Party Ideas

Partnering up with The Little Gym Of Boca/Delray

October 14, 2012 By: Flavia

Last summer I signed up my son for Parent/Child classes at The Little Gym of Boca/Delray. Being a SAHM, you know that your little one needs more than just the daily play date with the kids in the neighborhood at a local park or playground. I knew that Logan needed some kind of playtime where he could be having fun and learning lots of new wonderful things at the same time.

A little shy of being two years old, my son entered into this big room with a big red mat for his first class. He literally panicked! And he panicked on class 2, 3 and 4. He wouldn’t let go of my leg and cry constantly. All I would hear from other parents and from the instructors was: “It will pass and then he’s going to love it”.

Find a free introductory class at The Little Gym of Boca/Delray

Soon enough, one morning he went from crying to”hmm, that stick looks interesting, let me tap it on this bar…” and that was it. My son “soars” at The Little Gym, he has built so much confidence that now he tries to do somersaults at home, climbs-up his high chair and balances on his tip-toes and calls his Nana to show her his stunts.

Learn more about The Little Gym

We are so lucky to have found such a wonderful place where not only kids make friends but us parents too. The staff of instructors are so friendly and Oh my God! How can they remember each and every name of each parent and child?…When you walk in The Little Gym, you’re welcomed as family and we all have as they say: Serious Fun!

Their services include:

Parent – Child Classes (Infants to 3 years)
Pre-School – Kindergarten Gymnastics (3 to 6 years)
Grade School Gymnastics (6 to 12 years)
Sports Skills Development (3 to 6 years)
Dance The Little Gym Way (3 to 12 years)
Karate Classes (4 to 12 years)

And the fun stretches to:

Summer and Holiday Camps
Stress Free Awesome Birthday Bash (see my own son’s birthday bash here)
Parent’s Survival Night

Book an Awesome Birthday Bash

Quoting their words:

” At The Little Gym, kids soar.

Literally. They hop, they bounce, they leap through the air.

But that’s just the half of it.

Because as their bodies soar, so do their spirits.

And when they master a new skill or make a new friend,

their confidence soars too “

If you live in the Boca Raton – Delray Beach – Boynton Beach area, make sure to check out The Little Gym of Boca/Delray, maybe you would like to have your child’s next awesome birthday bash at their facility. Promise, you would love it to pieces! As a proud member of The Little Gym, I am happy to be partnering up with them and I will be offering 10% OFF on all my products on my Etsy Shop to all other members!

* no compensation was received for this post *
*all images courtesy of The Little Gym of Boca/Delray*

Thanks for stopping by!

Caillou Birthday Party

July 30, 2012 By: Flavia

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. For more information, please read my Affiliate Disclosure page.

On Saturday July 21st our little boy turned 2! That same day we offered his birthday bash at The Little Gym. It was F-U-N!

Now, before I start sharing details with you, I have to say: this was WAY too much preparation for 90 minutes! That’s all you have. But knowing me, and always putting so much thought into every little detail, I had to do all these goodies for two grand reasons…One: My son LOVES Caillou! and the look on his face when he saw everything set up -and Caillou images all over the place- was worth all the effort I put into it.

Two: This is what I do, this is what I LOVE to do and I enjoyed every second of it.

I designed the invitation, inspired on all the Caillou party supplies sold online that I have bought two months before. Once I had all these goodies in my hands…

images via birthdayexpress.com

… I designed the invitation. Mostly inspired by the placemat and the image of Caillou with his hands up in the air from the cup…Cute!

Now, for the party goodies I made:

– 2 Happy Birthday Banners

– Food Tents
– Juice Bottle Labels

– Favor Tags

– Welcome Sign

– Centerpieces

– Cake Decoration (well, maybe 1/3 of it!)

*** UPDATE: please DO NOT contact me to via email or via comments looking to purchase Caillou themed decorations of any kind, as right now I am unable to sell any handmade items or distribute digital files. I made these decorations for my personal use only and the purpose of this post is to give you inspirations and ideas on party styling ***** Thanks!

Resuming…

Beforehand, I want to say that I am not the best photographer out there, neither I have the greatest camera, and on top of that, the light wasn’t good at the venue. The walls are yellow and they soaked up the natural light…. and I picked yellow tablecloths nonetheless! So, my apologies for the not-so-good pics. Here we go:

First, the Welcome Sign. This is the only picture with natural light of course, it was outside hanging on the front door…

This is a simple Happy Birthday banner. Initially I thought I would put it as a background for the main table, but behind that table there was a window – bummer!- so I opted for a wall on the side of the room. Here is where the yellow soaks up my natural light!.

