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It is getting close to Graduation Time.
It is getting close to graduation time and cutom cups make a great addition to a Graduation Party.
We have invitations to help celebrate the graduate’s big day
Go for the Gold with an Olympics Birthday Party
If your children are glued to the TV cheering for “USA!” like mine are, they will love this Olympics themed party!
This adorable invitation features the signature gymnastics rings of the summer Olympics and the top of a little party-goer in a birthday hat! 20% off with coupon code USA through August 31st.
Use pool noodles to create the Olympic Rings and various games such as javelin throwing, ring toss, and hurdles!
Set up races of different lengths, obstacle courses, long jumps and other backyard challenges for the guests. The games are sure to bring out the competitive nature in kids of almost any ages.
Serve Olympic-ring cake and pass out favors including sweat bands, water bottles, and of course, gold medals for all!
Personalized Gifts…..ooooh laaaa laaaa!
We love these custom gifts that are hot off the presses. You will not believe the brightness and boldness of the colors and prints.
Personalized gifts are always good, but especially when they are in today’s newest colors and styles, including ikat, zig zags, chevron, elephants, mums, wild stripes and even pink flamingos.
Every graduate, bride and best friend would be thrilled with these custom gifts! We now offer ipad covers, iphone cases, cutting boards, amazing cuff bracelets, cool plates and reusable cups and even dog bowls and leashes. With more patterns and products coming out each day, whave your Christmas list all wrapped up!
Barnyard Animal First Birthday Party
It does not get much cuter than this 1st birthday party featuring beloved barnyard animals. The beauty of first birthdays is that the kids are so young, the party is really more for the adults. These home-made pig and cow cakes were a big hit! Just look at the sweet little pig face and the lovable cow spots.
The birthday boy himself wasted no time in diving right in.
The party favors were simple animal hand puppets with a little “thanks for coming” note tied around their necks. They were placed on skewers and displayed in this rustic basket so that each child could choose his favorite on the way out.
Our favorite part, of course, is the invitation that started the party. We recommend these two invitations for your little farm birthday party shin dig. This precious Around the Barn printable invitation is by Paper So Pretty and we absolutely love this Pig Out invitation by Address to Impress. Both are on sale NOW….20% off (Coupon code: FARM20) this week and 5% off (Coupon code: FARM5) through the end of the month.
This is the little man of the hour in his adorable custom made overalls. His Aunt Laura of www.Laura-louise.com made these barnyard duds for his big day.
The End! 
Margarita Fiesta
Our inspiration this week is from Pottery Barn, whose knack for making everything domestic look amazing keeps us coming back again and again for decor inspiration! Right now, they offer tips on throwing a 
fabulous summer margarita party, including recipes! Of course, they offer everything you need, including gorgeous beverage servers and glassware. Also, check out these fiesta melamine plates. A great way to set the table for an al fresco evening.
Whether you’re hosting a couple’s shower, a Rehearsal Dinner, or just a fun, fiesta-themed party, you’ll need an invitation like these to get you started! These Fiesta Placesetting Invitations and Fiesta Duo Invitations are both 20% off through June 26th (with coupon code: FI20) or 5% off through July 19th (code: FI5)
Blast Off for an Out of This World Space Party!
Almost all little boys go through a space phase. The allure of traveling to deep space, mixed with awesome spacecraft, the promise of weightlessness and the chance to meet little green men from Mars make space travel almost impossible to resist for young adventurers. When your little astronaut has a birthday, give him a party that’s sure to be a blast!
Location: Jump party places seem like an appropriate place for a space party because of all of the moon-like bouncing! Plus the employees do absolutely everything for you. Easiest party ever! Or, have the party at home with a bounce house in the back yard!
Simple Table Decorations: Inflatable space shuttle with several star-shaped mylar balloons tied to it!
Favor Ideas: Little astronaut figures, pull-back space shuttle toys, space pencils and erasers, glow sticks, glow-in-the-dark bouncy balls, Pop Rocks candy
Invitations: What could be cuter than these two out-of-this-world invitations: Outer Space Rocket Invitation or Alien Monster Party Invitation, both on sale now! 20% off through June 19th (Coupon Code: SP20) or 5% off through July 5th (Code: SP5).
Cake: Make your own Rocket Cake by baking a large rectangular cake for the base, such as 13” x 19”. I have a pan this size and it comes in handy for almost every cake I make! Then, use the Wilton football cake pan for the rocket. Cut off the last couple of inches before placing it on the base cake, creating the tail of the rocket. The extra piece can be split in half to create two fins to place on the sides of the rocket. Then, use your creativity to decorate your shuttle! I especially love the red and orange “fire” made by using the flower tip in a crazy squiggly pattern.
Your future space travelers are sure to have a great time!
Step right up … for a Carnival Birthday Party!
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls! Step right up for the greatest show on the … block! When our boys were turning 6 and 3 within three weeks of each other, I decided it was the perfect time for a joint party. I didn’t know how much longer they would have the same friends and the same interests, so this was my big chance to put on the Backyard Birthday Carnival for them that I had pictured in my mind for years! 
