All posts filed under: Celebrate.

galaxy grandma.

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My friends and I threw a grandma shower for our soon-to-be-grandma friend Sahskkia! The theme: Galaxy Grandma (because her grandson’s name was inspired by a constellation). We reserved a table at Riggers Loft in Richmond. They have a large space next to the water. The table we reserved was already beautiful (solid wood!) so we only decorated with a few additions – golden faux candles and twinkle lights, some fun signs that my friend printed out, gold star table scatter, and a plate of cupcakes for the centerpiece (more on the cupcakes in a later post!). We had wine for the table, but some also tried other beverages. Plus, there was a taco truck. Instead of typical party games, we had our own watercolor paint night. The idea was to create galaxy cacti, inspired by Aima Kessy of Dainty Rebel, to continue with the galaxy grandma theme. Clearly, I was most excited for the crafty portion of the evening (so many photos!). Beautiful! What a fun place to host a celebration! In addition to awesome staff, …

disney glam.

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I went to a Mickey Mouse themed baby shower and it was all the cute. Sharing all the Disney magic…er, crafty magic! As soon as we walked in the sea of red, black, and gold decorations caught your eye. The tables were covered in red tablecloths, place settings set with black plates and gold-ware. The centerpieces were Mickey heads made of red and black roses, and bedazzled table signs. Gold Mickey heads adorned each chair (I made the template 🙃) and Mickey head confetti adorned the tables. Handpainted letters by the mom-to-be spelled out the baby’s name and served as the foreground for the ‘parent table.’ The background: a glam-loveseat, perfect for photo-taking. The food was a mix of catered and homemade goodies, and included cream-filled churros (reminded me of Disneyland)! And the creme de la creme: a dessert table filled with gum balls, chocolate-dipped pretzels, Mickey rice treats, assorted candies…I ate so many sweets that day. Kudos to the party planning and decorating committee aka baby’s paternal grandma, cousins, and aunties! 🙂 Super profesh!

ice cream social.

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Ice Cream Social was the sweetest event! My friend Tally Sue of Shweet Shtuf and I popped up shop at Mischief in Oakland for an afternoon of ice cream treats and craftiness. We set up shop in the Mischief backyard which they had just fixed up. And we decorated with honeycombs, ice cream balloons, and a giant soft serve lamp. Special treat: The Laurel District Association sponsored the snacks. We had ice cream sandwiches and fruity popsicles. Yum! My set up! I had a whole line of ice cream themed pennants and wall hangings for sale, plus surprICE CREAM pints (versus my usual ‘surprise boxes’) in actual pint containers and felt succulents in cups and cones! It was Tally Sue’s very first pop-up so it was super exciting to share the moment with her. Her stuff is the cutest. Tally Sue sells her plushies wholesale in a few shops, but Mischief is the only California store. (Exclusive!) She also makes avocados, clouds, tooth fairy pillows, donuts and so much more. For the pop-up she made …

summer tote.

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I love tote bags. You could say I have an addiction. These straw totes are perfect for summer beach or farmer’s market going, and when I spotted them at Michaels, I grabbed one. And then I went back grabbed a few more because I thought I could decorate them and use them as gift totes for summer celebrations. Each one got an assortment of poms and tassels. I used some of the yarn I snagged from the last craft swap and my visit to the reuse craft store. Summer means bright colors and I’m loving mixing and matching all of them. Tassels and poms! I filled birthday treat yo’self bags with face masks (also addicted to these!) and yummy snacks. My favorite places to find treats right now: Zipang (a Japanese home goods store) and markets that carry local brands. Ready for summer gallivants! The best part is when my friends are finished with the stuff inside, they can use the bag for anything – even as a gift tote to pass on to another …

craft lady reporting for duty.

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A friend of a friend got married and I was craft summoned! I helped with day-of decor set up. It felt like a craft challenge. It was pretty exciting. The reception was held at Hillside Community Church in El Cerrito just a mile from my home. When I arrived the bride had a whole squad of decor helpers setting up all of the guest tables. The decor themes included elephants and travel so they had postcards and elephant figurines on display. My mission: pie bar set up and assorted sign making! I brought some of my craft lady display boxes and decor, and was given doilies, fabrics, and chalkboards to play with. My friend Laura was on map duty, as well as signs, making sure everything was pretty, and then tending bar at the wedding – she did it all! Before/During:  Display hack: tape boxes together for varied height! Font inspo: the wedding invites! After:  Pie bar close ups! I’m really into these crocheted doilies and golden elephants! And I couldn’t help but take so …

fruit party.

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Another coworker leaving means another fun party to throw! 😦 and 🙂 We made it a summer theme and asked people to bring fruits and veggies to share. We dubbed this all the “Hello Summer, Bye Bye Melissa.” party! One coworker made a watermelon basket! We also had cucumber-blueberry water and some pan dulce (in case fruits and veggies were too healthy… 😉 ). For decor, I raided my honeycomb and paper stash. I picked a few honeycombs in summery colors – I thought they would pair nicely with all the fresh fruits and veggies. I also made tiny honeycomb fruits on sticks by adding a paper leaf on top. Placing them in jars with floral sand added some nice height to the tablescape. I also made food picks with washi tape, and I found one paper fan in my party decor stash so I made a kiwi wedge – thanks Oh Happy Day! Plus, for added tablescape fun (or chaos!) I cut fruity scrapbook paper into scatterable sizes – kind of like large, easy-to-clean-up confetti. And what …

chocolate party.

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My sister and I threw a chocolate themed party for Father’s Day this year. We had a chocolate tasting, a chocolate inspired menu, and a chocolate activity. This could be a fun party idea for any occasion! Chocolate Tasting I searched for locally made chocolate bars and found Nohmad Snack co based in Torrance. We tried four of their single origin bars. Chocolate Menu It was a fun challenge to come up with a chocolate menu that wasn’t all sweet. I made chicken mole, cauliflower and peppers with picada sauce, and chocolate bread pudding. For the mole, I used Oaktown Spice Shop‘s Mole Poblano blend – a nice shortcut! For the veggie dish, oh my gosh, make double the picada sauce – it is so good. For the bread pudding, I was super impressed that I made a custard and not egg drop soup! Chocolate Activity What’s a family hang out day without an activity! My sister put together a design-your-own chocolate dessert topping. My niece got really into it. She made a double-sided piece! …