Here is a zoom…

This is the main table (with the outside view background). I put a second banner over the skirt. In case you’re wondering, I use foam mounting tabs to hold everything up on the wall and on the table skirt, it works great!

These are the kids’ tables…

Every time I go to Target, my first stop is the Dollar Spot. I am always stocking up on tin buckets… I am obsessed with them! They are cute, cheap and they are multi-use. So, I used them for the centerpieces… just like in last year’s party and weighed them down with crayons.

Last year I labeled water bottles…This year – thanks to my girlfriend whose little boy’s birthday party I helped to decorate – I took the idea from her and labeled also Apple Juice bottles – duh!- last year I gave the kids juice in pouches that I couldn’t label.

Here is a picture of the whole label in all colors.

Going back to the main table, these are the favors. I bought mini totes in all matching colors, except I could not find red so I used hot pink instead for the little girls. I was upset I couldn’t find red…that’s how quirky I am! But, girls love pink so at the end it was all good!

Here is a zoom of the favor tags…

Now, moving onto…the cake! I searched high and low for Caillou birthday cakes ideas and I found beautiful ones on Pinterest, many very professional made with rolled fondant…but I think that kids are not too ‘fond’ of it -no pun intended! – Instead, buttercream icing is a go! So, I went to my local bakery at the grocery store and I ordered a simple yellow cake with all primary colors icing, specifying that I wanted green on top (to simulate grass in a park) and no writings on top. The decorator called me that morning to double check with me about the “no writing, no words, no happy birthday on top” note I left on the order. And then she asked me again when I went to pick it up! I had a better plan:

I bought these Caillou figurines in a backpack and I placed them on the cake. My personal touch were the balloon candles and the little “Happy 2nd Birthday Logan” banner that Rosie and Leo are holding…It’s my favorite thing of the whole party decor! 🙂

…and because it’s my favorite part, here are more pictures 🙂

This sight made my son smile BIG time!

So, everyone knows I can’t bake, but I was in the mood for some mini cupcakes with primary colors icing, so I went and asked my friend Betty Crocker to give me a hand and the night before, I iced 48 of these babies myself with these wonderful Wilton Ready-To-Use Icing. They are… imperfectly perfect! The only reason why I did not use cupcake toppers was because they don’t fit inside this particular cupcake stand that I love because it lends itself for some cute decorations.

Here is zoom of the Caillou image on top…

This is one of the bucket tins holding colorful mini Rainbow Spiral Lollipops. I had two tins, one on each side of the main table…

I found personalized latex balloons and paired them with the foil balloons. Swoon!

My girlfriend made these brazilian sweets called Beijinhos (Little Kisses) and they are made of coconut and condensed milk…I ate them all! 🙂 Here you can see a sample of the food tents.

Another food tent -with better light – this picture is terrible…yikes! I was in a hurry.

and finally, a bonus pic of me and my little man…

After 60 minutes of ” serious fun ” inside the Gym itself, the kids came inside the party room, ate pizza, draw on the reverse of the activity placemats, we sang happy birthday and ate cake. We had a full house! All the kids that were invited attended and that makes all the hours of hard work worth the effort. Everyone, kids and adults had a great time!

Thanks for stopping by!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. For more information, please read my Affiliate Disclosure page.

*** UPDATE: please DO NOT contact me to via email or via comments looking to purchase Caillou themed decorations of any kind as right now I am unable to sell any handmade items or distribute digital files. I made these decorations for my personal use only and the purpose of this post is to give you inspiration and ideas on party styling ***** Thanks for your understanding!

Baby’s First Bee-Day ! – Bumblebee Party

July 29, 2012 By: Flavia

It seems like I have sold one too many Bee-Day highchair banners lately and better than that, I was asked to design other matching goodies like invitations, welcome signs and cupcake toppers.

I think that, if I would have had a baby girl, a “bee-day” would have been in the themes list…It is so lovely, so femenine and especially so out of the box! It’s a nice change from the popular pink and purple themes.

Here is the welcome sign…

This is the popular high chair banner that I sell almost daily…

and I also made these cupcake toppers to match the theme..

