Bubblegum Blow-Out Fun and Favors

 

Thank you for joining me for daughter Emma's 5th birthday celebration, a bubblegum blow-out that fit her sweet, bubbly personality perfectly. Pop over to these posts for all things bubblegum:

• Invitations
• Making a clay-pot bubblegum machine
• Making bubblegum necklaces and bracelets
• A bubblegum-inspired menu
• Bubblegum tablescapes and room decor

Today's post wraps up the bubblegum party series with fun activities and favors. 

In honor of her 5th birthday, Emma chose five favorite songs for her favor CD, "Emma's Bubblegum Pop." Designer extraordinaire Katy Larson designed four different CD covers in our color scheme of pink, green, yellow and blue with Emma's silhouette on the front. We played the CD during a game of musical chairs, then let each girl take a copy home.

We made the most of the chairs we rented for the party, carrying them outside for musical chairs, then back inside for cake.

One of the party graphics Katy designed was a vintage gumball machine full of colorful gumballs. She also made this empty version, perfect for enlarging for a rousing game of "Pin the Gumball on the Machine." I bought a package of round neon stickers from the office supply section of Wal-Mart, which worked perfectly as gumballs for our nostalgic game.

Too soon it was time for our guests to leave, but we sent them home with a few party treats.

Along with a party CD, each girl received a penny candy jar of gumballs, a swirl pop and a bottle of bubbles.

Find these bubble bottles -- three to a pack -- at Dollar Tree.

We enjoyed unseasonably warm temperatures the day of Emma's party, and many of the girls enjoyed blowing bubbles in the springlike weather. Gracie is one of our favorite bubbly friends to giggle with.

These swirl pops -- found on clearance at Wal-Mart -- matched our color scheme and vintage candy shoppe theme perfectly. Clustered in vases of gumballs on the buffet, they looked so happy and bright.

I searched high and low for penny candy jars and found the best price at David's Bridal. These little jars are cute, but they are tiny! Each one holds only 10 or 11 standard-size gumballs. I did not have time to embellish the jars before the party, but they looked cute clustered in a pretty pink metal pail.

Speaking of cute and tiny, here are a few pictures of the Birthday Girl:

Wish upon a bubble ... and your birthday dreams might just come true!

Our friends newlyweds Neil and Haley Scott joined us for the afternoon, and Emma loved blowing bubbles with them as the party wound down. She was so cute jumping into the air, trying so hard to blow bubbles into Mr. Neil's face. He was a good sport to get down on her level to bear the the full force of a bubble assault.

(Don't you wonder how many people might stumble onto A Little Loveliness after googling "bubble assault"? That thought makes me giggle.)

Of course, giggles are never in short supply when this little cutie is around.

Happy Birthday, My Sweet, Bubbly Girl!

“A smile starts on the lips, A grin spreads to the eyes, A chuckle comes from the belly; But a good laugh bursts forth from the soul, Overflows, and bubbles all around.” -- Carolyn Birmingham

Bubblegum Blow-Out Menu

To go along with our vintage bubblegum blow-out birthday theme, we served Emma's Soda Pop in repurposed Starbucks Frappuccino bottles. I amassed a collection of more than 30 bottles with help from friends and plan to keep them for future parties. In fact, I have already loaned them to a friend who plans to use them for a vintage-inspired bridal shower.

We served pink lemonade punch for the party. I mixed up the concentrate ahead of time and filled bottles at serving time with a third of the concentrate and two-thirds Sprite


Kool-Aid Punch

3 packets Kool-Aid, any flavor (we used Pink Lemonade)

3 cups sugar

1 large can unsweetened pineapple juice

Water

Sprite (Three 2-liters per gallon of concentrate)

Combine Kool-Aid packets, sugar, pineapple juice and enough water to fill a gallon container and chill. This will be the punch concentrate. To serve, combine 1/3 gallon of the concentrate, one 2-liter of Sprite and ice. Refill as needed.

A Bottle of Giggles

When Emma had a friend over for a playdate last week, I gave them bottles of leftover punch with lunch. "Mmmm, I really like your soda pop, Emma," I teased.

