A Harry Potter Birthday Reveal

April 30, 2012

Maia's Harry Potter inspired birthday party finally arrived yesterday!


I think everything turned out pretty darn well.

I can say that without my Silhouette Cameo, a whole lotta this just wouldn't have been possible!!

If you are a party planning gal like myself or you just craft like crazy, you absolute have to invest in one of these.  Follow their blog to keep up with their great ideas, free shapes and deals.  They did not ask me to say any of this!!

I cut all of the letters for my small pennant bunting using my Silhouette.  I would have used it for the letters on the Happy Birthday bunting as well, but my blade had gone kaput and the replacement hadn't arrived yet.  Visit my other Potter party posts {see below} to see how I used the Silhouette on my other projects.




The cake toppers were a huge hit.  Obviously.  Look at them!

My mom made them.  Crafty brilliance is in the blood.


The gorgeous mirror I attached the goody bags sign to didn't have one of those standy up things on the back.  My dad tracked down a piece of wood.  Thank goodness we were at a heavily wooded, waterfront park.


These goody bags are simply dollar store lunch sacks with super cute tags glued on them.


Pyramid O' Frogs.  You can read more about these sweet treats {HERE}.


Endless rows of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.  More on these {HERE}.


The kids got all of their wizard necessities here at Ollivanders.  Try not to be distracted by the gorgeous water view in the background.  


I know you haven't forgotten my way too cute felt Hogwarts' ties.  I think these were my favorite part.  So hard to choose.  I loved seeing all the little ones running around with them on.  You can check out my tutorial {HERE}.  Or you can skip the headache and buy a set in my Etsy shop.



Every wizard has to have a wand.  Kind of crucial to the whole magic thing.  

I made these little numbers.  

Crazy right?  

Forty wands.  Every single one is different in some way.  

I am not posting a tutorial on these because I loosely followed directions I purchased from Instructables for less than $2.  You can purchase their instructions {HERE}.  Don't want to step on any creative toes.  I did tweak the process here and there, so if you are going to make your own and want some tips - contact me!

Here is where everyone ate:


The book table.


The owl table.


Or, of course, the broomstick table.

And what did they eat, you ask?


How could one decide?  I had a Malfoy.  It was delightful.

All of the letters are thanks to Silhouette, of course.


Wash it down with a little Luna Lovegood Lemonade.  Yes please.

We also had Butterbeer {root beer with awesome labels attached}, but I didn't get a picture.  Major disappointment.




We also had a Potter Pasta Salad {a delicious contribution by my mother-in-law}, but I missed a picture of that too.  It hadn't arrived yet when I was rushing around with the camera.  Poo.

My one nose scruncher about how this all turned out?  


I wish I had spent more time on the food table set up.  I thought of the cute little names and made the labels and the awesome The Three Broomsticks bunting {I wish I had a picture of the adorable tiny brooms that separate each word}, but I didn't take the time to think about the  look as a whole.  I was pretty bummed about that.

See?


Little bit chaotic.  Kind of takes away from the awesomeness.

Next time.

{Don't tell me not to beat myself up over it... you can't stop me.}

Check out my Etsy shop for some of these Harry Potter inspired party goodies!

Visit my other Potter party posts for a closer look at some of the details.

Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans

Thank you so much for joining the party!

{I can finally breathe.}

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Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans

April 29, 2012

This jelly bean journey started with a free printable that I found {HERE}.

When I actually sat down to do the work I decided that wasn't what I wanted.  I find this happens a lot in party planning.  Lucky for me I didn't start doing this the night before the party.

I decided to splurge and spend $0.99 on another super cool box in the Silhouette online store that had the same look as the actual Bertie Bott's boxes.

I sized the boxes down considerably to fit two on each 8.5 x 11 sheet of white cardstock.

I still wanted the official Bertie Bott's look so I cut the free printable so that I had just one of the sides.  I sized that to fit on the side of one of the boxes and then filled the page.

Because I have been trying to avoid using my own printer for these projects I sent these labels off to be printed at Staples.  This is where the first kink in my flawless process came in...

I went to pick up my prints Saturday afternoon {should not have waited so long} and they had no record of my order.  Well, isn't that wonderful?

I could feel my cool slowly leaving my body.  What else could go wrong?

Next stop was Dollar Tree to look for cheap jelly beans.  Nope.  No luck.  They did have itty bitty bags of Jelly Bellys, but one of them would hardly fill one box.  Great.

