I adore seeing the designs I create for Nancy come to life! She has a true flare for parties and a passion that shines through! It’s so exciting to see the party after I create a custom set! I created the Barbie set for Nancy, and she was kind enough to share all of the party details with us! PS I didn’t pay her for the super kind comments, but now I love her even more than before! 😉
In Nancy’s words here and her sweet vendors are listed at the bottom:
“My whole life I have loved Barbie. You know, old Glamorous Barbie; not night club Barbie! I am so glad that my sweet Caroline loves her too.
Invites and Printables:
It always happens this way … a year ago I started thinking of a Barbie-inspired theme for Caroline and suddenly, Barbie parties start popping up all over the blog world! Although all beautiful, I really wanted something that was just for Caroline. I quickly contacted the amazing Kori Clark of Paper and Pigtails. Although she is one of the busiest designers in the party world, she took the time to create the spectacular original designs for this party, as well as Nolan’s. When the images started arriving I was thrilled. We wanted vintage glamour; a full silhouette; and a pink and turquoise color palette. Every expectation was met and exceeded! As with my previous orders, I ordered the “editable” version of the printables, allowing me total freedom to customize and personalize the party.
I ordered from Kori the invitation, party circles, tent cards, water bottle labels and a solid sheet of designed paper. From these I made … invitations, envelope labels, menu cards, place cards, party circles, tags for party favors, custom hair accessory display cards and so much more!!
Setting the Scene:
I always host the children’s parties at home. This year, we decided to make Caroline’s more intimate and invite just 10 of best friends and classmates. We hosted the party at a local salon that specializes in children’s hair, Zany. Zany has a private party room that we totally took over! The Zany team was fantastic! The owners let me go in the day before with car loads of props.
The Invitation
My mother is a very talented seamstress. For the invitations, we bought simple white, puffed sleeve t-shirts and stitched the outline of a Barbie-inspired silhouette. I embellished each with a pink Swarovski necklace and crystal Swarovski crown. We wrapped each in pink and white polka dot paper and tied them with simple turquoise tulle. The Paper and Pigtails created invites were placed in turquoise envelopes from Michael’s. I created a label for each using the Paper and Pigtails tent card cut in half and printed them on full sheet, glossy label paper. As each invitation was delivered, it was so fun to see the twinkle in their eyes! Everyone was asked to wear their shirts to the party.
Feature Tables:
Having a smaller party was really nice and allowed us to concentrate on each place setting. Upon arrival, all of the ladies were seated at a children’s height table and chairs that I brought in. We started off with a Barbie Brunch. Each place setting included:
A pink or turquoise glittered placemat (12 x 12 scrapbook paper)
A rectangle pink plate from Shop Sweet Lulu
Place cards I embellished with sheer ribbon and Swarovski crystals
Plated Menu Included:
– Mini hurricane glasses filled with strawberry yogurt and a mini pink spoon from Fort and Field
– I painted chalkboard paint on a silver tray which held dishes of toppings for the yogurt served butler-style to
each guest to create a yogurt parfait
– Fancy, Frilly Fruit – watermelon and pineapple I cut with scalloped cutters
– Chicken Mini Biscuits from Caroline’s favorite restaurant, Chick-Fil-A
– A stack of mini doughnuts served on individual cupcake stands and topped off with a party circle
– Mini water bottles dressed with custom labels, pink stripe straw and a “Glamour Girl” flag I made.
The table centerpiece was so pretty in person! We gave Caroline these three collectible dolls for her Birthday and placed them center stage using a decorative box from Michael’s and stands. Perfect colors for the party!
The dessert table was just a little slice of pink heaven! A few nights before the party, I had no idea what to use as a back drop … I hate when that happens! I finally decided to take one of the panels from my sons train party the week before and cover it in white fabric. I then added the pink ribbon in a diamond formation and enhanced the overlapping ribbons with the same crystal buttons I was using in some of the hair accessories. Loved it !! Throughout the table I used miniature Barbie’s from my collection of ornaments that I have been collecting for many years. I also made a ribbon ball filled with a variety of party-themed ribbons.
