Board Game Bash Recap {Pt 2}

Now that you've seen the food of the Board Game 30th Birthday Bash, let's look at the decor!  {If you haven't seen the food, click here}


Creating a distinguished looking party that celebrated Mr S's 30th birthday and showed off our new home was a must!  I wanted to balance the decor around the house, as our house is fairly compartmentalized, and we had many guests.  I knew everyone wouldn't fit in one space.  If you can fit everyone in one space, it will definitely make decorating easier!


I decided to keep the decor in our newly finished living room fairly low-key, so people could see all the hard work we'd done in there!  The sun room {previously untouched} got more attention, as did the dining room - where a poker set and card decorations made a fun space, and lastly a few decorations tied the kitchen breakfast nook into the party.  Ultimately, the kitchen became the quiet spot where I could go for a break!


So check them out!

Sun Room

Black Cardstock and wide {non-wired} ribbon created a domino effect on the ceiling.  I used Scotch brand reusable adhesive.  The ribbon didn't stick well to the adhesive, so that took a bit of work, but this would have worked without the ribbon to be dice!

Curtains?? Yes....unfortunately, we haven't finished the walls in our sunroom!  The sheetrock is still bare and the joints don't even have mud!  So, to distract from that, I created white satin {temporary} panels to cover all the places with bare sheetrock.  Luckily a sunroom has lots of windows, which helped keep the amount of bare sheet-rock to small sections (4 - 11 inches wide) and I used about 10 yards to create 8 panels.

You can see the panels in the background of
this picture.  Although you can still see the
unfinished sheet-rock at the top of the windows,
it is definitely less visually intrusive!

Living Room

Little S reading after the party has died down!  The birthday banner was really the only decor in this room, besides a few extra card tables for playing games!

Dining Room

A card chandelier is an inexpensive, fairly easy, way to jazz
up an old chandelier.  Though this isn't quite the impressive,
massive card chandelier, I'd hoped for, it's cute.  Everything
can't be perfect, right??

A 6' banquet table makes a perfect
poker table

The Breakfast nook gets a primary color pop to help tie it in to the party.  The giant playing cards (which were stuck to the windows...) helped block some of the harsh sunlight.

Again, I used a combination of store bought and DIY ideas for the party to keep my sanity and save time.  There were certainly other things I wanted to do that didn't happen, but that's what happens with a budget of time and money!


Tutorials to follow:


Making simple panels {temporary or permanent}


Happy Birthday {Frame} Banner


Card Chandelier


Enjoy!!  Let me know what decor things you would create!

Board Game Bash Recap {Pt 1}

Mr S LOVES {board/card/dice} game nights.  I love them too.  Honestly, it is better than any modern, tech advanced, video game competition! (Except maybe Wii Tennis! haha).  So when the epiphany for a game themed 30th birthday hit me, I decided to make sure some favorites were used as themes!


The easiest {and probably corniest!} part was figuring out the food - I wanted a cute name for everything!  Because what sophisticated party is complete without food tags??  So in this Part 1 we'll look at all the food that makes a game party fun!


Ok, as promised here's a photo recap of Mr S's 30th Board Game Birthday Bash!

'Cue Sticks, Stack the Deck Sandwiches, Domino Brownies, and lots of others helped carry the theme to the table.  Simple food cards make the party feel thoroughly planned!

A mix of homemade and store bought goodies helped me keep my sanity and ensured that there was something for every taste while preserving the personal touches!

A Candy Land display failure turned into something beautiful with fun bowls for the individual candies.  It's nice to include things kids will love at grown-up parties, unless you are not inviting kids.

The food was one of the last things I could do for this party.  So we were definitely scrambling.  Some of the food not pictured?  Crab Cake Chess (mini crab cakes), Scrabble Cheeze-Its, 'Casino' chips & Dip, and Cheese Dice.  Now, granted, most of this food didn't look like the description.  The 'casino' chips & dip was just round tortilla chips with salsa, but having the tags is a nice detail that makes your birthday boy (or girl) feel like you really gave it 100%.

