Shindig Diva

I don’t know why, but I love rainbow cake!  LOVE IT!!  I have made several rainbow cakes in the past and I always delight in cutting the cake and revealing the colorful interior.  It always invokes a reaction!  I LOVE that.  So, when I saw these rainbow cupcakes in a jar it was love at first sight.  ;-)  This fabulous idea came from a blog that is new to me called Babble.

Fun, fun, fun!

Check out all the fabulous details for the Rainbow Cake in a Jar on Babble.  (Babble…love that name.)

I love to create parties and send them all over the country.  This one was created for the sweetest little 5 year old!!  I haven’t shared an example of what my party in a box looks like in action before and wanted to share!!  I already shared the Fancy Nancy studio photos, so here’s the real deal!!  Hopefully there will be many more of these to come!!  Enjoy…these girls really seemed to have a great time!!

Treats for here…treats to go!

Fancy treats for the girls!

The fabulous table is fit for a queen!a

Every fancy party needs a red carpet and fashion show!

The photo shoot!

Super silly!

Super sweet!

Check out my sunglasses!

Girls need jewelery right? It’s even better if you can eat it!!

Fancifying our strawberries!

Learning to walk like a lady with a little fun competition!

The birthday girl with her brothers!

“Do I look like a movie star?”

Here’s what the mom had to say about the party: “My 5 year absolutely loved her Fancy Nancy birthday party! It was an absolute hit that even her brothers participated in the photo shoot and candy necklace making activities. My party was in a box and all I had to do was follow simple directions that transformed my house into an extraordinaire setting. Seeing the amount of joy and excitement throughout the day from my daughter would have me asking for Tara to plan another party in the future.”

I had so much fun creating this super special party in a box specifically for this sweet girl!

So, I realized when I got serious about my blogging that I was truly awful at taking photos.  I had even gotten a digital SLR camera a few years ago to help me in this are, but it didn’t.  When I got serious about blogging I knew I had to figure out how to take pictures, so I took a basic photography class and it was a tremendous help!! I have a long way to go, but am so thrilled with the progress I have made.  That said, I was excited to see this post from Sweetopia because I know what a struggle it was for me!

So check out this post:  Tips on Photographing Sweets.

Stunning!  Simply stunning.  I am totally crushing on this Rock Candy Topiary.  What a creative centerpiece for any party!!

Can you believe that these ingredients can turn into that amazing topiary?  The best part is that the very creative Natasha at Fete Fanatic has shared a fantastic Rock Candy Topiary tutorial.  This is definitely on my MUST DO list.  Head over to Fete Fanatic and check out the tutorial.

Check it out!

Aren’t these cupcakes fantastic? I was doing my daily review of the fabulousness that is Tip Junkie and found this. LOVE THIS TIP!! The Pretty Swirled Frosting was created by fabulous Heather from Out on the Ranch.  The best part is that it’s simple and Heather created a tutorial!  When I plan parties, they may seem extravagant, but all of the elements of the party are easy.  This is one of those really simple touches that packs a huge impact.

Check it out!!

Don’t you love a Fancy Nancy party?  This is such a perfect party for a little one!  It’s all about the pink, purple and everything over the top!  Love it!!  So, I definitely had a great time with this one and am still thinking about new ideas even though the party was a few weeks ago! This was a fun party to create!  This party in a box was for a very special little 5 year old.  We took it the studio to be sure we could share it with you!

The table was fun and fabulous!  My immediate thought when I started thinking about this party is that the table needed a boa!  And it did!

The centerpiece of the table was a silver tiered tray.  For a luncheon, the is the perfect place for sandwiches and scones.

I love using 12 x 12 paper as place mats.  There are so, so many fabulous papers available that the possibilities are endless.  Also, added a few vases with flowers because all fancy tables need flowers!

All fancy parties need fancy glasses.  I selected wine glasses, but tea cups are also an excellent choice.  Folding a napkin like a fan and placing it in the wine glass added a touch of elegance very easily.