All of the treats were CUSTOM creations by some amazing vendors:
The centerpiece of the table was the Barbie cake. I combined several cakes I had seen to make this one special for Caroline. (Inspired by cakes pinned from the TomKat Studio, FlickR and Blowout). I took the pictures to Publix and my
favorite decorator worked her magic with a beautiful and delicious pink and chocolate confection.
The cupcakes, also ordered from Publix, were topped with truly gorgeous fondant toppers from Two Sugar Babies. Charynn matched the colors perfectly. I ordered the pearl quilted toppers and the Barbie silhouettes. A HUGE thank you to Charynn for customizing these toppers. Her shop already offered a Barbie silhouette topper. I didn’t want to have too many silhouettes between the invitation graphic and the silhouette used on the shirts. She added the crown to match our shirts and it was perfect!
The cookies … oh the cookies!! Renee from Bees Knees Creative used the Paper and Pigtails silhouette and recreated a perfect edible version – complete with glitter shoes and dress trim! Just look at the face profile … amazing! We appropriately named them “Couture Cookies”.
Brownie Bites were topped with pale pink frosting and honestly the sweetest little fondant purses you have ever seen!! The quilted purses featured a tiny pink bow … so lady-like! I ordered these from LC Cakes and Nala never disappoints! Unfortunately, we did not capture a good picture of these at the party, but you can see them in this home shot and in the backgrounds. Trust me … they were awesome!
Favors:
We set up a second feature table as a make-your-own party favor station. The wall of brightly colored boas served as a perfect backdrop! My mom made a beautiful, fluffy, light pink tulle table skirt. The table was decorated with a crystal Eiffel
tower; glamour boxes and a jewelry trunk; and more of my miniature Barbie collection. Each guest was invited to “go shopping” … excitement filled the air! Silver glitter encrusted boxes were dressed with thick satin pink bows. A double
thank you tag was made from a Paper and Pigtails tent card (cut in half again) and a party circle. Everyone selected a Glamorous Gloss, Pretty Polish, Barbie Bangle and Barbie Bling Ring.
Next stop was the hair accessory board. Using the party colors, I made an assortment of hair accessories for each guest. They had so much fun choosing between patterns and styles. (I used tulle, crystal buttons, ribbon and assorted fabrics.) I used the Paper and Pigtails pieces to create the presentation card. The Zany stylists worked the accessories into the make-overs – so cute! It is fun to see the party t-shirts and hair accessories worn to school by our friends!
Activities:
The little ladies were divided into groups and they traveled to each station. The Zany Salon team treated each to a beautiful hair up-do; applied light, shimmering make-up and nail polish of their choice. The girls loved the dressing station where they could try on a variety of shimmery dresses before choosing their favorite. A station was also hosted where everyone could make their own bath scrub or flavored lip gloss. At the end of the day, the paparazzi (excited moms and salon customers) lined up as the starlets put on a fashion show … it was sooo much fun!
Little Notes:
What a fun and special day! It has become a tradition at all birthdays or special mile-marker events that we have a book that represents the occasion. For Caroline, we had all of the guests sign a hard cover Barbie adventure book. It is so fun to read the sweet sentiments from friends and family throughout the story.
A HUGE thank you to our photographer, Brittney York of Giggles and Grins. Having her there allowed me to enjoy the party and share in Caroline’s joy! Included with our thank you notes will be photos of each child.”
Sources:
Invitation and Printables / Paper & Pigtails
Photography / Giggles and Grins
Purse Toppers / LC Cakes
Fondant Cupcake Toppers / Two Sugar Babies
Barbie Cookies / Bees Knees Creative
Plates / Shop Sweet Lulu
Straws and Mini Pink Forks / Fort & Field
Barbie Cake / Publix Super Markets
Hair Accessories, Embroidered T-Shirts and Party Design / Nancy McPherson
Location / Zany
Thank you Kori!! Your work truly set the tone for us … it was perfect!
hi i want to make the tulle Hair Accessories please help i nee to learn how their made..
thanks
indira