When you have two sweet boys just about 1 year apart in age....what else do you do other than throw a joint birthday party!?! This adorable birthday party was held at one of my all-time favorite Houston parks, nicknamed the "firetruck" park in Bellaire. The amazing fire engine red play structure is perfect for this preschool crowd.

When designing parties under pavillions at a park, we still want to create visual interest but have to be somewhat creative with the lack of backdrop options and quick set-up times. For this vintage firetruck theme, we chose bold, contrasting colors and a few fun elements to get the guests talking about the party's cuteness.

For the main dessert table, we went with a powder blue table linen and added this red and jute runner for a pop of color and contrast to the table's base. Simple cupcakes with paper toppers were displayed in this 3 tiered tower with a galvanized pole in the center to resemble what would traditionally be seen in a firehouse. Two matching cakes with sweet vintage trucks were set to either side of the cake, displaying the "1" and "2" ages for the brothers. Simple stacks of Oreo cookies, aka "firetruck wheels" were set out for guests to munch on. And. the most adorable dalmatian cake ball pops were displayed in 'grass' on either end of the table. For a bit of whimsical fun, we set up this working red light during the party. For fun, we chose dalmatian print cake plates and used custom imprinted vintage firetruck napkins.

And last but not least, I am always a huge fan of re-purposing items that you have already as decor, or purchasing items for decor that can double as a gift. We filled these bright red fireman boots with vivid flowers for a bit of freshness on the tables and the best part is, that the boys will get some use out of them after the party.

The seated tables were covered in the same powder blue linens and for contrast, we used a dalmatian print table runner for a bit of pop. Inflatable hydrants made fun centerpieces, and we set out these fun plastic fireman hats for the kids to play with during the party and/or take home as a favor.

In addition to the amazing park setting, guests also had fun putting out the fire on the custom made bean bag toss board. I think these boys, their family and their guests had a great time at this sweet event!

Vendor Credits:
Party Styling & Printables: Crowning Details
Cakes & Cupcakes: Timtations
Cupcake Stand and Fire Bean Bag Toss Board: Created by Jackie
Cake Ball Pops: Angie's Cake
Dalmatian & Red/Burlap Runners: Efavormart.com
Napkins: Etsy (Little Chicklets)
Dalmatian Plates, Fire Light, Grass Planters for Cake Pops: Amazon

I LOVE collaborating with moms to help create their custom party vision! Kiki's mom, and friend, came to me with the idea of hosting a macaron theme party for her soon to be 3 year old and asked for help in some of the final details. While her vision was strong, we hopped in and provided a few final touches to help the look pull together.

Whenever working on a custom theme, we start by gathering inspiration. Generally the first step in that process is to see what has already been created or styled in the online universe using our particular theme. Well, in the case of macaron parties, not much pops up :). So, with virtually a blank slate, we created custom printables to coordinate with Kiki's bright and cheery color palette. 

We hope you love the pictures provided by Kiki's mommy showing how everything came together!

The main dessert table's feature was most certainly this bright and whimsical backdrop from Created by Jackie, personalized with the birthday girl's name and age. Dimension was added to crisp white linens by adding a simple jute runner across the center of the table. The birthday cake was simple pink, accented by rich chocolate and topped with colorful macaron cookies. Buttercream cupcakes were topped with macarons, macaron pops were displayed with fresh fruit and fun candies in clear jars were available for guests to enjoy. Custom sugar cookies inspired by macarons were displayed on clear pedestals on the dessert table and indoors where cocktails and delightful appetizers were served.

Seated tables were covered in crisp white linens, accented with a rose pink runner and each guest's chair had a custom macaron placemat. White and peonies were the perfect centerpiece for these simply stunning tables. Throughout the party's decor, and flagging the entrance, were handmade wooden macaron cookies from Created by Jackie.

Guests took home colorful sandbuckets filled with colorful chalk, perfect for summertime fun! And, Kiki will thank her guests for her birthday gifts using these personalized Thank You fold-over cards by Minted.

Vendor Credits:
Party Printables: Crowning Details
​Cake: Le Cakery
Cookies: Curlique Bakery
Thank You Cards & 'Life is Sweet" Print: Minted
Photography: Saskia Matser

We are all festive up in our house right now gearing up for the upcoming patriotic parties of 2016.....Memorial Day Weekend and Independence Day!!

While I certainly remember popping firecrackers at my own house growing up and sitting under the stars to watch the big fireworks display in our area, our littles are too young for most of those activities at this point. (Lets be honest, mine are snoozing by 7 p.m.) But, we certainly want to include them in the festivities and strive to create a party that is on their level whenever possible.

So, we had a blast decorating their outdoor picnic table and playhouse with 4th of July decorations!! Oriental Trading was a dream for sourcing items that we not only age appropriate, but affordable.

Our picnic table was covered in a great double sided, paper table runner. We chose the chevron pattern as the base for our "Little Firecrackers" display (the reverse is red and white polka dots). All of the fun goodies were displayed in various sized galvanized pails. We had clappers, American flags, star whistles, mini beach balls, bubbles, fun glasses and pom poms.

The play house was adorned with plastic 4th of July bunting banners and then gearing up for later in the evening, we lined the front with luminary bags filled with flameless candles. Essentially, we set up hours of fun for tiny people by creating their own 4th of July activities table filled with goodies to bring smiles to everyone's faces.

How does your family celebrate the 4th of July? How do you make your littles feel included in the big celebration?

Vendor Credits:
Party Styling: Crowning Details
​Paper Table Runner, flag clappers, star whistles, American flags, mini beach balls, bubbles, glasses, bunting banner & luminary bags: Oriental Trading

This review is based strictly on my opinion. I was provided the sample free of charge by the company to provide my honest review. No other type of compensation was received. All ideas and opinions are my own.