Made the trek a bit further down the road to Fred Meyer.  Of course a big ol' grocery store will have plenty of jelly beans.  Nope.  They only had two bags of the cheap ones and I wasn't about to spend $5 on the Jelly Bellys they had.  ARGH!

Cool gone.

Made it home with not enough jelly beans and no Bertie Bott's labels.

I was very unhappy with Staples so I definitely wasn't going back there and since the party was less than 24 hours away I didn't have time to keep running around.

I sucked it up and loaded new color ink cartridges in our own printer and printed away.  I wish I would have just done that to begin with.

Boxes assembled.

Labels printed, cut and applied.





Done. Done. Done.

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Chocolate Frog Delight

April 28, 2012

A frog just doesn't taste the same without some chocolate.

True statement.

I found a free printable to make replicas of the chocolate frog boxes used in the movies {HERE}, but I didn't want to use up my ink and I wanted to be able to cut them out using my Silhouette {the thought of cutting 40 boxes by hand makes my fingers cramp up}.  I do have the new Silhouette Designer software which is supposed to make it possible to import images easily, but I didn't want to try to figure it out right now.

Soooo, I found a cute little box in Silhouette's online store for $0.99, bought some purple cardstock {hydrangea} and let the Silhouette do the work while I watched Monsters, Inc.


Since I was trying to avoid printing anything I decided not to do labels {ink is so expensive}, I thought cute gold frogs on top would be a nice touch.  Once again, I found the frog in Silhouette's online store for $0.99 and watched Silhouette work her beautiful magic.

I heart her.


I assigned the privilege of making the actual chocolate froggies to my sister months ago.  I am starting to get better at delegating since planning my wedding.  It is really difficult to plan an event with this much detail without recruiting help.

Over time I have come to realize that, while I am super awesome, I am not a miracle worker.  I either need smaller ideas or more hands.  The former was clearly never going to happen.  Well, I guess the latter isn't possible either, but I know a lot of people with hands.  And I have learned that people really do want to help, I just have to ask.  Asking is hard for me.

I'm getting off track here.

Here are the sweet frogs my sister made.


You can find the mold for this particular frog {HERE} and the chocolate candy melts can be found at most craft stores.  My sister bought hers at Michaels {HERE}.

Her first attempt at the frogs was with a recipe she found online somewhere, wherein she was told to melt chocolate wafers in the microwave.  From this she learned that chocolate wafers do not melt in the microwave {at least, not hers} and her smoke alarm needs new batteries.

All in all, I'm sure she enjoyed every moment.

And now...



... here we are, all packed up and ready to party.
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The 5 Musts of Party Planning

April 26, 2012

I love party planning.

I love the brainstorming, the crafting, the intricate attention to every detail.  All of it.

My love for party planning always leads me straight down the path to insanity.

But, I still love it.

Over the next 3 days I am going to reveal what remains of my Harry Potter party projects and on day 4 I shall unveil my masterpiece.

This is my baby.

This is the first party that I have put together that makes me think I might have lost my mind.

But, I still love it.

Are you as crazy about party planning as I am?  Or maybe you aspire to be?


1.
Time.

Start brainstorming months in advance.

If this seems crazy to you, then you aren't ready for a party like this.

Depending on the size of your gathering and the complexity of your theme, you will likely need at least one month for the crafting portion.

Plan your time wisely.

2.
Theme.

Make sure you choose carefully.  No pressure.  The right theme should have you buzzing with ideas.

You will know you have chosen wisely when you can't sleep at night because brilliant idea after even more brilliant idea keeps creeping in...

3.
Delegate.

This is something that is new to me and I'm still not very good at it.

It has to be done.

Hopefully you have a wonderful pool of friends and family that you know well enough to have some insight into their craft skill level.

Early on set aside a few party tasks that you feel comfortable handing off.  Make sure you hand out assignments in the early stages of planning.

Over time it gets easier... I promise.

4.
Sleep.

As the big day approaches you will discover a lengthy list of things that have to be done and realize you have fallen behind.

It is inevitable.

You will be tempted to stay up late, crafting until your fingers bleed.

Don't.

Get to bed at a decent hour every night.  If you start pushing it you will start to hate your precious party baby.  Once your feelings start to sour it will only get harder to get everything done.

5.
Cut.

During the final week of prep time make a list of everything that remains to be done.

Everything.

No task is too small for this list.

