Terrific Totes

.
Today I have some terrific totes for you. One for the DIY crowd and one for the BUY crowd.

I stumbled upon these DIY totes from TidyMom the other day and fell for them instantly. Such a statement party favor that is personal and actually usable. Love.
.

.
Then, I was perusing Forever 21 the other day (I can't help it, I love costume jewelry and accessories) and saw these adorable new totes they have. I'm a big fan of their $1.50 totes for shopping bags and it doesn't hurt that they also make great favors.
.



.
You can see how I used F21 shopping totes as favors and "shopping bags" at our Clothing Swap party earlier this year. Using removable 3M wall hooks to hang them gives you a lot of bang for your buck fifty.

These totes above could serve as the perfect inspiration piece for a folksy lovebird shower, a chic Paris theme soiree or a bold and graphic LOVE bridal or baby shower. Can't you just see them now? I totes can!

Swimming in Details

.
This Under the Sea 4th birthday party by Executive Creations is simply swimming in cute details.
.

.
Don't you love it when a character party like The Little Mermaid doesn't scream THE LITTLE MERMAID? That's exactly what we have here. A subtle color palette. A fantastic dessert table. Lots of attention to detail. All of that adds up to make a Little Mermaid with lots of style.
.

.
Love the handmade banner and the simple favor boxes with starfish. And the donuts with star wands? Cute.
.

.
That sand castle is fit for a little Sea Goddess. So fun. The use of the shells to hold the flatware and fishing net ceiling treatment really help bring this underwater fantasy to land!

Many, many more photos are waiting for you here on Executive Creations blog.

A Star Is Born: Sneak Peek

.

Without giving away toooooo much, here is a sneak peek of what the upcoming "A Star Is Born" Operation Shower baby shower at Walter Reed Army Medical Center will look like.

These are a few scenes from our Sneak Preview Volunteer night event where some wonderful women came together to help us pack our Showers In A Box for our next group of very deserving moms to be.
.

.
Clearly not afraid to make a fool of myself for a good cause.
.

.
Stay tuned for more pictures, including some from some awesome Etsy vendors who answered our Casting Call for products!

A few more pictures here on our Operation Shower Facebook page. Help us get to 1,000 by 2011 by becoming a fan!

Give Away Reminder!

.

..
Don't forget to enter the giveaway for these very special handmade earrings from Peetzi!
.
These beauties are Vintage-style silver metal chandelier earrings are wire wrapped with yellow topaz, fushcia and cobalt blue 4mm Swarovski crystals, a 13mm fern green briolette Swarovski and silver plated chain. The leverback earwires are sterling silver.

Contest ends Monday!

Set It In Style

.
I recently received an email from the PR team behind Rosanna, Inc. with a link to this new "Woodland Cameo" collection. It was love at first sight. My head is spinning with how you could incorporate this into a very chic take on the Woodland party theme craze.
.

.
Picture everything in black and white with pops of green grass or moss table runners.
.

.
Spray paint branches white or black or go for these sequin black branches for a hint of glam. For an extra touch, add green florals to them like the one featured from Bella Design Studio. This large tree and bird cylinder vase would make a stunning centerpiece for your buffet, as would this snowy owl perched atop an elevated cake stand or pedestal.
.
Use a bold and graphic curtain or fabric for an eye-popping backdrop to a feature table. Fabric panels and shower curtains are great items to use for inspiration.
.
Mark your guests places with these etched butterfly placecards atop their wine glasses.
.

.
As shown in the Rosanna photo, take simple faux creatures and paint them black or white. Do the same with ornate picture frames of various sizes. Tip: look at Goodwill or Dollar stores for inexpensive figurines or frames that just need a good coat of spray paint at home to turn from trash to treasure.

Also, don't forget to hit the Halloween aisle for lots of blackbird decor!

P.S. Designer dishware not in your budget? If you're in St. Louis, you're in luck. Don't forget that Kim at Head of The Table has amazing dishes for rent at a great price for all of your upcoming celebrations!

