Kara's Party Ideas- The Book (Sneak Peek)

We've been super busy over here at Kara's Party Ideas getting all the book shoots wrapped up and finished. The final parties for the book are being photographed in the next two weeks! I am beyond ecstatic for it all to come together! It's been a TON of work, and will definitely continue to be...but it has been so much fun and a dream come true. 

Here are a couple photos from the book for you! The photos were taken by the talented Valerie Hart of Valerie Hart Photography. She's been absolutely wonderful to work with and has an amazing eye for detail.

I just have to say that I have the GREATEST husband, family, friends, assistants and photographers. I could not do this with out them, that's for certain. They have been my backbone and support system throughout the countless hours and hours and hours of work.

Stay tuned for more updates and sneak peeks into the upcoming 'Kara's Party Ideas' book, scheduled to hit shelves this October!

Party Tutorials- Fabric Wreath & Balloon Wreath

Welcome to all of you visiting from Studio 5's segment today! Here are the tutorials I promised {wrapping paper favor bag tutorial coming later on this week}. Photography by Lyndsey Fagerlund.

Wreaths are a fun party decoration/accessory. They can be a great alternative to the traditional party banner {and can be given away to the guest of honor, birthday girl, mama to be, etc at the end of the party}!

First up: THE FABRIC WREATH

This wreath is so simple, yet so cute! Match any party theme, baby shower, bridal shower or holiday party using coordinating fabric...

You will need:

1 styrofoam wreath

Approximately 70- 2 1/2"x 15" fabric strips

It really is quite simple. Take your fabric strips one by one and tie them around your styrofoam wreath using a double knot...

Do this all the way around the wreath {alternating between fabric patters if you would like}...

And, viola! 

And now: THE BALLOON WREATH

Isn't this wreath adorable? {Sneak peek at my recent superhero party by the way.} 

You will need:

1 round styrofoam wreath

Approximately 160 regular sized balloons

160 straight pins

Step one: Take a balloon and insert a straight pin into the base of the "bulb"...

Step two: Insert the straight pin into the wreath, attaching the balloon...

Step three: Repeat steps one and two until the styrofoam wreath is covered {alternating between colors if you wish}...

And that's it! Match any party theme using coordinating colors! So fun.

Elephant Baby Shower- Party Dress Magazine

Today I'm featuring the ELEPHANT BABY SHOWER I styled for my sister. It recently made it's debut in The Party Dress Magazine. You can order the magazine here, or see the digital version here.

My sister has always loved elephants...so when it came to choosing a theme for her shower I had no problem! I wanted it to be bright, cheery, modern and fun. I had a pink color scheme, and also incorporated the pink chevron stripe into the mix.

I used a lot of ribbon, painted tubs to look like elephant steps, hung a painted vintage frame, placed flowers in apothecary jars, strung painted peanuts as a backdrop, used a changing table and a high chair as part of the setup, had a 'make your own italian soda' station, tied ribbon around cute drinking glasses and more.

Photography by Lyndsey Fagerlund. 

Drinking glasses available to purchase here.


Yes, I painted the peanuts pink!

Raspberry Mousse recipe found here.





Fondant cupcake toppers made by Two Sugar Babies

Mini cheesecake bites...

Mini jars can be purchased here.






The favor tags read, "Animal crackers just for you...Elephants and friends from the Zoo. Thanks for coming!"




Party favors...

Gumball Birthday Party for HGTV

So here is the Gumball Birthday Party I styled for HGTV! To see the feature on HGTV.com go here {more exciting things coming, too}. As I said last week, HGTV contacted me in December to see if I would be willing to submit a party for an online kids party idea feature. So fun! I chose the gumball theme because I wanted the party to be bright and colorful...something that any child would adore.

I wanted to go with a vintage gumball feel. While planning the party I pictured a gumball machine in a old fashioned soda shoppe...the ideas then kept coming from there.

All photos taken by Lyndsey Fagerlund.

I found these adorable gumball machine cookies on etsy. They were made fresh and shipped to my front door by Batches. They couldn't have been cuter...

The printable banner & party hats were purchased from Gwynn Wasson Designs. I topped the banner with sewn/gathered crepe paper and added little red pom pom's to the tip of each pennant...

Cupcakes made by Dippidee {I added red gumballs to the tops to resemble cherries}. I bought the cupcake liners from Hey YoYo...

I found these old coca-cola crates in my local online classifieds. They were a perfect display for the small jars of gumballs! Mini Jars available to purchase here...

Yes, that's a CAKE! Can you believe it? I sent Marcee Kitchen from Dippidee a picture of what I wanted and she worked her magic...

Here's a closer look at the main party table. Scalloped plates were used as trays for the yummy treats...

I made these gumball machine cake pops using cake, frosting, sucker sticks, white and red candy melts, rainbow sprinkles and red spree candies! I drilled holes in a small red suitcase {purchased on amazon.com} for the base...

I got so excited when I found this vintage carousel gumball machine listed in my local online classifieds. The seller bought it at an estate sale...

I ordered these little lovelies from etsy shop, Sweeties By Kim. They are chocolate covered oreo's! I placed them on a darling blue scalloped plate....

The fun party activity {large mason jar available to purchase here}...

I made the party hats from printable downloads purchased from Gwynn Wasson Designs. I sewed crepe paper together for the fringe base and top...

This is the second table that was set up for the party. I wanted this set up to be more simple than the other main table. I found the actual table in my local online classifieds {a great place to look for party items/decor/and props!}.

I just love the vintage soda shoppe look of it! The felt polka dot garland hanging behind the table was made to resemble gumballs, it is also something that anyone could make {and very inexpensive, too!}...

I used mason jars with stamped lids for drinking glasses. The straws were purchased from Hey YoYo. The colorful ribbon napkin rings were so adorable around the polka dot napkins...

I grew up down the road from the candy company, Peppermint Place. They have always made these cute 'Gumball Buddies'. When I decided to have a gumball party I immediately remembered them and knew that I would have to go purchase some! They looked perfect on a small cake stand...

Party bags also purchased from Hey YoYo...

I thought that ribbon wands would be so fun for the little guests to play with.

These were also easy to make. I attached colorful ribbon to the tops of painted wooden dowels and placed them in another large mason jar filled with gumballs {I bought the large mason jars at Hobby Lobby}. The colors went perfectly with the whole scheme...

I wanted the ice cubes to look like gumballs. I found a circle ice cube tray on amazon.com and filled it with cherry Kool Aid....

I made the cute gumball flower bouquet out of balloon sticks {inspiration here}, large gumballs, small gumballs and hot glue! They were tied together with fun ribbon and placed in a small vase...

Ribbon napkin rings available to purchase here. Napkins available to purchase here.

I wanted to make an inexpensive party favor for each guest. These gumball machines were so simple and fun to make! The top part is a lid that comes off so anything could be stored inside. They would also make cute cookie jars. Tutorial on how to make them HERE!...