Inspired by a yellow beauty I put my husband to work building a fourteen foot light pink frame. We used it to make our thrifted hot-pink dessert desk look like purposeful standing in the field. The felt flowers were made by the party mom Jackie, using a tutorial I’ve previously posted HERE.

After lunch the guests enjoyed cupcake with the palest pink sprinkled frosting and a simple homemade white birthday cake with a very large (14 inch) pink candle. I had purposed to buy a similar candle but when I couldn’t find it, my kitchen went to work to create this handcrafted version. Do you think you would ever attempt working with wax? It was fun and very messy!

To coordinate with our large hot pink desk I also painted a small dainty desk light pink to serve our raspberry lemonade from, mason jars become the perfect glasses and look lovely with striped straws sticking out!

There were many small girlie touches to our celebration. I made monograms from silhouettes designed by Posh Paperie. We hung them in white painted frames above the dress up table. I also used this silhouette to fancy up the lunch napkins with labels announcing the royal feast.

A child’s party is not complete without games and a bit of whimsy. We create a royal ball (pit) for the occasion along with a royal (coloring) table and for the adults printable kids party bingo.

The favorite detail for the young ones was the princess throne (okay this may have been my favorite detail as well). I collected and covered three full size mattresses that sat under a homemade canopy pushed in against the trees. It became the perfect resting place for princess story time.

A princess popped in for story time which the girls attended after adorning themselves with tiaras, charm bracelets, ribbon wands and princess tattoos.

I completely adored designing this party for such a sweet family and seeing the little girls enjoy becoming princesses for a day gave me more joy then I could have asked for.

Photography credits to the lovely Carly Taylor

PS. If you’d like to see the rest of the photos, the flickr gallery is HERE.

blessings.

The main design piece of the concept was the wall of flowers. We used fabric tape to stick each bloom individually to the wall creating an incredibly dramatic backdrop with only two dozen stems. I love the simple way to make a big impact on a small budget.

I was shocked when Leigh Anne showed up with bushels of the most beautiful flowers for us to work with. She created this gorgeous bouquet and even let me add a whimsical detail of miniature bunting to it!

We incorporated plums into the table by using them as seating cards. Each plum had a table number written in cake frosting and a name card made with printed ribbon sticking out of the top. This idea would be great to use at showers or parties as well- lemons, limes & apples come to mind as good alternatives for differing themes.

Etching wine glasses is a fun, easy & very inexpensive way to add a bit of drama to the table, done in cinnamon they are also fabulous way to liven up a fall tasting party.

One of my favorite pieces of the shoot was the love journey artwork. I made this using an old trashed frame, spray paint and chalk board pens- writing in dates and meaningful memories the couple experienced together. A lovely way to share a relationship story with family and friends who may not know all of the fun details. The poster would also be a great addition to a birthday party, sharing sweet and funny moments from the honorees life.

Simple and lovely favor boxes that I designed for the shoot are available with download and instructions through Nonpareil mag.

The chandelier was a garage sale find, the same one that was previously pink. I sprayed it a deep purple and the bulbs a glittery silver to fit in with the design. The light was draped to hang very low over the table. Lesson learned, never overlook an amazing thrifted piece just because it is brass- spray paint cures a multitude of design mishaps:)

One last shot because Jackie is so rad, she had this whole back-lighting system set up that was super fancy and high fashion. A fun nighttime twist on the setup.

Designing this shoot was a great honor and blessing for me, although to be honest, I wanted to cry when we were through that no one actually, physically got to enjoy the design. A serious downfall to photo opp set-ups. I will take encouragement though that you are enjoying the photos! Thanks for being my very lovely clients for this project.

blessings.

It all started with the idea to cool down and cheer up for the summer by bringing surprise Christmas gifts to our neighbors. I think that is just the loveliest of ideas, especially in July & especially if they are tied up with red twine and dragged behind a bike!

Although it is not a normal Christmas occurrence where we live, having snowballs seemed quite necessary. A vintage crate filled with water balloons hold the makings for a summer’s worth of fights that are sure to cool things down!

A dessert table is set up on a reclaimed, painted table filled with holiday treats! Christmas cookies are stacked high on a homemade cookie stand to elicit smiles all around.

To bring home the holiday spirit I planted mini Christmas trees that hung in red painted bird cages + more snow was a necessity! The beautiful white star snowflakes are the creation of Lisa and can be found for purchase HERE. A DIY on them is coming soon.

