Rock of Love Play Party!

February 1, 2011

Are you ready for a 'Rockin' good time? A day filled with Savvy Stylings that we hope 'Makes your heart Sing'. Everything is this play party was created for the EveryDay Mom. We are thrilled to share with you our "Rock of Love" Play Party.

For this Play Party we wanted to take the traditional Valentine's colors and theme and incorporate a bit of edgy rock and funky fashion from The Tiny Hiney and Sweet Things Kids. We were able to use records that we had from home and accent with leopard scrapbook paper to create that Rock of Love look we were going for.

We have been seeing glass bottles used in many photo shoots, parties and dessert tables lately. We love the look. So we had no problem buying a case of Starbucks Frappucinos and using the re-purposed bottles for the kids Strawberry milk. We added some leopard scrapbook paper from Jo-Anns and glitter heart stickers from the Target Dollar bins to create a sweet treat for the kids to enjoy. And the best part is we will use these bottles again and again!

We like to always include some sort of healthy snack for the kids that is fun and compliments the theme. So we cut up fruit and used a heart shape cookie cutter and placed them in fun plastic cups we found at the Dollar Tree and accented them with leopard ribbon.

Another Signature 'Savvy Moms' idea are Place mats. We think it is a great way for the kids to get excited about what they are doing if they have something in front of them that is personalized and themed. To create these place mats, and usually all of our Play Party place mats, we use 12x12 sheets of scrapbook paper, usually found in the Target Dollar bins or what we may have laying around. We used our Silhouette to cut out each kiddos initials, place onto a doilie and covered with contact paper.

We found these Valentine Trees at Jo-Anns and used them as our Rock Candy Tree, hanging Ring Pops off of them.

Our cupcake topper printables were created for us by our talented photographer Donella, of Ella B Photography

These were a 'rockin' touch to our yummy cupcakes made by our good friend Jamie of Kolby Kakes .

Kolby Kakes also made 'Rock Of Love Records' or Ding Dongs and fun and funky hot pink microphone cookies that the kids really enjoyed.

The cupcake stand was also a DIY idea inspired by Skip to My Lou. We followed the tutorial on how to make a cupcake stand, replaced the plates with records and added a touch of leopard and glitter heart stickers from the Target Dollar bins creating one Savvy cupcake stand.

We also used records and turned them into serving trays for the cookies, clever and creative!

The kids craft for the day were these adorable wooden guitars and hearts also found at Jo-Anns in the Dollar Bins.

No Valentine's Celebration is complete without a Valentine exchange. When we saw these Adorable Heart Pockets on One Charming Party we knew they were perfect. Savvy and Simple just the way we like it!

Happy Valentine's Day......'I pick you'.

Each of our Play Parties also includes a coordinating story. So we read 'The Night Before Valentine's Day' while they ate their Valentine treats.

We found a great recipe over at Parenting.com for Cupcake Microphones that fit the theme perfectly!! Some serious faces, but they truly made their 'Hearts Sing'!

The kids got to rock out with their Conversation Heart microphones that were also a great DIY idea we shared as a sneak peek earlier in the month. These microphones can also be turned into Valentine topiaries. Just get yourself a metal bucket (found in Target Dollar bins most of the time) or a planters pot and stick into foam, rocks or sand and use for decor for your home or next party.

Rock On Friends........

And keep Making the EveryDay Savvy!

Smiles~

Amy & Bri

Total Cost of this Play Party: $65 (for 6 kids)

Funky Fashions by:

The Tiny Hiney

Sweet Things Kids

{Friday Feature} I Heart Valentine's Day...and you will too!

January 14, 2011

Have we got a Sweet Treat for you! This Friday Feature comes from the amazingly talented team of Anders Ruff Custom Designs and their 'I Heart Valentine's Day' printable collection and photo shoot. This collection was beautifully styled by the Anders Ruff ladies and gave us plenty of eye candy to drool over as well. We love that this collection has all the traditional touches and colors of Valentine's Day. What we really love though is that there are so many DIY inspirations and kid friendly ideas for you to try for your next Valentine's Party.

We have worked with the sweet ladies of Anders Ruff in the past, if you remember they created our 'Whoot of Thanks' Play Date Printables back in November of 2010. So, it is always a treat looking forward to their next collection or their next photo shoot as they NEVER disappoint!

Our jaws basically dropped when we saw this dessert table. Where do you even start to look? Well, first we have to mention the phenomenal Pink Paper Plate Polyhedrons (DIY Here) that were hung above the table. This is such a clever idea that can be done with your kids. Add a little paint and possibly some glitter and you can create a fun lesson with shapes!

Another DIY, was the patterned heart banner strung across the front of the table that came from the printable papers from the collection. The wrapped boxes trimmed with ribbon are also a great way to add height to a dessert table as well as color and interest.

