIL figured out how to hang these just so. LOVED how it turned out.

For every birthday I scatter scrapbook layouts around the house. There were several on the mantel as well.

The glass pebbles are from Dollar Tree and the faux sea glass is from The Christmas Tree Shops.

Garlands: Target (Spritz)

Flowers: Chaves' Gardens (best florist in Newport)

Favors:

The favors that I made were "mermaid wands". I just bought dowel rods, painted them turquoise, and then glue gunned starfish to the end.

I added a gem to the center of each starfish and then tied a bunch of blue and gold ribbons to the dowel rod. Pretty easy.

dowel rods,paint,gems,ribbons:michaels, starfish:the christmas tree shops

Note: The gold ribbons are from the dollar spot at Michaels. They come 6 to a card and are just lovely.

Table:

sequins:michaels,starfish,coral,picture holders:the christmas tree shops,giant "H":hobby lobby(i painted it teal,rock candy:amazon,glass starfish:fresh market

silver and white shell platters:marshalls, blue mason jars:vintage, blue bottle with net/shells:the christmas tree shops; milkglass: vintage, cut glass bowls and cake pedestals:vintage

This was the chandelier above the table. I covered it with a net from Michaels and addes shell and rope garlands from The Christmas Tree Shops.

Invitations:

Custom invitations by YourInvites on Etsy. These were digital, I had them printed at Minuteman Press.

I scattered sequins (Michaels), sea glass (The Christmas Tree Shops), and glass pebbles (Dollar Spot) all over the place. Such a pretty, easy, festive accent.

Food

"Oyster Cookies":Nilla Wafers, pink icing, yogurt covered raisins. Frame from Michaels dollar spot, shell tray from Marshalls, Mermaid font.

Swedish fish and gummy sharks.

Under the Sea Jello: Blue Jello with Swedish Fish in the bottom. Frame:Michaels dollar spot,Coral:The Christmas Tree Shops.

Whale Crackers and Goldfish, Rock Candy

Mermaid Punch: 16 servings regular Country Time Lemonade+4 servings Blue Raspberry Koolaid

Lemonade dispenser:Home Goods,Frame:Michaels dollar spot,cake pedestal:Hobby Lobby,coral, sand dollar, sea glass:The Christmas Tree Shops,paper straws:Michaels(4th of July section)

Cake: Cravings Cafe and Cakery- Dartmouth, MA, Pedestal: Vintage, Starfish and Sand Dollars: The Christmas Tree Shops

Let me introduce you to the biggest labor of love for this party. The cake backdrop. It took me about four hours and 293840182308 cupcake wrappers. But so worth it.

Cupcake wrappers- Michaels, Gold glitter paper-Michaels.

I taped four 12x12 sheets of cardstock together. Then I started layering from top to bottom, using the glue gun. I also glue gunned each wrapper closed.

The seven is a template that I traced and cut from gold glitter paper.

Activities- I didn't get a photo but the girls decorated these Mermaid Clothespins.

We also rented a bouncie.

The best part is that everyone wore blue and green. And no, I didn't ask them to!!

Sadie's dress is from Marshalls.

And the best part, as always is seeing the look on her face when we sing to her. Just lovely.

So there you have it. Harper's Mermaid Party. It was a joy and a pleasure to create this day for her, she was so happy and appreciative.

Our St. Paddy's Day Shindig!

This weekend we had the neighbors over for a little St. Patrick's day get together.

It was a BLAST and I thought I'd share a few photos and links!

I picked up some pretty hydrangeas,tulips, and green carnations at my favorite local florist.

I got out all of my green pedestals, pyrex, and cut glass. Oh, and of course milk glass. :)

J was surprised that we had so many pieces that were green. He kept saying how great it looked.

And when he says that, he really means it...that made me so happy!

I found these Irish Whiskey glasses at The Christmas Tree Shops.

I think they were $1.69 but they gave them to me for 68 cents a piece. NICE, huh? :)

I also pulled out all of J's Guiness/Shamrock beer glasses.

The cute little leprechaun hat picks are also from The Christmas Tree Shops.

We'd never heart of that store until we moved here and man are we going to miss it!

I found these cute shamrock doilies at Michael's and strung them on green baker's twine.

A quick and easy banner!

Loved these little coins. I scattered them all over the house.

For the favors I made "rainbow seeds". I found the idea here on Pinterest.

Each baggie had skittles and a gold coin. The kids LOVED them.

Here's a shot of the table.

There was a little milk glass bowl with "mint thrills" M&Ms in it. SO GOOD. They taste just like Andes Mints.

So dangerous. HA!

I made these mint chocolate chip cookies:

and some cute rainbow skewers:

but the hit of the party were these tortilla chips.