Camp Ellie

.

Reader Angela sent in this adorable camping party with a girlie twist that she threw for 4-year old daughter, Ellie.

.

.
Guests were invited to camp via this bright and bold invitation by Daina of Kottage on 5th. Daina also designed all the water bottle labels and favor tags.
.

.

.
For a fun and affordable backdrop for the dessert table, Angela used colorful streamers that and twisted every other streamer to create a nice effect. Add that to your Idea File, people!
.

.
The dessert featured a darling cake made by a friend, "dirt cups" with gummy worms, Campfire cupcakes, brown flower pots filled with tissue paper and goldfish crackers, gummy bears, gummy worms, and gummy frogs.

More details can be found here on Angela's blog. You'll want to check out the fun shot of the finale of the night, a movie under the stars on a giant screen!

Follow The Bouncing Ball

.

I'm flipping out over the new Bouncy Ball collection from Paper&Cake. Bouncing off the walls, as it were.
.

.
Printable tiled backdrops? Genius. You know you want it.
.

.
Is anyone else seeing vases filled with gumballs here?
.

.
You can purchase the set that includes the following here:

1. Invitation (fits A7 envelope) +
2. Thank You/Envelope
3. Birthday Gift Log
4. Cupcake Picks +
5. Water Bottle Labels +
6. Favor Tags +
7. Dessert Buffet Tags +
8. Party Hats
9. Snack Boxes +
10. Penant Banner +
11. Themed Backdrop +
12. Full Pattern Sheet

+Customizable item: Those items with a + sign can be easily personalized using Acrobat Reader, a free download from Adobe.com. Each collection has detailed instructions and recommendations.

With a ball/circle theme and these primary colors. The possibilities of things you can add to this party to make it your own are endless!

Giveaway: Peetzi Pretties

.
As mentioned last week, I have a very special giveaway for you. The charming and talented, Jen, of Peetzi is giving away this custom pair of earrings to one lucky Stem Parties reader.
.

.
Jen recently sent me my own custom pair of earrings and created these silver and crystal beauties just for one of YOU! Boho chic has made a huge comeback and with the various colors in these earrings you are sure to have the perfect outfit to pair this with this right now!
.

.
They could also be a great hostess gift to have on hand. What hostess wouldn't be sure and keep you on the guest list with a gift like these?
.
Here are just a few more of Jen's fabulous creations. I am a sucker for stones and statement pieces and Jen is a master at both.
.

.
To enter, stop by Peetzi or Jen's other site, Shabby Chic by Peetzi and then come back here and leave a comment telling which design is your favorite.

Repost this Giveaway on your blog or Facebook page (and send me a link back to it) for a2nd chance to win!

Contest ends, Monday, September 27 at noon Central.

Good luck and thanks so much, Jen! I can't wait to wear my very own Peetzi earrings this week!

Something This Cute Takes A Village

.

So....I opened my email this morning to find this adorable party from Natalie and knew I had to share immediately. She didn't just create a little sweets theme birthday table for her daughter Sophia, she created a village.

.

Welcome to scenes from "Sweetopia."

.

.

.

.

.

These are just a few of the marvelous details Natalie included. I promise there is much more to satisfy your sweet tooth here on Natalie's blog post. Five out of five party planners recommend you go take a look.

.

Thanks for sharing, Natalie. My dental bill is in the mail.

Free Finds

.
Just a short little roundup of a two fun, free finds today.

Stay tuned this week for another freebie. A wonderful giveaway of handmade jewelry from Peetzi!

Until then, a fab free printables from around the web.

Let's start with Halloween from Living Locurto.
.

.

.

.
Next, three completely different and all equally adorable collections from Mariah DeMarco. Lots of party inspiration here!
.

.

.

5 Star All The Way!

.

I don't want to spoil all the things in store, but must share one of the wonderful vendors who are donating their time and talent to the upcoming "A Star Is Born" Operation Shower event at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

.