Emma's friend's eyes widened. "Emma, you have your own soda pop?" she asked.

Emma looked at the label, calling out "E-M-M-A" as she traced her finger across the text. "I guess I do," she confessed with a shrug.

Alyssa was quite impressed!

(Labels from Katy Larson and straws from The Sugar Diva.)

In keeping with our bubblegum theme, I just had to try making bubblegum ice cream. I found a recipe here and tried it the weekend before the party (shown above). The flavor was interesting, but did not live up to my expectations. So in the end, we served a bubblegum-pink colored strawberry ice cream. Strawberry ice cream was actually a much better complement to our strawberry lemonade punch and pink lemonade cake with buttercream icing.

For years I have wanted to make a gumball machine cake. I made our cake with alternating layers of lemon and strawberry cake, for a total of six 6-inch round layers. I had a lot of trouble with my icing this time, but simply did not have time to start over. I was disappointed with the results, shown below, so I might have to give this one another go down the road.

Wooden dowels inserted into the cake support a round vase of gumballs topped with a planter lid and ceramic knob. I wasn't pleased with the finished look of the cake, but it tasted great and was a hit with the Birthday Girl.

Emma requested a #5 candle for her birthday. After we sang "Happy Birthday," she lingered in front of the cake giggling bashfully before we finally coaxed her to blow out the candle. I think she was savoring the moment!


Still to come, more fun and favors. Happy weekend, friend!

Bubblegum Blow-Out Decor

Daughter Emma's bubbly personality inspired a cheerful bubblegum theme carried out with a playful palette of pink, lime, tiffany blue and yellow.

Gumballs, gumballs everywhere! Pops of color and printables from Katy Larson helped bring the theme together with vintage charm. Here is a view of our stereo cabinet turned buffet turned candy shoppe:

Paper lanterns (pink, yellow and green) suspended from the ceiling with Command Adhesive Mini Hooks looked like gumballs in our happy space.

A happy birthday banner spelled out our excitement for Emma's 5th birthday, and a framed silhouette of the Birthday Girl took center stage on the buffet.

This will be a sweet addition to Emma's room now that the party is over.

Gumballs from Party City filled apothecary jars and vases. We used bright pink, kiwi green, yellow, tiffany blue and pearl white for our celebration.

Can you guess how many gumballs are in the jar pictured below?

I was interrupted several times while trying to fill the jar, but when all was said and done, the final number was ...

200!

This bubblegum machine print will also be cute in Emma's room. (Notice the vintage 5 cent sign, perfect for a 5th birthday celebration.)

We invited all the little girls from Emma's Bible and preschool classes, so I rented tables, chairs and white tablecloths for the children from The Wedding Center in Montgomery. I did not know how many to expect for the party, so I decided not to put out plates and napkins before guests arrived. The tables needed color, so I criss-crossed lengths of ribbon across the table for a whimsical look. Later I sprinkled the table with scalloped tags designed for the party (shown in the collage earlier in this post).

The centerpiece of each table was an arrangement of cut flowers slipped into the smaller of two vases. Days before the party Mary Ashley helped me fill in the space between the two vases with gumballs. Here is a view of the whole room, ready for the party:

A bubblegum blow-out for a sweet, bubbly girl!


Still to come: food, fun and favors. Tomorrow, a menu that pops!

Gumballs Gone Glam

As guests arrived for daughter Emma's recent gumball-themed birthday party, we invited them to take a few moments to make gumball necklaces and bracelets -- an idea inspired by this post at One Charming Party. I set up a little table with four chairs in our kitchen, ready with gumballs, ribbon and crewel needles. (I purchased knitting needles for this project, but they didn't work as well as the crewel needles.)

To make a gumball machine like the one pictured above, turn a clay pot upside down and glue a round vase to the bottom of the pot. Turned upside down, the dish a pot sits in becomes a lid to cover the top of the vase. Slip that on top, and glue a knob to the center of the lid. Use a solvent like E-6000 if you want to make a permanent bond. Knowing I might want to disassemble this project, I used hot glue. I found shiny ceramic pots in green, yellow and turquoise at Wal-Mart and a variety of ceramic knobs at World Market. A festive bow completes the look.