If you have seen pictures of my cupcake toppers before, you probably noticed that I always portray them laying down… and not standing up inside a delicious cupcake, like they’re supposed to… and the reason is because I-can’t-bake…Well, I can when Betty Crocker gives me a hand! 🙂

But, that doesn’t keep me from loving cupcakes and in fact, I have a pinboard named Cupcakes Obsession…There, I found hundreds of bee-themed cupcakes… like these:

picture via Pinterest

All of them beautiful but…all the bee decoration on top beats the purpose of my cupcake toppers… Then I went to check out Texanerin and look what I found….

picture via Texanerin Baking

Now, if I only could photoshop { just 🙂 kidding } my bee-cupcake toppers on this goodness 100% Whole Wheat Chocolate Carrot Cake Cupcake… Eye candy, yum and healthy! Texanerin Baking is a wonderful blog where you can find recipes of classic baked goods with a healthy twist…most of her recipes contain 100% whole wheat and are low in sugar. Now, isn’t that the perfect cupcake for a bee-healthy-bee-day party?… It seems to me that today more mommies watch closely what their kids eat and this recipe fits the bill.

By the way, all my bee-day party decor can be found here.

Thanks for looking and happy weekend everyone!

{*no compensation was received for this post*}

{*I do not claim ownership or copyright of the cupcakes’ pictures portrayed above * }

A Girly Baby Shower – Lavender and Pink –

September 17, 2011 By: Flavia

A couple of weeks ago, my friend Jessica hosted her sister’s baby shower and I was very pleased to help her with the decor. Together we came up with the color theme and we agreed on pink…{but of course!}, lavender and light green. I made cupcake toppers, favor tags, napkin rings, welcome sign and the prettiest banner. I can only take credit for the decor on the cupcake stand and toppers {not the cupcakes, I can’t bake..*sigh*} and the other paper goods. Jessica made the beautiful diaper cake, wrapped up the favors in tulle and put everything together in the room making all those decorations shine!

It might sound silly, but I LOVE the tub with the cold drinks! It just looked like if it was made for this particular occasion! The favors were little picture frames with the baby’s sonogram wrapped in white tulle and tied up with the favor tags. I loved the P-A-R-T-Y platters that she filled up with coordinating candies… It was just beautiful!

All photos via Flavia Andrews

To see all the decorations used in this party, click here!

Thanks for looking! Have a wonderful weekend!

Baby’s First Birthday Design Ideas {by real mamas!}

September 10, 2011 By: Flavia

For the last three months, high chair banners have been the number one seller on my Etsy shop. And I have so much fun designing and handcrafting them! But, I can’t take all the credit because it’s the mommies who have this birthday theme in mind, they convo me with their ideas and I make them come to life. From watermelons to blueberries or simple polka dots…All of them make my heart sing.

Here are some pictures of the projects…Get inspired!

For more birthday party ideas and designs, visit my Etsy shop here!

Have a wonderful weekend!

The Birthday Party as promised.

August 3, 2011 By: Flavia

So finally the big day came and it’s been a little over a week since then.

{*sigh*} I just don’t know where does time go…

Logan turned one almost two weeks ago and it’s amazing how he has turned into this independent {so he thinks} little man. He climbs over furniture, climbs the stairs {I’m always behind him, no worries}, says Dada a little more often than Mama…{isn’t that nice?}and waves bye-bye….and today he finally let go of the furniture to wave bye-bye and gave three steps towards his daddy when he said: ‘Ok buddy, give me a kiss I gotta go to work’…It was so amazing we both {yes daddy too!} had tears in our eyes. Our little baby is growing up so quickly!

Well without further ado, here you have the pics. I’m very proud of the turnout, everyone had fun and loved the decorations {that I made =) }. Thanks for looking!

Birthday Boy!

Center Table {with lots of snacks, cupcakes and candy!}

Kids Table {they had bubbles, crayolas, noise makers, balloons}

Enough space for the kids to play {I love the room}

Loved this cupcake stand {cupcake toppers and food tents made by me!}

I am so glad everyone had fun {see the bubbles? lovely!}

Logan wasn’t too happy at the beginning {can you tell?}

And then he found….drumroll….a cupcake! {this is the only cute family portrait}

He was so into the sugary buttercream that didn’t even care about the hat {that I made! LOL}

I loved that my neighborhood bakery has this deal: you buy the cake for baby’s first birthday and you get a little “smash cake” for free! I love the idea, it was the best part of the party! Here are the pics:

The “real” cake {yellow cake with chocolate pudding and buttercream frosting}

Smash Cake time! {is this for real?}

hmmm let’s see what we have here…

Yummy! {it is for real!}

I just love it! {btw frosting stains came right out in one wash}

I am very happy to share this with you because you have been my faithful readers since day one, when Logan was only three months and I would sit and share with you all his little milestones…and now look at him!

Please feel free to contact me and ask me any questions about the party and the decor. We are all here to help!

