Part 1
This is a Dress-up Tea Party/ Teddy Bear pageant!
My Kids birthday parties are a big deal to me. Did I say big, sorry, I meant parties are a huge deal to me and the kids. It’s their day and it should be a great one. It’s all about them and I will try my best to give them (within reason) the best party.
I usually start drilling about two months before their birthdays to find out who wants a party, this way I know how much planning is involved. My two teens no longer want the parties, they just want the cash. To bad because I have some great idea’s for teen parties. My little man is also not interested. I will have to work on him and get him to see how much fun a theme party is. I know I can bank on my baby girl; she always wants a party, the bigger the better. Her attitude is basically “you go mommy!” with her permission to go nuts, I start my planning. This year she is turning 6 what better way to celebrate then with a Dress up Tea Party/teddy bear pageant show.
Like always my parties start out small, but as I go along they get bigger and better, creativity has no limits.
First step, I chose the type of tea party and then make a list of things that I think would be needed for the party. This party is a dress up tea party. We’re going all the way! No body get in my way and no body gets hurt!
While making the list I turned to one of my very best friends “Google” and began many searches. What do I need? I need hats, shawls, gloves, decorations-thinking-hmm; I had a few windows open at once. Multitasking and hoping my computer did not shut me down for being so demanding.
The main item for the tea party was a tea set. It couldn’t just be any tea set, there are so many to choose from. My daughter had to like it and then of course the wallet had to like it. The tea set could not be a miniature one that you can find just about anywhere, it had to be for a child and be able to hold at least 3-4 ounces of liquid, this way the kids could pour the drinks into their cups and enjoy their drink. After a great deal of searching on Google and phone calls, I found a shop online that was very helpful. If you are looking for a tea set this is the place to check out http://www.abitofbritain.com/ they were very helpful and accommodated us on our needs for the party. We bought two sets and they had a spare tea cup and saucer, we needed 9.
The majority of the party necessities I usually purchase online at http://www.orientaltradingcompany.com/. Here you can find almost anything and in bulk, which is great when it comes to cost, have to stay in budget, yes there is a budget.
I order all my supplies online 4 weeks before the party. This way they have enough time to clear customs and in case I have to make returns.
What does my husband do or say when I am planning a party online, charging everything. He looks away and forwards me the confirmations. He knows me, or perhaps trusts me too much. No seriously, I never loose control. I always look for a better deal. For example, it came to me that everything would be so pretty in the house, yet the chairs would not look their best. The chairs needed something. I dragged my husband to the local party store in town where they have rentals for weddings. I knew they would have chair covers, and they did. They only had two to select from. I really like the first one that was shown to us which had a beautiful white bow on the back and completely covered the chair. I looked at my husband and said visualize it, can’t you see, this is the final touch, how adorable it would look and, how expensive could it be, we only need 9? turns out they were expensive $4.50 a piece. We went with their second choice which was half the price and not as pretty, my husband was happier and the hamster in my brain began brainstorming, the chair covered needed that extra touch. Make a huge coloured bow and pin it to the back. Good idea!
Now for some fun! Who doesn’t like to dress up? Every little being I know likes to dress up. How could I throw a tea party without getting them all dress up? I purchased 6 feather garden hats online (big ones), and 3 top hats. I went to Claire’s to purchase white gloves for the girls, luck was with me that day, and I got them on sale. Something was still missing though, it was not enough. Every detail counts! I went to my local seamstress and asked her if she would make me 6 brightly coloured shawls and 3 bow ties. She came through for me, and at a really good price. It would have cost me double online. I also went to the dollar store and bought some pearls for the girls and glasses for the boys.
What I can’t buy I usually make. This is the part I like best, my imagination has no boundaries. Here are a few examples. For all of my party planning you can email me for the spread sheet which has all the resources and recipes. Yep, I’m guilty. I try to be very organized when it comes to parties. This way I know what I need and when I need it. Life is better when I am organized. If only I could get the kids to organize their rooms, pure joy, a mother can dream.
Lollipop flowers
This year for our center pieces I bought small flower pots that had been already painted with flowers at the dollar store. I used Styrofoam in the inside to hold my Lollipop flowers. The lollipops I bought online and at the dollar store. I just poked them in the Styrofoam and then covered it with fake grass. I made six of these pots to place on the tables for center pieces. They are so adorable and are always a hit at parties. When the party is over I let the party guests take candy from the pots. A kid can never have too much sugar! Parents love me!
Petite Fours
I really wanted a cake that would taste light and melt in your mouth; Sarah lee to the rescue with her pound cake. I grabbed my cake slicer and made two cuts for three layers. I head for my local bulk barn and bought butter icing for the filling. I used food coloring to make different color icing. I then slice out squares. I only needed one cake for this. It makes plenty. Then, I melted some milk chocolate wafers and poured a thin layer on some wax paper; I then place my little cakes on the chocolate and begin to pour chocolate on them. To top them off I placed a sugar decoration on top (bulk barn is great for sugar) and placed them in the fridge to harden. Yummy! Kids love this light treat…just enough sugar in it.
