Set up for a Hunger Games Birthday Party

As most Hunger Games fans know, the premiere of the movie is this Friday. We at the Madison family household are beyond excited. My daughter introduced me to the books over a year ago and since I've read them, she's convinced my husband, my mother, her cousin and her reading teacher to read them too. Great books, but the book club discussion is not a part of this blog post.

It's about my daughter's birthday party. Her birthday is on the 26th of March and since the premiere of the movie fell so close, we decided to have a Hunger Games birthday theme. I designed the invitation a few months ago, using some modern looking arrows and a mix of old and modern fonts (I think of Hunger Games as being a bit steam punk-ish). The colors were black and white with pops of neon color. I wasn't sure if I was going to like it but I really, really did!

Cupcake toppers as arrows

The Tesserae Game jar

Some of the neon colored drinks with custom.

Food tags

So food is not in place in these photos, of course, but you can get the gist of the event from our set-up. The party fun will be making hair accessories with feathers and painting nails neon. We will play a game of Tesserae Trivia too. Every girl gets her name in the jar 3 times, and adds her name every time she answers a Hunger Games trivia question correctly. At the end of the night, we'll draw a name from the jar and the winner gets a prize (not a death match). Then they will make movie snacks to take to the theater after dinner and have a sleep over when the movie is over.

The invitation is as an evite and printable invitation at Pingg and the party printables are available at my etsy store.

Mad props to Jen Clawson from Two Chicks Who Cater for letting me use and eat her yummy coconut cupcakes!

I don't know who is looking forward to it more, me or my daughter!

Are you celebrating the Hunger Games?

Mag Rouge--Wedding imagery to make you cry

Not because it's sad! Of course I mean cry with the amazing beauty of it. You might think it's weird, but since you are reading this and either like wedding styling as much as I do, or you just know me and know that I have some weird design quirks I'm not afraid to share, you might understand why I cry when I look at this magazine. This is the second issue of MagRouge, a glorious compilation of nature themed weddings created by Kate from my favorite wedding blog Magnolia Rouge.

It's so amazingly and heart achingly beautiful! The weddings are not only touching, personal, creatively designed and expertly photographed. They are in a magazine layout that is equally as beautiful as the features within. Seriously, I've looked through this one magazine about 10 times so far, and could look again and see more that inspires me. And while some people wish they could have dinner with Ghandi because he is their hero, I wish I could just be a little fly on the wall at one of these weddings. Just to be in the presence of such beauty would be a thrill. I love this stuff so much. Now I do think I'm sounding weird. Oh well.

Take a look at these shots and just try not to spend your next 5 lunches glued to your computer screen, looking at the rest of the magazine here!

The Hunger Games Invitation with correct weaponry

Well, I'm a little red in the face. While I was furiously preparing the details for my daughter's Hunger Games Birthday Party this weekend, my husband kindly pointed out that I'd placed the feathers on my arrows incorrectly. They go with the pointed side down, of course...for better aerodynamics! Well, I'm a lover not a fighter so how's a girl like me to know such important details regarding weaponry? Of course this is why I'm married to a man who has a extensive knowledge of this and many other war minutiae. Nature works itself out just right, doesn't it?

Alas, I have corrected my Hunger Games invitation and updated it on Pingg.com where you can purchase an evite or a paper invite for your Hunger Games Celebrations!

I'll be also adding the party decorations I've created on Tuesday! I have to say that I'm surprised how much I love this color combination of black and white with the neon accents...

4 things I don't need yet but will buy anyway

I have a growing list of these items. The ones I pick up while in line at Michaels. The ones I buy with a click of the mouse and a withdraw from Paypal. The little items that I'm not sure what I'll do with them YET, but know there will be a day when the moment will be perfect.

1. Cupcake Wrappers-stripes, flowers, colors, whatever. They are delightful.
2. Washi tape-If they would only stop making so many new cute ones!!
3. Tags-Patterns usually pull me in, but I love all those cute shapes too.

My new number 4 are these little guys from Shop Sweet Lulu:

Let the baking begin! I wish they came in a multipack because I'm having a tough time choosing a color. MMMmm. Paypal's going to take the hit on this one.

5 Sources for Decorative Paper

A friend of mine emailed me this morning asking me if I knew of some sources for decorative paper. She is designing her own wedding invitation and wanted to use some woven bamboo paper as a backing. Knowing Kalani (she has a great craft and lifestyle blog), this invitation is going to be beautiful (along with her wedding) and I was happy to find a source for her.

Which of course gave me an idea to blog about some of the sources for DIY invitation needs such as decorative papers. If you are looking to add some pattern, color and elegance and are on a budget, a little bit of decorative paper can go a long way!

Chiyogami paper from Japan is spectacular for this purpose. The paper is silk-screen printed by hand and the patterns are inspired by the beautiful kimonos. You'll find lots of nature themed designs like flowers, leaves, fish and water. There are a multitude of colors, and often the metallic gold or silver details are what will elevate your DIY invitation to a professional level--at a fraction of the cost. You can use this paper as a border on your invitation by gluing it to a piece of cardstock for stability and layering your invitation card on top. Or use it as a sleeve or belly band. This is very economical because you only need a few sheets for a large invitation quantity. If you really want to be economical, use a tiny square on your invitation as a design element. It's as beautiful as a framed picture!

If you are going for a more natural and earthy look, use textured papers to bring a dimension to your invitation.

You can find Chiyogami and other decorative papers at your local art supply store, or browse on-line at these suppliers:

1. Hollander's Art Supplies
2. Paper Mojo
3. Paper Source
4. LCI Paper
5. Mulberry Paper

Oma's Vintage Plates

This is really exciting news! I just discovered Oma's Vintage Plates, a new business in town that rents the loveliest vintage china. Lauren Lee, who is the owner, has an obsession with fine china and silver that needed to turn into a profit. Her collection of beautiful china has names you know (Limoges, anyone?) and come from France, Belgium, England, and Germany. She really beefed up her stocks to plate her own daughter's vintage style wedding of over 120 guests. Realizing that there was not another business like it anywhere near Cincinnati (LA, Chicago and New York, yes) she set out to start one with her collections. Now she has service for over 160 guests and is adding to her stock all the time.

I had the pleasure of meeting Lauren for the photoshoot I did last weekend for A-Line Magazine (photos to come some time in May *impatient foot wiggles*). I needed some vintage plates to complete my table scape and Lauren came right to the rescue! We looked at only 6 patterns in her vast collection and I had to stop her from showing me more. I was getting overwhelmed with the beautiful choices!

If you are planning a vintage chic wedding, this is the woman to know. The rentals need to be okayed by your caterer since they are the ones who will be washing and caring for them.

I think those plates would be so wonderful for a baby or bridal shower, tea party or birthday party wouldn't they?

You can also see some photos of vintage place settings in-situ on Oma's Vintage Plates Pinterest boards to help generate some inspiration.