Sparkly and Girly Bowling Party

My daughter recently celebrated her 8th birthday

with a Bowling Bash!

Ok, so it wasn't so recent, April seems like forever ago....

and it was!

I am just that behind on posting parties!

We always have our parties at home but,

we sold our home in 2 days and I was scrambling!

This was my opportunity to let someone else do the party...Right?

Not a chance....come on I bleed glitter!

So, the challenge was to have a stylish party

that was fun and easy to set up and take down!

They do not give you much time when hosting

a party on site such as a bowling alley.

You all know....they give you about 15 minutes!

I sweat it out and it came out beautifully!

On with the party!

We decided on the colors Pink, Blue, Black and White

Fun bowling colors!

I was able to take old bowling pins from the bowling alley weeks in advance

and give them some paint and embellished them with sequin!

I used foam balls on the table as bowling balls.

I just gave them a lot of paint and added some circles as the holes.

I decorated the tables with the black linens, bowling pins and balls,

polka dot balloons and painted chipboard numbers.

I used hot pink card stock for a place mat and added

a polka dot cup, stripped straw, gable boxes and

"Gutterball" gumball favors.

Each place settings was accented with these

 very delicious and adorable cookies!

The cake was beautiful with diamond accents and a very sweet border

of Bowling Pins and Bowling Balls!

Party Favors included

Cookies

Mini Bowling Trophies

 Gumballs and Gaming Cards!

All of these treats were stashed away in these

"Bowling Bags"!

Thirsty? These water labels were the perfect way to dress
up that water bottle.

The kids had so much fun bowling, playing games,
and taking pictures with this fun frame!

And of course no birthday is complete without a custom birthday shirt!

Modern Fills has been creating birthday shirts for my girls since

they were wee little ones!

They are fabulous shirts!

 We have a nice little collection going!

Party Invitations to match the party decor!

I used a black envelope and

 Envelope Wrappers that came FREE

with the invitation order!

This was my first experience hosting my own party somewhere
other than my house.  My daughter and myself prefer parties at home but,
I have to admit having a party host at Alley Cats
was great....oh and the clean up...a Breeze!

Thanks for parting with me!

Party Vendors:

Printables:  Simply Creative Printables

Party Styling:  Simply Creative Insanity
Birthday Shirt: Modern Frills

Cookies:  A Cookie Jar

Cake:  Margarita Rios

Gable Boxes: Container Store

Trophies: Party City

Venue:  Alley Cats

Halloween Craft: Mummy Cans!

Keeping with the Halloween theme of the week,

I found this really cute and fun craft

to make with my kiddos!

Turn those used pringle cans into this!

Fill with cookies or snacks as a gift!

You can find the tutorial here

at Alderberry Hill blog!

Freebie Alert: Halloween Signs!

I know it is still 102 here in Texas and it still feels like summer!

However, the kids are back in school and it is time to start thinking about

all of the fun holidays ahead of us this fall!

One of my favorite holidays to host a party for is

Halloween!

Lets start the planning with a little free printable from my shop!

There are 2 8x10 designs to choose from!

All you need to do is click on the Scribd link on the right hand side bar on my blog.

Download and print for a fun sign!

Back to School Photo Tips

I can't believe it is that time of year again!

Back to School!

I have some photo tips and examples to make

the first of school memories last forever!

I don't claim to have it all together when it comes

to photography but, I do have a few tips

that I have used in the past.

1. When it comes to the child, try to capture more than just a face.

A few examples:

Backpack at feet

Apple in Hand

New Shoes

2.  Photograph the child's new surrounds

A few examples:

Name on desk

Class Schedule

Snap shot of a stack of books

3.  Before school starts take a few shots from home

A few examples:

The alarm clock time

First day of school breakfast

Brushing teeth or hair

Packing lunch

Photo colleges are a great way to put the photos together.

I use Pic Monkey to edit my photos and make my colleges.

Here is a little sample of my back to school photos from last year

with a few examples I used above!



Hope everyone has a great back to school!

Push Up Pencil Pops!

School is right around the corner and there is

lots of cute inspiration for making lots of wonderful

items for the kids and teachers!

By the way, what did we do before Pinterest?

Anyway, I woke up to this awesome idea this morning in my news feed!

Bakerella has done it again!!

Check out these Pencil Push Up Pops!

I am going to make these for the kiddos for sure!

How fun!

You can find the containers in my shop here:

Simply Creative Printables

Happy beginning of school!

BOO! These make it sweet though!

Semi-Homemade Blackberry Lemon Shortcakes with Free Labels

It is HOT outside! 

We are in the middle of summer and who wants to cook?

Not me!

I was trying to come up with  a delicious dessert

that I could make Semi-Homemade.

There are so many wonderful bakeries at our disposal

these days that you can use instead of firing up the oven at home.

I love these little slice cakes that you can get in the bakery at

your local grocery store.

I put them to work this weekend to create a sweet

Blackberry and Lemon Shortcake.

Serve in a single serving size in these mason jars

and there you have a delicious, colorful summer dessert.

make 1 or make 8 for a party!

And if you are entertaining, I have made it easy to add

a fun accent to the lid.

Just print, cut and create something sweet!

Here is what you need:

2 cups of  fresh or frozen blackberries

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon of lemon juice

1 package of sliced lemon bread

whipped cream or cool whip

Here is what you do:

1.  Place the blackberries in a pot on medium heat

2.  Add sugar and lemon juice

3.  Smash the blackberries with the back of a fork

to break up the berries and create some juice.

4.  Bring to a slow simmer until the sugar has melted.

5.  Let the berry cool to room temp

I like to make the blackberries a day ahead and put in the fridge.

You do not have to do this.  I just like my berries cold.

Slice the lemon slices into 8 cubes.

place about 4 to 5 cubes in the bottom.

Top with the berry mixture

and repeat.

Top with whipping cream and a little blackberry on top!

Attach the label to the inside of the lid and embellish

by attaching a mini spoon with ribbon!

Perfect Summer Dessert!

You can find the labels on the right hand side on my blog under Free Printables.

Click on the scribd link and download!

Happy Summer!

Printables: Free for the Fourth of July!

Happy Summer to you all!

July Fourth is just around the corner

and I have some freebies for you!

Remember those Patriotic Printable Pie Lables

for my tutorial HERE

Well, I have some matching items to go with them!

First, individual Sparkler Holders!

These would make great favors!

And to add to the collection...

2 inch party circles

Great for Cupcake Toppers

And to add to the collection...

Water Bottle Labels....

Banner Lettering....

"Let Freedom Ring"

Hope everyone is planning a fun

July 4th celebration!

I would love to be a tiny part of your day!

Just click on the Scribd box on the right

side of my blog to get all of these

downloads and more!

Happy Independence Day!