I thought the glasses needed another fancy…so these butterflies were such a fun fancy addition.

You probably know this,  but I LOVE treat and favor tables.   The butterflies in the background were such a great find.  They were the perfect color and butterflies are the perfect compliment any Fancy Nancy party!

More butterflies!  Loved the butterflies for this party.  I jumped up and down when I found these adorable butterfly cookie pops.  You can use almost any container with an open top to display cookies on a stick, lollipops or cake pops.  Simply fill container with green foam top with a little crinkle paper and the treat.  Easy!

Fruit can be such a beautiful addition to any treat table!  Don’t these strawberries look yummy!  Okay now it’s time for some dress up!  Let there be accessories!!

One of the BEST parts of any fancy party is the dress up!  So, we had some fun dressing up!!

Isn’t she sweet!!  This was our studio session, but I’ll have the party in a box real party next week!!

Here is another fabulous tip that I spotted on Tip Junkie (I might be obsessed with Tip Junkie).  I have been working on cupcake stands myself and have made one version, but these little individual cupcakes are so sweet.  I can think of a dozen places I could use them almost immediately.  LOVE THEM!  These are the work of Modern Moments Design.  This is a fabulous Mini Cupcake Stands tutorial.  I am really amazed at how many creatively talented women their are out there in the blogging world that share their fabulous ideas.  This tutorial is great and it is now on my project to do list!

Here’s what  you need:

Whiz-Bang and you get this…

Okay…not whiz-bang, but pretty close.  Head over to Modern Moments to get the DIY Mini Cupcake Stands.

You know I LOVE cake pops…some may call it an obsession.  I love that they are little bites of cake on a stick, but even better they are little individual works of art.  This on is no exception.  I spotted this fabulous idea on the Blissful Nest Facebook page (one of my faves)!!

Aren’t these roses amazing! This beautiful edible rose was the genius of  Strawberry Chic.  I love cake pops and these are great as we in the Midwest start to look toward spring (I KNOW IT’S COMING!  I KNOW IT…okay sorry for the diversion).   Here are a few photos from her fabulous tutorial, but you simply must head over there to check out all the details.  The tutorial is really one of the best I have seen!

Isn’t this fantastic?  I have seen a bunch of fabulous uses for cupcake liner and this is one of my favorites.  LOVE these cupcake liner pom poms.  I spotted this over at one of my favorite websites:  Tip Junkie (if you haven’t, you must check it out).  This work of art was created by the talented Heidi from Made by Heidi.  The best part is that this Cupcake Liner Pom Poms post is a tutorial!  Yep, she shared all the details about how to make these fabulous pom poms!  Head over and check it out!

Here are a couple of other photos to get you intrigued, but you really have to check out Made by Heidi for all of the details!

Simple supplies.

Easy application.

Beautiful pom pom!  Fun and fabulous!

With 30+ kids there was lots of fun and lots of commotion!  As the kids arrived, everyone was given a VIP backstage pass.  After the kids got backstage, the were sent directly to the Dressing Room.

When they arrived to the Wardrobe table, the girls were given sassy purses full of necklaces, rings, boas, sunglasses, bracelets and candy lipstick..  The boys received backpacks with sunglasses, necklaces, rings and bandannas.

Tattoos were the next stop as our Rock Stars and Diva’s prepared to perform!

Of course, hair for a big star is must! There were brightly colored hair extensions for the girls and colored hair spray for the boys.

Here’s the birthday girl all decked out in tattoos and extensions.

Now every Rock Star needs a guitar, so these stars made a statement with personalized guitars.

A little rock and roll…the kids were jammin’ out to a little freeze dancin’!

These are some divas taking advantage of a photo op!

It’s a rather interesting adventure to do a piñata in the house, but when a diva asks for piñata in Minnesota in March it’s an inside piñata. I need to get better at the inside piñata, but Emma was thrilled to have it.

Now that’s one happy diva!