Pete at 5starbaby makes the most adorable birth announcements, posters, birthday invites and other special occasion invites. Are these PERFECT for a movie/Hollywood theme event or what?

.

.

.

You send 5starbaby the details and they make custom goods tailored just for you. What an incredible way to announce your new little celebrity, save the date for your grand affair or set the stage for your next birthday party!

.

You must go check out some of his other designs. The takes on famous movie titles are unbearably cute!

.

Thank you, again, for your generous donation, Pete. I can't wait to share the photos of them "in action" at the event with all of you!

Oh no...

.

Doesn't get much cuter than Party Box Design's Halloween Collection, folks.

.

Lots more to see, so head on over.

.

.

.

.

When a friend asked if I wanted to throw a Halloween party with her, I looked at my calendar/schedule and laughed. You know who you are. I laughed at your crazy notion.

.

These invites are making me rethink things though...oh, no.

What Really Matters

.

Worry you not, I'll get back to parties and such soon but wanted to take today to share the 9/11 National Day of Service with you all.

.

I think you know that I, as much as anyone, can get all caught up in all things sparkly and fluffy and party, but, as much as I love parties and all things entertaining, I love my non-profit work more. (Don't tell anyone...)

.

In fact, you may have noticed that by a lack of actual events done by me here as of late. I've had to make some choices because, let's face it ladies, we just can't do it all. Okay, I can't. Not well at least! So, when given the choice to accept an event or devote even more time to Operation Shower, I've chosen Operation Shower more times than not in the past year. Naturally this helps that Stem isn't my sole means of income. Let's just get that out there. I'm not starving or going shoeless. I still love to shop, people!

.

I am however, putting aside a lot of personal gains with my business to spend the majority of my "free" time on Operation Shower. I've had to decide what really matters to me. I'm not saying this to get claps or awards or not that this whole party world doesn't matter. It's really kind of selfish because of the joy giving back brings me. (Don't tell anyone that, either....) Oh, and does it hurt that part of my work involved throwing Baby Showers for deserving moms? No, not it does not! Mama still needs her fix.

.

This week is a great chance to get a little bit of the feel good feeling of giving back for yourself. Don't know where to start? Check out the 9/11 National Day of Service site.

.

9/11 National Day of Service encourages all Americans and others to voluntarily support charitable causes, perform good deeds and engage in other service activities in observance of the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. You can find a charity close to you by logging onto the site. You can also do your own good deed and post it.

.

Soon I will have a very exciting announcement on how you can all help with Operation Shower. Joining me will be some of your favorite party gals from around the web. It's going to be a big, national party. Stay tuned for that!

.

Until then, do something this weekend for someone else. Big or small. It all counts!

.

Cheers,

Amy

BHG. Easy as 1-2-3.

.

Just some super simple and inexpensive Halloween crafts from BHG.com for this post-Holiday Tuesday.

.

.

Clever treat disguises in this fun gallery.
.

.

Lots more ideas to decorate your home to be found here in this gallery.

I love that all of these are easy to whip up and offer a lot of bang for the buck!

I Have A Confession

.

My name is Amy and I'm a Shopaholic.

.

I love clothes. And parties. And chick flicks and chick lit.

.

So, you can imagine my delight when I saw yet another outstanding party by Setting The Mood. This Confessions Of A Shopaholic Bat Mitzvah is right up my alley!

.

.

Is that oversize bag photoprop one of the best things you've ever seen or what?

.

.

The credit cards and chocolate purses are also to die for.

.

.

Check out Jamee's blog for more photos of her work. She is Twelve Steps above the rest!

.

Have a great holiday weekend!

DC-lightful Finds

.

In doing some research for a table linen donor around Washington, D.C. for our next Operation Shower event in October, I've come across some gorgeous table settings. Bonus!

(Note: If you know any rental companies around Washington D.C. that might want to donate and be a part of this event, please let me know!)

.

.

.

.
Today's bit of eye candy is courtesy of from Party Rental Ltd.