Welcome to My Portfolio!
To begin this wild adventure I made the fatal mistake of asking my soon-to-be 4 year old what kind of party she wanted. After be totally committed to Minnie Mouse and then 100% sure about Beauty and the Beast and then "totally for sure" about Ariel, I decided to draw the line at choice #3.
So Little Mermaid it is! Now where to start??? ummm Pinterest of course! I compiled a slew of "pins" and did my best to edit and filter out the unrealistic projects and events. For some reason my inner "party planner" took over and ordering some pizzas and a bounce house just wouldn't cut it. After all, she only turns 4 once, right?!?
I used a number of different items for decoration including (but not limited to): a blue roll of plastic table cloth cover from Party City left over from last years party; green and pink boa's I found in the clearance section at Target left over from St. Patty's day, fish netting & mini starfish from Oriental Trading Company and letters printed out and glued to sheets of scrapbook paper. I also printed out the pictures of Flounder and Sebastian and cut them out and mixed together some fish cut outs I found at Party City as well.
I made the treasure box on my own out of a file box and brown wrapping paper. Then I stuffed it with gold tissue paper, costume jewlery, and pirate coins from Oriental Trading Company. I also found everything for the favor boxes on the OTC website including the mini-treasure boxes and the items inside (ocean creature tattoos, water fish game, sand dollars, fish shaped bubbles, mini squish balls, treasure maps, pirate coins, Spongebob Squarepants Krabby Patty candy and Reeses minis)
I decided to tackle this cake the night before and let me just say it took ALL night. But I think it was worth it in the end. We never even ate it...I was too attached to see it destroyed. I used Angel Food Cake which was no where NEAR as sturdy as I needed it to be...but I think it gave it a more natural look. I covered the entire thing in crushed grahm crackers and vanilla frosting then stacked sugar cones inside regular ice cream cones and coated all of them with the frosting/crumbs mixture. I also created some sea shells from a chocolate mold I picked up at JoAnn's Crafts to decorate the cake. The rest of the shells were put on top of each cupcake.
The cupcakes are just a box of Strawberry Cake Mix, a can of Vanilla Frosting sprinkled with some raw brown sugar "sand" and topped with a chocolate molded sea shell. I underestimated their popularity and never actually tasted one...but I hear they were yummy!
After trying to cram all of my favors, desserts and food onto my two little card tables, I realized I need to spread out the goods and moved to decorate my buffet area with more fish netting, sea creature cut-outs, and pom-poms generously donated by my girlfriend Lindsey whos daughter had an Ariel party the weekend before!
As far as the food went I am really happy with the way it all turned out and couldn't have done it without the last minute assistance of family memembers in an assembly line of rolling, cutting and slicing.
For the adults I had:
- Shrimp Cocktail
- Chicken Ceasar Sliders (2 rotisserie chickens shredding and dumped in a crock pot on low mixed with salt, pepper and a bottle of your favorite Ceasar dressing)
- Pasta Salad with sea shell pasta of course!
For the kids I had:
- Goldfish crackers
- Smucker's Uncrustables PB&J Sandwiches cut w/ a star cookie cutter and candy eyes
- Sushi Ham & Cheese Sandwiches
- Baby Ocotopus (a.k.a. Mini Hot Dogs cut and broiled)
Once again Oriental Trading Company was my "go-to" for an assortment of princess crowns for the girls and pirate eye patches for the boys! Even Buddah got in on the fun ;)
I'm always paranoid about throwing a "boring" party so dispite a bounce house, Princess Ariel, food and a Bubble Station...I created this "make your own jellyfish" set up for the kids to add streamers for tenticles, glue on eye balls to the upsidedown bowls. I think only 1 kid ended up doing it...oh well!
And of course it wouldn't be an Ariel Birthday Party without Ariel!
**Special thanks to Carla & Megan for providing the photos! Mom Fail #1 I was soo busy I never even took out my camera :(**
Here is the link to my Pintrest board that is the source of most/all of my inspiration:
STEP 1:
I developed a sort of "inspiration page" with pieces and images that gave an idea of the aesthetic I wanted to accomplish. We worked out a budget and want to try and complete the Entry/Living/Dining area for about $1000 over the course of about 3 months.
I love the idea of mixing the old with the new. Nothing adds character to a space like heirloom pieces and special collections. Even if you're just starting out and don't have any vintage pieces of your own, places like TJ Max Home Goods, TPT and even some thrift stores make it really easy to fake it ;).
I didn't want to go for a literal "nautical theme" and instead wanted to focus on the environment and specific nautical details. I like the idea of using burlap, linen & soft velvet fabrics for texture and warmth. And to keep the room "gender neutural" there would be accents of brass & clear glass for the added bling. EXAMPLE: the brass hourglass.
I found a poster size replica of a vintage nautical map on textured paper at Art Supply Warehouse for under $3. With some canvas and Hodge Podge, I plan to make it into an even more weathered & textured art piece. (Pictures to come...eventually)
Stay tuned for Step 2 - Shopping!
So after tackling my brother's bedroom for $500, I was approached by a friend of mine to help her add some personality to her cookie cutter apartment Living Room on a college student's budget. Challenge Accepted!
Stay tuned for more details!
Special trip to L.A. for a private tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House and the Schindler House.
Glass enclosure of Master bedroom made to illicit the feeling of sleeping outside in a treehouse.
Child's playroom....functions like a hot box but looks really cool!
Fireplace mantel installation designed to symbolize the layout of the proposed compound. A majority of what is pictured was never built.
One of the more famous rooms by Wright. He was known for many built-ins and hiding away personal items. The decorative chandelier was later installed by the homeowner, much to Wright's disgust.
Bathroom in the Schindler house built in the 1920's could easily be confused with an ultra modern bathroom from today.
Tilt up concrete construction and designed for the studios to be indoors and the living spaces to be outdoors.
The upstairs and outside Master bedroom...seriously.
A prep kitchen was built inside the home, but this served the families for their main meal preparation and was considers both the "Kitchen" and the "Living Room"
The home was developed as a type of commune for 2 families each with their own living space, studio space, patios and garden.