Simply Styled. | Say Cheese

via cupcakes + cutlery

A Stylish 'Elle' Magazine First Birthday

This magazine inspired party for Elle is too clever (but seriously, how can you have a daughter named Elle and resist this theme, right?) Elle's mom Phu, designed much of the party herself with the help of family and friends, incorporating Chinese, American, and Vietnamese traditions and food. Super fun and fabulously girly... there's even a red carpet style 'Elle' backdrop.  Read on below for all the details from Phu...

 photos © susan hudson photography

From Phu: After taking her 7 month photos, there was a very posed photo that inspired Elle's 1st birthday party.  Elle Magazine.  As someone not so fashion forward, we concentrated on photos, the font for ELLE on the cover, some of the magazine's standard headlines, and the colors pink, black and white to carry on the theme throughout the party.  Invitations were the inspiration photo mocked up as a magazine cover with taglines indicating elements of the party. 

RED CARPET READY? Papparazi Perfect Picture Poses: We hired a photographer to take photos of the guests entering the house on the red carpet and stopping at our mini step and repeat.  Guests received this photo as part of their thank you for coming.  Our friends had a huge printer and I submitted a design to them as a PDF file that they printed for us. 

ARE YOU A MILK-A-HOLIC? How Desserts Can Help You Cope: This was a catchy phrase used to showcase our dessert table.  Everything but the two layer birthday cake was made at home.  The simply decorated birthday cake by Jackie Spratt emulated the design from the invitation and I hand made the ELLE topper by dyeing, molding and drying fondant on sticks. We bought toppers from Cake Sugar Designs for the homemade cupcakes to carry on the design theme.  The other desserts were simple, theme oriented, milk-friendly, and all made at home with love: chocolate chip cowboy cookies (recipe taken from bakerella), brownies, pink rice crispy treats, red velvet cake balls, and homemade chocolate ganache filled pink macarons.  To incorporate some other elements of fashion and the magazine, the kids took home small swag bags with an ELLE cup containing sunglasses and candy and served as a container to take desserts home with them. 

We also asked guests to partake in an Asian tradition of guessing what Elle would be when she grows up.  Elle was a presented a tray of items that portray things she might be when she grows up and she selects an item.  (She played to the Asian crowd and picked the syringe indicating something in the health professions ;) Above the display for this game was a pictoral timeline of Elle's first year.  Each month had a photo and milestones written out for guests to see and read about her first year.

For non-dessert food, we had a mix of American and Asian food...as a tribute to her bi-racial identity.  We made a hot dog bar with gourmet toppings that guests could either follow our recommendations or make their own.  Snacks included BLT bites, caprese skewers, and parmisan fries.  We also experimented with chicken, bacon donut burgers as well as made fried panko crusted deviled avocado eggs.  Asian food consisted of various noodle dishes, curry soup, eggrolls, and wraps.  A little something for everyone and all of it was made at home by her loving family.

We also had cotton candy and a jump house as a gift from her uncle.  He didn't know what to get her, so he thought those two things would benefit her and the party :)  As you can tell, this party was a family affair where we decorated and cooked our hearts out.  

Photography: Susan Hudso

Invitation printers: VistaPrint

Invitation Photo: Arden Prucha Photography

Cake: Jackie Spratt Cakes

Cupcake Toppers: Sugar Cake Designs

Pink Elle Stadium Cups: Creative Cup

Florist, food, other desserts, and decoration: Elle's wonderful family

A Free Spirited Woodland Fairy Party

This fairy party from Margot Madison is pure fall enchantment. Everything about it feels so beautiful and serene. The warm photography captures a feeling of fantasy as these young fairies twirl and dance to mandolin music among the leaves and butterflies. So many charming details to be found... read on below for more as told by Margot.

photos © kiwi street studios

 From Margot: If every day could be as amazing as this one I'd be a happy stylin' girl! I've been planning and planning for this wonderful day with April Combs Mann, singer and songwriter of delightful children's music April Eight. As with all projects, progress was slow at times and then picked up with lightning speed toward the end. It was so good to know that with the help of everyone involved; the beautiful children who enjoyed their day frolicking in the nature-loving fairy atmosphere, Gina Weathersby from Kiwi Street Studios who takes photos to steal your breath away, and of course April who is such a charming and talented performer, all our efforts were rewarded! The food was light and wholesome but not without some sugary cupcakes! The cupcake toppers were made from colored fondant cut out with beautiful butterfly and flower shapes. I added some edible glitter and dusting sugar to make them more magical. We also served "fairy puffed corn" (aka popcorn) in colorful paper cones, "berries and sticks" (a mixture of dried fruits, berries and pretzels) and harvest apple cider. The music...well, I'm obviously a fan so I'll give you my unbiased opinion. April's songs are light-hearted, lyrical stories about fairies going to ice skating balls, goblins dancing, and finding the magic in everything around us. April's genuine love for musical entertainment and delighting children is a joy to watch. A good craft idea to keep kids engaged in the party was the making of "badges". Again, I pulled out all my ribbons, felt scraps, buttons, sequins, feathers and papers to let the kids go wild. Every one is more special and beautiful than the next. We attached a clothespin to the back so they could pin them anywhere...on their clothes, in their hair or just holding them as they ran through the yard to see the streamers float in the breeze. Charming! The photo booth area for the party was created with burlap for the swag, with lots of fantastical flowers made from tissue poms and adorned with papers, felt, ribbons sequins and everything else I had in my craft box. They were VERY fun to make. The kids joined in and had a ball. They were attached to the swag with clothespins, which also made them easy to move around or give away at the end as party favors. Lastly, do not miss that adorable oversized mushroom that April made. Seriously, we thought it was the best decoration of the whole gig! 

Event Styling, Invitations + Graphics: Margot Madison Creative
Entertainment: April Eight
Photography: Kiwi Street Studios