Real Life Inspiration: End-of-Summer Picnic

I'm constantly checking the Conversations with a Cupcake blog for fun food ideas. Last weekend Brooke posted some beautiful pictures from the end-of-summer picnic she and fellow blogger/friend, Jaime at Sophistomom planned for their children. Check out both blogs for the full beadth of pleasure from this sweet summer event! The menu was delectable and the photos make me wish school was still out and that I had been invited along!

MerryB Events Featured on Enchanted Expectations!

We were delighted to find our paper cones from MerryBelle's Sweet Shop Birthday featured on the blog Enchanted Expectations! Many thanks for spreading the love!

Real Life Inspiration: Taya's Strawberry Shortcake Party!

Some parties are designed so well, we just can't help but pass them along. Taya's Strawberry Shortcake birthday celebration, designed by Kara from Kara's Party Ideas, is one of those parties! No detail is overlooked - from strawberry cupcakes to strawberry lemonade (and everything in between!).

Even if you're not a fan of "character parties", you'll find tons of fun ideas with this one (maybe for a "Day @ the Strawberry Patch" party)! See more pictures at Kara's Party Ideas!

Sneak Peek! Rosemary's Princess & Pirate Party

Rosemary is turning 3 and we're very busy making all the preparations for her big celebration in a couple of weeks. Here's a sneak peek at the invitation! More fun details to follow!

MerryB Events Fall Fundraiser: Silhouettes for Smiles!

Preserve your child's wonder years in a one-of-a-kind hand cut silhouette and help send a child with cancer to Camp Smile-A-Mile!

MerryB Events is so excited to be teaming up with skilled silhouette artisans to bring you these beautiful keepsakes that make amazing momentos for moms, dads, and grandparents (Christmas is right around the corner!).

Each silhouette is cut freehand in the European embellished style and mounted to a white 5" x 7" mat suitable for framing. Oval mats and picture frames are also available. See the order form for pricing.

There are two ways to order your silhouettes:

1. We take the picture for you.
Bring your child to any of the following local events and we’ll help you get a suitable profile shot for the artist to work with. We’ll have order forms on hand or you can print one ahead of time.

August 16 - Ross Bridge Market Place @ the Welcome Center, 2-6 p.m.
August 18 - Castles & Crowns Trunk Show @ Ross Bridge Welcome Center
August 25 - Castles & Crowns Trunk Show @ Lake Cyrus

We can also schedule an individual sitting. Just email info@merrybevents.com to arrange a date and time.

2. You take the picture for us.
Snap a good profile photograph of your child and bring it (printed or on a disk) to any of the events listed above. Or email it to info@merrybevents.com. We’ll email you back with ordering and payment instructions.

We'll be taking orders through the end of August and proceeds will benefit Camp Smile-A-Mile! Contact Dawn Ey at dawn@merrybevents.com or 205.215.3035 with any questions.

Favorite Summer Treat: Lemon Sticks

Since tomorrow is the first day of school for our kids, we thought we'd hold onto to summer a little longer by sharing one of our favorite summer treats - the lemon stick. Sweet and refreshing, they're easy to make and adored by all!

Ingredients

1 Large lemon (halved)

2 Old-fashioned peppermint stick

Insert peppermint stick into the center of the lemon. Squeeze the lemon. Suck on peppermint stick like a straw. The acidic juices will create little tunnels of sugary sweetness in the peppermint stick. Makes two (but you'll need to make many because everyone loves them!)

To serve at parties, nestle inside of a cupcake wrapper or a small children's cup. And be sure to have lots of baby wipes and napkins on hand. Lemon sticks are a little sticky.... but oh so worth it!

Polka Dotted Shakes!

How cute is this adorable polka dotted strawberry shake featured on Paul Lowe's blog Sweet Paul? We tought it was so sweet we just had to share it with you!


The recipe is easy to make at home (see it here)! The "trick" to making the polka dots is marshmallows! Just think of the color combinations you can do with all the different available marshmallows now - pink, green, blue. So many options for your next polka dot party!

Hop on the Bandana Wagon

Your style doesn't need to be "country" to appreciate how these colorful bandana table decorations by Country Living can set the mood for a fun birthday celebration. At MerryB Events, we often use bandanas for napkins and placements. You'd be surprised at the variety of colors and designs available at Hobby Lobby! In fact, we used pink with white polka dots for Peyton's Teddy Bear Picnic Party earlier this year.

Back to School Party Ideas

With school starting next week here in Alabama, hosting a Back-to-School party will help ease your grade-schooler back into the fall routine. Have your party before school starts and invite friends and neighbors or push it back to the weekend after school starts so that you can include all of your child’s new classmates.

Make invitations in the shape of a school bus or crayon using cardstock or print party details onto a designed invitation. We like these mod apple postcards designed by Antionette Palmieri and found on etsy.com.

Decorate with all the necessities of fall. At our event, a chalkboard hung with ribbon announces the occasion. Table decorations include an assortment of apples and cheerfully colored school supplies, which can later be dropped into personalized brown paper bags and given to guests as party favors.

An apple place card and watercolors mark place settings for each guest and placemats are made of basic handwriting paper. PB & J sandwiches tucked into oversized pencil cases are paired with all the traditional school lunch trimmings – chocolate milk, baby carrots, applesauce and Hostess™ Ding Dongs – for a festive meal. We tucked a napkin and spoon into little paper pockets similar to the ones that were pasted inside library books ‘back in the day’.

Plan a few fun party games or activities such as:

* Don’t Miss the Bus Race – Have the children pack a lunch, grab homework, collect milk-money from mom, put it all in their backpack and hop on the bus

* Volcano science experiment – Things have changed since Peter Brady got hot lava all over the Brady den. Now you can pick up a pre-made kit that erupts more gently… and the kids still love seeing it in action.

* What I Did on My Summer Vacation Charades – Give each guest a turn to act out their favorite summer memory.

* Scavenger Hunt for school supplies.

* Show & Tell – Invite guests to bring something to share with ‘classmates’.

* Create handprints using tempura paint and colored construction paper.

* Play Red Rover, Freeze tag or Kickball.

Additional Party favor ideas:

* Personalized back pack tags. We found these designed by Sunnydaytags on etsy.com

* Gift certificate to a local office supply store.

* An artist sketch pad and pastels

* Personalized stickers or labels for school gear.

With these fun Back-to-School party ideas, you’re sure to relieve any worries and give enthusiastic students an outlet for releasing all that energy!