First Birthday Flamingle

This past weekend, a good friend of mine, Marcee, hosted an adorable flamingo themed birthday party for her one year old at the shop. We met a couple times before the party and chatted on fun, bright ideas to make the party a tropical fiesta. She picked out some adorable flamingo party supplies and we went from there!

Decor for flamingo parties can go many directions, but I love the fun and bright tropical look! Marcee had fun with it and definitely played with colors. For the cake and food table backdrops, she pulled some of the fun banners and paper fans from our stock. I lent her some monstera leaves to mix in with the neon fans, to give it a more tropical feel. On the opposite side of the room, she hung adorable fruit banners above the colorful food table. Marcee added some bright tissue paper pom poms above the banners. She also brought in a fun flamingo pinata - love a good pinata! One of my favorite ideas for her party, was the ring toss game. The idea was inspired by one of my favorite blogs, Sugar & Cloth. Marcee borrowed some of our yard flamingos and stuck them in colorful buckets of sand. The buckets were placed on a grass runner to give a fun yard game feel inside.

The cake situation was party perfect! Marcee ordered the cakes from Wichita Cake Creations. For the larger cake, they added a pink flamingo on top and a yellow orchid on the side. The ocean blue and ombre pinks matched well with the rest of her decor. The smash cake coordinated with the larger cake, but was much simpler. Marcee topped it off with a sparkly gold "1". The one year old's new pink high chair was decorated with a pink hula skirt and festive balloons.

Photos via Faith Atteberry

The kids' table was simple but fit well with the theme. The flamingo plates have been a summer party favorite! She matched them up with simple pink and green cups that were topped off with our adorable honeycomb flamingo straws. For party favors, Marcee put leis on each of the chairs. The party came together so well and Marcee did such a great job!

Shop this post:

Flamingo Plates | Flamingo Straws | Neon Paper Fans | Fruit Party Garland | Rose Gold Inflatable Flamingo (shop in store) | Gold "1" Balloon | Grass Table Runner

Lots of Love,

Cross Stitch Workshop

A couple weeks ago, I hosted the wonderful Taylor Fell for a cross stitch workshop. We met through the shop, and when I found out her talent on Instagram, I decided it would make for a great workshop! We planned for a weekday evening and got a great response from a range of ages.

For the setup, I decided to add a fun cross stitch touch using the peg board from Rachel's birthday party. I purchased yarn in three shades of pink to make an ombre affect, and threaded the yarn in a classic "X" shape across and up the board.  It took a little time (about 1-1.5 hours), but turned out fun for a cross stitch workshop backdrop! To speed it up, I recommend getting a yarn needle to use. I forgot to bring mine and it made it a little harder to pull the thread through directly. This would make for a really cute backdrop for a sewing birthday party! Just a thought.

Taylor brought some of the larger cross stitch hoops she had created to add to the decor. Plus, it was a good way to show off larger projects to the attendees. She also brought delicious snacks and drinks for the attendees. Always a nice workshop touch, especially when the class is going to last for a couple hours. Her bright food containers added some great pops of color!

Attendees had the option to choose between a mountain or pineapple pattern. Taylor put together cute kits for everyone that included their supplies, pattern, and workbook to help guide them. She walked them through getting started and then was able to go around and give 1:1 attention to anyone that needed it. A couple moms signed up their younger daughters for the workshop and it was fun to see them working together! Cross stitching is a great, leisure hobby and when you have someone walk you through how to get started, it makes it easier to pickup.

Thank you Taylor for hosting your workshop at the shop! Also, thank you to everyone that attended and made it a fun evening out. I hope you had fun learning a new hobby and it is something you will be able to keep up. If you are interested in a future cross stitch workshop, let us know and we will work on getting one posted!

Lots of Love,

Birthday Party Giveaway!

Confetti - Studio Pep Happy Confetti, available in the shop!

This past year we have had the best time helping people throw birthday parties! It was a dream of mine to have a space where small everyday events, such as birthday parties and showers, could take place. I can't believe we are celebrating a year of being open and bringing this dream to life! I decided the best way to celebrate, is to help someone else's dream come true of having a fabulous birthday that they can't normally make happen. I have been thinking up this idea for quite a while now and excited to finally get it rolling!

Photo via Sally Cavanaugh

Photo via Jennifer Sauer

My absolute favorite part of a birthday party at the shop is seeing the birthday kid's excitement. Everyone deserves that at least once in their childhood! We are having a contest through July 28th to giveaway one fabulous birthday party to a child in need - whether they haven't been able to afford a party, have had medical issues that take priority or something else. Here are the details:

To celebrate our first birthday at Love of Character, we are giving away a birthday party experience to a local child in need of a good time! If you know someone who is unable to afford a birthday party, has a condition that takes priority over planning a party, or for any other reason deserves a birthday celebration all their own, please enter them for a chance to win.

Birthday party will take place in our shop space (unless certain conditions require something different, but must be local) and includes everything needed for the party:
Invitations
Decor
Paper Products
Party Favors
Food, Drink & Dessert
Special Gift for Birthday Girl or Boy

To enter, please submit an online application with the requested information as well as an essay (500 words or less) describing why this particular child is in need of a great party! Deadline for submission is 7/28/2017 and the winner will be chosen the following week once we have read through all submissions. Winner will be chosen based on the essay submitted.
The applications that are not chosen will be entered into a drawing for a $50 gift card to the shop to purchase party supplies for a party of their own!

No purchase necessary to be entered. Available for local entries only since the party will be hosted in our Wichita, KS location. Please note, party must be used before 7/31/2018.

You can submit your application here! Please let me know if you have any questions or if you are a local business that would like to get involved when we start putting together the party.

We would greatly appreciate help spreading the word! Want to make sure we get this out there, so people have a chance to submit a child that is deserving of a party all about them!

Lots of Love,

Final Friday: Jill Nicole Photography

This past Friday, I had the pleasure of hosting my incredibly talented friend, Jill, for her second Final Friday. On the last Friday of each month, Wichita's Douglas Design District and Downtown areas host Final Friday events to display the works of local artists. It is a great opportunity to get out and check out local art galleries and shops, while supporting local artists.

I met Jill last year through the shop and I fell in love with her gorgeous floral photography. She was expecting her second, so we decided to put off doing a Final Friday show until this summer. June worked out to be the perfect month, especially to show off floral prints. She wanted to have different mediums to show off her work, so she ordered fine art prints, photographic prints and cards. There was a price point for everyone depending on what they were looking for.

Jill brainstormed different ways to display her work and I helped execute the afternoon before the show. Our white backdrop was a perfect spot to hang her colorful fine art prints. We then laid out her cards and photographic prints for guests to easily shop. She also brought in the large canvas prints she had made for her daughters' rooms. They were definitely statement pieces and worked great against the wallpaper. She purchased some beautiful flowers from The Plaid Giraffe to add pops of color and texture to the tables - perfect decor for a floral art show.

 

The event was packed with her friends, family and supporters, plus some curious locals that like to hit up different shows down Douglas. I was so excited for her and the success of the evening! We have the leftover cards in stock at the store for purchase. Also feel free to reach out if you are interested in getting in touch with Jill to purchase a print.

Thank you Jill for letting us host you! Also, thank you everyone that stopped in to support her. If you are interested in doing your own Final Friday show in our space, please feel free to contact us.

Lots of Love,