After months of shopping for prizes, painting signs, creating custom tickets for each carnival attraction and convincing my husband to construct several carnival games, it was finally time for the big day, as well as a local thunderstorm. But, alas, the show must go on, so we moved the whole shindig inside and the roof became our “big top” for the day! It was a tight fit, but it all worked and the kids left loaded down with candy, pinwheels, animal balloons, face paint and mile-wide smiles! We recruited grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends to act as carnies, working each game and handing out prizes. I think we’ll be repaying favors for a while! All in all, it was a true success.
We strung brightly-colored streamers and pennant flags all across the house and accented with helium balloons. We created a serve-yourself buffet of circus food, including hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn in adorable paper boxes, chips and iced circus cookies. This organic, all-natural, 100% fruit juice, no-sugar-added kind of a mom took a break from health food and gave my children a plethora of cavity-inducing delights! I attempted to create a candy shoppe look using glass dishes in various sizes filled with colorful sour balls, pixie stix, bright gum balls, twirly lollipops, salt water taffy and packets of cotton candy in green, pink, purple and blue! The kids were encouraged to fill up their treat bags with sweets and treats. Then, we served ice cream cone cupcakes (cake baked into ice cream cones and topped with sprinkles)….what is more fun than that?!
When each guest entered this carnival-themed birthday party, they visited the Ticket Booth and received a paper bag containing tickets for each of the many 
carnival attractions. They happily trotted off to one of the game stations or the Bounce House on the back porch. At each game, they redeemed a ticket to try their hand at the game and in turn received a prize such as a temporary tattoo, silly band, jump rope, pinwheel, paddle ball, parachute man or twisty lollipop. Next to each attraction, we had created a hand-painted sign to add color and to help the kids figure out where to redeem each ticket. They also took turns in the face painting chair, being transformed into Batman, a clown or a beautiful butterfly.
We re-created one of my favorite carnival games as a child and called it Gone Fishin’. We draped cute fishy fabric over a wooden frame that my husband built, about 5’ tall by 4’ wide with sturdy wooden feet. We fashioned a fishing rod out of a dowel rod with a string attached to it and a clip on the end. When children “casted” over the wall, my very-helpful mother, who was stationed behind it, attached temporary tattoos or silly bands onto the clip! The kids loved the fishing game and wanted to play again and a again!
The next game was Ring-A-Ding, a version of ring-toss, a very traditional carnival game. We built a low wooden platform, spray-painted water bottles white, and attempted to glue them in a grid pattern onto the platform. During our practice rounds, the bottles kept coming unglued, so we decided to fill them with water and just set them in place. The kids tossed rings and had three chances to land a ring on a bottle!
At Hot Shot, our little marksmen tested their aim and concentration as they attempted to shoot plastic golf balls off of tees using only a plastic water gun. Yes, it was a little messy for indoors, but it was worth it. Our 3-year-old got so close to his target that I’m pretty sure the tip of his gun knocked the balls off, but hey, at this carnival, everyone’s a winner! Give the man his prize!
Circus Toss game was a bean-bag toss, through a carnival fabric with a few holes in it, draped over a wooden frame. Kids loving being told to throw in the house!
Because we were inside, we had to modify the Duck Pond game. We had originally planned to fill a molded plastic baby pool with water and release floating duckies in the water, each marked on the underside with a code that determined which prize was won. We didn’t want a swimming pool indoors, so we filled a tub with styrofoam peanuts and let the ducks swim in that. Blessed are the flexible, for they will bend and not break!
Plinko, the game of “The Price is Right” fame, was our crowning achievement. My ever-patient husband built this large board with a stand on the back that allowed it to be stable at an angle, then screwed about 150 screws onto the front of the board to create pegs. At the bottom of the board, there were six slots to catch the balls as they bounced down the Plinko board, and two of them were marked with stars, indicating a win!
The final game was Knock Out, a platform with 10 child-size bowling pins on it that allowed the kids to bowl their little hearts out.
The highlight of the carnival was our hired entertainer, Bonkers the Clown! While the kids circulated through the games, he set up a balloon station where he handed out balloon swords, animals, flowers, hats, etc! Then, after we gathered the kids for cake, he put on a wonderful show including juggling and silly clown tricks that delighted the kids!
I’m not sure who enjoyed it more, the kids or me (I’m pretty sure it wasn’t my husband or our loved ones who worked so hard to help out!), but it was a great day with lots of great memories. There’s something about bright colors, yummy junk food, and the thrill of winning cheap little prizes that makes everyone feel like a kid again!
Big Top Party Invitations and Trick Dog Thank You Cards are 20% off with coupon code BT20 through June 14th, and 5% off with code BT5 through June 30th.
Turn your Invitation into a Statement
When it came time for our friend, Linda’s, baby shower, I of course offered to handle the invitations. She did not know whether the baby was a boy or a girl, so we chose to have a “Love That Belly” baby shower featuring brown with pink, greens and blues. We found this beautiful invitation that featured a brown silhouette of an expectant mama’s belly on a soft blue/light turquoise-ish background. It fit our friend perfectly! But, I wanted to spice it up a little and bring in the other colors even more.
