Chicago media event

Florida Inspired Media Event

This post is almost a year overdue. I had so much fun planning and working with the incredible team at Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel that I never had a chance to share it with you! Doh! This was a media event for part of a larger campaign surrounding a series of public art billboards featuring original works by painter Judy Ledgerwood inspired by the Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel. Judy was the lucky artist commissioned by the destination to spend a week in the Captiva Island home of Robert Raucschenberg and “be inspired.”Inspired she was! I love the juxtaposition of the serene beach scene against the backdrop of the city’s crowded skyline. The event was a “sunrise reception” held on Lightology’s rooftop, which offered guests a great view of one of the eight billboards found around Chicago in the month of September. The gorgeous floral you see is indigenous to southwest Florida. Catering was also inspired by the destination – including lots of citrus breakfast breads, mini key lime bundt cakes, and a mimosa bar. Vendors: Venue – Lightology’s Rooftop Garden Floral – Fleur de lis Florist  Catering – Hearty Boys Photography – MMGY Global Gift Bags – Rosy Events & MMGY Global

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Rainbow Themed Goody Bags

Rainbow Birthday Party Favors

Putting together these goody bags was great fun. Of course, it was my daughter’s first birthday party. Check back with me again when she turns ten and see how much energy I’m putting into goody bags then. The children in attendance ranged in age from 10 months to 8 years. It was a bit of a challenge coming up with items that would please such a wide set. Each bag contained a bottle of bubbles (dollar store), a couple mini rainbow slinkies (amazon), and some homemade “raindough.” Everyone went home happy! The “raindough” was inspired by this post over at Wine and Glue. It was a bit time consuming to make several batches of play dough and color them all, but well worth it in the end. One tip – I used gel food coloring which tends to make stronger, more vibrant colors. Just be ready for some colorful hands from all the kneading.

Paint Chip Party Favors

Paint Chip Housewarming Decor & Party Favors

You may remember that we moved into our new house last November. Well, after six months, two floods, four weeks of construction, sixteen paint samples, three HVAC problems, and one secret room we were finally able to invite our families over to celebrate! I decided to incorporate some DIY paint chip projects into the party. (I figured we hard earned the right to some extra paint chips after buying sixteen samples of paint and enough gallons to paint every room in the house!) I made some adorable, simple menu cards, of which I naturally didn’t get a single picture! Forgive me, it was a very busy morning preparing to host fifty of our friends and family. I simply cut the paint chips down to size, wrote the menu item on the front, and used some washi tape to affix them to long toothpicks. Throw some decorative sand in a shot glass and stick the suckers in. Voila! Next, I made these awesome paint chip fans following this tutorial. They did double duty as centerpieces and party favors. They were certainly appreciated seeing as it was mid-July and our backyard gets direct afternoon sun. A special note about printing on paint chips: I used an ink-jet printer

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