SSL Design Team: Prize Cakes

After a small hiatus, We are back with a new tutorial...... yay!! 

Today I am thrilled to bring you the talented Abby Hunter. Some of you may remember Abby from her bohemian princess party that we featured months back or by her cute little cross stitch fox favor bags that have been circling around Pinterest. Abby (who you may have heard me lovingly refer to as my PBFF -- that's Pinterest Best Friend) is one talented & creative mama who's eye for pretty things is phenomenal. We are so excited to have her join us to today! Without further delay, I give you Abby.................

Hi, I'm Abby!  I'm a mama with a design background, but I found my true love when I began planning birthday parties for my kiddos. I am THRILLED to be a part of the design team, and I can't wait to share my first DIY with you today...so let's get started!

As much as I love a good ol’ piñata, these “prize cakes” are the perfect alternative, and they’re cute enough to include in your party décor.  These would be adorable for a birthday party, shower, or even sitting at the breakfast table on your child’s special day! 

So here is what you will need to create these little cuties.........

Ice cream cups 

Candy cups  

Tulle Poofs on Sticks {see notes}

10 mm pom poms {approximately 45 per cake}

One paper towel square

Tacky glue

Scissors

Compass

Lightweight prizes {tiny plastic animals, mini cars, erasers, candy, etc.}

Crinkle paper {optional}

First, flip your candy cup upside down, and poke a hole through the very center with your  **food pick topped with a tulle poof.  Clip off the end of the food pick with scissors, so the end no longer hangs below the cup.

Take the pick out, and put a small puddle of glue on the bottom of the candy cup to hold the top of the food pick in place.  Put the pick in again, pushing it into the glue. 

**If you cannot find these little tulle poof food sticks (which were purchased at Target), you can simply top your cakes with anything cute. Just use a a hot glue gun or tacky glue to make it adhere

Squeeze a strip of glue onto the rim of the candy cup.  With both cups upside down, place the candy cup on top of the ice cream cup, and make sure it is centered. Next, cut about a 4” strip of paper towel, and roll it into a tiny snake.  Put a puddle of glue in the gap around the candy cup, and coil the piece of paper towel around the cup.  This will eliminate the groove, so your pom poms will not sink down. 

Next, put another puddle of glue over the paper towel, and cover the entire ring with pom poms. 

While the top layer is drying, take your compass, and spread its arms to fit the radius of the ice cream cup.  Then spread the arms another inch beyond the radius, and using the compass, draw a circle on your tissue paper.  Cut it out, and place your lightweight prizes and a bit of crinkle paper close to the center of the circle. 

Place a strip of glue at the bottom of the "cake", around the rim, and center the cake on the circle of tissue paper.  Cut off any excess paper, leaving just enough to fold over the rim of the ice cream cup. Once you fold the tissue paper up around the cup, put a strip of glue over the rim (and the tiny bit of tissue paper), and cover the strip in a row of pom poms.  Allow it to dry. 

Voila!  You have an adorable little prize cake for your party!

source guide & credits

concept, tutorial & photography: abby hunter

polkadot & striped ice cream cups, polkdot candy cups in marshmallow pink & yellow dot: shops sweet lulu

tulle poof food stick: target

mini pom poms: any craft store like michael's or jo-ann.

Happy Almost Summer!

I was able to take some cute shots of my littles this past week. 

I don't know about you, but I am ready for summer!

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend! 

xoxo.

Stevie

Planning a Party for Gray: Act 1

I can't believe it's been 9 months already since sweet baby Gray joined our family.  It seems like just yesterday that I was telling you about the baby showers that were hosted in his honor.

Since birth, he's spent many of his days right here at Shop Sweet Lulu Headquarters.  He has a darling little nursery here at our office, and an adoring staff of women that shower him with hugs and kisses daily.

Of course, that's just his 'work life'.  At home, he's even more adored by his big brother and sister.  And Gray, in return, is madly in love with both of them.  We feel so blessed that he has joined our family.

And now it's time to start planning his first birthday party!

You may or may not know that planning my daughter Olivia's party 12 years ago was the little labor of love that eventually resulted in Shop Sweet Lulu.  Back then, I was totally on my own to find or create the unique little touches to make her party special.  Today I have a whole warehouse at my disposal - and yet I'm somewhat paralyzed by all of the options!

I thought maybe it would be fun to share this process with you, as a series of blog posts;  To share inspiration, ideas, and sometimes ask for your opinion, as we plan this very special occasion for one very special little guy, my baby Gray.

Shall we begin at the beginning?  First up is deciding on a theme.  

There are so many themes that 'spoke' to me when I first thought about his party.  I wanted to do use vintage maps and globes to do a little traveler party; I wanted to use vintage children's books and little train cases and fly kites and hot air balloons and and and....

There are too many Pins on my Boards and too many supplies in my shop that inspire me.   So I had to think about what baby Gray likes.  He likes his blabla dolls.  Especially Socks the Fox, Bamboo the Panda, and Beauregard the Wolf. 

And that's a very good start. 

