A PERFECT CELEBRATION IS ALL IN THE DETAILS. ELEVATING EVERY DAY OCCASIONS MAKES MEMORIES WE CAN HOLD ONTO WHEN WE NEED A SMILE. AND ISN’T THAT WHAT LIFE IS ALL ABOUT?
1.
HARRY POTTER WORLD REVEAL
CHALLENGE
How to create the perfect surprise reveal for 4 Harry Potter-loving kids who had been begging to go to Universal?
STRATEGY
I wanted to create a letter worthy of Hogwarts, one that Hermione Granger herself would be proud to receive.
SOLUTION
A golden envelopment sealed with ribbon and wax seal, including a Letter of Admission, a Howarts Express train ticket, a packing list, and a return owl. I think the look on their faces says it all.
2.
HARRY POTTER BIRTHDAY PARTY
SOLUTION
Complete with visits from a tea-reading Professor Trelawney, and Hagrid with his very own magical creature (the labradoodle cousin of the birthday girl dressed in bat wings), a slumber party this 9-year-old and her guests won’t soon forget.
CHALLENGE
For this Hogwarts-obsessed, Ginnie Weasley-loving 9-year-old, only a Harry Potter birthday would do. So, how to include details that felt authentic to the books and movies on a small scale with 6 girls?
STRATEGY
Hand-delivering the invitations by owl before the event set the mood for the guests. I created a crest for the birthday girl, full of the things she loves. Decorations included house-colored streamers and invisible hanging candles, and a Honeyduke’s sweet shop full of home-made treats. Each girl received a custom crocheted Hedwig keychain by Melissa DeMund.
invitations, delivered by owl
3.
SCIENCE BIRTHDAY PARTY
CHALLENGE
Hooray for STEM! For her 7th birthday, this science lover wanted a fun-filled party full of experiments she and her friends could do together.
STRATEGY
The invitations set the feel for the party. I used vintage art of a telescope and Bunsen burner, and found a vintage science book I could take apart to line the black envelopes, which I wrote on with white pencil to look like chalk. I created a crest with the birthday girl’s name, and wrote a poem for the occasion. Each invitation was hand distressed and then backed in a wood veneered paper to look antique.
SOLUTION
Complete with a layer drip cake that oozed slime (turquoise colored lemon curd); lab coats, goggles, and individual science experiments for the favors; and activities like elephant toothpaste, this science party with a vintage twist kept these girls entertained and engaged, and wanting to learn more.