Oh my word y'all. SO easy (cut shamrocks from spinach wraps,add olive oil and sea salt, and bake) and SO GOOD.

We served them with guacamole and spinach dip.

a shot of them "in progress".

for the kids I served these shamrock shake shooters. how pretty do they look in those glasses?

for the adult beverages we had green beer, wine, and these AMAZINGLY good Irish Grasshoppers.

Warning...they taste so good you forget there is whiskey, creme de menthe, and creme de cacao in them. Proceed with CAUTION.

heeee! 

 

Oh, we also had green veggies, olives, and pickles.

MAIN DISHES (not photographed)

paula deen's easy corned beef and cabbage- okay, i don't really like cabbage.

but J went CRAZY for it.

irish potato soup- y'all. the best potato soup i've ever had.

super simple...just potatoes,onions,leeks and broth. no milk/cream/half and half.

we served it with crumbled bacon, cheese, sour cream, and chives.

SO SO SO SO good. Make it.

 

a few grocery store cookies finished off the table.

the babies had so much fun. so did the big girls, but i barely saw them. they were off having a ball with their friends!

one more photo- our st. pat's day breakfast.

So there you have it. Did any of you do anything special or throw your own party?
Happy Monday!

xo

S

Savannah Summer Kick-Off/Porch Party

This weekend one of my best friends and I threw a party. And it was a blast. Kerryellen and I had to put our thinking caps on...we had a unavoidable change of venue about 3 days before the party.

We were going to have the party at a restaurant... but that fell through and we decided to throw it on Kerryellen's amazing porch.

I have to tell you that this was the perfect party planning experience for me. We were both on the exact same page/wavelength...we agreed on everything and worked together in the most wonderful way. Decorations,food,setup...we did it all together and had FUN doing it. What could have been a really stressful situation was an adventure and an experience I'll always remember!

Here's what we came up with.

The invitation (we sent it through Paperless Post-the only online ivitation site i use. It's the absolute best):

We decided on a summery,happy and bright theme. A summer kickoff. We envisioned lanterns,candles,seashells,and peonies.

Our color scheme was pinks,turquoise,green,and tangerine.

Here is us before the party:

I really believe that wardrobe falls into the party planning category!!

Dress and belt from LOFT.
Did I mention how much I love Kerryellen's home? Oh my goodness it is stunning. Quintessential Savannah. And she has such a gift for decorating a beautiful home.

Here's how we set up the porch:

pom pom/lantern cluster- all by martha stewart

battery operated lanterns (michaels) and lights twisted in tulle:

entering through the house:

one of the two seating areas- her pillows fit our theme perfectly!

each table was decorated with peonies in milkglass,seashells in vintage masob jars,candles,peony petals,and sixlets in milkglass...i brought over almost every piece of milkglass I own!

another seating area:

the green chair was hers and the blue is mine (i tell you, all of our things worked together just perfectly!)

The wall where the food was served. Solid flowers/fans by Martha Stewart,polka dot fans from Party City, garlands sewn by BB:

Under the buffet:

 I ordered these lights from Amazon and brought the "H" from home...both of our last names begin with H. :)

The food (wine and bottled water was on a separate table):

 

We mixed and matched plates that belonged to both of us and stacked them on a pedestal (I love this look much more than matchy-matchy):

Cheese selection:

Prosciutto and Mozarella:

Mushrooms and olives:

Peonies everywhere:

 Raspberry Lemonade with mint,lemon,and strawberries:

 

Favors (wooden fans with notes attached) Fans-Michaels, Chevron ribbon-May Arts, Tags-Martha Stewart:

I wish I would have taken a photo of the brick steps leading down from the porch into the garden. We put candles down the steps and at the bottom is the most beautiful fountain.

So there you have it! A fun summer garden party. Totally doable in just a few days. HA!

Have a beautiful Monday!

xoxo

s

*love*ly things-rainbow birthday party

okay...so a rainbow birthday party doesn't technically fit into a valentine's theme. but i LOVE throwing parties. so parties belong on my love list!

i think we all know there is nothing new under the sun (rainbow??). i planned this party with the help of pinterest. how in the world did i EVER throw a party before pinterest? it makes it so much easier for this tired mama's brain. see my rainbow board here.

