Sunday, June 2, 2013

Tickles, Giggles and Laughs

Event Design/Styling/Planning: Charming Touch Parties
www.charmingtouchparties.com

Photography: Megan Kelly Photography
www.megankellyphotography.com

Printables: BluGrass
http://www.etsy.com/shop/BluGrass?ref=si_shop

I was asked to style a second birthday party for a friend of a friend. Two is such a fun birthday age. It's sort of the entrance into toddlerhood and the first birthday that a child might have an affinity with a character theme. 

The family's favorite bedtime story is "Tickle Monster" written by Josie Bissett. The birthday girl, Reese, asks for it to be read almost nightly. We were certain little Reese would be excited about this celebration and the bold and vibrant color scheme seemed a perfect fit for this not-so-girly little lady. 

If you have read this book, you can see why it is this family's favorite bedtime story. It's ADORABLE. The illustrations are bright and cheerful and the story line is precious. When styling this party, we played up on the traditional "Tickle Monster" color scheme, but added interest with fun and bold prints. Chevron, polka dots and stripes don't always work together, but for this theme they were perfect. 

The party was held during the late morning hours, so we offered a lovely brunch spread catered by one of family's local Chicago bakeries. Chocolate covered marshmallows and a little candy selection added some festive touches to our feature table. 

Children were offered bundles of crayons and Tickle Monster coloring pages and were able to "Tickle their Inner Artist". Adults mingled and enjoyed mimosas and coffee while the kids played around them. It was a delightful birthday for a super sweet little girl.





























Monday, May 27, 2013

Oh The Places He'll Go

Summer is upon us and tis the season for college graduations!  This was our FIRST grad party of the season and this celebration was of particular significance, as we were toasting our nephew (the oldest Gimre cousin) as he graduated from University of Iowa.  Iowa's school colors are yellow and black and I knew I wanted to utilize this bright and fun color combo throughout our feature table.  I also wanted his special table to reflect his journey through life.  I love the symbolism in Dr. Seuss's "Oh The Places You'll Go" and wanted to figure out a way to incorporate that.  In an effort to keep the party modern and masculine we opted out of the traditional pastel Seuss colors, and instead incorporated a collegiate, vintage chalkboard angle with variations of black, yellow, tan and white.  I created a timeline of sorts on our backdrop to show his progression into adulthood, complete with pictures of him from both high school and college.

Our sweets table was a medley of desserts that represented his journey through life -- a map cake, compass cookies and key/cap/chalk board chocolate covered Oreos.  We also stocked the table full of coordinating candy, which kept the little ones happy and sufficiently sugared up!

The party was held at an upscale bocce ball/bowling restaurant.  We dined alfresco and the guests enjoyed round after round of bocce ball.  A PERFECT venue for college kids.

It was a blast of a party and an ideal way to celebrate the success of our nephew!

Party styling/design and planning:  Charming Touch Parties
www.charmingtouchparties.com

Photography:  Charming Touch Parties
www.charmingtouchparties.com

Printables and graphics:  Three Little Monkey Studio
http://www.threelittlemonkeysstudio.com/

Chocolate covered Oreos:  Love and Sugar Kisses
http://lovesugarkisses.blogspot.com/

Cake and cookies:  Barry's Bakers Basket
http://www.barrysbakersbasket.com/






















Thursday, March 7, 2013

A Little Horsin' Around

Last month my daughter...(MY BABY)...turned FIVE (insert sniffs and a few tears)!  Baby girl no more.  We wanted to celebrate this monumental birthday with a super special birthday that spoke to her.  All who know our little Reesie, know how horse obsessed she is.  We're not quite sure where she gets it from, but we think it's pretty precious.  So, a horse themed party seemed appropriate.  Luckily, here in the Western suburbs of Chicago, we are blessed to be surrounded by lots of beautiful horse farms.  We chose St. Charles Farm and were totally satisfied with the location and were very impressed by their hospitality and family-atmosphere.  Her party was a super sweet celebration -- a little bit rustic, a whole lot girly and 100% REESE!  The kids had a ball riding "real" horses and enjoyed all that the rustic horse barn setting provided.  It was a FABULOUS time.  A birthday none of us with soon forget.

Many thanks to the fabulous folks that helped make this fun birthday come to fruition:

Design and Styling:
Charming Touch Parties
www.charmingtouchparties.com

Megan Kelly Photography
www.megankellyphotography.com

Bake It!
(for cake, cake pops, cookies and chocolate lollipops)
http://www.bakeit.info/

Vintage Horse printables
https://www.facebook.com/threelittlemonkeysstudio?fref=ts

Location
St. Charles Farm
http://sfcfarm.com/



Copyright Charming Touch Parties 2013 for all creative concepts and design
www.charmingtouchparties.com
Copyright Megan Kelly Photography 2013
megankellyphotography.com