Sparkling Events & Designs has launched a new website and integrated blog!
Please join the celebration at www.mysparklingevent.com!
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The Sparkle Spot Has Moved
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
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{2011} BOOKS ARE CLOSED!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
We've got some great things planned for 2012 and the 3rd year of Sparkling Events & Designs, LLC. Taking this time off will allow us to prepare for our growth and expansion. We are currently already booking dates for 2012, so if you are already planning your 2012 events, contact us now because we are going to be busy busy busy next year!
We hope you are going to be around for the ride!!! Buckle Up!!!!
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{Lavish Invitations} Snowflake Holiday Gala Invitations
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
It’s been a long while since we have shared some of our invitation work. We are finally recuperated from the Designer’s Challenge and ready to showcase some of our work. The Links, Incorporated contacted SED to create some beautiful and unique holiday gala invitations. We were absolutely THRILLED to be contacted by such a prestigious and extraordinary organization.
If the invitation says anything about the event, it is going to be an AMAZING gala. So glad that we could be a small part of it. The invitations were printed on shimmer paper and Swarovski crystals were added to the snowflakes by hand to 400 invitations. We wrapped them in beautiful satin ribbon and affixed a beautiful Swarovski crystal brooch.
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Designer's Challenge - Results Are In!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
First, I’d like to again thank all of the participants for accepting this challenge and completely ROCKING it. You are ALL winners!
So without further adieu, here are the much anticipated results! The judges broke it down into 7 categories all based on the guidelines given to participants!
Results:
Activity Originality – Hostess with the Mostess
Unique Favor Idea – Hostess with the Mostess
Food Presentation – Bird’s Party
Best Interpretation of Theme – Eye Candy Event Details
Most Innovation Décor Idea – Piggy Bank Parties
Best Use of Budget - Four Way Tie!
Overall Winner - Eye Candy Event Details
Fan Favorite – Eye Candy Event Details
So there you have it! Please remember that I speak for ALL of the judges, Carolyn from CHS Creative Productions, Tanya from Save the Date for Cupcakes and Jillian from Catch My Party when I say this voting was very difficult and honestly, every single party amazed us. There was something that we loved about EACH of your parties. Thank you so much for your inspiration! Until the next challenge...
As a mechanism to bring you all of this wonderful party on a budget inspiration in ONE place, I’m introducing “The Benjamin Project”. An online electronic publication that will consolidate all of the challenge entries, vendors, judges and even giveaway contributors! I thought that this would be a wonderful way to take this little challenge to the next level and put these ideas at your fingertips. Readers will be able to download the publication and reference it as needed! I asked Kristy from The Purple Pug if she would partner with me in doing this publication and luckily she said Yes! Not only is she amazing at what she does, she is also quite the clever word-smither (is that a word). So please stay tuned for the first issue of “The Benjamin Project” in the coming months!
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{Designer's Challenge} Voting TIME!
Monday, October 10, 2011
Just a quick refresher for those of you who may not know about the intent of the Designer's Challenge. When SED was launched one of my missions was to be able to show people how they could have a fabulous event on a modest budget. This challenge has been in my heart since day UNO! I've enlisted some of my FABULOUS party gals to help me with this. These are women that I truly look up to, whose work I admire and serve as an inspiration to us all everyday.
The Challenge - Plan a party on a budget of $100! Must include tablescape design, favor ideas and of course desserts!
The Theme - Go Green
It's time to VOTE for your Fan Favorite!
The Challenge - Plan a party on a budget of $100! Must include tablescape design, favor ideas and of course desserts!
The Theme - Go Green
It's time to VOTE for your Fan Favorite!
All you have to do is click on the vote button underneath the challenger that you want to vote for and that's it!
One vote per IP address a day, voting ends Monday, October 17th at 6:00 PM
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{Designer's Challenge} Piggy Bank Parties - Jack and the Beanstalk
Challenger - Piggy Bank Parties
Jack and the Beanstalk
Designer: Do
Driver of Piggy Bank Parties
Theme: Jack
and the Beanstalk
Objective: To
create an enchanted adventure from the earth up to the sky for the birthday boy,
Jack, and three of his friends.
Time: 2:00
p.m. - 4:00 p.m. (The afternoon "sweet" spot when you don't need to
provide a meal.)
Guests: 4
Ages: 4-8
ACTIVITIES:
The activities table is
covered with kraft paper from a dollar store and secured with double-stick
tape. Since we have a small house and the lil' guests will be diggin' in dirt,
we chose to place the table in the kitchen which has an easy-to-clean tile
floor. A quick backdrop was created by attaching ruffled streamers and
beanstalk leaves from the Jack
and the Beanstalk Collection with double-stick tape.
