I love the simplicity of these sweet custom “a perfect match” wedding match boxes we did for Lindsay and Derek. It’s the little details that really make the look and feel of an event come together.
Many thanks to the Martha Stewart Weddings team for featuring our sweet Delphine straw pennant flags in the gorgeous Martha Stewart Real Weddings special issue (Spring 2012).
It’s hard to believe my little one is already eight years old! This year for his birthday he requested a beach party scavenger hunt at Seaside Beach in Cardiff-by-the-Sea.
The kids got “a little” wet (some of them actually went swimming!) and had a blast searching for treasures like sea anemones, feathers, shells, lobster, surfers, swimming dogs, and whales. We spotted nearly everything on the list (including swimming dogs, excluding whales).
We celebrated with pizza, cupcakes and lemonade for the kiddos … and yummy cheese, warm coffee and cupcakes for the parents. One of the best parts of the party for me is the crazy easy setup and break down … all I brought was snacks, a drink bucket, a rollup portable table and some picnic blankets. I let Mother Nature do ALL the decorating! I did put together some goodie bags for the kids, with custom stickers, candy and a whoopie cushion. They are 8 year olds, after all. What could be better than sugar and a whoopie cushion?!
Happy birthday to my little guppy!
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A few weeks ago, just before school started, John and I invited the neighborhood kids (and their parents) over for a S’mores Party. It was a hot sticky mess, but also a ridiculous amount of fun.
I designed fun brown and white S’mores party invitations, as well as a few party accessories like brown cocktail napkins, but that’s as fancy as it got — overall the party was super low key. My dad made brats and we had a wagon full of beer, the kids ran around the yard playing tag, and patiently waited for dark so we could make s’mores. One of our neighbors brought over homemade marshmallows drizzled with caramel (we ate most of them before the fire was hot!).
Some s’mores party tips: 1. Buy cheap wood dowels at the hardware store for disposable s’mores sticks. 2. Keep a box of wet wipes nearby to help little ones get “unsticky.” 3. Put each ingredient in its own big jar with wide mouth, for easy access. 4. If you want to try something a little fancy: replace the Hershey’s bar with a Reese’s Cup. Trust me on this one.
//Top 3 photos by Erika Firm; bottom photos by Jessica Davis Photography
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Just released: our brand new pennant flags for drinking straws. Available only through authorized Delphine dealers. I just love how they add a punch of color to a tray of drinks.
Our son just turned 7 and we had a Root Beer Kegger! See part 1 for the inspiration; part 2 for the color palette; part 3 for party decorations/inspiration; part 4 for root beer kegger food ideas; and part 5 for root beer party prep.
The Root Beer Kegger was super fun! The kids got all sugared up, played Legos until the entire city was destroyed (all in good fun), ran around the house like maniacs and had a great time. Of course I did the typical party host thing, and totally forgot to take photos. Many thanks to all our guests, who picked up my camera and snapped nearly all of these shots for me!
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I know it sounds a little nutso, but we made two cakes. The chocolate frosted one at left is a gluten free vanilla cake with fresh strawberry filling (several of the guests have wheat allergies); the Bûche de Noël at right is my mom’s masterpiece. She used Grand Marnier to flavor the mascarpone frosting. Delicious!
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The buffet table. The big empty plate at front is where the Paninis were placed. It’s crazy, but all of these props (the wood stump boxes, the cardboard 3-d stars, the owl, the acorns, the faux moss) I already had in my collection, props from my trade show days.
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Favors for the kids: I found cute glass mugs, filled them with root beer barrel candies, and also gave each kid a bottle of root beer to take home. I tied a green and white striped paper straw, with their initial on the tag. Tip when preparing candy bags for kids: make sure each bag has EXACTLY the same number of candies in each bag, or tears may ensue. Photo at right is my breakfast treat day after the party: a root beer float. I was so busy chatting at the party I forgot to make myself one!
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I created these custom root beer kegger birthday party invitations, along with the matching coasters, tags, place cards, flags, cake toppers, stickers, favor bag labels, etc. Lets just say I get carried away with paper stuff. Of course I forgot to take photos of most of these things! Whoopsie!
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The kids, getting a heavy dose of sugar with root beer floats, before tackling the cake.
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Morning after the kegger, he had the breakfast of champions: leftover root beer from the keg, and day old cake.
Overall, it was a great party. A few problems: invites got lost in the mail, took us a while to figure out how to operate the keg (stop snickering… it’s different from the ones we had in college. I swear), and I totally forgot to take photos. But everyone had a good time, especially the birthday boy, so this root beer kegger was a smashing success!
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Our CHRYSANTHEMUMS stickers were designed to work great either as return address stickers or as party favor stickers. I really like how they look in our “bleu” ink.
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It’s rainy and dreary outside here at the Delphine studio, but inside it’s cozy and warm as John and I package up last minute holiday gifts for friends of the studio. This year we picked oranges from the backyard and made candied orange peels. Mmmm. To make them I peeled the orange skins, blanched them, then boiled them in fresh water for an hour to soften, scraped away any remaining pith, simmered them in sugar syrup for an hour, then sanded them with sugar. Super delicious with a cup of espresso, which is how we plan on enjoying any leftovers.
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I used our vintage Royal typewriter (a Christmas gift from John 11 years ago — he found it covered in dust in the corner of an antique shop in New Bern, North Carolina and restored it for me) to type labels for the packages of candied orange peel.
I was clickety-clacking so fast that John came in from the next room to tell me, “wow, you would have been a great secretary.” Humph.
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I packaged the candied orange peels up in cute pale green party favor boxes I got from Michael’s a few years ago (by Martha Stewart). They are leftover from a baby shower I helped plan.
I saved about 3 cups of syrup that the oranges were simmering in. I think it would be yummy added to some sparkling water (or to a vodka martini). Any other ideas on how I can use it?
All photos by Erika Firm ©DELPHINE.
Meeting Street is a the Delphine design most near and dear to my heart, so I was delighted when Kari and Alan ordered custom matches as their wedding party favors in our Meeting Street design. Congrats, you two! Please send wedding photos : )
photo by delphine
I’m sorting through photos from last weekend’s Little Lamb baby shower (hosted at my place for my dear friend Carrie), trying to pick the best ones to share, but I can’t get past the cupcake ones without my mouth watering. I love a good cupcake, but the baker of these cupcakes (Alex, you rock!) took it to a whole new level by poking holes in these freshly baked cupcakes and drizzling liquid lemon/sugar mixture into the cake, before adding the icing. W O W. I watched the guest sitting next to me at the shower (you know who you are) wolf down three. Needless to say, there are no leftovers.
Spotted in Domino magazine: l’ennuie match boxes from my friends over at ForYourParty.com.
delphine for ForYourParty.com
At ForYourParty you can use delphine graphics to adorn napkins, match books, stir sticks, gift bags and other party goodies. ForYourParty is offering free shipping now through January 15, 2009: just enter code HOL08 at checkout.
photos and cards: delphine; party goodies: foryourparty.com