I can post the crab-cake recipe if anyone wants it, but everything else was pretty straight forward.  Box brownie and cake mixes were bought BOGO Free, which helped keep me on budget.  And Farkle Cupcakes (square cupcakes with the tops decorated like various dice using mini oreos) helped me save time.

Best advice on a theme party?  Choose your battles and plan ahead.  I spent a lot of time on decor items, eventhough there weren't a LOT of decorations.  Most of the food is store bought or easy to assemble, because I knew I wouldn't be able to make any of it ahead.

The Decor Recap to follow!  :)  Enjoy!

The Little Table that Could

Ever just get lucky?  Like designer lucky?  It happens to Mr. S and I a bit.  And I'm learning something from it...
Make a piece work for YOU even if it is an "antique" piece, it doesn't have to stay in it's original style/color/finish.  Especially if that style/color/finish doesn't work with your home.  I've tried over and over to force-fit things into my life that I didn't {LOVE} because they were antiques and I was afraid to change them!  But fear no more! :)  I just decided this weekend, if I'm going to cherish everything exactly as it is, I will ALWAYS have a "designer's block".  

So here's the {antique} table that became the crowning glory of my breakfast nook.

First, you should know this table was FREE.  Always, always, always think about what you can do with Free.  Especially if you are on a budget.

                                 

The original table top sanded down to a beautiful, natural color with it's pits and scrapes.

An amazing thing happens if you just sand down or strip a product down.  Suddenly, you have a blank canvas.  You can be inspired anew!  It's ok to change directions after you've started.  Mr. S and I sanded this table and pedestal down before picking out stain colors, because we figured the color didn't matter until the stripping was done!  I'm glad we waited because we ended up agreeing on a brighter green than previously imagined. :)

The pedestal base.  I'm in LOVE with the green

The top after being stained a honey oak color.

At the moment, I don't have dining chairs that I love, but I've been inspired by the vibrant green of the pedestal, which is a complete stain-newbie mishap.  I didn't TEST the green stain before using it, nor did I use a wood conditioner to make the stain take evenly.  I ended up with a very uneven, more vibrant, green than I had anticipated.  And honestly, I love it!  I feel like I always fall back on Bob Ross when it comes to art, but he always said "there are mistakes, just happy little accidents" (at least that's the way I remember it). And I totally believe that.

And the finished product???

My beautiful, inspiring {very} green table! :)

This is my $25 breakfast masterpiece!  All $25 went to sand paper, stain, and brushes.  I own an orbital sander and used that for all of our sanding except on the curves of the legs and there is one metal band around the bottom that I want to cover with a copper strip {or spray copper} but for now, it is just there and we don't notice it.

The one thing I would say is that I felt the Polyeurethane/Stain in one (I used on the top) did not work very well.  Maybe this is just me?  Anyone else have trouble with that?  Whenever I wipe my table clean, it seems the stain/poly is coming off of my table.  Any others encounter this or know what I've done wrong?

There once was a kitchen inspired entirely by green Marjolica pottery.  If I ever find that magazine/article, I will link it for you to see!  This table reminds me of that kitchen!  Now...what to do for chairs...

Game Day Birthday Bash

So, as promised, I'm back to give you a little insight on planning a perfect {Board Game} themed party!!  There was actually a LOT of crafting and work involved, but there are certainly short cuts you could take.

After scouring the internet for {Game} party themes and coming up only with Casino Night and Family Game night party ideas, I realized I was going to have to be flexible.  Why can't family game night work for a game night birthday party?  IT CAN!  The challenging part about a theme party like this, {read: BEWARE} you have to keep your "theme" focused.  In my case, I wanted guests to feel that there would be all kinds of board games and card games they could play, but I didn't want the party to seem thrown together.  I know you're thinking "Doesn't the theme of 'games' tie it all together"  but, sadly, no.  The ideas began to pile up, but too many varying game theme ideas would have made the decor look a little schizophrenic, while focusing on one game could take it from "Game" themed to "Monopoly" themed.  Also, I wanted a party that was a little grown up - after all Mr S was turning 30!  So the recap?