Since Emma was turning 5, I let party guests choose five gumballs to make a bracelet or necklace. I used a metal skewer to pierce traditional gumballs to make the beads. Piercing the gumball straight through makes it crack. But even piercing one side, then the other, can also make it crack. Out of 150 gumball beads that I made, probably only 10 to 20 percent of them were perfectly pierced. But even with a few hairline cracks in some of the gumballs, the bracelets turned out precious.

 

I pre-cut 22-inch lengths of ribbon and stashed them in an apothecary jar so they were ready to go at party time. I thought grosgrain ribbon would be adorable for this project, but found it too thick to pass through the gumballs without cracking them. So I used a variety of widths of softer ribbons I had in my stash. Wider ribbons are cute for this project because you can knot the ribbon between each gumball, but thinner ribbons can be strung quickly.

Each bracelet or necklace turned out so cute, and even some of the adults at the party got in on the fun. One mother made a charming multi-colored beaded necklace for herself, and our friend Miss Haley made a pretty knotted bracelet with white gumballs on sheer green polka dotted ribbon.

Directions. Setting up supplies on a small table allowed us to assist a few girls at a time in making their jewelry. Our preschool-age guests definitely needed adult supervision and assistance to use the needle.

To make the bracelet, thread ribbon through the eye of a crewel needle. String the first bead onto the ribbon.

If you plan to put a knot between each gumball, slide the first bead to the center of the ribbon. Make a knot on each side of the gumball, and work out from this center point. This will keep the length balanced on each side. Finish the bracelet or necklace with a bow.

If you do not knot the ribbon, you can thread all the gumballs on and thread the ribbon back through the loop again before tying a bow to make the bracelet adjustable.

Guests Lauren and Claire show off their gumball glam with a necklace and bracelet.



We're having a ball this week on A Little Loveliness -- a gumball, that is. So join me for more bubblegum birthday party ideas each day!

Bubblegum Blow-Out Invitation

I apologize for keeping you in suspense on Friday's book club selection giveaway, The Wedding Machine by Beth Webb Hart. Our house has been a revolving door of people since our hot water heater caused flooding from the attic to the first floor. What I thought was going to be a stressful process has thus far been a blessed experience. I can't wait to share the dramatic results of the home makeover still to come, but for now I will share the results of the giveaway ... at the end of this post.

Something else you have been waiting for: photos from Emma's recent birthday party. At 5, Emma still loves candy, so we opted for a variation of the candy shoppe birthday theme with the focus on bubblegum. Emma's Bubblegum Blow-Out was a sweet celebration with bright pastels and loads of vintage charm. Our invitation set the tone for the sweet surprises to come.

Our Bubbly Emma Is Turning 5!
Please Join Us for a Big Blow-Out!

Last year Wal-Mart carried an adorable assortment of plastic gumball machines for $1 each in their selection of Easter candy. When I tucked them into Easter baskets, I thought how cute they would be for party favors or invitations. I considered purchasing some more just in case and have been kicking myself that I did not. I purchased pink Valentine gumball machines at Wal-Mart for Emma's invitations this year, hoping that if I delayed long enough I might be able to exchange them for the Easter ones. It seems retailers begin marketing seasonal merchandise earlier every year, but I stalked Wal-Mart to no avail. So our pink heart-shaped bubblegum machines had to do -- and perhaps they were a better fit anyway for my "early Valentine's" birthday.

Graphic designer Katy Larson and I had a ball with this theme, and I can't wait to show you all the printables she designed for the party. A silhouette of Emma blowing a bubble -- complete with hairbow and monogram -- gave us a great jumping-off point for developing the theme. With fun graphics and ginghams, I can't wait to share the details of this party! For our invitations, we shared party details on 3-inch scalloped tags tied to the gumball machines.

I have lots of party details to share, including ideas for food, activities and decor. I will do my best to get those posted regularly over the next week or so.

