construction site party.

my son turned 4 and really wanted a construction site party.  actually, i may have pushed him towards it a bit so i could use a gray, yellow and chevron scheme.  however, he loved the idea.  win-win.  i had a blast coming up with everything for the party.  the '4' in the middle was made out of a billion roofing nails.  i put my husband up to that project and he did perfect:)  the backdrop was simple with fabric covered canvases.  i stenciled construction site trucks onto the yellow fabric.  i also came up with the idea of using all cement bricks and pavers instead of regular ceramic platters.  the party favors were in little brown lunch sacks with trucks stenciled on.  all in all, i loved the whole feel and my son had a blast with all of his friends which is the most important part!

the tablescape:

  

my son requested cupcakes.  i added little road signs and "dirt" to them.  i also made cement mixer sugar cookies.

closer up of the cupcakes:

the cement mixer cupcakes on a paver "platter":

my son was the designer of this cake.  seriously.  he told me exactly everything that he wanted on there and how.

rice crispy construction hats:

front loader sugar cookies:

each kid got their own construction hat to decorate and wear:

the birthday boy also requested a special birthday shirt.  here he is in all his birthday glory:

cupcakes.

i threw my BFF a surprise baby shower at a park and it was so much fun!  she was expecting her third daughter right before moving so it was definitely necessary.  i decided that doing a bunch of different cupcakes would be tasty for everyone there and a little different compared to my previous parties.  but i definitely think i'll do it again.  

the tablescape:

chocolate peanut butter cupcakes.  these were my fave.  i baked the chocolate cake batter on top of a peanut butter cupcake then frosted them with peanut butter buttercream frosting.

coconut cupcakes with coconut frosting topped with toasted coconut.

strawberry lemon cupcakes.  strawberry cupcakes with a lemon cream cheese frosting.

s'mores cupcakes were also another hit.  they were a "graham cracker" cake filled with chocolate ganache and topped with a marshmallow buttercream frosting.

chocolate chip cupcakes.  these had a chocolate chip cookie on the bottom, yellow cake mix, and chocolate chocolate chip frosting.

and another view of the tablescape:

easter party.

i'm really late posting this party mostly because i have spent the past few weeks grieving over my photo catastrophe from this party.  i had the whole thing set up and all of my pictures came out blank.  it was terrible.  luckily i noticed before the party was over but unluckily i noticed after a lot of the food was gone.  oh shwell.  such is life!  anyways, this easter party was done for my sister-in-law's annual easter egg hunt.  it's pretty much one of my most favorite traditions and i was lucky enough to be in charge of the food this year!  so here's the rest of the party in pictures...no full tablescape one is included.  LAME!

the dessert set-up.

some of the background for the appetizer table.

the desserts were set up on an adorable vintage dresser.  the shelves on the sides had peeps and vanilla bean custard in egg shells.

my sister-in-law is expecting her fifth baby and wanted to reveal the gender to everyone at the party.  this is the reveal cake which had BLUE frosting in the middle:)

caprese salad bites.  holy shmoly, DELICIOUS!

carrot and celery sticks in ranch dressing.

cream cheese biscuits and hummus-filled cucumber.

arancini (basically a fried ball of rice with mozarella inside) w/ marinara sauce on the side.

grilled pear, blueberry goat cheese and honey bites.

bird's nest cupcakes.

lemon buddies.

 glittery bunny sugar cookies.

alice in wonderland.

this party might be my new favorite.  my best friend's little girl was turning 5 and wanted an alice in wonderland party.  it was sooo much fun to do!  i hadn't seen alice in wonderland since i was younger and decided to watch it again prior to this party.  i was so excited because it is such a funky movie and funky definitely equals fun!  so that's about all i have to say so enjoy the pics!

the tablescape:

i hung playing cards and the cheshire cat arrows in the tree behind the table.

i had these sticks and painted them green and made some roses out of crepe paper.  i was obsessed with the funkiness of these "rose bushes"!

crazy tea cups like mad hatter's crazy tea party:

shrinking potion:

cupcakes with pink and purple stripes like the cheshire cat:

mini pieces of strawberry fudge:

"eat me" cookies:

an upside down birthday cake:

little key lime mousse bites:

more tea cups because i love things to be symmetrical:

blue baby shower.

i did a baby shower for this really cute girl who is expecting a sweet baby boy in april.  this mama-to-be is from a family of sisters.  not so used to boys:) soooo, i thought it'd be good to ease her into the idea of a boy with different shades of blue and some little toy cars, boats, and planes.  to me, nothing says "boy" like blue and cars.  i had a blast preparing for this.  i made the argyle canvases by painting the diamonds on with acrylic paint and using some jute for the diagonal lines.  i love the texture from the jute!  i found the lemon sugar sticks and thought the yellow from those and the coconut cream would add some good contrast.  overall, i loved the whole tablescape.  came out just as i'd hoped!

the tablescape:

coconut cream with coconut wafers:

black forest brownie bites:

cookie brittle dipped in chocolate:

milk chocolate-dipped pretzels:

root beer float push pop cake (root beer flavored cake, root beer flavored frosting, more cake, whipped cream on top):

lemon sticks:

old wooden toys:

old fashioned metal toy car:

white chocolate-dipped pretzels:

more wooden toys:

 sparkling lemonade:

ice water:

more of the tablescape: