A Little Inspiration

As promised, here is the inspiration board that I’m using to help me plan Jace’s Monster Truck party(photo credits listed below).

Monster Truck Inspiration Board

I get most of my ideas straight from the internet through searches on Google and Yahoo.  I’ve found some great websites and blogs like Catch My Party, Pirates & Princesses, A Blissful Nest, and The TomKat Studio.  There really is so much inspiration on those, and many other sites, and I spend hours scouring their pages for unique ideas.

I do plan my parties  far enough in advance so I have ample time to make all the wonderfully creative decorations on my own.  However, if you’re not a planner like me, then  you could easily purchase any of the items custom made for you.  In fact, you could purchase them from me, since I am going to be selling custom, handmade party decorations very soon.  It’s a win-win for everyone!

Anyway… back to the party plan for Jace’s 5th birthday.  I’ve already finished making a custom birthday banner, individual dessert, candy, food, and drink station banners, party favor tags, cupcake wrappers, popcorn cones, pennant banner, and numerous other decorations.   I’m hoping to get some pictures of some of the stuff that I’ve finished, and post them for you to see real soon.  There’s still lots of things to make, and somehow the list keeps getting longer no matter how much I get done.  I guess I should probably stop looking at anymore websites/blogs until after the party huh!?  Like I said before, there’s just too many great ideas. 

Some of the other stuff I’ve been planning is a fantastic cake and dessert table, and fun games to keep the kids busy.  Of course, just like with the decorations, I’m finding so many ideas, it’s hard to make a decision.  I think I’ve finally picked the design for the cake though, and it shouldn’t be too hard to pull off as long as I don’t get impatient.  I’m incorporating a few different features from several cakes I found, and I’m even going to try sculpting a monster truck out of rice krispy treats that will be “bursting” out of the top of the cake.  Hopefully, it will look pretty cool when it’s all done.

For the games, I think I’ve narrowed it down to about three: a freestyle obstacle course (the kids will have to spin in circles, crush cans, and jump over some obstacles), monster truck race (kids will take turns seeing whose monster truck will make it down the ramp fastest), and a tire toss (who can get the most bean bags in the tire from three different distances).  All the kids should have a good time playing these games.  I still have to figure out what I want to give out for prizes though.  Any suggestions?

Photo Credits:

1. Monster Truck Cake by bandcbakes on CakeCentral
2. Candy Buffet Photo on Flickr
3. T-Shirt by SweetCouture on Etsy
4. Custom Door Sign from ThePaperKingdom on Etsy
5. Ticket Invitations from DesignsByFun on Etsy
6. Maximum Destruction Monster Truck on PhotoBucket
7. Monster Truck Clipart from PJG Scrapbook Heaven
8. Monster Jam Logo from Platform Nation
9. Yellow and Black Monster Truck Party from At Home with Kim Vallee
10. Flame Cupcakes image at The Cupcake Blog

Hello! My Name is Shea, and I’m a Planner

Honestly, I sometimes think I am addicted to planning.  It’s my drug.  Things don’t always go according to my plan, but even then, I just start a new plan.  Whether it’s our finances, weekly dinner menu, or my To Do list, I’m always planning something.  My favorite thing to plan though is a party.  I start planning months in advance.  For my son Jace’s upcoming 5th birthday in May, I started planning last September.  Yes you read that correctly- a whole 8 months in advance.  Some people think this is crazy, but I love it! It gives me plenty of time to choose a theme, make my decorations, and hunt for the best prices on any supplies I need. 

Originally, when I asked Jace what he wanted to do for his birthday he asked for Chuck E Cheese.  There’s not much to plan when having a party at a place like that, but I didn’t let that stop me.  I mean after all, there was still the guest list, goody bags, and cake to plan out right!?  So I started planning.  And then he changed his mind.

Just after the first of the year, as we were walking through the Dollar Tree store, he spotted the monster truck party supplies.  Now, as anyone who knows Jace is aware, he LOVES monster trucks.  He’s loved them since he was 2 years old.  It was a no brainer that the theme of his party was going to have to be changed, and Chuck E wasn’t going to be fitting in to the new theme.  Time to scrap the old plan, and begin with a new.  There was so much more planning to be done for this kind of party, and I won’t lie – I was excited!

Stay tuned for my next post, where I’ll show you my inspiration board, and tell you about some of the plans.

What Am I Doing?

Where to even begin… why have I decided to jump on the blog bandwagon? I’m not really sure to be honest.  I guess it’s a way for me to express myself, and let everyone in on some aspects of my life.  It’s going to take me a little bit to figure out how to make things look pretty, but hopefully, you’ll hang in there with me.