 

the invitation:

here is how the party started off. i wasn't sure i'd EVER get past this point.the look on jimmy's face told me he wasn't sure either. HA!

the first thing i did was the chandelier above the table.

i used the martha stewart hydrangea punch for the garland. i strung it onto embroidery thread. the paper fan flowers are from party city.

we did watercolors for the favors...i bought rainbow ribbon from michaels and used a studio calico stamp for the tags. note: these are a great and affordable favor, i found them at target for 97 cents.

the wreath for the front door (all supplies from michaels, minus the ribbon, which was from walmart):

the front room when you first come in the door, lanterns from oriental trading:

 i set up the plate/drink station on the bar in the front room:

straws from shop sweet lulu:

an overall shot of the table (please note what is happening underneath...HA!):

strung above the dining room (from target):

closeups of the table:

 

the cake and cupcakes were from the AMAZING cheryl at back in the day bakery. she doesn't normally do custom orders like this, but she made an exception and we are SO grateful!!

i purchased sadie's candle at shop sweet lulu.

as you enter into the den (martha stewart flowers):

party hats from target, i embellished them with a heart punch and jenni bowlin buttons:

crepe paper fringe leading into den...i won't even admit how long this took me+j to do. he's a bit of a..ahem...perfectionist?

the den (lanterns from oriental trading,fans from party city,garland above window from party city):

as far as activities go, we had manicures:

and a pinata (yes that is a BULL. don't ask. i initially was concerned that sadie chose a jackass and/or llama pinata until jimmy noticed the ring in the nose):
 

  and my personal favorite..an inflatable twister! YESSSSS. we rented it from a local inflatable rental business:

everyone came in their finest rainbow-hued attire (sadie is dressed in  amy tangerine+maggie b) :

and some of the guests:

 

and my favorite shots of the sweet birthday girl:

  that FACE. man. photos from when everyone sings are always my favorite.

one more thing:

jimmy made a playlist for the party (the girls had a hilarious dance party at one point).

the playlist included fresh beat band, yo gabba gabba,rainbow connection, several versions of somewhere over the rainbow, and the rainbow song.

also...i gave the bigs a basket of sidewalk chalk and let them draw rainbows all over the driveway and sidewalk leading up to the house.

 

well, there you have it! i want to say how much FUN this was for me to do. i love throwing parties for my girls.

hope you all have a beautiful tuesday!

xxo

s

Harper's May Flowers Party

the sassafras blog hop is still open below!

i'm sitting here all alone, j's at a social event, the girls are OUT, and i'm recovering from the party today. looking through the photos, i've decided that they bring me so much joy...i want to blog them TONIGHT instead of waiting until next week. :)

hope you all don't mind!

harper decided she wanted a "flowers" theme and i came up with the idea of doing a "may flowers" party.

i had fun working on this party for a few weeks. most of the supplies are things i already had.

i thought i'd share what all i did. if you have any questions, please ask in the comments below. i LOVE to share ideas!

lanterns from oriental trading embellished wiht doilies,slice cut flowers,and jbs buttons.

party hats from the party store. decorated with slice cut flowers and 5s and jbs buttons

garland made from fishing line, silk gerbera daisies and daffodils and crepe paper (for the leaves)

 

i decorated the chandelier over the table with pom poms left over from harper's party last year, fringed crepe paper, paper chains (made with patterned paper in my stash), 5s cut with the slice, and various garlands i had around the house.

an overview of the table. that's her invitation to the left.

begonias from the grocery,photos,invitation

cookies and cupcakes from back in the day bakery. i made the cupcake toppers using SC notions, girls paperie embellishments, and toothpicks.

sprite in the bottle, with a flower embellished paper straw to drink out of. straws from shop sweet lulu

i put the cupcakes in a three tier basket in flower cupcake wrappers. i added some faux grass to the basket as well (yes, i really stuck with the flower theme..HA!)

marshmallows dipped in candy and flower sprinkles, another overview of the table

i filled watering cans (from the dollar spot at target) with bouquets and embellished the cans with doilies, slice cut flowers and 5s, and jbs buttons.

flower pinata...sadie was SCARY with that stick!

cute little ones dressed in florals

 

gifts from mama and daddy

 

window decorations made using dollar store flower doilies and slice cut flowers

favor boxes. these are from michaels. i topped them with doilies, gerbera daisies, twine, and tags cut with my slice. i stamped "❤ h" with studio calico stamps.

in the boxes:

flower socks from target dollar spot

flower shaped pot of lip gloss from michael's dollar spot

tiny flower pot with planted marigold or daisy seeds inside- target dollar spot

flower ponytail holder

2 flower hairclips

 

the pinata goodie bags. these are from shop sweet lulu. i topped them with doilies (also from shop sweet lulu) and 5s cut with my slice (do you sense that i got lots of use out of my slice???)

how CUTE are these flower pots i found at michaels? they matched our theme and colors PERFECTLY!

living room...a pretty sweet dance party took place here. HA!

entry area...martha stewart pom poms, photo banner, favors,etc.

