confetti

VALENTINE THEMED WEDDING IN NYC

Leah and I happily obliged when asked by Friendors to be a part of a styled Valentine themed wedding photo shoot in NYC!! Who doesn’t love a New York love story?  Such great inspiration if you are planning a city wedding of your own…. oh, and lots of pink and red. Our fav! 
Here are just a few of the photos from the shoot that we absolutely had to share. So beautifully done….


sigh…. so romantic! We hope you all are getting in the V-day spirit however it is you do it. Leah and I will be over here trying to convince our husbands to take us to dinner or something! 😉
A list of all of the other amazing vendors that helped make this shoot possible:
Photography: Six Hearts Photography
Coordinator: Hoopla! Events
Custom Bridal Dresses: Synderela Story
Custom Groomswear: The Tailory New York
Flowers: Gotham Florist
 Headpiece: Hushed Commotion
Hair and MakeUp: Dunique Wonderland
Hair :Michael Livsey
Balloons and Party Horns: The Sugar Confetti Shop
Custom Confetti: The Confetti Bar
Glitter Banner: The Bannerie
Custom Invitation: Nic Roc Designs
Custom Jewelry: Susie Saltzman
Models: Linda Ngo & Lulian Solomon
XOXO!

MAX’S 1ST BIRTHDAY – ROUND PARTY!

When people asked what theme Max’s first birthday was going to be, and I said “round”… they were like… ummm cool. Okay so Max is round, he loves balloons and balls- those are round, and honestly I couldn’t think of anything that hadn’t been done a million times before! Plus it’s so simple- just my style. 
The party was supposed to be in our backyard with lanterns strung from the trees, circular picnic blankets, ring toss, bubbles, etc. Guess what? It poured every. single. day. that week including the day of the party. Super dark outside too for pictures. Fantastic. We’re still in our rental (egg yolk and old lady sage walls), so basically my plan was to camouflage the grossness with tons and tons of balloons. I think it turned out really well, and most importantly, everyone had a great time! And let’s be honest, when you’re dealing with one to four-year-olds really all they need are toys and cake. Cake is clutch. 
FOOD:
See what I mean? Cake is clutch.
I baked two batches of white cake in sheet pans so the layers would be thin, froze the layers, cut with a 2.5″ biscuit cutter, then just piped colorful frosting in between. 
 All round food!
 Complete with Aunt Ellie’s Campfire Crispies! They are SO. GOOD. Do yourself a favor and order these babies.

DECOR:

Had to cover the nasty chandelier 🙂
Monthly photos of Maxie cut out into circles, naturally.
I made this little picnic blanket out of a drop cloth. Draw two concentric circles in pencil and paint in the lines. Make sure to paint the circle before you cut. That way it’ll look nice and neat! 
FAVORS:
Party crowns, tattoos, hula hoops, bouncy balls
Custom temporary tattoos with each kid’s name from our Etsy shop!
ACTIVITIES:
RING TOSS
I ordered the rings on Amazon and got bottles from the dollar section at Target. Since the party was supposed to be outside, I had painted wooden dowels to hammer into the grass. Sigh. Still a fun activity for the kids though! 
DIY GIANT SURPRISE BALL
Getting a surprise ball was a tradition at my sister and my birthday parties growing up. I decided to supersize it by using a container from Party City as the center to make this huge!
Each kid got to unwrap a color, once that streamer color ended, they got the prize and gave the ball to the next kid. It ACTUALLY worked! Couldn’t believe how patient the kids were waiting for their turn! So fun!
INVITATIONS:
I got the beach balls from Oriental Trading Company and wrote on them with neon Sharpies. Here’s the thing… they can’t fold totally flat, so they were considered a parcel… which means they were $3 each to mail! I took them to the post office and got 5 different stamps, which actually looked pretty cool. Thankfully I only invited a handful of people, and I hand-delivered most!
 On the back of the ball it said:
ROLL on over to Max’s
(address)
It was a sweet day for my sweet, round little Maxie!
-L
And the winner of the Freshly Picked Giveaway is….
Kelly Vance!
Woohoo!! Please email us at loveandlion@gmail.com!
Thank you all for entering! Many more giveaways to come!

FEATURED PARTY: NOAH’S ARK 2 X 2 BIRTHDAY PARTY

We’re so excited to feature the cutest birthday party for twinsies you ever did see! Noah’s Ark Two-By-Two, a perfect birthday theme for twins, right?! Laura is super crafty and lucky for us, a Love & Lion reader. She used ideas from Ari’s animal themed party and took it to the next level! We love all the little details Laura put into her girls’ party to make it extra special. What a good mommy she is! We can’t imagine having twins… this lady makes every day special for her girls, and documents it on her instagram and blog here. Audrey and Evangeline are two lucky (and gorgeous) ladies!
 Laura painted an inexpensive tray with chalkboard paint and added these fun gold animal magnets. “Judgement Day Mimosas” are obviously our fav detail! Ha!
Audrey and Evangeline eating their rainbow cake like little ladies! For the hats, spray paint plastic animals gold, cut in half, and glue. More animal hats and other party decor here
Sipping “flood water” aka blue juice, through animal straws. Laura spray painted plastic animals then drilled a hole for the straw topper.
So simple. So cute. Why didn’t we think of this? 
The party invitations were on the back of the animal masks, and Laura asked guests to wear it to the party. She had 2 of each mask… two-by-two. Genius. Laura simply drew a rainbow in chalk for the photo booth backdrop.
Outdoor activities included crayon-covered tables, baby pools, balloons, bubble machines, play dough with animal cutters, chalk, and lots of cookie eating!
Menu:
ham sliders, rainbow fruit kabobs, rainbow cake, rainbow cookies, animal crackers, animal gummy kabobs, rainbow goldfish, orange/grapefruit “judgement day” mimosas, coffee, “flood water” blue juice
Sources: 
Dollar Store: napkins, animal plates, crazy straws, trays, kraft paper for coloring tables, pink sparkle candles, plastic animals, noah book party favors, bubbles, chalk
Target: mask invitations, hats, labels, cups
Michaels: plastic animals, spray paint
For more pictures, details, and a fabulous blog about being a mommy of twins, visit Laura’s blog,
  The Anderson Family Storybook. Thanks Laura!! You’re the best!

DONUT PARTY (FREE PRINTABLES)

My mom was in town this weekend for her birthday, so I threw her a brunch featuring her favorite food ever: donuts! Sweet friends that she’s gotten to know over the years when visiting us, great conversation, yummy donuts, and colorful decorations made the party a hit. 
Free printables for you at the end of the post!
DIY sprinkle confetti: just cut cut cut up your scraps of tissue paper and voila! Sprinkles!
DIY Sprinkle Forks: I used a letter “I” rubber stamp and just stamped it in different colors to look like sprinkles! For extra fun, I put the forks in a delicious glass of real sprinkles.
I didn’t have time to fully complete the donut balloons, nor did I supervise the lady at Kroger inflating these… half way. UGH! Much cuter HERE.

I left out treat boxes for guests to take home extras… I do NOT need donuts sitting around my house! 
The birthday girl, my beautiful mom, Marty! And little Max of course.
To make your life a lot easier… free printables:
Donuts HERE and HERE
Tags HERE and HERE
Menu (blank) HERE
-L
Oh… and the winner of the FRESHLY PICKED MOCCS GIVEAWAY is…
RACHEL ARNOLD!! (e-mail us mama!)
Yippee! Congrats!
We clearly have the best followers EVER!! Thank you ALL for your entries and sweet comments. Get hype for some more giveaways coming up! 

A “WINTER WONDERLAND” BABY SPRINKLE

Our #TBT (Throwback Thursday) Party this week is a baby shower I put together for our sweet friend, Shara. Baby number two was on the way, and I wanted to do something simple, not over the top, but still oh so special. 
It was a “winter wonderland” theme with some confetti markings as well. My main focus was to have “snow” hanging from the ceiling and an amazing dessert table. It was January, so it just felt right. 
^^The invite (Rock Paper Scissors) ^^
I actually put confetti in the envelopes as well! That always a nice surprise for the recipient! yay! 
^^ I did simple mantel decor by using fake snow and cotton balls, flowers, candles, DIY anthro inspired letters and a handmade felt banner. I put modge podge on the bottom of the votive candle jars and sprinkled glitter on them to give them a little something extra. Also, the banner consists of felt flags and wooden beads from JoAnn’s that I painted an aqua blue…. shara’s favorite color.^^
^^ White flowers are just so classy to me. They ALWAYS work!! ^^

^^ The dessert bar was my favorite part! So many yummy treats, especially those Aunt Ellie’s Campfire Crispies! I mean…. seriously. ^^
^^ Hand-lettering on the chalkboard. Always fun! ^^
^^”To go treat bags” are always a good idea when you are serving lots of sweets. Guests took extras home to their kids. That is what they said at least. I am SURE that they probably had a treat or two in their car…. in private! ^^
^^ Anything you can do to make writing “thank-you” notes a little easier on a new mom really helps. I had each of the guests address their own envelope, and I had already written Shara’s address on the back as well. All she had to do was write the simple note, and put a stamp on it. Easy! ^^
My only tutorial I took pics of because I am the worst at stopping throughout my projects to take tutorial pics, as I get too excited favorite tutorial that I can share with you are the DIY color-blocked spoons I made. Pretty self-explanatory…. just tape your utensils down with painters’ tape while blocking off different sections. Paint your first color, allow drying time, move your tape and block off another section, and repeat until you get the desired look. It was time consuming, but man… I am such a sucker for little details! ^^

P.S. Tomorrow is Friday!!! WHOOP WHOOP!
-J

DIY CONFETTI PACK AND THE PERFECT PARTY FAVOR!

