Princess Charm School Party

I am so excited to share with you, Sabrina's 4th Birthday party. In the months leading to her birthday, (around Thanksgiving) I started picking her brain about birthday themes. Well, quickly I learned that every day, she would change her mind. Right around that time, Sabring finally started showing A LOT of interest in "Barbie" and all her glam. I being a Barbie girl myself, couldn't be happier. I have such amazing memories of my sisters and I playing "Barbie", I still to this day LOVE, Barbie! One day in Target, Sabrina screams MOM I want that movie, the one my cousin Emily doesn't stop talking about…….  We hurried home to watch it and both sat there quiet as can be with popcorn completely mesmerized by Barbie "A Princess Charm School".

 After watching the movie three times and singing and dancing to it's songs……..I think we both knew right then, the theme we would be using in celebrating her 4th birthday. So I present to you, A Princess Charm School – A Barbie inspired collection

I really wanted to give the table a preppy school girl feel and I think it turned out lovely! Once I had established a theme, I knew right away it was time to get to work! I took my time to design and really establish what I wanted the table to look like. 
First up was reserving our favorite photographer ever, Heather of Heather Renee Photographie. Heather is not only Sabrina's aunt (MY SIL) but our photographer. I am so lucky to have her at my side with all personal events. Heather styles all her shoots beautifully and she is always such a big help when I am styling a personal event. The night before the party she sent over tulle pom poms, crowns, platters, books and whatever she could find at home that would suite the party well. She and I could start our own Home Goods or TJMAXX with all the goodies we have from there. It's definitely our go to place for home decorating. 

I worked with Barbie from Two Sweet Cakery for the beautiful cake pops. I already knew that she could create an amazing replica of the Barbie inspired cake pops because I had seen her creations at our little cousin, Hailee's Rock n' Roll a Barbie Inspired party. Well Barbie not only amazed me with her cake pops  but she surprised me the day of the party with these gorgeous oreos….THEY FLEW, lucky for me I had sat one aside for myself while setting them on the table. She even surprised me with this little princess cake pop! Isn't she adorable…..

Get ready because there is so much sweetness in the next few pics. Like the mouth dropping cookies of Amber from SweetAmbs. I contacted her a few weeks before the party and she was incredible to work with. Amber is so sweet and not only does she leave you speechless with her work but she shares it with incredible tutorials. LOVE THAT! I wrote a whole separate blog about my experience with SweetAmbs and how pleasant she was to work with. To check it our go here.

Then there were the gorgeous and delicious cookies from Ally of Allyson Jane! Ally and I have been working together for some time now and she was also part of Sabrina's Royal Cinderella Inspired party last year (which I still need to blog about). Ally sent over the most amazing cookies which featured the Barbie inspired school girl crest. In the process of creating the uniforms Sabrina would ask over and over for reassurance that her uniform was going to have a school girl crest. When she saw that the crest was in the cookies as well, she was so excited, she requested these be the special teacher treats the girls would receive.

  

Another favorite and delicious sweet treat is the chocolate covered oreos from Sweeties. I've been working with Kim for the last year now and you will usually see her sweet delights in many of the tables I style. 

Speaking of favorites, my talented and so sweet friend, Jeannette from Sweet Dough made the most gorgeous tiara sugar cookies. Sabrina and I are addicted to her sugar cookies, seriously they are AMAZING! Jeannette and I work together in almost every event I style, if it calls for a cookie, she is there! =)

 

I swear I heard angels singing when I saw this cake….. Kirsty from Sugar and Spice Cakes did a fabulous job as usual with the cake. She is so sweet and such a pleasure to work with. Look at the detail from the mini bunting banner to the pom poms, to the stunning gold brooch.

MIla, her daughter and Sabrina are friends and it's really sweet to see those two together. 

Thank YOU  Kirsty for completely going above and beyond my vision.

I found a great blog a few days before the party called bakingdom, and she shares the cutest tutorials and freebies, which is where I found and downloaded the little Happy Birthday flags I glued to the stripey straws. You must go over and check out Bakingdom, it's a great place for inspiration and I promise she will have your mouth watering with her delicious creations.

 

These apples were made by daddy and they were adorable and yummy. Daddy helped me so much in the weeks leading to the party with projects around the house. My hubby really is  an amazing dad and lucky for us such a "MacGyver".

We had a little address mishap and the apples you see below didn't make it to party on time but once they arrived we couldn't believe our eyes and taste buds. FABULOUS! I don't know how she does it but Roni from Roni Sugar Creations creates some incredible masterpieces. I look forward to working with Roni in the future. =)

I think my favorite part of the party was seeing the girls in their adorable Charm School uniforms. I mean seriously, they looked precious. 

UNIFORMS:

My mom use to sew for my sisters and I as little girls and she is really a jack of all trades, the lady can do anything! When I spoke to her about the idea of the girls wearing uniforms she quickly nominated herself as official uniform designer and seamstress of Charm School. To make the tops, I purchased plain tops from target, designed the Charm School Crest, printed it on iron on paper and ironed it on the tops, mom cut and sewed the ties. Adding the crest was super simple and really gave it that extra nice touch. The crest is available for purchase so that you can also create these shirts if you are having a Charm School party. If you are going to have a Charm School party and don't have a seamstress, you can always just provide the tops for the girls and have them wear a specific color on the bottom so they look "uniformed". 