Much like my 2-year-old daughter, all it needed was a bow. I love the way it turned out! The ribbon added the other colors to make it truly fit with our theme and décor, and it drew attention to that belly like it was made for it!
It really turned the invitation into a conversation-starter. As the RSVPs started coming in, so many of the ladies commented on the amazing invitation! It was building excitement for our event and showing that extra level of uniqueness.
At PaperandPunch.com, we offer tubes of glitter glue, which provide another way to add sparkle and interest to any invitation. We recently used this technique on some margarita invitations, and they looked amazing! The glitter was applied to the rim of the glass to look like the sparkly salt. Again, the guests commented on our great invitations.
It’s that little something extra that turns an invitation into a statement!
Coupon Codes:. 20% off through 6/2 with “BELLY20″, and 5% off through 6/26 with “BELLY5″!
Super Hero Training Academy Party
While evil Dr. Gloom was plotting the demise of the planet, our soon-to-be-hero, Jay, has called together his squad of superhero friends for a secret backyard meeting. Dr. Gloom is the meanest, toughest, most horrible villain the world has even known. It will take true heroes to stand up to him and fight to save the planet Earth! Suddenly, Jay intercepts a message revealing that Dr. Gloom is in the area and is expected to sabotage the superhero spies in a surprise attack. Jay immediately began a series of training exercises to perfect their superhero skills and prepare his team for an epic battle of good vs. evil.
First, they each suited up by decorating a custom cape and eye mask for covert operations. Each child chose a pre-cut felt cape and foam mask and used glitter and felt shapes to transform them into super boy and super girl costumes.
Next, each one overcame their fear and defied perilous heights to whiz through the air on a zip line, dreaming of how their speed would benefit them against the giant Dr. Gloom. After that, they returned to the ground and Jay was tied up in a tangle of spider webs to help him practice evasive maneuvers in the event of capture.
Spider Web Game How-To: The children stand in a circle with a roll of string or yarn, with one child in the middle. The children toss the ball of string across the circle to each other, wrapping it around themselves before tossing it on to someone else. After a few minutes, the string is crisscrossing the circle, wrapping everyone up together in a tangly spider web. The child in the middle must use teamwork and wriggle out of the spider web to break free.
The superhero trainees also practiced their aim with Nerf gun target practice. Plastic targets were set out so that each hero could blast them away using the Nerf weapon of their choice. Suddenly, a second message came through on the secret spy walkie-talkies informing the youngsters that Dr. Gloom had located their meeting place and was on his way! There was only time for one final exercise. One of the team’s agents had acquired a dangerous and potentially deadly piece of kryptonite! The brave heroes risked life and limb handling the 
dangerous substance to increase their endurance, knowing that it could help them if they ever encountered the toxin while in battle!
Kryptonite Toss How-To: The children are seated in a circle and an adult helper introduces the “kryptonite,” which is a glow-stick. They turn on music, and the children begin passing the glow stick around the circle as quickly as possible, just like in “Hot Potato.” Whoever is holding the kryptonite when the music stops is out. The game continues until there is one winner.
Just as they feared, Dr. Gloom was spotted approaching their training facility. His giant form would be intimidating to lesser soldiers, but these boys and girls were ready to challenge him to defend their turf. They took turns facing off against his strength and speed, each gaining ground and then stumbling, but staying in the fight. When the super heroes came together as a team to fend off the mischief-maker, they were victorious! The enemy of the planet had fallen.
After order had returned to the community and the planet has been saved, the super heroes celebrated with cake and other delicious snacks because this momentous day in history also happened to be Hero Jay’s 7th Birthday! His friends surrounded him with birthday gifts and in return, each child was sent off with a Batman bucket of goodies including super hero tattoos and treats.
To host your very own Super Hero Training event, we recommend this SUPER cool invitation with coordinating Thank You notes, which we are offering at a SUPER discount of 20% off with this code: SH20 (through May 21st) or SH5 (through June 16th).
Beat the Heat with an Ice Cream Party
Here in Texas, things are already heating up. We’ve had many days of 90+ degree heat, and the kids have already started asking for their daily popsicle! So, what better way to beat the heat than with an Ice Cream Party?!
After all, we all scream for the stuff. Whether it’s a child’s birthday party, an end of the year party for school classmates, or a grown-up block party with the neighbors, ice cream is always a welcome treat on any menu. Start with this Ice Cream Sundae invitation, and the rest is a piece of cake (err…scoop of ice cream?)! 20% off this invitation this week only (Code: IC20) or 5% off for all of May (Code: IC5)
Thanks to Simply Modern Mom for the idea!
Create an ice cream parlor feel with balloons, pennant garland, and this adorable home-made piñata! Add a lavish bar of delicious toppings and you’re all set. Check out our Pinterest board for more frozen inspiration.
