Again with the Fluorescent Pink!

I thought that after I'd gotten this tablescape out of my system, that maybe my passion for fluorescent pink was waning, but apparently it's not. I saw this absolutely beautiful vignette of fluorescent pink and gray in the 2012 Autumn issue of Marie Claire Idées. I had been pairing it in a similar way; tiny pink details that pack a delicate but impactful punch in a natural, neutral colored setting. But I'd been using the goldish-beige neutral. This spread in Marie Claire Idées pairs the pink with a grisaille background, along with some absolutely beautiful pastel pinks. Don't you just love that dresser?? They used fluorescent pink masking tape, which I just happen to have. What a great way to temporarily update your furniture, right?

Here is a photo from my last project with the neon pink:

A Pink and Gold Parisian Party for Nina

I have been dreaming of doing this party forever it seems. I'm completely smitten with pink and gold and it just seemed like a perfect party for a sweet girl with lots of 'Joix De Vivre'. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to meet Nina and her mom who fit the Paris Pink and Gold party theme perfectly. Nina even has golden red hair! What are the chances that the honoree even matches her own party theme?? Not many, I tell you. It was a stroke of creative luck.

This was planned and executed by Stellar Party (my complete party planning company with Nora Martini and Brigid Horn-Nestor). I was thrilled with the results but most importantly, so was Nina and her mom.

The party took place at the Hilton Garden Inn in Blue Ash. Kathy, Diyor and her crew were super accommodating and the room was a lovely space to work in. I'll walk you through the event just like you were a guest.

Outside the doors was a seating chart created with individual gold frames hung on a pink covered bulletin board. This was propped up by a black floor easel with fleur de lis accents. Trés cute, oui? A bonus benefit to this method for a seating chart is that it is easy to fix last minute guest rearrangements. Just pop out the card and put in a new one.

The tables were covered in light pink linens. Centerpieces were loose and eclectic; we were going for that effortless french café feel. (Which, by the way is not effortless at all for this American girl!) Each centerpiece included a vintage gold rimmed highball glass with pink sweetheart roses, french pressed glass juice cups with baby's breath, a gold picture frame with the table number hand drawn in gold marker, a customized glass bottle (Ikea) filled with fresh water or French pink lemonade (find the same great black labels from JenMarie on etsy), a brass candlestick (from the client's stash) and some frigging adorable Photofetti. Each place setting had a gold charger and a stick of pink rock candy tied with a simple black ribbon.

Of course, we couldn't have a French themed dinner party without a French patisserie themed dessert table. I took some design cues from the famed French patisserie Ladurée and created a custom table skirt with the gold banner drawn on charcoal gray canvas and a pink and white backdrop. A fanciful gold frame bordered Nina's name written in gold. The dessert table was really just to provide a beautiful space to display the amazing desserts created by Kim at Garnish Catering. Filling the cake plates were rich chocolate pots de creme (ok frenchie grammar sticklers, I'm missing the proper accent circumflex over the 'e'. I can't find it on my keyboard), vanilla cupcakes with pink buttercream frosting, pink macarons with real gold flake embellishments, chocolate covered profiteroles (think eclairs), creme brulée, chocolate cupcakes and raspberry tartes de fruits. Our client reported that the dessert table was ravished by the guests, who left nothing but the spoons!

My Holiday Cards on MyPublisher!

That's my card on the silver box ^

So I'm at my sister's house for our weekly Sunday family dinner and I see that her most recent photo book was created on the MyPublisher website. I mentioned that they were going to be selling several of my holiday cards on their site and she screams, "I KNEW that was your work in their catalog!!" Turns out that she'd seen my cards in their catalog that had arrived last week and was highly suspicious. Ha!

I'm super excited to be represented by MyPublisher and I must say that I admired lots of the other holiday card designs offered on their site as well. The artwork is sweet and slightly modern, with lots of color and pattern. Of course, your family photos will look great on any of the styles and I love how you can add a few more photographs on the patterned back of the card. Cute, cute.

I know it seems early, but you know how the holidays whiz past us. Take a look at the MyPublisher holiday cards and see if you can't take care of at least one part of your holiday duties. The design shown on today's post is listed here.

Laser Party designs!

If you were ever wondering how to use blank printable invitations and ephemera available online, you should take a look at this party for inspiration! Larissa from Sweet On Parties blog purchased a set of blank printables from my laser tag party (available here from my etsy store) and took the party design to a whole new level of fun for her son Byron!

Since the files are purchased without any text, Larissa was able to use them in so many creative ways. She repurposed the invitation template into signage, used the armband artwork for water bottle labels and the circle templates for cookies, tags and additional signage. I love that backdrop and that sweets station!

For more photos (and frankly, some other delightfully styled birthday parties), visit her blog and enjoy!

I picked a good one for this Halloween...

Even though life seems impossibly busy, I still try really had to make Halloween fun. Mainly because my kids insist on it. "Are you going to make those mummy hot dogs again this year, Mom?" (*sigh* yes), "Are we going to get more skeleton bones for the yard, Mom" (yes, even though you lost half of the body by using them for golf clubs this summer), "Mom, how about a toxic waste theme for our house decorations this year?" (alrighty...) Every time we do one fun thing, we have to add to it for the next year. It's equally exhausting AND inspirational.

Anyway, enough of my fake complaining about how hard it is to be a mom in a creative household.

I just saw this recipe for Zombie Boogers from Paper and Parcel and had to share it. It's got everything a kid wants for Halloween: sugar and parent revulsion. You can get the cute little bags from her etsy shop here. It seems like a great party snack or fun surprise for lunch, doesn't it?

I've been amassing some other great Halloween ideas on this Pinterest board if you want to peruse.

Color Inspiration: Blue and Pink from Pip Studios

I've been enchanted with this sweet color combination that I saw on Coco Rose Diaries, featuring Pip Studio fine china patterns. I'm usually a one or two color/low contrast kind of girl, but this photo had me thinking differently. How can I bring in opposite colors and make them work without being too brash? When I studied the image, I saw that if you use the two colors but incorporate hues of those colors it softens the contrast. Still very feminine and sweet but not so much pink as to make you barf with girly overload. No offense to pink only combos...you know I love me some pink. But everyone can use a fresh look at it, right?

I encourage you to take a look at all the products from Pip Studios, in Amsterdam. You'll see this color palette and romantic style incorporated into many other products like bedding, bath and textiles. I'm on my way to check it all out myself.