A great kid friendly idea are these DIY stacked Fabric Flowers in vases. Take left over scraps of fabric, or even scrapbook paper, a few buttons and create a beautiful bouquet that will last for years to come!

A sweet way to embellish any dessert table is to place lollipop sticks in your desserts with coordinating colors of paper cut in fun shapes, such as these hearts. The heart shaped fondant toppers are also another special touch that completes the sweetness of these desserts.

The same fabric that served as the back drop of the table, purchased at IKEA, also covered the kids chairs and were simply tied with red grosgrain ribbon.

Of course we saved the best for last! Printable "cootie catchers/fortune tellers" (do you remember these as a kid?) that were assembled for each of the kids to play with.


All Photo collages from Hostess with the Mostess
Thank You so much AndersRuff Custom Designs for sharing the adorable day with us! We are as always truly inspired by you both! Make sure you check out their Esty shop where the 'I Heart Valentine's Day' collection is 50% off!!!

Smiles~
Amy & Bri

Conversation Heart Microphone......Makes our Heart Sing!

January 13, 2011

This project really makes 'Our Heart Sing'.

Every Rocker needs a Microphone, Right?

Of course, but just any Mic would not do for our Savvy Singers.

So we decided to create one that would be a real Conversation Piece!

You will need a thick Dowel, Styrofoam Ball, Conversation Hearts and Glitter.

All of which we purchased at our local Dollar Store.

Hot Glue your Conversation Hearts to the Styrofoam Ball.

Then Glitter your Dowel.
We Prefer to use Martha Stewart glitter because it is so fine and covers nicely.


Now insert your glittered Dowel into your Heart covered Ball.
We recommend Hot Gluing the dowel into the ball, but that is optional

And your ready to sing!!!

And sing we did at our 'Rock of Love' Play Party.
Stay tuned.......

Smiles~
Amy & Bri

{Savvy Savings} Merry & Bright Feature and Savings from InkSpot Workshop

December 18, 2010

We were all smiles when we read this fun little Blog Post from Stacy of InkSpot Workshop.

Loved it so much we wanted to share it with you.

And we wanted to share the Savvy Savings Stacy is offering on the Collection.

Enjoy the read and the "Special" Savings!

You can just imagine how excited I was when the dynamic duo behind The Savvy Mom's Guide (Amy & Bri) asked me to send them some goodies from InkSpot Workshop's Christmas Lights collection. They were gearing up for a very Merry & Bright play date. As a designer, you always want to see your creations brought to life, or to "light" in this case:) Not to mention after reading both of their bios on their blog, I instantly felt connected with them. We all come from a corporate past and now get to do what we L♥VE for a living.

Amy and Bri put together these most uniquely adorable "Play Dates" and really set the bar high for us "other" moms (who are slackers and barely get the kids popcorn while having a play date) Actually these little parties are super inspiring and they bring us so many creative ideas and resources. I don't know about you, but I am super excited to see what The Savvy Mom's Guide has on deck for 2011!

Here are some high lights from Amy and Bri's
Merry and Bright Party
Click here to read the FULL and SAVVY post!

all party photographs from Ella B

What a handsome little guy!
The party activity was making these cute
Christmas Lights Candy Necklaces
all party resources are listed here

Dough A Deer mini dough nuts and mini toes
so sweet together!

Aww! just had to throw these in too!

You asked for it!
You GOT IT!

The entire InkSpot Workshop
Christmas Lights Collection
is NOW available as printable files!

All Items Completely Personalized
at no additional cost!
Click here to get yours

SPECIAL
enter promotional code "LIGHTS"
and you will receive
FREE PERSONALIZED TABLE TENT FILES
personalized with as many titles as you need!

Items Shown: Invitation, Toppers, Hang Tags

ENJOY

Merry and Bright Play Party

December 16, 2010

We often get asked "How Savvy are your Play Dates Really".
To which we reply, Very Savvy. You just have to be creative.

Our Merry and Bright Play Date is a perfect example of a fun and frugal Party.

We knew as soon as we saw the Cheerful and Bright Christmas Light Party Printable Collection from InkSpot Workshop that we had found our theme.

We wanted to create a Bright and Cheery feel for the day.
To keep the styling simple since the colors were so Bright and Vibrant on the Printables.

We were thrilled when we found a Christmas Light Collection in the Dollar Bins at Target. From the collection of ribbon, wrapping supplies and paper goods we decided we only needed to purchase 2 Large gift Bags.

From the gift bags we created 4 Place mats, 3 tray inserts and 2 ribbon trim accent pieces for the wrapped boxes we used as risers.

The details of the table came together quickly and with minimal cost. We purchased 2 Rosemary trees from which we strung the printables and our Dough-a-Deer Doughnuts. This was a perfect focal point for the table and a fun and festive way to spread some cheer.

