Valentine's Day: Ruby Red and Scarlet Party

Last February, some of us ladies decided to throw a girl's only party to coincided with Valentines Day. Its always fun to throw a party where you can be as sparkly and feminine as you want with the decor and not worry about the gentlemen feeling out of place, or like they may break something.

One of our good friends offered to make a legit Spaghetti dinner for us (her Italian family's recipe!) and Paper&Velvet did the decor of course!

 

 

Lots of red and pink and sparkly glassware- along with pretty flowers and heart cut-outs adorned the table

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hannah made a 'Better than Sex' cake, plus we had lots of other candies and little sweets for dessert (I'll be posting the recipe for the cake soon!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We asked all the ladies attending to wear something pink, red, white or black... everyone looked beautiful!

 

 

 

Our delicious holiday punch made its appearance at yet another party (Cranberry juice, ginger ale and fresh berries, starfruit and oranges- delicious!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Years Masquerade, 2010, The Dinner Party Club

The Dinner party Club held its third event of 2010 to ring in 2011. Our theme was a dramatic masquerade, and it was quite the event. (we even received a little bit of press over at Bliss after the party!) 

Everyone was instructed to come either in their finest or as a dastardly character- with a mask of course.

Hannah B and her husband hosted at their lovely home and everyone chipped on on cooking and preparing dinner. We had a menu of roasted chicken and vegetables, herbed potatoes, soup, and bread- with giant Red Velvet cupcakes topped with raspberries for dessert. Everything we used was either on hand, thrifted or crafted by us. Our table settings were mismatched (boys had one set of flatware and ladies another) and our place cards consisted of twists of paper with guests names written in metallic and bits of real holly tucked under upside-down wine glasses. We kept everything elegant, but not over the top- as we didn't want it to take on a cheesy masquerade feel. Life-like faux fruit decorated the table, stacked in silver dishes, and we lit mostly with candles at dinner to give it a cozy feel. New Year's was a perfect time to throw an elaborate party since all of Hannah's Holiday decorations were still up- greenery and twinkle lights, brown paper garlands and the Christmas tree- which lent well to the sparkly vibe. We had a Lord and Lady of the New Year, favors, played charades in the living room, and at midnight, celebrated with a champagne toast. Pretty much the best way to spend New Years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maddy B's Girly Tea Party

Last year, a close friend of Hannah's asked us to help her throw her little girl an extra-girly tea party for her 5th birthday. We gathered up all sorts of pretty little items and set up a super sweet tea party, complete with a small scale candy bar fitted with cinnamon hearts and pink marshmallows!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We even set up a pretty little alcove for the girls (who were coming in their prettiest dresses) to have their photos taken... and a little dress-up corner complete with fabulous hats, flowers and jewels.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Dinner Party Club: Buenos Noches

Over the past two years- even before Paper&Velvet was a tangible little side project of ours- we started throwing fancy dinner parties with a group of our friends. We soon developed what we now refer to as The Dinner Party Club, a group of close friends that gather together to share good times and food. We always pay close attention to details, attire, food and decor, which makes them extra special. Last September we threw our second fete, and our theme was a summer evening on the patio done Tex Mex Style.
(The Sweetest Occasion even featured this Dinner Party over on their AMAZING blog!)

Buenos Noches, The Dinner Party...

 

Since our first dinner party was all elegance, sparkle and sophistication, we wanted to go with a colorful and fun direction with our second. Hannah hosted the party on her back patio, which we strung with twinkle lights, paper lanterns and tissue pom-poms. We created a large table out of saw-horses and boards, which we then covered with several bright colored cloths, and used mismatched chairs backed in sombreros and colorful scarves. One of our whimsical touches included using sparkly and colorful bangles for our napkin rings, giving each place settings its own unique touch. We included sparklers in each guests setting, which made for a lot of fun later in the evening after the sun had set!

 

That summer all the stores nearby were selling Coke in classic glass bottles (and made with real cane sugar- yum!) and we had saved a lot of the bottles from our previous dinner party to use for our name cards at this one. Dollar store pinwheels with name pennants (we made up Spanglish names for each guest) and handmade Shrinky Dink Mustaches designated each guest's spot at the table.

 

 

We set up a pinata station for later on in the evening... one of our friends brought quite the little billy club to use on our pinata!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the back deck we set up a fire pit for later on the evening, along with a s'more station for dessert.

 

Instead of graham crackers we had homemade sopapillas for our s'mores!

 

 

 

We had chilled drinks in a vintage red cooler from the 1950s, and salsa made with fresh garden vegatables

 

Lots of fresh fruit to garnish the different drinks at our drink station, along with bright paper umbrellas

 

 

 

 

....and then we kicked off an evening of fun!

 

Everyone was encouraged to embrace the Tex-Mex theme in their dress

 

...and we spent the evening sharing supper, playing with sparklers, celebrating a birthday and having a blast

 

(all styling by Paper&Velvet, all photography by Emily O. Photography)