Disney

Festa com todos os personagens da turma da Minnie para a Valentina e Karina

Fotografia Estudio Mix Carolina Ayrão
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Minnie Mouse Rosa

A Chiara não desgruda da sua pequena Minnie por isto a mamãe não teve dúvidas quanto à escolha do tema. Só pediu que fosse tudo bem romântico e nos tons de rosa.

A Minnie foi a primeira convidada à confirmar presença na festinha, e a Chiara lhe recebeu com muito carinho.

Agradecimento especial à equipe do Buffet Espaço Aldeia!

Seguem algumas fotinhos que a fotógrafa Carla Freitas me enviou.

Local: Espaço Aldeia Festas

 

 

 

Alice in Wonderland: Creating an Ambiance

Photos by Camp Fotografia

Ambiance is critical to the success of every party. As I suggested a few weeks ago, the Alice in Wonderland party had many possibilities and many characters to work with (see What About Wonderland?). The danger in a lot of imagery is creating chaos instead of a welcoming atmosphere. However, if your elements are harmonious, the outcome, as one observer of this party commented, can be quite... magical.

Cake by Carla Prado

I think the pictures speak for themselves. Especially these...

Photos by Camp Fotografia

101 Dalmatians: Favorite Things

There are some classic first birthday themes for little boys. Circus. Backyardigans. Mickey Mouse. Little guys love anything that barks or sings or jumps around. But for this little boy, one animal in particular stood out. The dog. Dogs were his favorite thing. I guess one would have their pick of designs with the countless breeds of dogs out there... but sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. 

Existem alguns temas clássicos para o primeiro aniversário de um menino. Circo. Backyardigans. Mickey Mouse. Meninos amam qualquer coisa que lata ou cante ou pule por aí. Mas para este menininho, um animal em particular se destacou. Cachorros. Cachorros eram o que ele mais gostava. Algumas vezes não se pode ter demais de algo que gostamos muito.... 

Cake by Sucra

Sticking with the quantity idea, I had a solution. What's better than one dog? 101 Dalmatians. Unfortunately, dalmatians are black and white with red collars, not the color scheme I was interested in executing. Also, it had been more than ten years since the movie had hit the theaters, so dalmatian mania was long past. It was going to take a bit of creativity to carry out a visual representation of this Disney classic.

A partir da idéia de quantidade, eu achei uma soluçâo. O que seria melhor que um cachorro? 101 Dalmatas. Infelizmente, Dalmatas são preto e branco com coleiras vermelhas, não eram as cores que tinha em mente para esta festinha. Além disto já haviam se passado mais de 10 anos desde o lançamento do filme. Precisaria de um pouco de imaginação para representar este clássico do Disney.

Cupcakes by Sucra

Spots did the trick. Add a bit of baby blue and you've got a balanced palette of light and dark that makes for an effective scheme.

Quem procura acha e assim consegui achar pratinhos que posicionei na mesa como guardava na memória das minhas primeiras festinhas.

Photos by Camp Fotografia

I did manage to dig up some Dalmatian plates which I displayed over a blue polka-dot cloth. I added white balloons with black dots and some hand crafted paw prints (and of course, even little boys enjoy a flower or two). 

Adicionei balões brancos e pretos com pois e algumas patinhas (e claro, meninos também apreciam uma flor ou duas). 

Cookies by Sucra

Dog bones cookies finished off a room that ended up being simple and cute yet elegant. Next time, I might enhance the festa with a dog show that includes an actual dalmatian or two!

Biscoitos no formato de osso foram um detalhe que finalizaram esta mesa simples, fofa e elegante. Na próxima festa adicionaria um show de cachorros que incluisse um dalmata de verdade ou até dois.

Disney Princess: Culture Bash

The world is getting smaller. Like most big cities, Sao Paulo has its share of multicultural families and that population continues to increase.