The Story:
After the party guests have
arrived, the story of "Jack and the Beanstalk" will be read. The
guests will be encouraged to remember the people, animals and treasures that
Jack encounters throughout the story. The storybook also serves as a guest
book. The lil' guests are asked to sign the inside of the front cover and after
the party it will be added to the Birthday
Library as a memento.
Planting Magic Beans:
After the story, our lil'
guests will head to the activity table where they'll plant their magic beans.
Each guest receives a packet of bean seeds, a pot filled with dirt and a spoon
to dig a hole for the seeds. After the seeds are planted, the guests then place
the pot in a sandwich bag and add a little bit of water to help their beanstalk
grow. Pots are placed in lunch sacks ready to take home and be planted.
String a Harp:
Once the magic beanstalks are
ready to go home, each guest receives a pre-cut and pre-punched cardstock harp
from the Jack and the Beanstalk
Collection. Our lil' guests are given string to create their own singing
harp.
Magic Bean Toss:
Our bean bag toss was recycled
from my Fifties Drive-in Birthday Party. We created hamburger bean bags for my
party by sewing together two pieces of felt and filling them with beans. The
game board was made out of thick foam core. Instead of making new bean bags, I
chose the bottom bun, hamburger and lettuce to represent dirt and the leaves of
a beanstalk. The lil' guests will have fun playing this until their parents
arrive to pick them up.
TABLE SETTING:
I wanted to created an
enchanted setting for the lil' guests. A green tablecloth served as the
foundation for the dining table and green chairs from our patio set were the
perfect choice for seating. The centerpiece and focal point of the party—the
beanstalk—was created using a cardboard box, crumpled newsprint, a brown piece
of material, four green pool noodles, raffia and leaves from our Jack and the Beanstalk Collection.
I placed the box in the center of the table, covered it with the tablecloth and
then added the newspaper to give it an organic feel. The pool noodles were tied
together at one end with raffia then weaved together like a braid. They were
tied again just below the middle. Next I weaved the noodles through the
chandelier and tied each noodle to one of the chandelier arms. The beanstalk
leaves were curled by rolling the paper in different directions and attached
with double-stick tape. To give the illusion that the beanstalk was growing
under the table, each table leg with wrapped with ruffled streamers.
Giant beanstalk leaves were
used as placemats. A clear plate topped each leaf and held Jack's cottage and
magic beans. The cottages are favor boxes filled with Green Apple and Watermelon
jelly beans. A reclosable sandwich bag was used to hold the beans and tied with
a leaf ribbon. Dimension was added to the roof by printing 1.25 extra roofs per
cottage on text weight paper. Cut the extra roofs into strips, make little cuts
along one edge of each strip and attach them to the roof with double-sided
tape. Then ruffle the fringe to make it look like a straw roof.
The leaf ribbon was used again
to tie the brown cloth napkins which mimic the beanstalk growing near Jack's cottage.
Green silverware from our picnic set was tucked into the napkin ring. The final
touch to the table setting were the drinking glass jars wrapped with leaf
ribbon and filled with cow's milk and green straws.
TREATS-n-TOYS:
The magic and mischief of “Jack
and the Beanstalk” takes place high in the clouds at the top of the beanstalk.
A magical Treats-n-Toys table was created using our infamous paper plate
backdrop. This can be easily recreated directly on a wall for approximately
$5.00. Ruffled cloud-colored streamers topped the backdrop while white
cardstock clouds floated in front. The clouds were cut out free-hand from white
cardstock, scrap pieces of foam
core added dimension and then they were suspended with fishing line to the
ceiling.
The puffy cloud table was
created with reclosable bags filled with packing peanuts and topped with a
white tablecloth. The giant's castle was a bargain find at $2.99. The picture
on the front of the package stated it was made for ages 6+. Let's just say, it
contained 152 tiny pieces of balsa wood, no written directions and took two
college grads--one with a masters in civil engineering--over 8 hours to put
together. {Be warned!} The castle floated on top of three upside down popcorn
buckets. To make them sit a little higher, I added crumpled newsprint and
plastic bags in between the buckets until they reached the perfect height. "Fe,
Fi, Fo, Fum" flags were attached to toothpicks then added to the castle
with poster putty. The serving pieces were all white except for the golden coin
purse to keep the table light and airy. The coin purse was made with a lunch
sack and a piece of braided suede ribbon and the Silly Putty eggs were wrapped
in florist's foil. The beanstalk would definitely poke through the clouds so
leaf ribbon was added to the serving pieces with double-stick tape.
