It's time to celebrate a day I thought might never happen…

and yet here we are!!!

I'm am so thrilled to announce pre-sales for The Pastry Pedestal Platforms!!

The PP Platform is a clear, lucite stand for displaying The Pastry Pedestal in an upright manner. 

This versatile platform is a fun way to showcase your petite pastries on dessert tables, at parties and

Ella's Classic Red Ball Birthday

For those of you who may have missed the big news...

since I didn't officially post it here on my blog yet...

I'm excited to share with you that I am now a blog contributor for one of my very favorite entertaining/party sites on the web: 

Hostess with the Mostess®! 

*pinch me please*!!

I'm honored to be working alongside two other fabulous blog contributors:

Courtney from Pizzazzerie and Jessica from Modern Moments Designs.

My first official post was featured on Thursday.

I was so thrilled to finally be able to share the details from Ella's Classic Red Ball Birthday as my first official post for HWTM.

And....

within that post...

I was also able to share some photos of the party product I've been working on having patented.

Exciting stuff!!!

So that means the day has finally arrived here on the blog...

the day to finally be able to share all of the details from Ella's party I hosted back in November...

and the day for the "big reveal".

So here we go...

With my daughter Ella turning two, there were several different themes I could've chosen based on her interests.

I finally decided on the one recurring theme that continually excited her and happened to be the most simple: "play Balls".

With the knowledge the theme wasn't "unique" in the sense that there have been "Ball-themed" parties done before...

I was up for the challenge to make it my "own" and customize it for my own tastes.

I decided on a "Classic Red Ball" party focusing strictly on a red and white color palette.

I wanted it to be fun and feminine and I kept the invitation design clean and simple.

The dessert table is always my favorite part of any event.

It allows me to tie in the theme of the party through table decor and my favorite part of ANY gathering: 

the desserts.

I incorporated the red classic balls onto the table, used a white back drop flanked by red polka dot fabric and added splashes of red and white polka dots where I could.

Dessert table items included:

mini red velvet cupcakes topped with a red gumball...

displayed on clear acrylic personalized Pastry Pedestals™

(that's my new little creation I'm having patented)

mini cupcakes displayed on cake plates

giant jawbreakers set on the table (as decor only)

red cake balls from Michele at Crazy for Design

designer oreos from Sweeties by Kim

custom coordinating lollipops provided by Vintage Confections

custom designed sugar cookies lovingly baked by the Cookie Jar

dried cranberries and sunflower seeds (Ella's favorite snack)

cranberry jello

served in mini plastic shot glasses

peppermint marshmallows from Vintage Confections

red chocolate covered sunflower seeds

peppermint sticks

licorice sticks

The drink station included

Shirley Temple Sodas for the older crowd

and Fruit Punch flavored Juicy Juice for Ella and her peers

Although it's not pictured, there was also a mini meatBALL sub station in order to offer something savory to guests.

(a huge thanks to my Mom for making the meatballs).

Age-appropriate activities included:

"Ball" print-out coloring pages with RED crayons

RED playdough

Paddle Ball with RED balloons and homemade paddles 

(over-sized popsicle sticks attached to paper plates)

Bean bag toss game with RED polka dot bean bags

the custom wood cut out was designed by a neighbor and the bean bags were sewn by my mother.

RED badminton rackets for the older children

Assorted RED Playground Balls in the back yard

(these doubled as favors too)

Other favorite party details:

Mini spoons - perfect size for the birthday girl and other small guests

(Polka dot box provided by Party Starters)

Red balloon-filled ceiling over the dessert table

RED polka dot drinking straws

(from the Sugar Diva)

ROUND RED hat boxes used on the dessert table.

I filled paper pastry cups with white table sugar to display the jawbreakers.

Guests were sent home with

custom lollipops

along with RED balloons from the party decor, 

their choice of any RED playground BALL and any of their favorite leftover sweets.

Here's the birthday girl enjoying her day...decked out in a headband from

Tadpole and Lily

Wearing a tutu from Tiny Belles Boutique.

One of my fave pics of the day...