Photos by Camp Fotografia

I thought designing a party for the daughter of an American mom and a Brazilian dad was going to be pretty straightforward. The theme was Disney Princess, a popular choice. Anticipating the party, the couple had brought a bounty of Princess themed party goods in their move from New York to Sao Paulo, so we were set on supplies. But I didn’t anticipate the clash of culture that occurred over a 3-year-old’s birthday.

Catering by General Prime Burger

For most in the States, a birthday party consists of pizzas, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey and birthday cake. But a Brazilian birthday party involves much, much more. The idea of having an elaborate sweet table, well, it kind of scared this Manhattan mom. And with good reason. Some sweet displays can get quite outlandish if put in less attentive hands. She also didn’t understand the typical children party menu and why mini-hotdogs and brigadeiro were a requirement. Honestly, with a child that was only two, she didn’t have much experience in this arena as it was. But the Brazilian family and friends that were to be the guests of this event has certain expectations.

So what did I do? For one, I backed off the Brazilian bling.

Cupcake tower/cake by Carla Prado

We made the cake table simple. A lovely, themed cupcake tower with some Disney Princess dolls and a garden of sweets calmed her fears.

While children’s birthday parties in Brazil are usually light on adults, she had invited quite a few and as it was being held on a Saturday, we knew they would probably show up (especially since many were Americans). So we included a gourmet buffet complete with cocktails. To balance out the Brazilian elements, we injected some American party activities like a piñata.

In the end, everyone, Brazilians and foreigners alike, felt in his or her element. And of course, the party princess had a fabulous time at very her first Brazilian bash.

Photos by Camp Fotografia

Toy Story Time Out



Photos by Camp Fotografia

 What to do when your limited on both budget and time?


As Buzz would say, "Sheriff, this is no time to panic."

Planning a party at the last minute might seem a bit nightmarish, but you'd be surprised what you can pull off under pressure.

For this party, the theme was an easy one. "Toy Story 3" had been released not so many months prior and because it was another Disney hit, party supplies weren't so hard to come by. But monetary constraints meant that a shopping spree wasn't the solution for this last minute soiree. So what was going to make this celebration of a little boy's 3rd year spectacular? 

Toys!

After a few phone calls and emails to friends and neighbors, I was set with plenty to adorn the party room. Lucky for me, the Toy Story franchise wasn't limited to Disney licensed products. 

Classic kid playthings like Mr. Potato Head, piggy banks and blocks helped in adding to the arsenal of Toy Story characters I was able to collect.

Going with primary colors, I made it easy to brighten up the room with balloons. Add some personalized labels on water bottles and candy, plus a stack of cowboy hats, and the theme is complete. 

Despite being short on time and budget, the party was a success. How could it not be when it was all about... toys?

What About Wonderland?

What do you do with a party theme like "Alice in Wonderland?" Honestly, I was a rather frightened of this Disney classic when I was a child. So many elements, so many weird and wacky characters, so many (dark) colors - so much chaos! So how do I turn this tale into a happy celebration for a little girl? In the story, Alice had a problem similar to mine when I took on this project. Chasing the elusive white rabbit. As she goes down the “rabbit hole” she wonder where exactly she will end up, and as I analyzed the various possibilities of this party, I wondered the same.

The important thing to focus on with a theme that has so very many possibilities is to find a thread of consistency - and stick with it. While you want to stay true to the sentiments of the story's origins, in this case disorder and whimsy, you need to create an environment that's festive and comfortable for guests. However, dealing with an idea like this gives you almost endless freedom to be creative and make your mark.  


So where to begin? Like any good story, you begin... at the beginning. The invitation.

A party invitation sets the stage for the celebration and expectations for your guests. Envelopes handcrafted from storybook pages allow the invitee to share a bit of the story prior to the party. It's also makes for a lovely keepsake.


Another challenge was, unlike newly released or re-released films, Alice in Wonderland hadn't played in theaters for decades. So Alice party supplies were scarce. But the film has some timeless imagery that made the design more than possible.

Characters like the Queen of Hearts, talking tiger lillies and rose gardens can lead to some very girly possibilities. 


Planning for this party is currently in the works, but I’ll be posting the outcome in the upcoming months.


Wish me luck!