The menu of Treats-n-Toys
includes licorice beanstalks, cow's milk, golden chocolate coins, golden Silly Putty eggs, magic jelly
beans, bean poles, meringue clouds, glowing bean bracelets and a cloud cake.
Before the lil' guests eat, they are asked a few questions about the story as a
"verbal" Scavenger Hunt. "What did Jack's mom ask him to
sell?" They answer, "A cow!" and then they are asked to find the
milk and it's served to them. "What did Jack get instead of money for the
cow?" Answer, "Magic Beans!" and once they find the magic beans the lil' guests add them
to their plate. The questions continue until they have filled their plates with
each of the Treats-n-Toys. After the Scavenger Hunt, it's time to sing,
"Happy Birthday!" to Jack followed by the cutting of the cloud cake.
FAVORS:
Each lil' guest will take
their own soon-to-be-a-beanstalk, golden Silly Putty egg, glowing bean bracelet
and a cottage full of magic beans.
BUDGET:
Treats-n-Toys:
Cake $6.82
Bean Poles $1.06
Licorice Beanstalks $2.26
Gold Coins $2.17
Silly Putty Eggs $4.00
Egg Foil $4.79
Magic Beans $4.76
Bean Bracelets $.98
Milk $1.14
$27.98
Servingware: $0
Invitations & Printing:
Cardstock $4.16
Envelopes $.42
Printing $3.45
$8.03
Décor:
Printables $30.00
Ribbon $4.56
Streamers $3.90
Castle $2.99
Pool Noodles $8.12
$49.57
Activities:
Book/Guest Book $7.61
Kraft Paper $1.10
Bean Seeds $1.08
Pots $.91
Potting Soil $1.28
$11.98
Favors: $0 (see Treats-n-Toys)
GRAND TOTAL: $97.56
(Under budget: $2.44)
Vendor Credits:
Party Design, Styling,
Printables & Photography: Piggy
Bank Parties
Castle and Florist’s Foil: Michaels
Ribbon: May Arts
Paper Plates: Party City
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{Designer's Challenge} Frog Prince Paperie - Plant a Seed
Challenger - Frog Prince Paperie
Plant a Seed
I really enjoyed working on this $100 design challenge
project – scaling back the budget meant the creativity had to get kicked up! In
this party design meant to “go green,” I decided to use an earth-friendly
“plant a seed” theme for a child’s birthday where most of the materials were found
around the house, recycled, or reusable. And to put me on a level playing field
with all the moms out there that might want to try this at home, I did this
party at grandma’s house – well away from my overflowing prop closet. I pulled off this party for four for a
whopping $58!! You could add more kids to this concept for well under $100.
The design work I did for this party was done in such a way
that anyone could do it; I used a free font from the internet and kept it to
text and a piece single leaf art. All the signs, etc. could be created in
something as simple as a Word document.
Grandpa’s garden was the perfect backdrop for this party.
Mid-summer (and 97 degrees!) meant for nice lush green surroundings. We set a
patio table in the hosta alcove under the Japanese maple trees to create a
sense of intimacy. Little orange garlands hung from the trees for a pop of
color. The table was set with a plain white tablecloth (free), and to add a
little more interest, I made runners from brown craft paper (from the dollar
store) and finished the edges with pinking shears.
Sheets of scrapbook paper served as placemats (29 cents a
sheet). To give them some style, I used an exacto knife to cut leaf shapes from
the paper and then layered a contrasting green underneath. I used plain white
plates that were on hand – I prefer to use porcelain to paper whenever I can
for less waste, and decent plates can be had at the dollar store if you need
lots that can be used again and again.
One of my favorite touches was the napkins on the place
settings. I bought plain white napkins (dollar store) and using a few green
ones from an old party that were on hand, made ruffles and sewed them to the
white napkins for instant drama. This was an extremely inexpensive way to get a
very designer look.
The children loved the little terra cotta pots at each
setting. I picked these up on sale at Micheals and handmade the paper flowers
that went in each, using corn cob skewers as the stems and Styrofoam from and
electronics purchase as the base. Silverware (“gardening tools”) sat on top of
each pot tied with jute and a name tag.
The birthday cake made for a perfect centerpiece, and
surprisingly, there were no little finger prints in it until it was time to cut
the cake! I used a box cake and canned frosting. The decoration were leaves
taped to skewers and artfully arranged. The cake stand was my mother’s.
The cups tied with twine for lemonade were set to the side
with a new watering can ($3) as the pitcher. I used old jam jars that were in
my mother’s cupboard. The frog prince paid a visit there as well.
