Boo! Big Thanks to You {GIVEAWAY}

With Halloween here, it means that GET YOUR GHOUL ON! MONTH is officially over and I wanted to say thanks for all of the wonderful comments and feedback you've shared throughout October.  It really means a lot to know that the ideas and projects you see here actually inspire you.

On that note, I have to give a shout out to two AFOMFT readers, and my lovely friends, Kyla and Tamlyn who threw a Boo! Bash using some inspiration they got here with results that were beyond spooktacular.   Just look at this spread!

The food looked frighteningly fabulous.

And the details were creepy and cute!

It's no surprise that all of the little ghouls and goblins had so much fun!

Thanks to Kyla and Tamlyn for sharing their scary soiree, and if you've thrown a party or done a project inspired by something you've seen on AFOMFT, we want to see!  E-mail us pictures and details at afomft@gmail.com.

Since this post was all about saying thanks, what better way to show my gratitude than with a giveaway?  And fittingly, it's for a set of 16 Thank You Cards from Pear Tree Greetings.  They have wonderful notes to express your appreciation for any occasion.  I want to get these for Gabrielle and Alaina to send out after the holidays.

This design is great for the entire family.

And these are perfect just for me!

To enter to win 16 Thank You Notes of your choice from Pear Tree Greetings, post a comment here telling me what you're most looking forward to this holiday season (this is mandatory).  For additional entries:

• Visit Pear Tree Greetings and post a comment telling me which Thank You Notes you'll choose if you win.
• Subscribe to AFOMFT or let us know you are a subscriber
• "Like" AFOMFT on Facebook 
• "Like" Pear Tree Greetings on Facebook 
• Ask your friends to "like" AFOMFT on Facebook by sending them this link - http://tinyurl.com/AFOMFTFBFAN - and post a comment here with the names of each one who does.  You'll earn one entry per new friend who "likes" our page and names will be cross-checked.  
• Follow Pear Tree Greetings & AFOMFT on Twitter (@PearTreeGrtngs & @AFOMFT or click the birdie icon on the sidebar) and tweet this post by clicking the graphic above or this giveaway:  #Win 16 gorgeous Thank You Notes from @PearTreeGrtngs from @AFOMFT - http://tinyurl.com/AFOMFT
• Click here to vote for AFOMFT on Top Baby Blogs and post a comment here that you did - .  You can vote once per day per computer so if you vote every day or on different computers, be sure to post one comment for each one.
• Grab our button and put it on your blog or website and post a link here showing us.
• Blog or post on Facebook about this giveaway with a link to this post (worth 2 entries so please post two comments) and make sure your comments include a link to your status or blog post.

Please leave a separate comment for each entry (two if you've blogged about the giveaway) and make sure to include a link to your tweet, blog post, etc. All entries must be posted on AFOMFT as a direct comment to this post.  Comments on Facebook will not count as entries.  This giveaway is open to residents of the U.S. and Canada and ends November 5th at 11:59 pm EST. The winner will be selected by random.org and announced on AFOMFT on November 6th. If the winners don't contact AFOMFT within 48 hours, a new drawing will be held so be sure to check back to see if you've won!

Please note that I am now a Pearista, which means I have partnered with Pear Tree Greetings to offer great giveaways and discounts to my readers.  I do not receive any monetary compensation from them but they will occasionally send me free product to try out.  Whether I choose to post about their company or not is totally up to me and my opinion of their products is solely based on my experience using them. 

Images: Pear Tree Greetings

Peekaboo, Look Who's Two! (Part One)

I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since Gabrielle and Alaina's party!  It was a fabulous day and I can't wait to share all of the details with you.

We live in New York City so where to have the party was a bit of a debate.  We had the girls' first birthday on our roof deck which was gorgeous but with 15 kids between one and three coming this time, we decided a local play space would be a better plan.  We chose a spot called City Treehouse and it was just perfect.

They have a huge Treehouse with a slide that the kids loved (and I did too!).