I bought the girls knee high socks and matching hair bows at target, where you will usually find me once a week. =)

PARTY DETAILS:

Once the girls began arriving, they quickly changed into their uniforms and were guided to the Charm School SPA where Massiel and Anais from the Sparkly Princess were ready to give them a sweet make over consisting of nails, make up and an up do in their hair. I loved that this year, I had back up for entertainment. What I mean by back up is that I had someone running that part of the party and I wasn't expected to be host, entertainer, organizer, etc…. I actually got to enjoy the party and see the girls enjoying because I had "BACK UP".  Massiel and Anais from Sparkly Princess and Leslie, our Charm School teacher from Best Birthday Buddies, really outdid themselves and made the party FUN!!!! Thank YOU so much ladies!

Not only did Massiel and Anais do an amazing job at pampering the girls but they arrived at my house about half hour prior to the party as I was frosting the last of the cupcakes. Lucky for me, they were there when I realized I didn't have a single h'orderve ready. YIKES! Well these two managed to organize, thaw, bake and plate everything for my guests to munch on. Whew! what life savers!!!

 

To decorate the spa I brought some of the pillows and furniture from Sabrina's room. I recently gave her room a little make over and I was able to really get some good use out of some of the things in her room.  In the process of re doing her room, I painted furniture, frames etc. I wish I would have photographed these projects to share them with you but I didn't, I promise in the future, I will definitely share how simple it is to change a room with a little spray paint and a few accessories. 

The girls were so proud once they had their make up on and their nails were polished. They were ready to get to learning how to be the perfect princess….

My sweet friend Lilly from I heart Sugar Sugar created the Charm School pink piece above. She brought it by before the party and I taped it to the chalk board. While here, Lilly sweetly hand wrote with chalk on this board and the timeout tiara board as well (see below). Last minute details are always the hardest to accomplish, thank god for extra hands =)

It was sweet to see the girls lean into the glass where the tiaras were displayed. A few days before the party I emptied this piece of furniture and decided I would use it for the tiaras, certificates and goodies boxes. 

CRAFTS:

In addition to the Sparkly Princess for entertaining and pampering, I hired Leslie from Best Birthday Buddies to play the part of teacher. Leslie was wonderful with the students, she went over how to properly introduce yourself and greet someone, etiquette, table manners, poise and even taught them a little dance at the end of the party. Of course, she also graduated the girls in the coronation ceremony. 

The girls took to Leslie quickly and they were really all ears when she was going over their activities. 

 

ETIQUETTE:

The girls called her teacher and raised their hands patiently to answer questions while class was in session…..

They learned how to set the table right before lunch was served (pasta with cheese and tomato sauce on the side and a small little fresh salad of crunchy lettuce and tomatoes with dressing) That is one of Sabrina's favorite meals and it was actually a hit with the rest of the girls as well. I designed the doilies, printed them at Office Max and had them laminated as well. I knew they would make the perfect gifts for the girls to take home and continue to practice Charm school and proper table manners. 

While brainstorming ideas for the party, I knew I wanted to have a tiara timeout area as a fun little photo station spot for the girls. I posted one night on facebook if anyone knew where I can get a party hat and Shawna from Shawna Brockmeier Styled Events emailed me and quickly was hired for the job. Shawna was quick with providing a sample and a pleasure to work with. I love her style and I am so glad this party brought me to get to know her. You can see some of her amazing styling over on her page and in projects such as her recent collaboration with some wonderful vendors and stylist as she worked on this Operation shower event. 

Sabrina loves to act and she really loved "pretending" to be in time out….

MORE ACTIVITIES: 

POISE: Here the girls took turns in walking with books on their heads and Sabrina got to show off a little and do two books… (she practiced for weeks before the party) =)

REACHING THE END OF THE PARTY: Here they are dancing to "WE RULE THIS SCHOOL" . Leslie taught them a simple two step number they were able to perform for the parents before graduating. I was a bit sad here, knowing the party was soon coming to an end. (silly I know but it was truly such a sweet afternoon)

READY FOR GRADUATION!! How proud do they look…..THE PARENTS WERE EVEN PROUDER!!!!

 

Next thing you knew it was cake time… We pulled the cake from the sweet station and let the girls gather around it as they sang Happy Birthday to the sweetest birthday girl. I have to say this is definitely one of my favorite moments, how dreamy do they look in all that pink tulle with their tiaras……

Thank You so much to everyone who participated and were a part of the celebration this year.

We appreciate you so  much and are so grateful for you!

Thanks to all my friends and family for celebrating with us!!!

Happy 4th  Birthday to my beautiful Princess Sabrina! 

Do you want to have a Princess Charm School party for your special little girl. The entire Do it yourself and already printed collection is available in the shop.

xoxo, 

Andrea

VENDOR CREDITS

Dolce Drive:  Styling

Dollhouse Paperie: Paper goods

Heather Renee Photographie: Beautiful photography. 

Two Sweet Cakery: Princess, Barbie Silhouette Cake pops and Oreo Cookies

AllysonJane: Barbie Digital Crest designed sugar cookies

SweetAmbs: Barbie Silhouette cookies

Sweeties: Stenciled Royal Oreos

DADDY: Pink Chocolate Covered Apples

Sweet Dough: Tiara Sugar Cookies

Sugar and Spice Cakes by Miami: Cake

Sparkly Princess: Spa Set up with make up, nails and hair do

Best Birthday Buddies: Teacher

Bakingdom: Free Happy Birthday Banner

I heart SUGAR SUGAR: Charm School pink cut out, linen and darling handwritting. =)

Roni's Sugar Creations: Caramel Covered Apples.