I'll try to post a little bit each week as I turn this idea into a party - won't you please join me?  No rsvp is required :) 

xx,
Jessie

Crepe Paper Flower Tutorial

I like our staff to be able to hang out away from work, so I recently hosted a little fiesta at my house for the Lulus.  The countertops were piled high with mexican food and margarita glasses, but I found a little room for some simple decorations, which I made in about 2 minutes flat.  These crepe paper flowers are perfect for Cinco de Mayo, Mother's Day Brunch, or any time you want to add a little pretty to your table - cheaply and quickly!  Want to make some of these crepe paper flowers with me?

Let's gather some supplies:
rolls of crepe paper, green pipe cleaners, scissors, and a pretty can.  All of the supplies are from the shop (direct links below the project) - and I bought the jar of salsa at the grocery store.

Cut a section of crepe paper about 4 inches wide.  Fold it into quarters lengthwise.  Now, cut out a scalloped circle shape from the 4 layers of crepe paper.  Nothing too precise!

Grab a pipe cleaner and bend one end toward itself to make a little stopper for the petals.

Begin to add your petals onto the stem - the tip of the pipe cleaner should easily pierce the paper, but if you have trouble, you can cut a little slit with your scissors.   Add petals to the stem as full circles, or you can change things up a bit - fold some into halves or quarters before placing them.  When you get towards to stop, form them into a shape you like.  The elasticity of the crepe paper allows them to scrunch nicely.  Add all four petals to your flower and arrange them around the stem.  They should stay in place on their own - especially once they're in a nice bunch.

Repeat until you have as many flowers as you'd like.  You can twist the stems together to make a little bunch or make a big bouquet.

Aren't they sweet?

source guide & credits

tutorial, photography: shop sweet lulu
featuring the lovely hands of Jena Selph

crepe paper (shown in peachy, fuchsia, and orange)
all purpose scissors
plush pipe cleaner assortment (shown in chameleon)

Real Parties: Up, Up and Away 1st Birthday

The moment we saw the pictures from this hot air balloon party, we fell in love. The sweet vintage feeling, the color palette and and the handmade touches made this party perfection. Here is what Jennifer had to say about the first birthday party she threw for her little girl.....


"I had so much fun planning my daughter’s first birthday party. I jumped on the hot air balloon party bandwagon, using the theme “Up, up and away for Kate’s first birthday!” I wanted the party to be whimsical and fun, with a bit of a vintage feel. I used two shades of pink and a powder blue as the party color scheme. My sister made the paper circle garlands, and I used the same cardstock paper to create hanging hot air balloons and clouds. I loved the whimsy they added. They made the house feel very festive, but still looked classy. We had a “Help Me Remember” station in our dining room, where guests could sign Kate’s hot air balloon book and put their thumbprints on a guestbook-style sign-in sheet (it was designed to make it look like the thumbprints were balloons). I also had Kate’s weekly photos I took from her first year running as a slideshow on a tv, under a banner that said “watch my grow.” On the table under the tv there were also photobooks with pictures from her first year for guests to look at. I also designed a banner for her highchair that said “Oh, the places she will go!” To help entertain little ones at the party, I also printed out hot air balloon coloring sheets.

A few weeks before her birthday, I took her out on a little photoshoot. I tied balloons to a basket as a makeshift hot air balloon and sat her inside. I used an image from that photoshoot, added facts about her first year (favorite foods, toys, songs, etc). I loved that it added a very personalized touch to her party decorations, plus it is a great keepsake to have documenting her first year!

This was a dessert party, so we had a really beautiful hot air balloon cake and smash cake, hot air balloon and cloud cookies, plus meringues, macaroons, and cake balls in the party color scheme. The guests LOVED the different flavors of milks and sipped them from the striped straws. As they left, guests took party favor bags of cotton candy “clouds” and a hot air balloon lollipop."

source guide & credits:


party styling, photography & printables: jennifer jones of prettiest print shop

paper straws & wooden spoons: shop sweet lulu

custom poster printing: vista prints

cotton candy clouds & hot air balloon lollipops: a pocket full of sweets

party hat: sweet delights

custom number bib: the perfect puddle

Shop Sweet Lulu Design Team Feature: Candy Dispensers

Happy Monday, Friends! 

We are so very excited to have our first tutorial from the talented Lindsey Bonnice.  Some of you may know Lindsey from her work with the company Boden, but she has also been featured in Mingle & the online magazine Gathered. We are in love with her sweet handmade vintage inspired style, and we hope you are too!

I give you, Lindsey..........................

Hi I'm Lindsey and am so excited to be here guest blogging on Shop Sweet Lulu which is one of my favorite online places to shop! I am a mother of two little sweethearts and a photographer, blogger and crafter. I author the blog Photography By UI where I enjoy sharing about my sweet life that is full of joy, color, kiddos, decorating, shopping, and crafting! I also share photo tips, DIY's, my photography and my obsession with Etsy! I hope you will stop in and say hello!

I can't wait to share how to make this fun little candy dispenser with you today! These are awesome for birthday party or shower favors or just as a special little gift for a cutie in your life!

