{Real Parties} Knights of Columbus 10th Anniversary

Two weeks ago, I showed you the gorgeous Black Baccara roses that invaded my dining room.  The party is over - a wonderful success and I finally finished processing the photos!

This event was in celebration of the Rev. James B. Coyle Council Knights of Columbus 10th Anniversary.  It is an organization my father and grandfather belong to and was asked to design the invitations, centerpieces, and photograph the event.  The reception was held at Channel Club in Monmouth Beach.

Invitations

Mass at St. Dorothea's Church

 

 

 

The Party

 

 

The centerpieces each had 3 dozen black baccara roses in them.

 

Self Portrait

 

I never found the owner of this drink to ask what it was

 

 

 Members of the Knights receiving an award from the Mayor.

 

An odd occurance - me actually having my picture taken - with my sister

{Real Parties} Under the Sea Party

I came across this party the other day and had to show all of you!  Check out the giant octopus!  WOW!  Now, I'm terrified of balloons - absolutely petrified.  It is a childhood fear that I never got over and the reason why the likelihood of seeing them at one of my child's parties is nill.  But, this is just incredible.  Kari did a wonderful job creating a that under the sea feel indoors!  Great job!  Check out her Mawster Parties Blog!

My favorite party- Victoria

Tori is now 6 but if I had to pick my favorite birthday party of hers it would definitely be the "Under the Sea" party we had for her 5th birthday. Her birthday is in October (the week before Halloween) and we typically host a huge Halloween party at our house so it can be tricky squeezing both parties in such a short time. We ended up not having our Halloween party that year but I had already decided to have Tori's party at the community center just in case :)
The highlight of the party was the giant pink octopus made out of balloons. It was huge! There were lots of games and crafts to keep the children busy as well. We had sand art, a fishing game, treasure box craft and a animal scavenger hunt outside. In addition, a pirate came to put on a show and we had a mermaid face painter. It was lots of fun.

The sand art table

Fishing Game

Make your own treasure box

Tori was so shy when the mermaid first arrivedThe kids loved the pirate show - especially Hunter!

Tori and her pirate friend looking for all the animals on the scavenger hunt

{Etsy} Hearts for Haiti

HeartsforHaiti is an Etsy collective of donated items from hundreds of Etsy shops to raise money to rebuild Haiti. 100% of the proceeds from this shop (minus Etsy fees and Paypal fees) go directly to DoctorsWithoutBorders.

I am proud to one of the many Etsy sellers who are donating items to raise money for this worthy cause.  Currently, I have donated three sets of my Valentine cupcake toppers to the cause.

Please take a moment and take a look in the shop; there are many lovely items and shipping is free in many cases.

I am asking that my fellow bloggers spread the word about HeartsforHaiti.  Twitters and messages on Facebook would be great, too!

If you Twitter you can follow Doctors Without Borders' updates from Haiti at @MSF_USA.

As of as of 11:47 EST 1/20/10, HeartsForHaiti.etsy.com has raised for MSF (after fees): $8505.96.

Thank you!

Belleza e Luce Featured!

I was recently interviewed for a Funny Sky's blog and it has been featured today! 

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Featured Artist: Bellezaeluce

Featured Artist: Bellezaeluce

INTERVIEW

Tell us about your story: your name, location, affiliations and personal stuff

I'm Danielle Seals, owner and designer of Belleza e Luce. I started Belleza e Luce in 2007, a few months after my second child was born. I named my company after my children: Belleza, meaning beauty after my daughter, Cibella and Luce, meaning light after my son, Luca. They are the beauty and light of my life. Having this business has allowed me to be a single parent, stay home to care for my children while still providing for them.

I'm located in New Jersey, only a few miles from the beach, where I have lived my entire life.

To read the full interview click here.

Funny Sky creates beautiful origami  and paper art jewelry.  I have my eye on a pair or two of earrings!  Check out her shop. 

Thank you for the feature!

{Real Parties} Cibella's 1st Birthday

When my daughter turned 1, I decided to throw a neopolitan themed birthday party using lt. pink, brown and ivory as the color scheme.  I was 8 months pregnant with my son at the time and one of my favorite treats was ice cream, so I think that had a major influence on the party theme! 

Her invitation

I ordered carnations in pink, white and red online and found the pink banana split dishes at my grocery store!

Everyone received a cupcake in its own bakery box as a favor.  They were chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry combinations.

 

The birthday girl

I prefer the pull string pinatas for the little ones.  The children were all 1 - 2 years old so they really had no idea what to do with it and were not impressed by the candy so the adults had a grand time helping themselves.

 

The dessert table

 

I made Cibella's birthday cake and smash cake.  It was my first time using fondant to cover and decorate a cake and I completely underestimated how long it would take to do.  Still, I was happy with the results.

Create your own sundae.

Enjoying her cake

 

 

It's hard to believe that she is an almost 3 1/2 year old ... how time flies!  She has become a party planner herself, informing me of her 4th birthday party theme only 3 days after her Aurora Princess Party.  Yes, I have already begun working on her invitations!  The theme, you ask?  Well, it's going to be a Jolly Holiday!