We are doing a little NYE project over here to get ready for the festivities tonight! What is a NYE celebration without some confetti? I put together mini confetti packs and taped them to card stock that I printed little phrases on with my ol’ epson printer. Haha! Super easy project, and so fun to hand out to any party guests, host/hostess, or just keep in your bag for your own mini celebration when the clock strikes midnight.
Confetti can be made out of ANYTHING (that doesn’t give you a head injury). I used a lot of leftover materials from Christmas like metallic chip board letters, twine that I shredded, striped straws, gold ribbon, teal and white card stock, and aqua and pink crepe paper. Have fun with it!
This “kiss me under the confetti” card is my favorite! Lucky me, I get two kisses tonight! 😉

Just look at that confetti goodness… sigh…
 Champagne is definitely my drink of choice for a night such as this, but my husband prefers White Russians. Champagne is not always the manliest drink, so I get it. I put together a hostess gift for the couple hosting us tonight. I collected some mini shakers from the Target dollar section along with some chalkboard tags they had. Then, I added the mini drinks with a striped straw. It would also just make a great party favor for any party. You could even buy these items in a normal size and gift it. Confetti and cocktails….yes, please!!
I tied a chalkboard tag onto the mini shaker that read “Just add cream….Cheers!”

Cheers!! Please have a happy and SAFE New Year friends!! Have some of that responsible kind of fun!! 
{cue noise makers now}
-J

NYE AT HOME….WITH THE LITTLES

If you are planning on staying home this NYE, and maybe even have little ones join in the festivities, here are some fun goodies to make the most of your night in. 
{click on numbers below for links}
1 Lounge in style in this fabulous thermal set! They will still look great with a red lip 😉
2 We love Knot & Bow!!! They have a new metallic and white confetti bomb that will serve as a little party in your vacuum on New Years Day!
3 We weren’t on the up and up in time to order these, but personalized pjs for your kids?!?! LOVE!!
4 Confetti socks! Enough said.
5 It’s not a party without a noise maker, right? The prettiness of these outweigh the loud noise.
6 Let your littles get their drink on with a sparkling apple juice in a can. Add a festive straw for fun!
7 We are all about wearing some sort of NYE/2014 Head gear. This cute headband is an Etsy find.
8 Canned champs ladies!! Pop, Fizz, Clink Tsssss???
9 Photo props! A must at every party.
10 Confetti with color for your littles to make a giant mess with! yay!!!

NEW YEARS EVE PARTY IDEAS

We’ve been scouring the interweb for the coolest NYE ideas and recipes. Whether you’re throwing a big shindig or a having a cozy night at home, there’s always something special you can add. DIY garlands, fun balloons, confetti, glitter!!, yummy dips and apps, and of course…champagne! Check out our pinterest board for all things NYE.

CONFETTI-FILLED LIGHT BULB GARLAND

Hey friends! We apologize for the late start to our week. Holiday travels and sick babies have kept us mamas busy! Christmas day is approaching, parties are still being thrown, and decorating is still taking place. If you are anything like me, the decorating never stops!! I just wanted to share a simple tutorial for the confetti filled light bulb garland I made for our wrap party last week. I love it so much, and I am definitely keeping it around for next year!
^ What you will need: yarn or twine, gold spray paint, clear light bulb ornament (purchased at Joann’s Fabrics) and crepe paper (festive colors a must!) ^
^ Remove top of ornament and begin spray painting. Allow time to dry, and then spray the opposite side. I began working on the steps below in between drying times. ^
^ Cut crepe paper into small strips. I cut roughly 10 strips of each color per ornament. ^
^ Then, cut those strips into small squares. ^

^ Begin filling the bulb ornament with the confetti. I only wanted to fill mine about a quarter of the way. ^
^ String those lights!! Space your bulbs out to your liking, and tie a small knot to hold each one in place. ^

-J

THAT’S A WRAP! [PART 2]


As if receiving a gift from someone isn’t enough to make you feel special already, we think that it takes it over the top when its wrapped with love. Just knowing that someone really took some time to add a decorative ornament, layer some ribbon to make the perfect bow, or even just writing your name out really beautifully makes it feel that much more special to receive. 
We absolutely believe that what is inside the box is made even better by the wrapping. We have some pretty creative friends, and it’s always fun around the holidays to give and receive each other’s gifts! Here are some packages that got a holiday makeover during our wrap party. Believe it or not, postal wrap and baker’s twine go a long way!! So simple, but it looks so stunning. Most of the ribbon we used was found in the Target dollar section, along with some metallic markers and ornament embellishments. We also purchased some clear ornaments to fill with glitter, jewels and snow. They would look awesome filled with confetti too. OBVIOUSLY! Ha! 
We had so much fun, and highly encourage you to get together with some friends or just members of your family and wrap together! Turn on some holiday tunes and sip some hot chocolate (after your champagne) and make some super special memories.

Confetti-filled ornaments, glitter glue, and simple kraft paper makes these gifts pop!
Love this “A” wrap by Rock Paper Scissors!

We topped off this Haute Papier wrap with an ornament filled with glitter and jewels.


Simple washi tape bunting banner- cut triangles and stick onto twine.

Glue jewels to Rudolph’s nose!

A washi tape mosaic!
Happy wrapping!