Evaluate all that remains and then...

...accept that you will not have time to do it all.

Stick with the projects that you can't live without.  If there is anything on the list that isn't a major component to your theme then let it go.

No one has to know.




Be sure to check out the rest of my Harry Potter party posts.  





Linking up to these fabulous parties:


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My Newly Found Hunger Games Obsession {Better Late Than Never?}

April 19, 2012

So I know I am a little behind on this, but I read the Hunger Games trilogy this week.

I absolutely loved it.

I just could not stop reading, no matter how late it was, no matter how badly my eyes wanted to close.  Towards the end of the third book I was up VERY late still reading when my husband came home, looked at me and asked if I was reading half asleep.  I might have been...

My point being, I love it.

Even now that I am done reading the books I find Katniss and Peeta popping into my brain periodically.  Reminding me that even though the books are done, my obsession cannot just simply end.

I found myself immediately drawn to Etsy this morning, throwing myself into Hunger Games handmade goodness.

What did I find, you ask?


How awesome is this mockingjay bracelet/ring?  My favorite part is the pearl... aw, sweet Peeta.  You can find this at Sevinoma on Etsy for only $6.99.  I think it would be too much for me to wear though, a little too in your face Hunger Games.  I would want something more subtle so people don't think I am a crazy Hunger Games fanatic.


This is simply, beautiful.  Who didn't cry when Katniss sang this to Rue?  You can find this beautiful card at Hendersweet on Etsy for $2.50.  I would love to put this song on a pallet in my daughter's room.  {I think my heart just melted...}


Love the color of the arrow and the string.  I think I'd rather the braided bracelet be grey.  Beautiful.  You can find this at Infinitywish on etsy for $4.99.  I could picture myself wearing this.

There are hundreds of pages of Hunger Games craftiness on Etsy.  These are just the first ones to catch my eye.

You know where to find even more creative Hunger Games stuff?

Rae Gun Ramblings had a Hunger Games link party HERE.  I haven't had a chance to skim through them all yet.  Rae has several Hunger Games related tutorials too.

I have to get back to my real life now {sigh}.  My husband and I are going to go see the movie this weekend.  Until then Katniss... until then...


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And the Award for Best Party Invitations of the Year goes to...

April 16, 2012


... Maia's Harry Potter Party!

**Cheer.  Applause.**


The details are my favorite part...


My favorite part of the wording?  The RSVP.  Expecto Textum!  Oh man, I hope everyone gets it.


The Words.

For the inside of the invites I came up with my own creative wording.  I used the landscape layout with two columns in Word.  For the font I chose Charlemagne Std Bold in size 13 {size 8 and 10 for the smaller wording}.  I printed them in black ink on 8 1/2 x 11 kraft paper.

The Envelope.

I folded them in 3 parts to create an envelope look.  To crease the seams I used a cheese knife {I don't have the fancy tools actually designed for such a thing}.  The cheese knife was perfect.

I cut the shorter fold to create the triangle envelope closure.  I just eyeballed it, so none of them are perfect.

The Stamp.

I bought this on Etsy {HERE}.  It also included a little owl face stamp that I didn't use.  The ink is black and was included.

I stamped the postage stamp first and then topped that with the Hogwarts post office squiggly line guy.  Not sure what the post office refers to this as... but you get it.

The Feather.

I purchased a bundle of 3 feather designs from Silhouette's online store for $0.99.  I ungrouped the bundle to just use the feather you see here.  I sized it to about 2.5 inches long and less than 0.75 inches wide, filled the sheet and cut on white cardstock.

If you don't have a Silhouette, get one.  It is a lifesaver.

The Names.

I printed the names as neatly as possible and in an "official" looking style.

The Seal.

I purchased the faux owl wax seals on Etsy {HERE} in bronze.  They come with adhesive on the back so I just had to stick them on like a sticker.

For the invitations that won't be hand delivered I will probably add a glue dot to the back just to make sure they stick well enough to withstand all the handling between here and their destination.  I want them arriving perfectly {of course}.

Done.


Be sure to check out the rest of my Harry Potter party posts.  


 Oh, and did you notice the gorgeous bamboo flooring in several of the pictures?  My husband got the living room and dining room done {with help from some awesome fellas}.   I mentioned the other day {HERE} how worried I was, but all is well!

 I am going to hold off on the reveal because I have a few other things to do before it is complete.
Linking up to these fabulous parties:
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