I'll Hear Nothing Of The Sort

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You: "But I don't have time to pull anything cute together for my 4th of July shindig, Amy."

Me: "Oh, really?"



Don't even try that one on me when there are the Paper&Cake gals in the world. They've created this great all inclusive downloadable set to save your Independence Day Bash with just the click of your mouse.

Everything is formatted to be printed on 8.5x11 paper. Here's what ya get:

Invitation
Placemats
Menu
Cupcake Picks and Wrappers
Food Label Flags
Pennant Banner
Snack Boxes
Napkin Rings/Vase Wrappers
Drink Parasols
Iron On Transfer Image
Full Sheets of Patterned Paper

Did I mention it's only 8 American Dollars???

Go. Click. Print. Assemble. Celebrate.

I Love Me A Sale

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Just wanted to share a few of the many great bargains to be found over at Plum Party right now.




Roma Square Plates now only $12.00 for the set of 9" and 11" serving plates (Love)

Hollywood Glam Platter now 50% off = $11.00

Cheeky Pick Up Line Conversation Starter Coasters now just $5 for the set of 24

Vintage Inspired Coasters now just $6 for the set of 16

There are lots of great deals at 50-90% off so you have my permission to leave Stem now and head on over and check out the goods. But just this once. Don't...leave...me....

Fresh From The Oven Favors

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While researching favor ideas for the upcoming Flashcards and Cupcakes and Alphabet and Stuff Baby Shower (working title), I did what any wise person does...I Googled. I Googled "Cupcake Mix Favors" to be exact. Hooray for Google because it led me directly to Gourmet Gift Company!

Gourmet Gift Company sells gourmet baking mixes that are are handmade in small batches with wholesome ingredients. They are all-natural with no artificial flavors or preservatives. They specialize in producing custom label baking mixes as favors that are not only a treat for the taste buds but a treat for the eyes as well. Look how adorable the little boxes are!

The boxes come in kraft color or white and you can choose your custom label from a number of their fabulous designs. Feeling crafty? Do as I plan to do and order the boxes plain and create your own label.

It would be a shame if I accidentally ordered a few too many, wouldn't it??? I mean, I'd be forced to pay for the overage and eat them myself. So tragic.

Ya Think?

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Do ya think I was just a LITTLE OCDelighted when the Post Office had stamps that had "CELEBRATE" spelled out in cute letters to go on the Flash Card Invitations?

It's a phone picture with scary "A First Grader Just Whited Out The Address in Photoshop" on it, but you get the idea. The postal workers also now get the idea that this Stem chick is a little unwell. I do find though that when you answer their question in this form, "Um, yes I am taking pictures of my envelopes...but I have a business and a blog about parties..."they tend to cut you some slack and subtract some crazy points. Feel free to use that line.

Squeeeeeee

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That's the sound I make when deliriously excited about something. It's only appropriate to title this post as such because THESE CUSTOM INVITATIONS THAT MY FRIEND, GINGER, DID FOR AN UPCOMING BABY SHOWER ARE SO CUTE.

That flashcard theme shower I spoke of recently is about to get kicked off with a serious introduction to fabulous. I'm sure the mom-to-be and guests are going to love them as much as I do.

Fantastic job, Ginger! Check out her Etsy shop to get your own.

Intermission

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I'm taking a break to get my brain around some personal things going on so thank you in advance for your patience on blog posts as well as answering emails.

- Amy

I Feel Much Safer Now (and Giveaway!)

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Citizens of St. Louis,

Rest more peacefully knowing that there are seven new Superheroes in town to protect us. For real. I saw the intense Training and the Certificate presentation myself.

Sincerely,
Amy



This past weekend I had the pleasure of helping a friend do her son's 7th Birthday Superhero Training Party. Not only did the kids have a great time but I think Jordan, one of the most hilarious 7 year old boys I've ever met said it best when he said, "Keilan, I have nevah seen your pahty so fancy."



Keilan loves him some Superheroes like I love me some vintage clothing, so this party was a breeze. Not much shopping had to be done as he has quite the collection of action figures, books, stickers, etc. Kei himself helped decorate the table runner and designed the invitations. Did I mention he's pretty awesome? The bakery did the cake in the likeness of Keilan's hand-drawn invitations making it all the more personal. I helped pull it all together with signage and all the little details.



To complete their training and receive their Superhero status, each guest had to complete several different activities. There was "Bowling Over the Villians", "Make Your Own Mask", "Save The City From Sandman" (figures were buried in the sand), "Spiderman's Web Blast" (knocking over villians with silly string), "Save a Hero, Be a Hero" Spiderman Operation game, "Learn X Ray Vision"...and I can't go without a special mention to Ed, Kei's dad, and his mad caricature skills at the "Do We See A Superhero in You?" station. Rock on, Ed.



After Training was complete, our heroes dined on Flash's Pizza, Catwoman's Claws (Bugles), Mr. Freeze's Popsicles, two kinds of Power Punch and Kei's cake. They were then each awarded a Cape and Certificate presented by the birthday boy himself. Naturally he made sure the tell each of them that "with great power comes great responsibility." See? Don't you feel much better now?

Do you have a little Super Hero in your life? Well then they need their own cape, my friend! The sweet MonkeyNamedMoo (capes seen here) is offering a giveaway for a FREE CAPE. How cool will your little one think they are with their very own cape?

To enter: Post a comment here, any old thing will do, and I will draw a winner at random on June 12th. Good luck and thanks to MonkeyNamedMoo!

Etsy Love: bug&boo

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This should be entitled "Way More Than Etsy Love" because I recently "met" a super sweet new blog friend in Bug&Boo designs. We bonded over the aforementioned Identity Theft and then when I peeked into her blog, Etsy shop and emailed with her a few times I knew it was meant to be!



What IS Bug & Boo? Well, to be exact...."Bug and Boo designs is a unique way of bringing cupcakes to life. You supply the photo and we do the rest. We also offer monograms, favor bags and favor boxes. Everything is original and individually created for you."

I can't wait to share some adorable photos from her Annual Pink Parties she does with friends, but in the meantime I thought you might need to get your shop on and I didn't want to delay pointing you to Bug&Boo any longer. That would just be wrong.

Flash of Genius

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See these super hip flash cards from Land of Nod? How much do you love them? Me? I LOVE THEM LONG TIME and finally get to do something with them!

These are about to turn into something verrrrrrrry fun. That's all I can say for now, kids. (wink)

"Super" Cute

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Lots of fun things planned for this weekend's "Super Hero Training" Birthday Party including these adorable prizes once each little Super Hero has completed their training.

Etsy seller Monkey Named Moo (saying that just makes me smile) makes custom capes with numerous different designs.

Can we just note one thing? A Cupcake Super Hero? Yes, please. I'm in DISTRESS over here, CUPCAKE WOMAN! Please come immediately with your magical baked goods.

More pictures of the party to come next week. Same time. Same blog channel.

Mission Accomplished (In Eco-Chic Style)

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A huge thank you to my homegirl, Jenn, at HWTM for posting our Operation Shower recap story. I'd recount it here but could not possibly make it look any cuter than Jenn did.

Click here for all the details!