Peppermint pops made with candy, sticks and a bit of frosting were scrumptious additions.

It brought me great joy thinking through what desserts we could serve! Snowballs, candy & cookies, to drink peppermint shooters (aka melted red slurpees) seemed perfect.

And doughnuts with holiday flags that are super easy to make- see the tutorial HERE.

The bike basket was overfilled with cherries and flowers, a serious cheer bringer throughout the year.

I loved the idea of using cherries throughout our shoot. Perhaps because they bring me so much cheer? A bunch of them hung from the tree as a mistletoe to smooch underneath + cones of them serve as a healthy additions to our sweets display.

An ornament display of baby’s breath and ribbon is just as lovely in the summer as it would be hanging over a holiday table.  Strung from a tree or carried as a bridal bouquet I believe I am equally as smitten about using one of these as a part of any upcoming celebration!

I hope this inspires you to celebrate cheer, and the holidays even amidst the HOT, HOT days of summer!

Photography credits to the very lovely- Chelsea Robbins
Star snowflakes via sponsor- Starcrosses

blessings.

The inspiration for this shower came from this article, upon seeing it I just feel in love with the idea of a yarn maze- it is amazing! Although not as long or even an actual maze, I was thrilled at how the backdrop for the shower came out. The yarn strung across our sweets table with the word LOVE tied into it was just the perfect starting point.

The backdrop quickly gave inspiration for what became the centerpiece of the room, a yarn spun chandelier. I created it using different size kids bouncy balls & bright colored yarn. I secured one end of the yarn to the ball and roped it around many… many times! I also hung ribbons with buttons to add to the homespun feel. The mid-air yarn ball chandelier really set the stage for our celebration. PLUS, I am convinced this would make the most lovely baby mobile:)

The yarn balls were repeated on the table as flowers. They provided a wonderful pop of color seated in spray painted bud-vases. See the tutorial for these by clicking HERE.

I used a whole bunch of letters in the design of this shower, LOVE spelled out in as many ways as possible around the room.

I am happy to pass on a FREE DOWNLOAD for the banners of love that were placed around the room. Simply click HERE to download your copy. Each template has a small version of knotted in love plus the larger LOVE. They can be cut and re-sized for your showering pleasure!

Along with the scrumptious panini’s, a buffet was also set with a sampling of treats. Chocolate dipped pretzels and ribbon tied cheery pops were a few favorites of the day.

To drink, I served the brunch appropriate Mimosa! Each Champagne bottle is outfitted in a custom label and custom cocktail stir sticks adorn the flutes. I am also offering these tags as a FREE DOWNLOAD for you- grab the file by clicking HERE. You will need to print them out on 8×10 label sheets or simply cut and attach each one with double sided tape.

A random stash of vintage thread spools was spotted and I quickly picked them up to be perfect accompaniment for this shower. We used them to adorn a bulk pack of white buffet napkins. A fun guest book idea- for any upcoming shower you might have, instead of using a guest book we stitched in thread, buttons and fabric swatches creating a whimsical homemade set of dinner napkins for our future bride.

I also used the vintage spools to decorate around the room, they made such lovely vases!

Cheery yellow butter dishes for favors, monkey fist knots with bright pink yarn interwoven and marriage advice flowing freely made for a very cherished afternoon. I am happy to have made a new friend in this bride and am looking forward to styling her wedding very soon!

Photography credits- Jackie Wonders

PS. I have a new flickr stream that I am going to attempt to keep fresh. Check it out by clicking HERE to see the whole gallery of Knotted in love photos.

blessings.

I styled a sweet bridal shower earlier this month and for brunch we decided to make paninis! I set out fresh sourdough bread, lots of veggies & a sampling of cheeses. We cooked each on an old George Foreman grill. They made for perfectly easy + very lovely summer afternoon party food!

The rest of the shower design can be found here, including printable labels and that bright yarn backdrop featured today on Style Me Pretty!

PS. Yarn flower tutorial for the shower can be found here.

We had a mad tea when the clock struck noon- Red Queen’s orders. The Mad-hatter himself even showed up to celebrate.

A mad tea

We beckoned guests with whimsical invitations encouraging them not to be late.

The table was set with a black and white harlequin backdrop surrounded by hot pink & teal. Antique cups were used to sip and old fashioned clocks kept the time.

