Coming soon...

Its been quiet over here at Dessert Parties but thats because we have something better in the works - new blog launching....Cupcakes and Cactus! stayed tuned.......

Happy Earth Day: Eco-friendly Party Tips

Last year in honor of Earth Day I wrote a post about eco-friendly gift wrap ideas. This year I'd like to discuss eco-friendly party tips.

invitations

• use email invitations such as evite.com
  

partyware

• Skip the disposable plates and cups - use reusable instead. Purchase a set in a color that you can use year after year. Also do this for tablecloths and napkins. White always works great or pink/blue for kids parties and baby showers. Stores such as HomeGoods, Target and Ikea are great resources.
• For a tea party, shop Goodwill for an assortment of teacups so that each guest has a unique cup - send them home with the guests after the party (I got this idea from a friend's birthday party and I still have my special tea cup)
• For a bridal shower purchase wine or martini glasses from a restaurant supply shop and have the guests decorate them with glass paints (available from craft stores) - serves both as their drink glass, craft project, and take home gift!
• Use a party rental shop to rent plates, glasses, and tablecloths instead of purchasing disposable partyware. Some great local party rental shops include Party People, Andrews Party Rental
• Use craft paper in place of a table cloth for a kids party and place crayons on the table for the little artists - recycle when the party is over.

food

• Skip the individually wrapped snacks, water bottles and juice boxes
• Purchase natural, organic and locally grown food when possible

decorations

• Make your cake or party favors your table centerpiece instead of purchasing those paper and plastic themed centerpieces that will just be tossed after the party.
• For kids parties, use toys that go along with your theme as decorations (either borrow from your kids collection or make the new toy part of their birthday gift)
• For baby showers, purchase nursery decorations and use them for your party decor. You can also purchase some cute onsies and hang them from a clothesline, giving them to the mom-to-be as a gift after the shower.
• Instead of balloons, use chinese lanterns or party pom poms which can be used for fun room decor later or reused for a future party

party favors & prizes

• Skip the kid's goodie bag filled with small plastic toys - these don't usually work very well and got tossed right after the party. Instead give a gift that will be used long after the party - books, t-shirts, art supplies all would make great party favors.
• Instead of cut flowers, use potted plants for room decor - these can be planted later or sent home with the guest of honor.
• For prizes (for all those fun baby shower games) give gift certificates to a nail salon or coffee shop.
• Edible party favors are always a hit
• Skip the party favors and make a donation to a local charity in all of your guests names.

Not only are these tips eco-friendly but some save money and reduce clutter - all great things!!

Here's a few related articles I found:

• Epicurious: How to throw a green party
• Progressive Kid: How to Host a Planet-Friendly Party
• Organic Style: Tips for Throwing an Eco-Friendly Party
• She Knows - An Eco-friendly Hostess

Do you have an eco-friendly party tips to share?

Dr. Seuss Birthday Party by Nesting Instincts

{nesting instincts}

Most parties featured on Desert Parties are parties held in Phoenix metro areas but I wanted to share this adorable Dr. Seuss and ABCs party by one of my favorite home decorating blogs, Nesting Instincts. I love the mix of Dr. Seauss and ABCs - prefect for a first birthday and even a preschooler or a baby shower.

I read a LOT of blogs - last time I checked my reader (I'm a huge fan of Google Reader) I was up to 160 blogs that I follow! Cake decorating, mommy bloggers, crafting, decorating and social media....I'm addicted to reading blogs. How many blogs do you follow? Do you have a favorite reader?

Added a another great party planning blog to our blog roll: Glorious Treats

Our blog roll of great party planning blogs continues to grow - today I added Glorious Treats to the list. Have you seen the pictures from her daughter's candy themed 3rd birthday celebration? So cute!

photos from Glorious Treats

Custom Party Invitation Using a Digital Scrapbook Kit: Tutorial

I've gotten a lot of questions about my invitations for my son's 4th birthday Knights and Dragons party so I decided to do a tutorial. If you know some basic digital scrapbooking skills or have experience with a photo editing program such as Photoshop it's a very easy and affordable way to create custom invitations and cards.


STEP 1: First you need to find a digital scrapbook kit to fit your party theme. My favorite shop is Sweet Shoppe Designs (the owner of this great site lives in Arizona). If they don't have what I want, than I just do a Google search such as "knight digital scrapbook kit". For the Knights and Dragons party I used "A Knights Tale" from ScrapMatters. The kits are also useful for creating party decorations and you can use it again to scrapbook your event.


STEP 2: Determine the size file you need for your invitation. Sometimes I use a 4 x 6 and print the invitation as a photo. You need to also purchase envelopes that are 4 x 6 - the ones I purchased were a little small so I end up having to trim a little bit off to get the invitations to fit in the envelopes. This year I used Costco's photo cards blank template for the 6 x 7 1/2 Photo Greeting Cards. $14.50 for a set of 50 cards and that includes envelopes! I didn't need 50 but saved a few for scrapbooking later and one to display at the party.


STEP 3: Open your favorite digital scrapbook program. Create a new file in the correct size for your invitation. Make sure when you are selecting your file size you are using inches instead of pixels. Set your resolution to 300 pixels/inch.

STEP 4: Design your invitation. Start with a background paper. Because the cards are smaller than a typical scrapbook page I like to reduce the size of the paper so the pattern is proportional to the invitation. Add some text, embellishments and even photos of the guest of honor.


STEP 5: Save the file as a .jpg


STEP 6: Follow the directions for the photo printing website you have selected (or print from home if you have a photo printer).

To use Costco's photo center: Upload your file to the Costco photo website. Create a greeting card project. Select "More Holiday", scroll to the bottom, and click on "Custom Template". Select horizontal or vertical. Select the correct photo from your album. Place your order and pick up your order in a few hours from your local Costco. Helpful hint: they even sell stamps at the photo center so don't forget to pick some up.


STEP 7: Put your invitations in the mail


Here are a few more examples of invitations I created for birthday parties (these were printed as 4 x 6 photos):

Updating Our Blog Roll

I updated the blog rolls adding a large list of some great party planning blogs - do you have a favorite we should add?

I wanted to highlight some local Arizona party planning blogs since one of my main goals with the Desert Parties blog is to support local party planning businesses.



TomKat Studio

Kim the blogger behind TomKat Studio is based out of Chandler and sells custom party supplies (invitations, tags, cupcake toppers) and printables through her Etsy shop. Her blog focuses on party planning and home decorating.

Poca Cosas

Susan, the blogger behind Poca Cosas, is an interior design with an interest in party planning and entertaining. She shares seasonal decorating ideas and party planning ideas she finds on the web along with highlights from parties she is planning - check out her recent Wii birthday tournament

Knights and Dragons Party featured at The Creative Party Place

Check it out here

This is a great blog for party planning ideas - everything is organized by type of party (first birthdays), theme and boy verses girl ideas. You can also submit your party and you might end up featured!