• Grown Up, Stylish Soiree
• Multi-game themed
• Cohesive decor
• Budget minded

Doesn't sound like too tall of an order for this designer, but I had to find the thread to tie it together...COLOR. Wait!  I thought it was GAME themed?  Yes, that's true, but what do all classic board games have in common?  The primary colors {and usually dice}!!  So, I decided to utilize these colors {and some actual game pieces} to decorate cohesively in my home for a stylish and game themed party.

Now, as my camera is still on the fritz and I'm going TODAY to get an adapter for my memory stick...I'm sending you over to Pinterest to see what inspired me and to a few other blogs with AMAZING party ideas!

http://www.hwtm.com/  The perfect site for perfectly adorable party ideas.  {They're parties are glam, but alas, I couldn't find a "board game" theme anywhere!}  They update their site all the time with new and amazing ideas!

http://pinterest.com/grayd/jesse-s-30th-birthday-ideas/  My pinterest site for party ideas {see links under the pictures for sources}

Woot - I've finally gotten the pictures up!  Check out the food recap here and the decor recap here!  Tutorials to come soon.  Thanks for visiting.

Growing {wiser} Older

My wonderful husband turned 30 last Saturday and I have been absolutely DROWNING in getting his party planned and executed.  (That's why I've fallen off the face of the planet for a month)  However, it was a wonderful party and I had an opportunity to really get creative!  As he was worried about getting older, I was running back to my childhood craft days of paper flowers and card banners!  Enjoy the "Game Night" party theme ideas!!

If you're like me, searching for an appropriate themed party for your {wo}man was the biggest part of the party planning stage!  How many different themes are out there??  LOADS, but none quite fit Mr. S.  Conversations with myself went like this:

He's athletic? Sure. 

He like movies! Who Doesn't?

He likes camping?  Well, yeah, but...I don't know.

Then *BAM!* it hit me like a ton of bricks.  All of our get togethers with friends or family usually involve GAMES....board games, dice games, domino games, card games, etc.  Why not throw a game themed party?  So here are some items I crafted for his birthday party!

Food Table Sign

Paper flower centerpiece

More photos to come and tutorials on making your own game day party memorable!

M.I.A. in the quiet blogsphere...

>tree frogs singing....owl hooting...breeze in the trees<  

Wow...it's quiet out here...Sorry I've been M.I.A.  It's certainly isn't for lack of WANTING to blog.  My {not so great} camera had decided it doesn't want to give up the photos of my living room!  Evil thing.  So I am trying to find a way to download photos.  I may have to break down and go buy an adapter for the memory card so I can just put that in my computer....don't you just love technology! :)  Either way, here are some iPhone photos of future projects to keep you updated!

Picking a Paint Color!

Breakfast Nook Table Restoration

Industrial Cart Coffee Table {for less}

Recreating a {favorite} Pillow

Whew...11 days since my last post!  I'm so sorry!  Mr S and I have been working tirelessly on painting and finishing up various areas of the house.  And his 30th birthday is coming up in 3 weeks!  What does a 30th birthday mean??  

A BIG PARTY!  (Of course)

Let's face it, 21 to 30 is 9 years without a milestone, so the party has to be memorable.  The party itself is no surprise to Mr. S, but the theme IS.  I have searched high and low for a party theme that fit him.  It was really hard.  There are tons of cute party ideas on various blogs (http://www.hostessblog.com/ has some of the cutest, but perhaps not the manliest).  I came up with a list of ideas:

• A Mexican fiesta
• A James Bond party
• A Game Night Party
• A Harry Potter theme (yes, we're nerds like that ;) )
• A Sports themed party
• A Camping themed party (complete with after party camping trip)
• And a Hollywood Movie Night party

 

All of these seemed like good ideas.  So which one wins?  I can't say in case he's reading...but mid-March I'll reveal all and show everyone what I came up with!!  There is a LOT of D.I.Y. happening, but I am having to order a few things ;)  Can't wait to show off what I've done and link to the tutorials that have helped me the most!!

What was the most memorable party you've ever been to?