In the name of all things recycled, we used an old army
field table to display the food for the kids’ party. PB&J (crustless)
wrapped in parchment, skewered grapes, recipe red strawberries, paper cones
with Pirate Booty, and “dirt” pots fill of worms were served. All the containers were either on hand
or picked up at the local thrift store. A tiny sewn bunting stretched across
the front of the table and big paper flowers in orange and leaf green set in
recycled tin cans adorned the table as décor.
For favors, I took several marigolds from dad’s garden that
had gone to seed and dried and separated them. I sewed the edges of ¼ page
prints that I made to form a seed envelope. The children took these, their
place setting pots, and party activity home as a treat from the party.
To keep the kids occupied, we planted marigold seeds in
recycled yogurt cups. My father, a master gardener, showed the kids how to
plant that particular kind of seed. Afterwards, he treated them to tractor
rides around the neighborhood. (I think this was the favorite part of the day!)
The kids had a really great time, and I think the best
compliment I received was from Gracie who said she wanted a “plant a seed” birthday
when hers came around!
This was so much fun, and I must thank grandma, grandpa, the
kids and all the others that helped with the staging of this party. And thank
you to Ebony for inviting me to be part of your challenge!
| Food | |||
| PB&J | Bread | $2.00 | |
| Jelly | $- | ||
| Peanut Butter | $1.00 | ||
| Strawberries | $2.00 | ||
| grapes | $1.69 | ||
| Pirate Booty | $2.00 | ||
| Cake Mix | $2.50 | ||
| Cake frosting | $1.30 | ||
| Pudding | $1.00 | ||
| Milk | $2.00 | ||
| Gummy Worms | $2.00 | ||
| Oreos | $2.50 | ||
| $19.99 | |||
| Tractor gas | $0.50 | ||
| Potting soil | $4.00 | ||
| Décor | |||
| terra cotta pots | $5.68 | ||
| pitcher | $2.19 | ||
| skewers | $0.99 | ||
| corn skewers | $1.00 | ||
| cardstock | $3.90 | ||
| napkins | $1.00 | ||
| jute | $2.50 | ||
| garned gloves | $1.60 | ||
| shovels | $1.60 | ||
| brown paper | $1.00 | ||
| berry basket (thrift) | $0.50 | ||
| basket for pots (thrift) | $1.00 | ||
| Striped/dot paper | $0.80 | ||
| craft paper | $1.00 | ||
| paper shred | $1.00 | $25.76 | |
| White plates | $4.00 | ||
| Double stick tape | $0.75 | ||
| regular tape | $1.00 | ||
| thread | $2.00 | $7.75 | |
| $58.00 | |||
| Items we had: | |||
| cake stand | |||
| silverware | |||
| white tablecloth | |||
| mason jars | |||
| army field table | |||
| patio set | |||
| misc. trays | |||
| parchment paper | |||
| riding lawnmower & cart | |||
| Recycled tin cans | |||
| Recycled plastic cups | |||
| Other baskets | |||
| Foam from electronics purchase | |||
| Marigold seeds from garden | |||
Grand Total $58!
.................................................{Designer's Challenge} Love-The-Day "Eat Your Greens"
Challenger - Love-The-Day
"Eat Your Greens"
A little background, this topic is actually REALLY near and dear to my heart. My husband and I are HUGE advocates of healthy, clean eating and think it is SO, SO important to teach this next generation to eat "more greens." I can't even tell you how much this table represents me and how I feel about entertaining and eating in general. So in an effort to propagate healthy eating, my "Go Green" tablescape is called "Eat Your Greens."
Party Theme: "Eat Your Greens" Salad Bar
Favor Idea:
Activity Idea: Make Your Own Salad
Tables: FREE! Made from Wood Palates found on the side of the road (don't judge).
Tablecloth: Pulled out of my linen closet from a previous party
Place-mats: Already owned, but purchased at Target for $15.00
White Plates: My personal tableware (from Ikea)
Glass Ice Cream Bowls: $.50 each (on clearance booyah!!) so $2.00
White Centerpiece Jars: Found at a thrift store for $12.00 for the set (lids were cracked, but who needs lids??)
Glassware: Mason jars already owned, but purchased at Goodwill
Jute Twine: Already owned, but can purchase for $2.00 with a Michaels coupon
Coffee Filters: Found a HUGE pack (like 700) on sale for $3.00
White Iron Basket: $5.00 at a thrift store (Unique)
Wooden Baskets: $6.00 at a thrift store (Unique)
Green Basket: Pulled from my kitchen shelves. Can I use this for my "cakestand?"
White Serving Tray: $2.00 at Goodwill! Best find ever! I use it ALL THE TIME!
Babies Breath/Greenery: $12.00
Ivy: Cut from my back yard
Food/Herbs: $35
Grand Total: $94
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