A drink me tag was tied around the lemonade canister where it spent the afternoon resting on a vintage dresser for the young woman’s taste buds not quite accustomed to tea. You can download the drink me tags I created by clicking here.

Bunches of colorful poms floated above. The birthday girl desired to have the colorful style from the old Disney movie combined with the sophistication of the new.

We created this look for her by using heavy vintage pieces and a dramatic black & white backdrop, redesigning a garage sale patio set to fit in as seating was an easy way to incorporate our theme.

Setting a table filled with youthful charm- vases of playing cards and whimsical pink flamingos created a fun celebration.

A bakers rack was set to the side as a place for hanging all of the custom hats- it also housed a fabulous vintage tea collection.

The red queen headed up the tea with elegance and just a bit of fear. The girls carried custom off with her head flags through the neighborhood on their way to play croquette.

A very mad tea indeed…

blessings.

Ice Cream Birthday

A bit of old fashion vintage charm peaked through many of our ice cream birthday design pieces. We washed and sanitized a bushel of very old coke bottles found at a local flee market to serve as glasses for the event. With bright straws sticking out they were a huge hit.

The dessert bar featured custom popcorn cones, a cake with a chalkboard banner, and these vases of old fashioned candy.

The sherbert stand was truly a work of love! Made by the mom I was planning for- she hand drilled it all together and right in the middle of a major family move. The kids loved it and our chalkboard Sherbert sign signaled them over throughout the afternoon.

On the sherbert stand we offered a variety of both ice cream sandwiches and ice cream birthday cones. The sandwiches were tied up neatly with custom ice cream birthday labels and tied off with string.

You can download the labels for the ice cream sandwiches and cones by clicking here. Instructions: Simply print (there are multiple labels per page) and trim where necessary to fit your ice cream treats! Wrap around and tie with string.

We served up the sherbert toppings in a vintage model ferris wheel, each little basket holding a different yummy treat.

The kids especially enjoyed when we had the ice-cream man working behind our stand serving up gooey goodness for them. My little Chica even ate a whole messy cone herself- 25 cents was the going price:)

The wall behind our sherbert stand was strung with homemade kites, DIY coming soon. They served as favors for each of the kids in attendance.

To quench the after ice cream thirst we had stacks of custom labeled juice boxes set out along with fruit-lemonade for the adults.

Inspired by this celebrity party, the custom juice labels seemed too lovely a detail to pass up. You can download these custom juice box labels to use at your own party by clicking here. Remember to take the straws off the boxes before covering them, you can reattach them with string or simply set them in a bowl nearby.

To ensure guests didn’t faint from all the sugar we set up a food table with a special carnival fare.

Stacks of corn dogs curbed hunger and BBQ’d corn was finished off with fabric flag holders. The DIY for the fabric flags is here, I simple attached each flag to 2 toothpicks and stuck in the ends of the corn. The flags are a great stand in for those plastic hot corn grips. Wouldn’t they be lovely done as USA flags for an upcoming independence day celebration?

A bite size vegetable spread was centered on our food table. Using baby versions of the veggies they fit snugly in small candy cups. Multiple dips were ready beside them for dipping.

Before our guests left for the day we gave them a little project. In lieu of a signing book we created a blank story time printable guest book. Each guest wrote in a part of the story for our birthday girl. They did a great job and from what I hear the book has been bound and is being very treasured by a certain four year old, DIY instructions for this cane be found here.

Our Sherbert & Spice theme was possibly the most enjoyable celebration I’ve done. The details would translate well to many other summer-time parties- really anytime you give a group of kids melting ice cream & games it is a success!

Hope you’ve enjoyed this design. In case you missed it- part one is here

All photography credits to the lovely, Jackie Wonders!

blessings.

This ice cream birthday was pure joy for me to produce. From the inspiration found here to the invitations found here- it was girlie, summer, old-fashioned fun at its best and I am just giddy to share a bit of it with you today.

Ice Cream Birthday

We are starting with the Spice of the design, all those circles…

A chandelier made entirely from hand cut felt circles was centered above the desert table and was one of the original inspirations for the Sherbert & Spice ice cream birthday.

This little miss turned four under our canopy of dangling circles… 575 to be exact- Congrats to Jenna Wood for guessing correctly and winning our ice cream birthday contest!