Games
Because of my little one’s medical condition, the party has to be indoors. Therefore, all the games have to be inside. One of the games we are playing is similar to hot potato. I bought a small gift and wrapped it 6 times. You play some music and pass the present around. When the music stops, the person who is holding the present opens one layer. Keep doing this until the last layer remains. Who ever reveals the gift, keeps it. Of course I am an advocate for fairness and I knew there would be jealousy and hurt feelings. So, I bought 8 small gifts for the rest of the guests so no one would feel bad.
We are nine days away from the party. I cannot wait to see Ireland’s face when it’s all set up. I just hope I have not forgotten anything. I will confess one boo boo. Once you see my planner you will notice I have dotted my “I’s” and crossed my “t’s”. I only have one more package that I am waiting for and that is the tea set. I’m tracking it and so far it’s in Ontario. It will be on time! What did I mess up? Well, after planning this great party. Believe it or not, I forgot about the invitations. What’s a party without your guests? I had originally wanted to use poster board and cut out teapots with a tea bag hanging out. I ran out of time. I started brainstorming ideas on what to do. I had no poster board, not enough anyway. I had little time. I actually ran out of time. The invites had to go out yesterday. I headed for Zellers. I remembered they have some really nice invites and crossed my fingers that they had some teapot invites. They did! Yeah! Life was good again. The night before I did up the invites and had written all the info on them, except whose birthday it was. A mom called me last night to confirm, but she was wondering who the birthday person was. I broke out in laughter, she must have thought I was nuts until I explained what happened. Ahh...good times….
Coming up, Part 2 The Tea Party
This is a Dress-up Tea Party/ Teddy Bear pageant!
My Kids birthday parties are a big deal to me. Did I say big, sorry, I meant parties are a huge deal to me and the kids. It’s their day and it should be a great one. It’s all about them and I will try my best to give them (within reason) the best party.
I usually start drilling about two months before their birthdays to find out who wants a party, this way I know how much planning is involved. My two teens no longer want the parties, they just want the cash. To bad because I have some great idea’s for teen parties. My little man is also not interested. I will have to work on him and get him to see how much fun a theme party is. I know I can bank on my baby girl; she always wants a party, the bigger the better. Her attitude is basically “you go mommy!” with her permission to go nuts, I start my planning. This year she is turning 6 what better way to celebrate then with a Dress up Tea Party/teddy bear pageant show.
Like always my parties start out small, but as I go along they get bigger and better, creativity has no limits.
First step, I chose the type of tea party and then make a list of things that I think would be needed for the party. This party is a dress up tea party. We’re going all the way! No body get in my way and no body gets hurt!
While making the list I turned to one of my very best friends “Google” and began many searches. What do I need? I need hats, shawls, gloves, decorations-thinking-hmm; I had a few windows open at once. Multitasking and hoping my computer did not shut me down for being so demanding.
The main item for the tea party was a tea set. It couldn’t just be any tea set, there are so many to choose from. My daughter had to like it and then of course the wallet had to like it. The tea set could not be a miniature one that you can find just about anywhere, it had to be for a child and be able to hold at least 3-4 ounces of liquid, this way the kids could pour the drinks into their cups and enjoy their drink. After a great deal of searching on Google and phone calls, I found a shop online that was very helpful. If you are looking for a tea set this is the place to check out http://www.abitofbritain.com/ they were very helpful and accommodated us on our needs for the party. We bought two sets and they had a spare tea cup and saucer, we needed 9.
The majority of the party necessities I usually purchase online at http://www.orientaltradingcompany.com/. Here you can find almost anything and in bulk, which is great when it comes to cost, have to stay in budget, yes there is a budget.
I order all my supplies online 4 weeks before the party. This way they have enough time to clear customs and in case I have to make returns.
What does my husband do or say when I am planning a party online, charging everything. He looks away and forwards me the confirmations. He knows me, or perhaps trusts me too much. No seriously, I never loose control. I always look for a better deal. For example, it came to me that everything would be so pretty in the house, yet the chairs would not look their best. The chairs needed something. I dragged my husband to the local party store in town where they have rentals for weddings. I knew they would have chair covers, and they did. They only had two to select from. I really like the first one that was shown to us which had a beautiful white bow on the back and completely covered the chair. I looked at my husband and said visualize it, can’t you see, this is the final touch, how adorable it would look and, how expensive could it be, we only need 9? turns out they were expensive $4.50 a piece. We went with their second choice which was half the price and not as pretty, my husband was happier and the hamster in my brain began brainstorming, the chair covered needed that extra touch. Make a huge coloured bow and pin it to the back. Good idea!
