5. November 2011 by Parker.

Yes, I know it has only been 2 weeks since I wrapped up this year’s party. Trust me, there are still remnants everywhere! Especially the pirate ship outside my window that my husband does not want to dismantle. Either way, my goal every year is to look at all the materials I gathered from this year and figure out how I am going to repurpose them for next years’ theme, therefore forcing me to come up with a theme pretty quick. Luckily I always have tons of ideas sitting on the backburner which made choosing the next party theme very easy. Are you ready for it?

That’s right ladies and gentlemen, Tim Burton and his wonderfully eccentric world is my theme. Comical Horror is a great way to play with creepy decor without making it scary. It also allows the creator, me, to have as much imagination as possible worked into the decor. Disproportionate  characters, whimsical lines, crazy towns, and all in black in white. My goal is to create a completely grayscale party where there is no color anywhere. So here’s a look at some my inspiration pics for the year:

There’s plenty more where these come from. My file already has over 400 entries for costume to decor to food inspiration. It’s time to start collecting materials and planning out a timeline to make sure it all comes together next October. Wish me luck!

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25. October 2011 by Parker.

That’s it. It’s over. Another year done. Last weekend was our annual Halloween party and I must say that I was fairly happy with the final product. After a year of hard work and bringing ideas to life, our guests seemed genuinely impressed with the array of decor we provided.

We originally built a cave out front that guests had to come through to enter the party. I would have included a picture of said cave but we hit dew point the night before and so the entire thing sagged by the morning of the party. I managed to make it presentable by evening but there is no picture worthy of posting.

When you got inside the house, you were greeted by a large ‘X’ on the floor. This was the beginning of the treasure map of the party in which you followed all the dashes through the event until you reached the final ‘X’ at the treasure. So here’s a look at some of the things people saw along the way…

This was the Captain’s desk inside his quarters, where we had a leather journal for people to glue in their pictures from the photo booth that was in the room and leave us a message. As the night went on, the pics and comments got quite a bit crazy.

In the kitchen, I covered all the cabinets in cardboard painted to look like wood plank and added port holes lit by twinkle lights. The overall effect was very dark and cool which I loved.

In the courtyard, I set the large table for the Captain’s feast, complete with baskets of bread and fruit and a very, very large candelabra in the center.

At the fire pit, there were hand made canvas pop tents, bottles of grog, hay bales, and blankets where the pirates had landed on shore and made camp.

Once you made it to the pool, we covered the diving board in a 14 foot long plank that people could pretend to walk.

Of course, next to the pool, was the main attraction: The Ship! This piece was 60 feet long and 42 feet tall. As you can see in the foreground, I also cut planks of wood, stood them upright, tied rope to each of them, and gave the illusion of a dock.

The pool also had a series of floating candles in it as well as I pirate on a raft that was lost at sea. I need to put that pirate back in the pool and take a good picture of it to post.

At the end of the line was the treasure chest, a large steamer trunk lit from inside and overflowing with treasure. You can see the final ‘X’ in the picture as well.

Here’s a close up of the treasure. You can see that I even included a spray painted Chambord bottle in there.

My husband is always such a good sport about my obsession with Halloween. This is my favorite picture of the two of us from inside the Dollface Photobooth.

I need to mention my wonderful brother, Brian, who made the trip up for the party and wound up working all day to help me set up.

At the end of the night, I had my photographer take this picture as if I am ready to take my own life with my sword since the party was over and there just wasn’t anything left to live for! I hope y’all enjoyed it.

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4. September 2011 by Parker.

My best friend, Jules, is getting married in November so I wanted to help throw her an amazing bridal shower. A shower that emphasized all the things that she loves. Her wedding theme is Paris meets India so I decided to concentrate more on the Paris side of things for this shower. Think Eiffel Towers, Pink, Shopping, and more!

But to take it a step further, I added Marie Antionette into the mix.  Since she was the Queen of France and know for her amazing wardrobe, wigs, and accessories; it only seemed fitting for her to be the true inspiration for the shower.

It was these two pictures that served as my inspiration photos for the shower. I had no idea what the space I would be setting up in would look like nor was there a large budget to play with. So here’s what it looked like:

My goal for her party was for all of her friends to bring her accessories as gifts. They were instructed not to wrap them and would be given  pretty hand made tags to sign and attach to the jewelry upon arrival. The gifts were to be used as the decor.

I took 2 mannequins with me to dress in sets of pink lingerie and added a boa for some flair. Then I recovered an old room divider in pink paisley fabric to fill an empty corner.

The food table was lined with silver serving trays with Baroque frames and hot pink paper listing the food items. Parisian boxes were used to add height as well as Eiffel towers and tea sets.

The dessert table was vibrant in icing colors. elegant shoes, cake stands, and metallic candy dishes. If you needed a chocolate fix, this was the table to see.

I purchased some affordable wine, soaked off the labels, and adhered new ones that I made for the bride. Showcased on a high heel wine holder made to look like a Christian Louboutin and sat next to a vintage tea kettle with pearls.

And in the other corner of the room, I set up an Eiffel Tower wine holder with Fleur de Lis rain boots and a black wire mannequin to even out the room.

And here is a picture of the happy bride to be wearing as much of her jewelry as we could possibly put on her. I’m fairly certain she was happy with the final product!

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19. March 2011 by Parker.

My husband and I are volunteers and foster parents for Coastal Pet Rescue so we took our current foster, Zoe to the Tour for Life adoption event at Grayson Stadium today. Take a look…

Spare with our foster Zoe!

All in all, 46 dogs found new homes today which makes me happy. Our poor Zoe, on the other hand, is still available.

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19. January 2011 by Parker.

One of the most frequent color combinations I get for weddings is Black, White, & Red. Perhaps this is due to the fact that it can be designed in so many different ways from Victorian to Gothic Punk to Sophisticated Elegance to Playful and Whimsical. And maybe that’s why it is my favorite color scheme as well. So here’s some pretty cakes to demonstrate this point:

Obviously this cake was for a Halloween themed wedding or a truly punk union. I wonder what flavor the actual cake is?

I love the Topsy-Turvy effect of this first cake. Then again, I’m a sucker for a Harlequin pattern on both cakes….

This cake could easily be used for a wedding or a Queen of Hearts themed party. Down the rabbit hole, anyone?

Here are two examples of  more sophisticated cakes.

I wanted to include these two side by side since the first one demonstrates too much detail work for my taste. Though I suspect it was used for an Indian themed wedding and made to look like Henna in which case, it is a beautifully done cake. The one on the right, however, is the perfect combination of whimsy, sophistication, and theme for me!

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