And a gigantic water table that kept everybody happily - if a bit wetly - occupied.

We didn't have a real theme for the party but everything revolved around the great graphics that Maureen and Adria from Anders Ruff created for us.  I cannot rave enough about working with these wonderful ladies!  I had very specific ideas of what I wanted for the party but never could have brought them to life without Anders Ruff.  They are creative, patient (I'm a bit of a perfectionist) and so so flexible, and collaborating with them was a lot of fun. 

So for Gabrielle and Alaina's "themeless" party, I knew I wanted to incorporate gingham, ric rac, poppy colors and the phrase "Peek-a-boo, Look Who's Two!"  Weird combination, I know, but Anders Ruff managed to make it all work.  You can see how all of the elements came together with the invitations.  The address labels had a spin on the "Peek-a-boo" saying and I couldn't resist adding a personalized stamp!

The return address labels featured a layered flower that became one of the main graphics for the party.

The invitation itself turned out even better than I ever imagined.  After lots of e-mail back and forth, Maureen, Adria and I came up with the idea to play off of the "Peek-a-boo" idea by hiding the girls' picture and some of the party information with a 3-D element on the invitation.  This is what guests saw when they pulled it out of the envelope.

And here's what it looked like when the ribbon came off.

Okay, so back to the party!  Gabrielle and Alaina's outfits tied in with the gingham theme.  Sara from Peanut & Pumpkin Design made the girls onesies with their initials on layered flowers to match the ones on their invitations.

And we paired them with the cutest custom ruffled gingham bloomers from Three Yellow Starfish.  Oh, no shoes are allowed in the play space, hence the bare feet!

After playing like crazy and getting their groove on to the music stylings of Tony Corsano:

It was time to hit the party room for snacks and cake.

There were personalized sippies waiting for all of the kids.

And "Eau de Deux" for the adults.

I had a lot of fun making the paper flower bouquets that decorated the table.  I'll share a tutorial on these next week but I have to give a huge thanks to my mom for coming up with the great idea to fill the vases with Fruit Loops.  Not only did the cereal hold the flowers in place but it looked really cute too.

Since most of the party guests were toddlers, I didn't want to go too overboard on the sugar so I used patterned paper that matched our graphics to make boxes for Toddler Trail Mix (Cheerios, raisins and Goldfish) and little containers we filled with Veggie Sticks, animal crackers and cheese puffs.

But there were sweet treats too!

The mini-cupcakes were store bought from Whole Foods and dressed up with toppers (I used paper straws instead of lollipop sticks to make them pop a little more).

Ally from Girly Gatherings did an AMAZING job transforming the logos from Anders Ruff into cookies.  They were almost too cute to eat.  Almost!

And I was planning on making chocolate covered marshmallows and Rice Krispie Treats but when Jairy from J's Sweet Art volunteered her services, I couldn't say no.  I love how the marshmallows had little flowers on them that matched our graphics.

And some of the Rice Krispie Treats had chocolate "gingham."

And of course there was cake!

Miriam from BCakeNY took the graphics and used them on this delicious and darling confection that I hated to even cut into.  But boy was it worth it.

After two hours of water tables and slides and treats galore, the party was over.  But one of the birthday girls (in her custom made dress from Nookie Scooter) didn't want to leave.

I have to admit, I was sad when the party was over too and went into total planning withdrawal.  It's only been 13 days, but I'm already thinking about next year's bash....

Stay tuned for tutorials next week on how to make the paper flower bouquets, the trail mix boxes and snack containers as well as the scoop on what was inside the personalized tote bags we gave out as favors.

We'll also have some giveaways for you from the vendors who helped me pull this party together.  

I can't close this post without thanking Maureen & Adria from Anders Ruff, Ally from Girly Gatherings, Jairy from J's Sweet Art, Miriam from BCakeNY and last but not least, our photographer Ryan Trupp for capturing all of the moments and details for us! 

Images: Ryan Trupp Photography