Now for some fun! Who doesn’t like to dress up? Every little being I know likes to dress up. How could I throw a tea party without getting them all dress up? I purchased 6 feather garden hats online (big ones), and 3 top hats. I went to Claire’s to purchase white gloves for the girls, luck was with me that day, and I got them on sale. Something was still missing though, it was not enough. Every detail counts! I went to my local seamstress and asked her if she would make me 6 brightly coloured shawls and 3 bow ties. She came through for me, and at a really good price. It would have cost me double online. I also went to the dollar store and bought some pearls for the girls and glasses for the boys.
What I can’t buy I usually make. This is the part I like best, my imagination has no boundaries. Here are a few examples. For all of my party planning you can email me for the spread sheet which has all the resources and recipes. Yep, I’m guilty. I try to be very organized when it comes to parties. This way I know what I need and when I need it. Life is better when I am organized. If only I could get the kids to organize their rooms, pure joy, a mother can dream.
Lollipop flowers
This year for our center pieces I bought small flower pots that had been already painted with flowers at the dollar store. I used Styrofoam in the inside to hold my Lollipop flowers. The lollipops I bought online and at the dollar store. I just poked them in the Styrofoam and then covered it with fake grass. I made six of these pots to place on the tables for center pieces. They are so adorable and are always a hit at parties. When the party is over I let the party guests take candy from the pots. A kid can never have too much sugar! Parents love me!
Petite Fours
I really wanted a cake that would taste light and melt in your mouth; Sarah lee to the rescue with her pound cake. I grabbed my cake slicer and made two cuts for three layers. I head for my local bulk barn and bought butter icing for the filling. I used food coloring to make different color icing. I then slice out squares. I only needed one cake for this. It makes plenty. Then, I melted some milk chocolate wafers and poured a thin layer on some wax paper; I then place my little cakes on the chocolate and begin to pour chocolate on them. To top them off I placed a sugar decoration on top (bulk barn is great for sugar) and placed them in the fridge to harden. Yummy! Kids love this light treat…just enough sugar in it.
Games
Because of my little one’s medical condition, the party has to be indoors. Therefore, all the games have to be inside. One of the games we are playing is similar to hot potato. I bought a small gift and wrapped it 6 times. You play some music and pass the present around. When the music stops, the person who is holding the present opens one layer. Keep doing this until the last layer remains. Who ever reveals the gift, keeps it. Of course I am an advocate for fairness and I knew there would be jealousy and hurt feelings. So, I bought 8 small gifts for the rest of the guests so no one would feel bad.
We are nine days away from the party. I cannot wait to see Ireland’s face when it’s all set up. I just hope I have not forgotten anything. I will confess one boo boo. Once you see my planner you will notice I have dotted my “I’s” and crossed my “t’s”. I only have one more package that I am waiting for and that is the tea set. I’m tracking it and so far it’s in Ontario. It will be on time! What did I mess up? Well, after planning this great party. Believe it or not, I forgot about the invitations. What’s a party without your guests? I had originally wanted to use poster board and cut out teapots with a tea bag hanging out. I ran out of time. I started brainstorming ideas on what to do. I had no poster board, not enough anyway. I had little time. I actually ran out of time. The invites had to go out yesterday. I headed for Zellers. I remembered they have some really nice invites and crossed my fingers that they had some teapot invites. They did! Yeah! Life was good again. The night before I did up the invites and had written all the info on them, except whose birthday it was. A mom called me last night to confirm, but she was wondering who the birthday person was. I broke out in laughter, she must have thought I was nuts until I explained what happened. Ahh...good times….
Coming up, Part 2 The Tea Party
Originally I just wanted to use three girls because I had done up a plan (on paper) for three girls, but at the last minute I asked my daughters friends if they would help me out. They love to pose in front of the camera. All they needed to do was to get their parents permission and have them sign a model release form. 
We went to my favorite spot, one of the back alleys in town full of detail. I had a wooden and metal staircase, some blocked up windows, barrels and little corridors all in one spot. I thought we would be yelled at because we were there for so long, surprisingly people were very nice to us and did not seem to mind. We were there for nearly two hours and went back the next day for some different poses. 
Photographing seven girls takes a long time. Would I do it again? ...hmmm...maybe, I would probally aim for a smaller group. The girls were great sports, some were daring and hung off the side of the staircase. 
Many of these shots are straight from the camera, the Canon 50D EOS is amazing (still learning). I did do a few touch ups. I worked on blemishes, brighting the eyes and some of the girls look washed out so I added just a bit of lip color and blush. I wanted to keep them as natural as possible. 
For brighting the eyes
Adding Lipstick 
Image above I ran through Nik filters and used the Darken/ lighten center
Image above I used Contrast Only, Glamour Glow and Gradutaed Neutral Density filter in Nik filters.