Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Event Design: Nicole's Backyard Bumble Bee Party

My neighbor and good friend Christine hired me to do the event design for her daughter Nicole's 2nd birthday party. She was open to any theme, so I put together an inspiration board with potential ideas for a backyard bumble bee themed party. She gave me the thumbs up and said "Taleen I trust you, go for it!".  

The party took place in Christine's beautiful backyard, which was a perfect setting to execute the bumble bee theme. The color scheme was a mixture of soft yellow, grey, and white. I brought in a few elements to play off of the backyard theme such as steel pails and watering cans. I also wanted to decorate the space with home made paper goods and detailed signs. Even though this was a 2nd birthday celebration, most of the people in attendance were adults, so I wanted the environment to be kid friendly as well as pleasing to the adult eye.

Thank you Christine and Alex for letting me create something special for Nicole! I had so much fun creating all the fun details for the party. A big thanks to Becca Martin from LoveLifeStudios for capturing the photos.


For more details on the design read below!

Photography: Becca Martin of LoveLifeStudios / Desserts: Sweet Tooth Confections / Rentals: Michael Hensley Party Rentals / Design.Florals.PaperGoods: Simple Little Details


Bee's Corner: I created the Bee's Corner canopy to act as an exclusive space where the kids could hang out and have fun. I purchased a mosquito net and made a ribbon chandelier to hang from the top. We laid out a blanket, pillows, and fun toys such as bubbles, books, and coloring items for the kids to play with. Although Bee's Corner was supposed to be a special space for the kids, it ended up being the highlight of the party for the adults as well!

Drink Table: I hand made a paper circle garland to act as a backdrop for the drink table. I used a variety of yellow and grey papers and thread grey and white twine through them to make the garland. We had fresh lemonade for the kids that we served in mason jars that reminded me of beehives. I wrapped a "Sip" tag around the mason jars with grey and white twine to add a fun detail. We also had yellow and white striped paper straws for the kids to "sip" the lemonade. Since there were a lot of adults at the party, Christine also wanted to serve wine. I made custom "Nicole" wine labels with Nicole's birth date to wrap around the wine bottles.

Lunch Tables: The lunch tables were covered in a simple white linen and had a white and yellow checkered runner. The first centerpiece was a steel watering can filled with white and yellow mums, and the second was mason jars wrapped with burlap and twine and filled with white mums. Each person had their individual place setting, which was a steel pail that held the fabric napkin, utensils, and lemonade. The white folding chairs always go perfectly in a backyard setting. I made a special "Queen Bee" sign for the birthday girl's chair since she was after all the queen of the party!

Dessert Table: The dessert spread consisted of kettle corn, cake pops, cupcakes, and cookies, YUM! A big thanks to Sweet Tooth Confection for making the delicious desserts. I made the paper wheel backdrop for the dessert table using a variety of yellow and grey papers. The kettle corn was displayed in paper cones and placed upright in a wooden container. The cupcakes were topped with bumble bee and "yum" paper wheel cupcake toppers. I also attached "Buzzzzzzz" tags to the sticks of the cake pops.

Favors: For the favors I made circular scalloped tags that said "Thanks for Bee-ing sweet". I then made two slits on the top and bottom of the tag and slipped the honey sticks through them.


Monday, May 14, 2012

Tamar & Hovig: Purple and Green Kaleidoscope Wedding Invitations


Tamar is a very dear friend of mine that I have known for years. We were inseparable when we both attended DeAnza College in Cupertino for 2 years. Although we now live in two different cities, I still love her to death. She asked me to design purple and green invitations for her wedding a few months back. She was such an easy bride to work with - she wasn't picky and she trusted me with the design (I loved that!). I also made the table numbers, seating chart, and signs for the bride and groom chairs.

Tamar just got married this past weekend in Los Angeles to a great guy named Hovig. The wedding was fantastic and we had a blast! They both looked amazing and so happy together. Tamar and Hovig, I wish you a lifetime of happiness. I love you guys. In Armenian we would say "Mek partsee vran zeranak"..."May you grow old on one pillow".


Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Armenuhi's Butterfly Baby Shower Invitations

I met Armenuhi a few years back when she married my husband's uncle, Vicken. They live in Orange County and are honestly the coolest people ever and a blast to hang out with. They have always treated us with such kindness, so I wanted to do something special for them and custom design her baby shower invitations. Armenuhi and Vicken, we are so happy for the two of you! We wish you good health, happiness, and a smooth delivery.

The design: I used a butterfly punch to make the butterfly cut out and then added pearl adhesives to the wings. I glued the butterfly to the main card to hold it in place. I then wove the twine through the button holes and wrapped it around the white textured card stock and tied it in place so it was sitting on top of the butterfly. I used a corner punch to get the rounded edges on the card stock. And last but not least, I attached the main card on to a metallic card stock.