Sweet Jack's birthday party theme request was....Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. When I received an email from Jack's mommy (a long time client), she really wanted to create Jack's birthday theme wish but with the 'less scary' turtles from recent films. So, we set out to pull some of the fun components of the series out to make both Jack and his mommy happy with the end result.

Whenever working in a party environment that doesn't lend itself to large scale backdrops or installations (like this roller skating rink), I like to create something that will add both height to the table and a photographic point of visual interest. So, we asked Created by Jackie to create these two free-standing graffiti boards. Centered in between the two graffiti boards was the Village Bakery birthday cake featuring a TMNT peaking out from underneath a checkered tablecloth. For snacks, we served popcorn in Chinese take out boxes decorated with cute TMNT paper masks. To play on the pizza loving nature of these cute turtles, we decorated the front of the table with a printable pizza slice banner.

Table linens had to be easily removed, so we chose a red gingham base plastic linen and added a white runner for added dimensions. At each guest's seat was an old fashioned pizza parlor activity sheet and box of crayons, along with felt TMNT masks that also doubled as an additional favor. The activity sheets had fun places to color, a connect the dot image and a TMNT maze.

During skating breaks, guests had fun feeding TMNT's pizza bean bags on the custom created toss board and taking pictures in the free-standing photo board.

Guests took home mini pizza boxes filled with chocolate chip cookies (another favorite TMNT snack); the boxes were decorated with custom labels.

Sweet, personalized details can be created for any children's party regardless of set-up time or venue parameters. With short set-up times, decor should be simple, streamlined and pre-packed so it can be set out within the 15-20 minute time allotment.

​Happy Planning!

 Vendor Credits:
Party Styling & Printables: Crowning Details
Graffitti Boards, Photo Board & Bean Bag Toss: Created by Jackie
​Cake: The Village Bakery
Felt Masks: Etsy (Widishiskadi)
Mini Pizza Boxes: www.bioandchic.com
​Brick Table Runner: Zazzle
Cookie Bean Bags: Etsy (Grandmas Chalkboard)

Seated tables for guests were covered in pink floor length linens. White paper placemats were added for subtle contrast and our centerpieces were beautiful white and pink flowers displayed in silver trophies; large for the adult tables and small for the children's tables.

In addition to live ponies brought in for the event, the smallest guests were entertained at this "Decorate your Derby Hat" station. There were sweet hats for the girls and bow ties for the boys for dress up play.

For the adults, this DIY betting board was created for placing bets prior to watching the race on the outdoor projection screen.

Catered food was provided by Armando's. A Mint Julep station and attended bar was provided for the adults and a "Junior Julep" beverage station was set-up for the kiddos.

These adorable ride-on ponies served double duty at the party; presents for the birthday girl and amazing front door decorations.

This amazing life-sized standee from Shindigz set the stage for her birthday party...and were lucky enough to snap a photo of sweet Claire right before the party started.

Vendor Credits:
Party Styling & Printables: Crowning Details
Table Backdrop and Custom Cupcake Stand: Created by Jackie
Flowers: Horton Thompson Floral Design
Cookies: The Sugar Jar
​Cake: World Catering Bakery
Cupcakes: Timtations Bakery
Trophy Centerpieces: Amazon
Linens & Rentals: A Finer Event
White Paper Placemats: Amazon
Custom Napkins: Etsy (With Love and Ink)
Paper Plates: Amazon
Mint Julep Cups: Amazon
Jockey & Horse Standee; Shindigz
Bow Ties: Oriental Trading
Catering: Armando's
Photography: Crowning Details & Cushman Brinegar

 It's hard to believe that summer is already here!!!! 

Our kids are too young to really understand the concept of time off from school, but they are looking forward to playing outdoors, swimming in the pool, warmer weather and some mini vacations.

We love any reason to give gifts in our house and in fact, our 4 year old is described by many as a 'cheerful giver'. So, we can't resist handing out little trinkets to classmates at the end of each school year.

This year, I was inspired to create these fun "School's O-fish-ally Out! Happy Summer! tags for my preschoolers when I found these adorable fish theme crazy straws at Oriental Trading.

Scroll down to download your FREE copy of this adorable end of school year printable. Simply print, punch two holes in either end of the tag and thread your fun straw through the ends for a fun summer surprise. For digital personalization, visit our online store.

Happy Summer everyone!!

Memorial Day weekend in Texas is often filled with pool parties, park celebrations and BBQ's!!!

We loved putting together this backyard BBQ party, pulling from Americana concepts as our inspiration.

The table backdrop was created by covering a thin piece of plywood with weathered wood grain paper from Shindigz. The 18 inch metal stars were added in a red, white and blue pattern.

We layered a denim tablecloth to anchor the table, then layered with a vintage white and red striped table runner for added depth. Snacks included popcorn served in individual cones, Cracker's Jacks, and mini cherry pies. Blueberry lemonade spritzer was served in personalized paper cups for guests and as a take-home-treat, personalized gumball tubes were displayed in a galvanized tin.

Guests enjoyed traditional backyard BBQ fare; hamburgers, hot dogs, salads and more seated in the garden. Tables were covered in burlap linens, personalized with patriotic paper runners. Each guest's chair back was decorated using mini-red paper fans and centerpieces were custom created patriotic wood centerpieces topped with American flags.

After dusk, guests had fun lighting up the night with gold star shaped sparklers. 

Vendor Credits:
Styling & Party Printables: Crowning Details
Denim Table Cloth, Paper Table Runner, Paper Fans, Personalized Stickers, Gumball Tubes & Gumballs, Backdrop, Napkins: Shindigz
Table Runner: Etsy (RustleandSmooth)
Rustic Wood Crate: Michael's