Karen "Willy" Okonkwo's 25th Birthday Party

 As you all saw last year with my Kare Bear's 24th Birthday Slumber Party, I am obsessed with celebrating my birthday. This year was no different so I decided to go with a fun Willy Wonka theme for my 25th birthday celebration. It is so important to map out your birthday, making sure to ignite all five senses during your party so it is the best experience for your guests. Instead of calling it a Willy Wonka party, I did a spin off of the name and called my 25th Birthday 'Karen "Willy" Okonkwo's 25th Birthday Party'. Much like in the movie, all invitees had to "find" a golden ticket to be officially invited to my birthday. I used a popular Australian graphic designer called Crackers Art to create chocolate candy bar invitations that I turned into candy bar wrappers and golden tickets. They turned out amazing! To make the RSVP process more interactive, I asked each guest on the golden ticket to RSVP by uploading a picture of their golden ticket to whatever social media outlet they use and to tag me in it with the caption " I found the golden ticket!" This made the invitations that much more exclusive!

I decided to host my party in beautiful Miami! To make sure I captured every moment of it, I left a welcome letter for all of my guests when they checked into the hotel we were staying at that asked them to hash-tag any photos taken during the trip with #karens25thbday. I highly recommend making a hash-tag for any event that you are hosting because it is so much fun to look back at all the pictures that all of your guests snapped!

First up on the itinerary was the most fitting event of all: visiting the Chocolate Factory! No Chocolate Factory Tour can be complete without Willy Wonka gear so before the trip I ordered a Willy Wonka costume. On top of the costume, I just had to order candy and have a mini candy buffet so I ordered candy from my favorite candy store: Oh! Nuts. To make the entire experience complete, I had a custom cake made by Divine Delicacies Custom Cakes in Miami. This company can make ANY cake possible and they have catered to every celebrity you can think of from Drake to Pitbull to the Miami Heat stars. I gave them the graphic design of the "Okonkwo Bars" I sent out to my guests and they replicated that image into a delicious vanilla rum cake topped with butter cream frosting and fondant {yum}! Schakolad Chocolate Factory in Miami Beach, FL hosted my Chocolate Factory Tour and it was a blast! All of us received a tour of the Chocolate Factory learning the ins and outs of chocolate. Best of all, we got to make 3 different types of chocolate treats and take it home!

All in all, my 25th Willy Wonka themed birthday party in Miami, FL was so much fun and I can't wait to show you all what I come up with for next year's birthday theme. If you have any questions on how I created any part of this party, please feel free to contact me at partywithak@gmail.com!

Party of the Week: Alexis' Bridal Shower

This past weekend has been so much fun and it was largely due to a bridal shower I helped put on for one of my friends here in Seattle. I was in charge of designing the decor for the party and had a blast putting that together with the other host. As you know from one of my previous blogs, I am really big on choosing at least 3 colors for the theme of any event. The other host and I decided to have the colors be teal, yellow gold, and white with damask patterns incorporated for that elegant appeal -such a cute combination! And of course, as the designing took place I just had to include a candy buffet created by yours truly!

Perhaps my greatest discovery during the decor designing process was how much I can do with spray paint! I ran to Michaels before the party and picked up teal, yellow gold, and white spray paint. The goal was to take white paper lanterns I had bought and spray paint them the exact colors of the party.

It was a success!

Not only did I spray paint the paper lanterns, but I also spray painted empty glass bottles that I had been collecting as well as open, wooden picture frames. Fun fact: the empty glass bottles were bottles of my favorite salad dressing and dip!

If there is anything that I have learned in my experience of decorating for parties is that there are so many things you can use around the house to make your parties stand out. One thing I found in my home that I decided to incorporate in the decor was food dye. Food dye is awesome because if you simply fill a jar or vase with water and spoon in some dye, you've just added a little color to your party. Throw on a bouquet of flowers (real or fake!) and you've just created a fabulous centerpiece.

Another cool thing found around the house that served as a great filler was rice! We used rice in the candle holders to help hold up the chalkboard food signs. 

I know you have heard me talk about Gartner Studios before after I had discovered their awesome bottle labels that I used for my friend Angel's Bachelorette Party. Well, I couldn't help but use them again, this time for some wine bottles to add some personalization. I just love Gartner Studios! They create the design, you just add in your own words and press print!

No party is complete without a touch of my candy buffets!

At the beginning of the party each guest was asked to write the bride and groom a nice note filled with either advice or well-wishes. I brought in a tree branch that I had previously spray painted white and made pre-made note cards glued to ribbon to be hung on a tree branch. The whole thing turned out to be such a sentimental activity!

 

All in all, this was one of the best parties I have helped put on and I am so happy with the turnout. The future bride and groom had a blast and that is all that matters in the end!

Party decoration design: Party with a K

Candy Buffet: Party with a K

Candy: Oh! Nuts and The Confectionary

Spring is in the airrrr!

*Vintage Spring themed candy buffet by Party with a K

Spring is in the air! I am so thrilled for all the candy buffets coming up! This one I did above showcased all the colors that remind me of spring (minus my fave color, purple!): pink, green, yellow, and white. The spring season always brings out a cause for celebration so please look forward to posts by me that talk about great events/parties, party tips, supplies, and the list goes on!

Photography by: Party with a K

Candy Buffet & Design by: Party with a K

Candy: Oh! Nuts

Candy Labels: Gartner Studios

    Decorations:  Michaels

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Couture Candy Buffet by Party with a K

Every now and again I love to do photo shoots to display some of my candy buffet designs. Today's design I am sharing is my Couture Candy Buffet...check it out!

Photography by: Party with a K

Candy: Oh! Nuts

Candy Labels: Gartner Studios

                                       Decorations: Personally owned items & Michaels

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