Party

A Magical Mermaid Birthday Party

By Liz Jacob, Copy Editor Leave a Comment

“The sea, once it casts it’s spell, holds one in it’s net of wonder forever”
Jacques Cousteau

There is something extremely magical about creating a child’s birthday party; the planning, the creativity, the thought process and the fun. When my daughter came to me with the grand idea of bringing a magical mermaid party to life I was on board and immediately let me creativity kick in. Before I start planning, I always like to pick a color palette and I thought soft pastels would be the perfect hue to accent an underwater themed celebration. While I love hosting events at my house, it’s not always conducive to a large group of children so we opted for a quaint, historical restaurant located in the heart of our downtown, which also happens to be our families restaurant. I set up one large table that would be used for eating, another medium table for the arts and crafts and then a small table for the face-painting station. Since I was set on using a balloon garland as my statement piece, I decided to keep the other decorations simple and natural. The cake itself made a wonderful centerpiece and I added seashells, succulents and confetti to the tables. Each girl received a starfish wand that my daughter and I assembled together. This would also make a wonderful craft for the party but instead we painted sand dollars.

In addition to the wands, guests took home a shell goody-bag filled with shell necklaces, bath bombs, nautical tattoos and hair ties. We set up an easy DIY photo station by hanging a white sheet and adding fish net and garland. To save time on the cake I ordered a simple, two-layered round cake with pink drip icing from a local bakery. I’ll be honest, this was the only glitch in this magical party. When I picked the cake up it wasn’t the shade of pink I requested, the mermaid tail was stuck in the middle and they added white flowers, which I did not request. I quickly ran to the craft store, purchased some shell molds, shell and nautical stickers and then picked up macaroons at the grocery store. I made a couple batches of chocolates using white chocolate and food coloring. These were so easy to make and they added a nice element of depth to the cake! I then added the macaroons, the stickers (I attached them to toothpicks) and a sprinkle of edible gold flakes. I was actually happy with how the cake turned out and used the leftover chocolates to decorate a batch of cupcakes.

To recreate this magical birthday party follow the links below.

Magical Mermaid Birthday Supplies:
Balloon Garland by paperboy / Cake Topper / Plates & Napkins by Meri Meri / Mermaid Necklace by Meri Meri / Shell Garland by Meri Meri / Natural Fish Net / Starfish / Sand Dollars / Chocolate Molds

Fashionkins // A Desert Beach Party

By Gaylin Howbert, Contributor Leave a Comment

With summer practically here, we can hear the beach and pool calling our names — can’t you? With all that fun, one needs fun apparel and accessories as well.

So bring on all the colors,

and all the eye-catching patterns,

and let’s pair it all with glasses which reflect the sun in rainbow colors!

Now these are outfits one can happily wear all summer long.

Credits // SwimZip , E&ETeepees, and Milk&Soda

Featurekins // Valentine’s Day from Fawn Shoppe

By Rachel Fox Kipphut, Contributor Leave a Comment

Valentine’s Day is such a sweet holiday to share with kids, don’t you think? Children love celebrations and holidays — and we love how easily Fawn Shoppe helps us create the perfect soirée. Featured in our recent Valentine’s Day Digital Issue No. 25 , Fawn Shoppe has everything you need for your little sweethearts.

Here are a few of our Fawn Shoppe favorites, perfect for V A L E N T I N E ‘ S D A Y .

Now it’s your turn! Get the look and shop our very favorite Fawn Shoppe selections:

Party items by My Little Day

Classic kids’ clothes by Mabo Kids

Tights by Juene

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Credits // Photography + Styling: Rachel Fox

Craftykins // “Star Spangled” Fruit Wand

By Rachel Fox Kipphut, Contributor Leave a Comment

“Oh say can you see, some fruit on a stick” ……
Looking for a last minute Fourth of July craft or to jazz up some food for guests this Fourth of July? Than look no further than the “Star Spangled” fruit wand. Or Kabob. Whichever you would like to call it!