Once we started with the circles, it seems we couldn’t stop:) They began popping up all over the party making the entire backyard feel simply magical.

Individual handmade pinatas filled with treats for each of the kids.

An old funky sofa found new life as backyard seating. We brought it into the ice cream birthday design by stitching circles made from spray painted fabric along it’s sides. Bringing indoor furniture outside can be such a great way to add charm and detail to your outdoor party.

A tee-pee sat underneath a nearby tree. Made out of a thrifted bed ruffle, 3 stick of wood, a bit of ribbon and layers of strung felt circles- it quickly became a favorite spot for our little ones to sit and eat.

Even our games seemed to have circumference in mind. A homemade version of twister made in our bright ice cream birthday colors was a sweet addition for the party, and will be a lovely keepsake to brighten up a future rainy day.

We had multiple old fashioned games set up around the yard with hand painted chalkboard signs to alert our guests of the fun to be had. Find the homemade photo booth instructions here.

Chalk for the kids to play with was an easy way to add party decor below our feet

We even had a pogo-stick which ended up being great fun for the dads + a pallet cleansing connect four game that served up smarties between our party courses.

Dots for dessert complemented our sherbert ice cream perfectly.

A sweet model to showcase our dotted bracelets. We affixed sticky pieces of Velcro to each of our dotted papers to create candy bracelets for each of the children.

All these circles and you haven’t even seen the sherbert yet, or the juice boxes, or my favorite guest signing idea ever!

Part two HERE.

Photography Credits- Jackie Wonders

blessings.

For today, the perfect picnic printable – a sweet little utensil pouch. A bit sporkish in design, I just adore the vintage charm of this download. Use the picnic printable to give your upcoming outdoor party or backyard BBQ an extra touch of charm for your guests.

The picnic printable utensil bag is a super quick party project, using only your printer and an old brown paper bag you can easily create these in mass.

Make your own picnic printable utensil bag:

• Cut a brown paper bag down the middle, open up and measure to 8 x 10 inches.
  
• Cut the bag around the measurements into an 8×10 paper size.
• Download the picnic printable utensil bag by clicking here.
• Stick your brown paper bag into the printer and run it through as you would paper.
  
• Fold the picnic printable bag at the side crease lines, cut down to size if you’d like your bags smaller.
  
• Seal the sides and bottom of the bag together with glue.

Enjoy having a sweetly hidden spot for your spork (or fork, or knife, or spoon) while you serve your guests under a tree.

See the rest of the picnic here, photography credits to Jackie Wonders.

blessings.

PS. I am really enjoying seeing the wonderful picnic photos that are popping up in my inbox. It will be so fun to share them with you later this month. You still have time to picnic with us and win great prizes- find out how- here.

And now my lovelies will you also say, “yes” this month, to picnicking outdoors with me?

A few of my very favorite details below- photographed before he popped the question by the insanely talented Jackie Wonders.

Hoping this design might inspire you for your own under-tree summer picnic celebration. A picnic would also be quite a lovely way to celebrate an upcoming bridal shower, wedding, or anniversary celebration.

Ribbons hung from trees are weighted in loveliness by wrapping fabric through embroidery hoops. These are the jewels that made our picnic one to be cherished. Whatever the occasion to celebrate, tree branches and ribbons are a great way to start.

Instead of a large, difficult to move meal we opted to serve a sampling of pickies. Itty-bitty bites fit perfectly closed into a vintage suitcase. Mini fabric bunting sets the tote apart.

Small brown bags hold each of the courses lined up in rows. The picnic labels I created became the perfect menu description for the afternoon. These labels would be just as sweet for any serving bag or tray.

Use them for your next outing by downloading the picnic labels here.

Store bought lemonade gets a whimsical chill thanks to a couple of freezing limes dropped in before we left the house. They rested in good form against our covered shoe-box picnic table.

A paper flower was right at home amidst the outdoor terrain- standing at attention boldly atop the layered resting spot. Find the DIY and printable template for it HERE.

Silverware tucked away in custom paper picnic printable bags. The download and DIY for this can be found here.

A homemade pillow made for play (TIC-TAC-TOE) or to rest while enjoying eachother (X-X-O).

The light streamed in as the afternoon wore on and all was still in suspense below while our jewels blew wildly in the wind. Isn’t summer just the most lovely season of them all?

Oh, how I do hope you will be inspired to join us celebrate June by picnicking this month.

blessings.