(From Design Dazzle)"My friend Donna is a wonderful party planner and has a business called Party Wishes located in Southern California! We got to hang out on Monday (I was visiting So Cal) and we had tons of fun! Check out Donna's fabulous Mad Hatter Tea Party she created. Donna describes her ideas and the party:
"A topiary sat next to the front door with a can of paint and used paintbrush left behind by one of the cards while trying to cover up his gardening mistake. I cut the 4' tall croquet wickets out of 1/4" plywood and painted both sides. They are supported by 1X1" pieces of wood with re bar drilled into the bottoms."
"The hedgehog balls are made out of 4" Styrofoam balls. I ripped up paper grocery bags and used Modpodge to apply them. Each ball took about 1/2 an hour...I made 16 of them. The mallets were 2' stuffed flamingos."
"The giant stacked tea cups took MANY hours of painting. I would even bring them to swim practice. They drew quite the crowd! I also brought a giant chess set for kids or adults who wanted a little quiet time."
Mini ceramic cookie jars filled with tootsie rolls. Donna decorated the jars with ribbon and handmade "eat me" tags.
Notice the Cheshire Cat (with his well known grin) sitting in the tree. I have to say creating a party is all in the details. Thanks Donna for your wonderful talents. Check out her blog Party Wishes for more photos and fun ideas.
Downtown LA is bargain shoppers paradise, but it's also known for being rundown and grimy.
About seven years ago I started a party company - Party Wishes. Donna and I became friends when she was one of my party customers. When we found out we were moving, I sold her my party company - she was the perfect party gal!
So, here we were in one of our favorite stores on the lookout for "Alice in Wonderland” items for a party she was planning. We went up and down the store aisles - I happened to look up and at the very, very top of the shelves were these enormous stacked teacups. Bingo! They were perfect - it made her day and mine as well. I couldn't wait to see what she was going to do with the teacups (originally they were white). As you can see - she is quite the talent.
Donna made this adorable wood tea party sign (purchase thin plywood at any local hardware store - draw your shape and cut out with a jigsaw). Her instructions for getting the lettering just right: "You don't have to be a trained artist to get a custom painted look. I'm making signs for my Mad Hatter Tea party and I thought I would pass along my technique for custom signs.
First, I pick a font on my computer and print it out. Sometimes I have to enlarge it on my copier machine to get the right size I need.
I turn the copy over and hold it on a window (must be done during the day) to see the lettering and I use a #2 pencil and trace the letters and fill them in with a lot of graphite. I do realize that I can use graphite paper or a light box, but this is cheaper.Then, I flip the paper over to the right side and tape it on my already painted sign.
Next, I trace over the lettering again so the pressure from the pencil transfers the markings on the back of the paper onto my wood. Instead of using a paint brush, I use a paint pen. It is a lot easier to control and it's like outlining and coloring when you were a child."
Thanks for continuing the stellar tradition of Party Wishes! If you live in So Cal and need to hire a party planner or would like to see some fabulous ideas, check out her Party Wishes blog!
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