Love always,

Away But Thinking of You! {Thank You!}

July 14, 2011 By: Flavia

Hi there! to all my dear readers. Yes, I know I ‘ve been absent and you miss me! 😉 I miss you too! I have been trying to be all those things I say I am on my profile description… A mommy, a wife, a crafter, a cook, an amateur designer…and believe me it is tough!

My little baby is turning 1! a week from today and we will have his Birthday Party on the 23rd. So, mommy {the crafter} is hand making most of the party decor and today she made this:

Personalized Water Bottle Label

The best thing about it is that every time I make a new project {whether is a label, a banner or a tag } I just take a quick picture and list the item on my Etsy shop.

I am a little nervous because even though I have been working on everything for the party…I feel like I have nothing…and it’s all because the food and the cake and the drinks…all that comes last. So, I feel like my table is empty! {*sigh*}

I just want to thank you all for your visits, your lovely comments and your patience because I know I haven’t been posting much but I am sure you all understand. I can’t wait to post pictures from the party and share them with all of you!

Have a wonderful day!

Watermelons for Sophia {A Great Review}

July 2, 2011 By: Flavia

Hi there everyone!

I’m just stopping by my own blog LOL {I don’t seem to have much time lately} and share with you this wonderful review left by Karen, my first customer on my Etsy Shop. Karen custom ordered the Baby’s First Birthday High Chair Banner that later after I made it and listed it, it was featured on an Etsy Treasury List.

Here is Karen’s feedback:

. . . ✿•*¨`*•.¸(¯`v´¯)¸.•´*¨`*•✿ . . .. . . ✿•*¨`*•.¸(¯`v´¯)¸.•´*¨`*•✿ . . .. . . ✿•*¨`*•.¸(¯`v´¯)¸.•´*¨`*•✿ . . . ✿•*¨`*•.¸(¯`v´¯)¸.•´*¨`*•✿ . . .

” I am so happy with a personalized watermelon banner I ordered for my niece’s first birthday, that I had to order a second lady bug banner for another birthday. This seller is so helpful and responsive! The product in the picture is true to life, the shipping was quick, and the price was right. I will definitely be back! “

I would like to share with you also another addition to my shop: digital files for invitations you can print at home or at your favorite printing store. Here’s a Gender Neutral Baby Shower Invitation:

I love to create and design, so if there is anything you have in mind for a baby shower invitation that you would like me to bring to life, just let me know! Don’t forget to like One Cute Nursery on Facebook and be within the first people to know about new listings and discounts on my shop!

Thanks for looking. You all have a wonderful and safe 4th of July weekend.

XOXO

Treasury List {Baby’s First Birthday High Chair Banner}

June 28, 2011 By: Flavia

I have some exciting news! This past weekend I did my first sale {and then two more!} on my Etsy Shop and not only I had the pleasure to design some high chair banners for three little girls who are turning one on July { just like my little boy} but one of the designs – Watermelons for Sophia – was featured on a Treasury List named Summer Watermelon.

The Treasury on Etsy is a member-curated shopping gallery where this member choose items they like {or LOVE} and feature them in a public list.

This makes me very happy because I am doing two wonderful things: crafts and designing for babies. I am working on an order of Ladybugs and another one of Pink Lemonade! I love all these summer themes! I would be posting pictures of them soon! Please, do not forget to visit me and Like us on Facebook.

To see the featured banner please click here.

Thank you for stopping by!

XOXO

Birthday Party Invitation {Sneak Peek}

June 21, 2011 By: Flavia

HAPPY SUMMER!

It’s June 21st, the first day of summer {even though here in SFL feels like summer from about two months now * phew* it-is-hot! }…but today also my little boy is turning 11 months…Oh my God! time REALLY flies when you become a mother! So, I just wanted to share with you the invitation I made for my baby’s first birthday party.

Remember my post Latest Finds for Baby ? I decided to go with the orange, blue and white theme for his party. I went back and forth with the idea but I finally decided to use just colors and patterns instead of a character like a car, a bear or an owl…Not that I have anything against it but, just colors and patterns made it easier for me and I can let my imagination go a little further, and it allows me to mix and match.

So these are some of the patterned papers I am using to make banners, favors and labels.

and this is the party invitation…I made some changes {privacy stuff}. I designed it myself and I WROTE the rhyme! so if you like it, feel free to copy it as long as you give me some credit and some love like coming back to my blog, liking my Facebook Page, visiting my Etsy Shop and spreading the voice within your family and friends.

I am going to sell these invitations on my Etsy Shop, I’m in the process of designing them right now, so make sure to keep coming back to check my latest creations!

Thank you all and have a wonderful day and a safe SUMMER!