Let's Go Fly A Kite! (And other party inspirations)

You know how you have those go-to stores, the ones that you can always count on to find some little treasure or inspire a new project, or that just make you think happy thoughts?  Cost Plus (or World Market as some call it) is one of those stores for me.  I know whenever I pop into this store I'll always find at least one thing that I love (and usually more like 5 or 6).  And even if I'm not looking to buy Cost Plus always seems to have products that give me an idea for a future project or give me a boost of inspiration.

A few weeks ago I was wandering the aisles at the Walnut Creek Cost Plus and found some super cute birthday and gift wrappings.  Check out my blog Wrap It Up on some of the other great wrappings I've found there.  Summer birthdays have the great advantage of beautiful weather and bright colors to work into party color palates.  The gift wrapping items below are bright, fun and sweet - I don't know the next time I have a friend's birthday party to attend, but I hope it's soon so I can use some of these!

A language lesson & a cute bag!

Pretty goodie bags

Bright tags & bags

Ribbon shreds = fun!

As I mentioned, great weather is another bonus to summer parties.  These kites caught my eye and had to snap a few pictures; I thought they were just too artistic not to share!  Can you remember the last time you flew a kite?  Me neither... but if I had some of these to take with me I'm sure I'd make a day out of it.  It's a great idea for a party as well - either have kites on hand for guests to use or have them bring their own.  Add some great picnic food items, maybe some lemonade and sunscreen and ta-daaaa!  Great party underway!

What a wingspan!

Love these colors!

It's A Wrap 2.0

I forgot to include one of the cutest wrapping items in my last blog!  For my mom's birthday I found this adorable gift bag at Cost Plus and filled it with her birthday goodies.  My mom shares my love of Spanish and Flamenco dance and was my biggest supporter when I was dancing with a Flamenco dance company. So this bag was perfect for her, and a bit Christmassy and definitely fun and festive with the polka dots.

I love Cost Plus, they always have fun and interesting things, especially around the holidays.  Their gift wrap section is great as well, from chinese take out style boxes, hand painted wrapping paper and a variety of bows and bags, it's a great place to find some wrapping inspiration!

It's a Wrap!

'Tis the season for wrapping!  And I do love a nicely wrapped gift.  I've only ever met a few others with the same penchant for nice wrapping as myself (ahem... Mom and Janice).  If you're wrapping a ballerina birthday gift, a Christmas or Hanukkah gift, a well presented package is just so... fun!  So, with the season of wrapping around us, I thought I'd share a few jobs that I did with you all.

For my package to my brother and family I used a traditional ribbon and bow (love this red with white).  I'm a big fan of silver as a holiday color, and thought the red popped nicely.

You know how one acquires those leftover wrapping bits?  Bows, curly ribbon and decorative tags that you just can't bear to toss out?  Well I have those in spades, but I also have a vast amount of leftover tulle from my tutu making projects.  I thought wrapping would be a great way to put those pieces to use!  Tulle is nice and can have a nice wintery and delicate feeling as a bow.  Here is a traditional pinkish white version, and a more bold black and red one.  The picture doesn't show it, but that black tulle actually has some sparkle to it!

If you have any fun wrapping ideas I'd love to hear them!  E-mail me at: theballerinabirthday@gmail.com to share!