Ninja Party- Heck yes!

Hi (yah!), everyone! Just finished up a pretty great weekend and wanted to share with you some pictures of this epic ninja party I helped create for the craziest, sweetest, red-headed ninja I know. Although most children celebrate their birthdays, and simply boast or brag about the all-important following half-birthday, Burke opted to play down his actual winter birthday, and go big (ninja style) this summer for, the less conventional, Half-Birthday Party. 

NINJA INVITES: 

I wanted the invites to get kids excited by reflecting just how amazing and hardcore this party was going to be. Aside from providing the standard party info, they apparently doubled as an unintentional first challenge, as I later found out that it took some of the guests days to realize that the sword actual opened up! 

NINJA HEADQUARTERS:

Jaci (Burke's mom and my employer/good friend) had the great idea to wrap the trees lining their long driveway with "Chinese symbols." I put that in quotations because they were more 'inspired by true symbols' than actually reflective of them. The kids were able to help out too with some of the banners and enjoyed making up their own meanings. The entryway was made by taping together two pieces of red paper (from a roll), cutting a child-size opening (yes, the parents all had to duck), and then painting some Chinese dragons. I hung it up with red duct tape, and put up streams of red crate paper on each side. The end result? -A pretty badass way to get the party started, and the kiddos in gear for a true ninja experience. And speaking of gear...

NINJA GEAR:

Immediately entering the house, the kids(already instructed to wear all black in their invitations) walked up to a table equipped with all the ninja essentials- num chucks, Chinese tattoos, a pouch (for storing gold coins and pinata candy), and bands of red fabric for their heads, waists, and arms. The numchucks started off as solid black. During the course of the party, the ninjas were guided through various tests/challenges; after completing each challenge, they earned a different color stripe representing various B.S "virtues" Jaci made up along the way- very entertaining.

NINJA CHALLENGES:

Jaci kicked the Ninja Challenge Extravaganza off by leading the group in a few rounds of Sensei Says (our adaptation of the ever-popular Simon Says). This proved to be a great start to the party because it established clear authoritative roles: Jaci as the Head Sensei and me as the Tape Master. Also, it allowed for some serious practicing of needed ninja skills like double kicks, num chuck twists, and karate chops. Some of our other challenges included wood breaking (Styrofoam boards painted brown), a laser obstacle (a web of red yarn that the children must maneuver through without touching the 'lasers'), a javelin throw (pool noodles thrown through vertical rings of other noodles), a giant slingshot used to knock down towers of cardboard boxes, an elaborate snake hunt that earned them gold coins, a kick bag pinata that the kids attacked (one at a time) with their best punches and ninja kicks, and a ninja star toss where they tried to knock off foam balls resting on black toilet paper rolls. 

NINJA FUEL

After successfully completing all of their tasks, our little ninjas enjoyed some pretty tasty cupcakes with surprise ninja centers ( mini ninjas were pushed inside the baked and cooled cupcakes and covered with generous amounts of vanilla and chocolate icing). Red plastic cups were wrapped in black felt masks and filled with yummy 'Ninja Juice'

Needless to say, everyone had a GREAT time. The kids really played the part, and took the challenges pretty seriously. Everyone left with goodie bags of fortune cookies, chop sticks, a dragon glider, an inflatable samuri sword, some ninja figurines and pencils, chinese tattoos, and lots of perfected ninja skills :) Now to start brainstorming for Bella's birthday in the Fall.....

Hey there! Just got back from a lovely weekend in St. Louis. There's no better feeling than when you can seamlessly enjoy a stressfree, quality weekend with a favorite high school friend, your best college friends, the family, and your b-e-a-UTIFUL boyfriend. Oh, and did I mention there was sushi?

As for today: no work, no shower, and lots of advertising research. However, before I do anything TOO productive (like wash this crazy hair or actually apply to some of these pretty great ad agencies) I thought I'd blog my latest packaging project. My original goal for this brand was to create a fun logo that incorporated the image with the name - a more integrated style of branding than some of my past work. I've already started with the boys' design, but I plan to create a girl's line soon and will, of course, share the results with you. Anywho, here's a sneek peek of what I have so far: Enjoy! and have a FABULOUS week!

More Handlettering!

So, this is a portfolio piece I did a while back, and am now revisiting to make the change from computer font to some good 'ole hand lettering.

And now here's one after the switch:

Hand Soap meet Hand Lettering

I recently bought target's new(ish) kitchen cleaning supplies by Caldrea. Although I believe Caldrea's original packaging to be a model for good layout and design, its simplistic (and somewhat flat) qualities weren't a perfect fit for my home. So, because I truly enjoy this particular brand and scent (citron ginger), I purchased it anyways with the intention of recreating my own, more illustratively artistic labels.  Here's how they turned out!

You're Invited! Again...(and again).

Although my Spring tea party was already a tradition set in place years ago, I went a little (okay a lot) further and more extravagant this year because I planned on using it as a portfolio piece to show in future interviews. Since the party, it's come to my attention that it would work as a much stronger piece if I could incorporate some variations of the original invite- you know, so that they could be packaged in groups of three, adding more interest (and the opportunity to draw more floral tea cups). So, without further ado, here they are:

Garden Par-TEA!

Okay, so the ultimate tea party has long since come and gone, and I'm FINALY getting my busy busy buns to post some pics. I've gotta say, the work (and play) I put into creating original, garden party- inspired invitives, wine lables, and place cards did NOT seem like a waste. My closest friends and I enjoyed the perfect sun shinning, tea sipping, food munching, story sharing, wine drinking afternoon and I have some great pics to remember it all by. For my next tea party, I hope to plan it around a Pintrest theme in which guests participate by bringing, wearing, and sharing things from thier boards; It's still in the early planning stages, but I have some pretty spectacular ideas already! 

Got quite the Budget Talk from my dear old dad last week, and have taken his advice/demand to heart. Sort of. I can't just quit my gym dad, or stop tanning, or use conditioner from Walmart- those things are CLEARLY essentials. My three dollar car washes down the street however were, admittedly, a luxury I just can't afford. Instead. I have enslaved these fine young workers to do it for a buck less. Cha-CHING! That's the sound of a smart shopper feeding her pig :)

Fusion Book Signing

Just had my first St.Louis Book signing yesterday. So much fun! And look at these cuties I got to hang out with!