 

In the meantime, the copy of The Wedding Machine -- chosen by random number generator -- goes to Mary. When I clicked on her comment, I discovered that Mary was my Mary Ramsey -- the sweet girl I babysat regularly when I was in high school. We corresponded through the years even after I moved to another state, and I am so proud of the beautiful lady she has grown into. She is now a wife, mother and teacher, but still the bubbly, beautiful girl who brought such joy to my life all those years ago. Congratulations, Mary! I hope you will enjoy the book .. and we need to catch up!

 

Blessings to you, friends!

Book Club Spring Read & Giveaway

Our spring book club selection, The Wedding Machine by Beth Webb Hart, takes us to the low country of South Carolina and into the lives of four southern women who have been friends since high school. Hart's web site describes the book this way:

Welcome to Jasper, South Carolina. A place where Southern hospitality thrives. Where social occasions are done right. And where, for generations, the four most upstanding ladies of this community ensure that the daughters of Jasper are married in the proper manner.

Friends from school days, “the gals” have long pooled their silver, china, and know-how to pull off beautiful events. They’re a force of nature, a well-oiled machine. But the wedding machine’s gears start to stick during the summer their own daughters line up to tie the knot. In the low country heat and humidity, tempers flare, old secrets leak out…and both love and gardenias bloom in unlikely places.

The Wedding Machine is a celebration of life-long friendship – the kind that endures death and divorce, accidents and alligators, hot flashes and hurricanes. Even the drama of small-town Southern weddings done exactly right.

Author Cassandra King praises The Wedding Machine, saying, “The Wedding Machine is one of the most charming books I’ve read in a long, long time. The local belles of Jasper, South Carolina, comprise the wedding guild, a group of unforgettable women who made me laugh, cry, and cheer — as all good weddings do.”

Pick up a copy of The Wedding Machine here, or leave a comment below for your chance to win a copy of the book. I will announce the winner Monday!

Brunch at the (Book) Club

Our winter book selection, The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright, inspired a cozy B&B-style brunch for our recent book club meeting. Fortunately for me, the week before our meeting, my sister hosted a bed-and-breakfast themed cooking club. So I called Jennifer to see if she could suggest any must-make recipes. Boy, did she deliver with a menu of recipes compiled from B&Bs all over the country. I made the blueberry French toast pictured above for book club and have enjoyed the leftovers for several days since. I plan to share Jennifer's complete menu in a future post, but for now you must try this recipe -- a deliciously indulgent way to start the day.

Blueberry French Toast

From the Peace With-Inn Bed and Breakfast in North Conway, N.H.

1 loaf French bread
3 eggs
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
1 2/3 cups milk
¼ cup flour
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ stick cold butter
3 ounces cream cheese
2 cups blueberries
Maple syrup

Liberally butter a 13x9 inch baking dish. Cut bread into 1-inch thick diagonal slices and place in baking dish. In a medium bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add sugar and vanilla; stir in milk until well blended. Pour mixture over bread, turning slices to coat well. Cover with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, turn bread slices over in baking dish. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and cold butter (cut into chunks) in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Cut cream cheese into small chunks and scatter on top of bread. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture over bread with cream cheese. Liberally scatter blueberries on top and bake for 45 minutes. Serve with hot real maple syrup. Serves 12. (Note: This recipe can be prepared up to 2 days ahead.)

"A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in." -- Robert Orben

Book Club: At the B&B

In keeping with the setting of our winter book club selection, The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright, we wanted our meeting to reflect the warmth and coziness of a favorite bed and breakfast. We invited three creative ladies in our book club to decorate a table for our B&B-inspired brunch and asked each to provide a note card for each guest.

Julie Knapp and Margie Austin decorated the table above with a soothing color palette of purple and green. Julie coordinated her look with scrapbook paper place mats and note cards.

 

Teri Phillips brought richness to her table with layers of sumptuous fabrics in deep, warm tones.

And Nancy Itson brought French Country charm with toile, transferware and accessories. See yesterday's post for instructions on making Nancy's clever place card holders.


Still to come, devotional thoughts, recipes and the chance to win a copy of our spring book selection!