A Hot Air Balloon First Birthday

September 28, 2015April 12, 2017 | A Peace of Creativity

When my sister-in-law told me she wanted my nephew’s first birthday theme to be “Growing UP, UP, UP”, I was super excited. The possibilities with hot air balloons seemed endless. To start the process, I gave her a selection of color palettes and asked her to pick her favorite. I find that this is the best place to start. When you begin an event, you most always have an idea of a few colors you would like to use, but finding coordinated hues can be difficult. That is where searching color palettes online comes in handy and you can base the entire event off of an inspired palette.

For invitations, I like to incorporate a 3D aspect using foamy double-sided tape. In this case, I found mismatched prints that went with the theme and cut out number ones. Pair with red envelopes and they are ready to send! The other item that I was in charge of was the Happy Birthday banner. Using the same font from the invitations, I printed and cut out letter stencils on cardstock. Those stencils were used on a thick, red scrapbook paper.
For the bunting, I cut letter-sized, brown, kraft colored paper in half and created another stencil to cut out the triangular shape from the bottom. Punch two holes on the top and string! To add more color and make it a little more dynamic, I picked out 3 coordinating prints and 3 solid papers in the same colors. Having the color palette on my phone made it easy to make sure I was picking out the correct shades at the store.
Spray adhesive really worked best on this project as the craft glue was creating wrinkles in the paper. The party was at a beautiful park in the neighborhood. To separate each word on the banner, I used the extra invitations and as a finishing touch, added some red, burlap ribbons.
My sister-in-law created this adorable banner of all of the monthly photos using scrapbook paper and string to attach and decorate the baskets. In a stroke of luck, Oriental Trading Co. had these paper lantern, hot air balloons in the exact colors we needed. They really added to the space and were super easy to assemble and take down.
It was a beautiful day only made better by celebrating the very first birthday of the sweetest little nephew.

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GUEST PEACE: A Pineapple & Flamingo 30th

July 27, 2015April 10, 2017 | A Peace of Creativity

The last few months have been full of milestones here on A Peace of Creativity with a Kickstarter launch, the arrival of Mel’s niece, and her mom’s 60^th birthday. Today I’m sharing another milestone – my little sister’s flamingo-and-pineapple-themed 30^th birthday.

The decorations were a mix of DIY projects and curated discount store finds, but the hit of the party was definitely the pineapple made of gerbera daisies from my florist friend at Westwood Flower Garden.

From the beginning, I knew I wanted to keep the color palette limited to bright pink, green and yellow with touches of gold.

I like hitting a few different discount stores when planning parties, especially if it’s a seasonal event. These awesome flamingo goblets and “sunglasses” were $0.99 and I couldn’t pass them up. Just remember that if you’re really sticking to a theme, don’t try to justify things that only sort of fit your vision just because they’re so inexpensive – in the end you’ll end up with pieces you don’t really love and they’ll detract from what you’re trying to accomplish. I had to remind myself that pineapples and flamingos aren’t the same as luaus quite a few times No matter how cute those coconuts were, they didn’t fit this time around!

My favorite project was making the cupcake toppers – they served the dual purpose of bringing in more pineapple decor and adding a homemade touch.

To make them, I scanned a hand-drawn picture and added a circular border (using PowerPoint, believe it or not!) and then used the same size circular border with letters to spell out a message. I printed it all on glossy photo paper, cut out the circles, and used a circle punch to cut slightly larger circles from sparkly scrapbook paper. A little bit of glue, paired with a toothpick secured with washi tape, and they were done!

The perfect way to relay a birthday wish! As an added sentimental touch, I displayed the cupcakes on a tray that my dad made many years ago.

A party in my family is never complete without fabric bunting. I found pineapple fabric and selected other coordinating prints, folded all the fabric so I could cut out triangles with the flat side on the fold, sewed a seam about ¼” from the fold, and then strung them on string across the patio.

I spent most of the morning setting up the yard, but if you were in the Los Angeles area on July 18, you know what happened – rain! At least my tassel garland stood up to it!

The garland is fairly quick to make and so easy to customize in the colors of your party. I folded each sheet in half and cut strips starting from the bottom edge and stopping about 2-3” from the fold so then when unfolded, there was a solid strip down the center.

Starting on one side, roll or fold the tissue paper into a tube and then twist the center (the way you would wring out a towel).

Fold it in half and then twist the top so it forms a loop. At that point you can string them on rope or twine using knots to keep them in place; I’ve also seen people use glue to keep them evenly spaced.

My sister’s favorite fruit is watermelon…which just so happens to be the same color as flamingos. A flamingo-shaped cookie cutter was the perfect way to add another personalized touch.

Pineapple extract added an unexpected surprise to my mom’s homemade butter cookies.

We were all a little disappointed that we couldn’t join these guys in the pool (I think one of them took it all a little too seriously!)

But, the most important part was that we all made the best of the situation and my sister had a great 30^th birthday!

Lauren and I have been best friends for over 20 years and she is my “go to” person for any and all things crafty. Her technical mind mixed with a love of design makes for a beautiful and easy execution of whatever she decides to create.

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Totoro Party

April 6, 2015October 21, 2025 | A Peace of Creativity

My kiddo has been enamored by the Japanese animated film, Totoro, from the first time he saw it and we knew this would be the theme for his second birthday. Preparation started months before, not necessarily creating but brainstorming. This was not something I could run to the store and buy for, so I had to figure out how to create the best Totoro party from scratch.

Here are some supplies you can use to make your own!

More often than not, I start to create for parties without knowing exactly what I am going to do with them. My motto is that you can always find a place for things as long as you are happy with the outcome. The design of Totoro is so simplistic, it lends itself nicely to the imagination. The soot sprites are a sort of dust bunny in the film. What could be easier than googly eyes on a black poof ball!

I hardly ever throw anything out from a previous event. These buckets were the centerpieces at my daughter’s first birthday and I was able to draw a quick Totoro face with black marker and a little felt and use them for favors. Tags made of Japanese inspired scrapbook paper completed the look.

Creativity definitely runs in the family. My mother and sisters made the birthday banner, my cousin made the soot sprite cupcakes and my brother in-law took the photos at the park.

I still love sending mail and I think people still enjoy receiving mail! I found a pack of Totoro playing cards online and thought they would be a great addition to create custom thank you cards.

photos by cole-montgomery.com

I could not have been happier with the way the decorations worked with the location and I am so incredibly thankful to everyone who made the day so special for our little one!

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