It may have been her 2nd birthday

but this was her FIRST cake pop. *wink*

The coordinating thank you cards sent out after the party were the perfect way to tie everything together...

And of course wallet size photos of the birthday girl from the actual birthday party 

were included in the thank you cards

I had a BALL  putting this together for Ella.

It really turned out to be the perfect theme for her and we had a wonderful time celebrating with family and friends.

A HUGE thank you to the vendors/businesses who contributed their time and talents to help make everything extra special...

Invitation, Party Printables, Thank You Cards • Pen N' Paperflowers

Pastry Pedestals (Pen N' Paperflowers) available for purchase in April 2011

Red & White Polka Dot Boxes • Party Starters

Red & White Cake "BALL" Pops • Crazy for Design 

Custom Sugar Cookies • The Cookie Jar 

Chocolate Covered Designer Oreos • Sweeties by Kim 

Mini Tasting Spoons • D&G Occasions 

Mini Red Velvet Cupcakes • Cupcake Delights

Custom Lollipops • Vintage Confections 

Peppermint Marshmallows • Vintage Confections 

Red & White Polka Dot Straws • the Sugar Diva 

Oversized Jaw Breakers • Cracker Barrel 

Round Red Hat Boxes • Ikea

Polka Dot Fabric used in Backdrop • Ikea 

White Panel Back Drop • Lowes  

Flower Headband • Tadpole & Lily

Red Tutu • Tiny Belles Boutique

Happy Monday everyone!

I hope you enjoyed your weekend.

KEEPING IT REAL

It's about time I posted this party...right!?

And I'll have more details posted on the Pastry Pedestals for you soon!!

Still working on finalizing packaging!

My heart goes out to those effected by the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

{in the studio} PARTY TABS - new product release

in my attempt to create a new product offering versatility as well as simplicity (no need for special crafting tools here folks - just a pair of scissors and some adhesive)...

i'm beyond thrilled and excited to announce the release of a new party product i'll be offering for all party themes/collections in my shoppe...

introducing

• PARTY TABS •

*the sound of crickets chirping*

okay...

so i'm expecting the "so what do i do with these exactly" question...

accompanied by a confused facial expression.

the answer is...

so. many. fun little things!!!

• mini cake banners •

by using a simple white cake as the foundation and the cottage garden tea collection party tabs,

i was able to create a mini cake banner.

this allows you to tie in the party decor without spending a small fortune on a custom cake.

i even had the bakery include a piping bag of extra frosting & used it for the "adhesive" to secure the banner to the cake.

• drinking straw tabs •

• food picks •

notice the different ways you can cut the tabs for various looks

think lollipop tags...

cake plates adorned with mini banners...

candy-filled apothecary jars draped with the mini banners...

a plate full of mini-sized desserts with cute picks inserted...

and so on...

the fact that i designed these to be reversible makes them even more clever.

not only does this allow you to see the "pretties" from both sides...

but it also gives you the option for a solid tab or one with a graphic on it.

just like on the food picks above, you can achieve different looks for your banners by merely adjusting the shape/cut of the tabs...

pennant or rectangular?

either option is totally cute...

again...

these party tabs are available with any of the collections in my shoppe.

AND....

as with all of my products...anything can be customized to suite your specific needs.

so there you have it...

a brand-new product with a multitude of uses for your next party.

i hope you feel inspired.

i was inspired enough to dive right into that adorable cake when the photo shoot was over.

don't worry...i had some help

\

happy tuesday.

i hope you all enjoyed a wonderful, long holiday weekend....

KEEPING IT REAL

i about pulled my hair out trying to finish this post.

ella kept insisting on unraveling my rolls of wrapping paper i have in my studio.

i guess she was trying to complete the disaster she'd created earlier when she strung ric rac all over my studio floor.

so...after several deep breaths...

& a certain rise in my blood pressure,

i calmly sat her on my lap...

looked at her sweet little face...

and kissed her sweet little forehead.

and i feel much better....

ella feels so much better...

and i'm guessing you probably do too since i was able to get this successfully posted. *wink*