With one quick trip to the grocery store, I was able to purchase everything I needed to make these fabulous fruit wands.
You can even get a star cookie cutter from the dollar store.

Here is how you do it :
+ Take your watermelon and make thin slices so that you can use the cookie cuter to pop out the watermelon stars.
+ Wash your berries and start making your berry patterns by pushing the berries onto the stick.
+ Throw in a Marshmallow (that was my “white” for “red, “white” an “blue” ) or not. My kids went straight for the Marshmallow first, then the fruit.
+ Endless pattern possibilities! No two fruit kabobs can be alike!
+ Enjoy!

America the “fruitiful”. – S. Kipphut ( aka My Husband )
H A P P Y F O U R T H OF J U L Y F R I E N D S !

Craftykins // July Fourth Garland

By Rachel Fox Kipphut, Contributor Leave a Comment

A few Christmases ago, we were with friends that always handmade all their own decorations. Together we ended up making a giant red, green and white paper chain that went around the entire room. From that moment on , I vowed to try and make holiday decor instead of purchasing them at a store . It cuts back on costs, storage space and is fun to make! Plus you have the added memories of making them. The Fourth of July in the US is upon us, and the girl’s and I came up with a super cute Red, White, and Blue Abstract Shape Garland. No need for perfect shapes, the fun is cutting out random squares and rectangles. A perfect project for your little ones. All you need is glue, string and construction paper. We also made a “crown” with some left over scraps that the girl’s took turns wearing. We enjoyed celebrating a little early in the girl’s room with our new super fun and colorful Independence Day decor! Happy Fourth of July!

Denim Top by Baby Gap – www.gap.com/products/baby-clothes , Striped Dress by H&M – www.hm.com/us , Plant Basket by Hooyah Goods – www.hooyahgoods.com

Funkins // National Chocolate Chip Day

By Rachel Fox Kipphut, Contributor Leave a Comment

May 15th is National Chocolate Chip Day, the extra sweet to any treat. We decided to look past the obvious Chocolate Chip Cookie ( which has it’s own National Day as well) to celebrate Chocolate Chip Day. These tasty Morsels can be a great addition to Muffins, Ice Cream, Cookie Bars, Brownies , Granola Bars, Trail Mix, and our pick of the day, PANCAKES! We made mini chocolate chip pancakes, a fun and easy treat that you can make with even the rowdiest of toddlers. According to Elsie, mini pancakes are to be eaten all at once. She convinced me she could handle them all and wishes everyone a Happy National Chocolate Chip Day!

Toddler Top by Old Navy http://www.oldnavy.com/ | Toddler Boho Headband by G&LChicshop https://www.etsy.com/shop/GLChicShop

Funkins // Peanut Butter & Jelly Days

By Rachel Fox Kipphut, Contributor Leave a Comment

Peanut Butter and Jelly is favorite and go-to meal for most households, especially with little ones. April 2nd is National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day and although it has has passed, any day can be a day to celebrate Peanut Butter & Jelly! Elsie and Sadie went head to head with their favorite, “the Peanut Butter” and “the Jelly”! And who doesn’t love Donuts? We decided to combined the two to celebrate PB&J Day with PB& J Donuts! All you need is Pillsbury Buttermilk Biscuits , Powdered Sugar and of course the PB&J . The easy instructions to make the biscuit donuts can be found on the Pillsbury’s website. I took the donuts, covered it in powdered sugar, sliced it in half and then added the PB&J. It was fun, it was messy, it tasted amazing , and it was a hit! Kid and adult approved, this treat is a great way to commemorate PB&J and spend some time outside in the warmer weather.

Partykins// A Funky Venice Birthday

By Leslie Schor, Senior Fashion Editor Leave a Comment

What does your birthday party look like when your mama is Doub Hanshaw, a Creative Director at Free People? It’s perfectly eclectic, funky and fun. We are loving the relaxed rock and roll vibe!