 

i think this banner is one of my favorite things from the party. i found it at the party store, in the fiesta section. it's made of plastic. i added fabric flowers (thanks ginny!) and photos of h to it to make it a bit more special.

the mantel...lots of h's and layouts of my sweet girl. i kept the ice cream cone wrapper banner there too.

i had the idea to set up a "party photo booth" outside. i bought a few yards of floral fabric and hung it on the porch.

i set up a basket of accessories for the girls (HUGE sunglasses, beads, mustaches, leis, and a bunch of flower petal headbands and hats) and let them dress up and pose together.

h took a photo with each guest...so fun! we are going to print the photos and send them with our thank you cards.

the birthday girl and her gifts and the look on her face that made ALL the work SO worthwhile.

shirt by amy tangerine

it was hard work. it was. but also REALLY REALLY fun. and best of all? after the party was over tonight, harper crawled in my lap, put her little hands on both sides of my face and said

"thank you for making my birthday so special, mama".

and i melted. i would do this every day of my life for her.

i love my girl.

xoxo

s

dreaming of pink

well the pinkalicious party went off without a hitch!

great fun was had by all...especially the party girl.

i had SO much fun too...and no nausea at all yesterday. i'm so very happy i was able to enjoy it and see the happiness on my angel girl's face.

table shots...

tissue flowers from prost to the host

 

 

 

the cupcakes were by tara at lewis jones market here in columbus...

didn't she do an AMAZING job recreating the cupcakes from the book??

 

marshmallow pops from hostess with the mostess!

 

 

 

the entry table...each kiddo got a gerbera daisy and bubbles for a favor:

 

 

the mantel:

 

 

pink tulle wound around twinkle lights:

 

i ripped the heads off of a bouquet of fake gerbera daisies and strung them on the twinkle lights:

 

and my sweet sweet FOUR year old (as of tomorrow)...harper elizabeth.

shirt by the amazing amy tangerine.

 

 

 

her face when everyone was singing to her almost broke my heart in two:

 

 

and if you are in my neck of the woods please PLEASE come by and get some jelly bellies fortheloveofallthatissacred

before we all go into a sugar coma.

much love and pink kisses to you!

xo


 

lovey dovey scrappy Sunday

Happy Happy Valentine's Day, sweet friends!

I hope you have a sweet, love-filled day. I'm so grateful for all of you!

I wanted to share some photos from Sadie's Birthday party yesterday. It was the first time I've been able to give either of my girls a real birthday party, and it was a blast!!

First the decor (which coincidentally is the scrappy part of my scrappy sunday post :0)

 

 

ribbon: martha stewart

foam doilies: oriental trading

medallions on white banner: making memories

roses on pink/red banner: hobby lobby.

super simple. lots of banners i saw online require sewing (which i don't know how to do and didn't have time to learn before the party), so I just strung them on ribbon. This Martha ribbon looks like old fashioned seam binding ribbon, i love it. I adhered the felt roses with big (multiple) glue dots.

 

 

ribbon: martha stewart

pink doilies: oriental trading

felt mini red hearts: hobby lobby

white doilies: baking section of grocery story

red doilies: dollar spot at the PX (our on post walmart-type store)

The white garland looks a tad sketchy (ha!) but this is the no-sew option. i took the white circle doilies, folded them in half, and wove the gold ribbon through the top. then i adhered the circle into a half circle by using glue dots.

so that's the scrappy (ish???) part of the post. here's some more pictures:

favors:

 

Cupcakes. Aren't they GORGEOUS?? They tasted just as wonderful as they looked. I found a photo online and worked with the pastry chef at Lewis Jones Food Market. She did a fantastic job, I was thrilled with them.

 

 

the birthday girl's HUGE cupcake had a "tutu" on it. I found this sweet tulle fringed ribbon at Michael's, it's total tutu ribbon!

the table:

 

i put layouts of sadie in the display piece on the back wall. it's a great way to show her growth AND an easy decor idea!

the cups for the pink lemonade:

 

 

 

i arranged the candy in cookie cutters from the dollar section of the PX.

valentine's bingo (with red hots as markers), and cookies for the winners:

 

and the sweet birthday girl!!!

 

 

shirt by the amazing Amy Tangerine,

Tutu and hairclip by Tiara's Tutus

She was SO SOOSOSOSOSOSO excited. When she woke up from nap and I told her it was party time, here's the face she made:

 

and one of both of my girls:
 

who could NOT stay away from the candy:

 

and when it was time to sing, someone got verrrrrry shy.

faker.

 

or maybe just a daddy's girl:

 

so there you have it. i think i need to have a valentine's themed party every single year.

it was too fun.

tutu fun. snort.

love you all, have a beautiful, happy, love day!

xxoo