Here are the items you will need to create these candy dispensers:

Ice Cream Cups

Tissue Fringe Garland

Plastic Cups with lids

Little Bo Peep Stand Outs

Little Bo Peep Brads

Scissors / craft knife

Glue

Hot Glue Gun

Candy

Now that you know what you will need, let's get started!

Start by taking two plastic cups and using your scissors or craft knife cut a small hole from the lip up in one and then in your other plastic cup use your craft knife to cut a small hole right above the lip. Take your time with this as it can be a bit tricky, these are the holes that your candy will come out of.

Now put the cup that is cut from the lip up on top of the other cup and using a pin or brad poke a hole in the top of the cups and fold the pin or brad over on the inside of the cup so that it holds your two cups together. Now your cups should twist to open and close the hole.

   

Now put the plastic lid on the top of your cup to seal it shut and put glue all around the edge of the lid. Take your ice cream cup and set your plastic cup with lid inside the opening of the ice cream cup and let glue dry.

Now it's time for the fun part of decorating your dispenser! Take your fringe and hot glue it right below the lip of your ice cream cup to hide where your cups connect. The Little Bo Peep Stand Outs are the perfect little decoration to finish this off for super cuteness! You could also use many of the other fun embellishments Shop Sweet Lulu carries to coordinate any event!

Twist your cup to open the hole and flip your dispenser upside to fill it with candy, there are so many cute candies out there that you could use!

                I hope you enjoyed this little DIY and can use it for one of your upcoming parties or events!

source & credit list:

tutorial & photography: lindsey bonnice of  photography by UI

ice cream cups, tissue fringe garland, plastic cups with lids, little bo beep stand outs

little bo peep brads: shop sweet lulu

Real Parties: A Second Birthday for Nate

We are so, so excited to get to share yet another birthday party from the very talented Michelle Sterling of 

Avery & Augustine. We are a big fans of Michelle's simplistic approach to party styling. We are firm believers that a gorgeous color palette, a few handmade touches & a handful of pretty party supplies is all it takes to throw a knock-out event....and as you can see, this sweet party for little Nate is a perfect marriage of all those elements.

To see more stunning photos from this party, click here to visit Michelle's blog, Avery & Augustine.

source guide & credits

party styling & photography: michelle sterling of avery & augustine
vending machine capsules: shop sweet lulu
whoopie pies: susiecakes
napkins: IKEA
letter blocks: land of nod
wrapping paper: paper source
tulip cupcake liners: bake it pretty {but also available at shop sweet lulu!}

A Bubbly Themed Happy Birthday & Goodbye Party

We have known for quite awhile that we were going to be moving..... 3 years to be exact. As we started having things like our "last summer" & "last Christmas" here in Portland, the move started to feel a bit more real. Then the house went on the market. Reality started to sink in.  In my life prior to babies, I was in real estate, so even after we got an offer on our house, I knew it didn't mean that it had sold. To spare my friends & family from premature tears, I kept that information to myself. But once the inspection contingency was removed and the appraiser was scheduled to come to come out, I realized that our time here was rapidly coming to a close.... and MUCH quicker then I was ready for. 

With only three weeks left in this little house, and with a long list of things I wanted to do, I knew I had to move FAST. My oldest daughter turns 5 in May. I couldn't leave without throwing her one last party. With the weekend of April 13th being the only one free before the move, I would only have five days to put together a party (Five days?!! That is just crazy talk!). 

Now, I have gotten pretty good at throwing parties together over the years, but five days was REALLY pushing it....even for me. The hardest part being that I had to decide on a theme in a single day so I could order supplies from the shop & have them arrive in time. Then, it occurred to me that it couldn't be JUST a birthday party, it had to be a Goodbye party too! So, on top of my already rushed state, I now had to come up with a theme that was not only kid friendly, but was suiting for an adult celebration as well. Feeling a little overwhelmed, I thought taking a bath might help me calm down.....and that was when it hit me, BUBBLES! No adult celebration is complete without popping a bottle of bubbly....and I am pretty sure every little kid loves bubbles..... So bubbles it would be! Whew!

After the theme was chosen, the rest of the party came together beautifully without too much effort. Even though it took the bulk of my party planning time, I am so in love with how the confetti "5" turned out (even if I did stay up into the wee hours of the morning taping paper circles to my wall....and yes, I am well aware of the fact that it might be time for a craftervention!) 

Just like the party planning process, the day went perfectly. The kids sipped on bubbly drinks made of sparkling juice and sorbet, while my mommy friends & I chit chatted and reminisced over Prosecco & Rose. The day was so wonderful & bittersweet, I could tell that none of us wanted it to end. 

Saying goodbye to dear friends is never easy, but this final celebration couldn't have been any sweeter & I will treasure the memories for many years to come! 

xoxo,

Stevie

   

Can you tell that we ALL had a really good time?!

Goodbye, Portland..... We Will Miss You!!

source guide:

party styling, crafting, baking & photography: stevie pattyn for shop sweet lulu

gold striped straws, polka dot straws, circle stickers, parfait glasses, pink milk glass cake stand, glassine favor bags, circle punches (1" & 1.5"), 5" balloons, fancy fringe, tissue paper, warbler whistles, mini paint sets, gold twine, 6" celebration candles: shop sweet lulu