Our Craft this month was Candy Christmas Light Necklaces from Amazon.

An easy, fun and edible project for the kiddos.

The Printable Collection really was the Inspiration for the entire day. We took our Chair Ribbons from our Gingerbread Play Party and re-purposed them for this Merry and Bright Event. In keeping with the idea of stringing joy we wrapped 4 C7 Bulbs with twine and dressed up the Chalkboard (super cute right!).

For the Food we treated our guests to YUMMY Dough-a-Deer doughnuts. They were so pretty. The perfect touch to our Merry Day. As always we provided a healthy snack of Jello Christmas Trees and Pineapple Stars. In Savvy Spirit we whipped up some Light Bulb Cookies by dipping Nutter Butters in colored Wilton Candy Melts (we definitely are not Kolby Kakes ).

The total cost of the day was $27....Super Savvy for this Seasonal Shindig!!!

Sorry E...those are not lollies they are Printable Toppers.

The day was so Merry and Bight even our Littlest Guests wanted to take part in the fun.

So glad Ella B was there to capture all of the HoHoHo's and Jolly happenings.

We hope you have a Merry Little Christmas filled with Bright Savvy Stylings.

Smiles~

Amy & Bri

Gingerbread Playdate

December 1, 2010

Run, Run as fast as you can.....You can't catch me I am the Gingerbread Man. That was the theme of our December Play date. We decided that the perfect play date would be one that incorporated the traditional Gingerbread Man and House. As always we needed and wanted to add our Savvyness. Christine of Racz Photography generously offered her studio and talents to us for the day and let us literally run wild creating our holiday Play Date! Thank you Christine for your patience with us and helping us capture the day perfectly.

With our theme in mind Frog Prince Paperie helped design a Printable collection that was PERFECT! From there we were able to find all we needed, of course, in the Dollar Bins at Michaels, Joanne's and Target and from things we had around the house.

The Jars were a purchase we made at Ikea long before this Blog came to be (you can always use a good jar or two...or 10). Any jar can be dressed up with festive ribbon and a printable or embellishment and voila you have one Savvy addition to your styling and decor. The candy trees were a find at our local Big Lots.

We love to use Chalkboards as an addition to any play date, party or daily decor. In this case we used the one that hangs in Bri's kitchen as our recipe card to the traditional gingerbread man.

To complete our wall collage we had a custom designed Candy Cane canvas from Canvas by Kerry made and found a gingerbread cake pan at Joanne's. This look can be duplicated in your home by covering any framed art with wrapping paper and embellished with vinyl, scrapbook paper, or any other fun finds.

Each kiddo received a Custom Chef hat (found in the target dollar bin) that we added ribbon and a sweet gingerbread boy or girl. Their place setting included a Michaels $1 birdhouse, our Savvy "gingerbread house", an Icing bag with their initial and a place mat created from the Frog Prince Paperie Printable Collection placed on a 12x12 sheet of Wrapping Paper and then laminated. Each had a Frog Prince Paperie box filled with all the trimmings for their Gingerbread house.

We styled the table with Pom Poms strung on fishing line, and fancied the chairs with ribbon, a printable and pom poms.

Instead of creating our own Gingerbread house, cuz lets face it when it comes to Savvy baking we leave that to Kolby Kakes, we found this Adorable countdown one. We thought it would be perfect for our teachable moment of filling the empty gingerbread house with coordinating treats and or lessons of giving and gifts.

As always we like to provide a healthy snack. This month we kept it simple because we knew just how much candy was going to be involved in this Play Date, so peanut butter and jelly sandwiches it was wrapped of course with festive Frog Prince Paperie wrappers.

The kiddos enjoyed trimming their Gingerbread bird house. And looked adorable decked out in their Chef hats and Sweet Things Aprons that Nicole whipped right up for us!

And the finished products were Deliciously Cute!!!

Next we moved onto our recipe....This time we did things a little different. Our recipe was done with the help of Kolby Kakes. She made these adorable ginger boys and girls that the kids then dressed with their favorite candy accessories.

Yummy......is all we have to say!!!!

Every play date needs a Sweets Station....

And Bri's $3 garage sale cart is the perfect accessory to this play date.

Kolby Kakes created scrumptious Gingerbread Pops, cake balls and delicious gingham sugar cookies to add to the day.

We ended the play party with the story that whole day was based off of, The Gingerbread Man by Jim Aylesworth.

And those poor gingerbread boys and girls could not run away from our 5 curious and hungry kiddos! Don't you just want to eat them up in those adorable Sweet Things Aprons, tutu's and Hats. Pure JOY!!!!


We hope you enjoyed our Sweet Day.


Smiles~
Amy & Bri