UPDATE!!
We have a winner!!
COMMENT #100 - Denise
She said: "The handmade snowflakes are exquisite!!!! Beautiful!!!"
Congratulations Denise! Just in time for the holidays!! Please contact me at toni@thetomkatstudio.com to claim your prize!!
We are so excited to share this incredible party with you today! Nicole Wills, owner of
Tradewind Tiaras sent in these gorgeous photos, along with all of the details of how she created this exquisite Sugar Plum Fairy/Nutcracker birthday party! The party was for her daughter's best friend, Kaitlyn and what a party it was! What a perfect theme for Winter Birthdays! Nicole's attention to detail is incredible and you are in for a treat!
She started out by making these incredible pop up invitations! So creative!
For the decor, they went with a silver and purple color scheme. The family Christmas tree was decorated with tulle garland that Nicole made, snowflake ornaments, along with lavender and plum ribbons. It was the perfect backdrop for the party!
Nicole's favorite decorative element was the giant quilled snowflakes she strung from the ceiling. It cost about $2.00 to make ALL of the snowflakes, which created such a dramatic impact! Quilling is usually done on a very small scale. Typically in this craft, a large quilled snowflake might be only 3 inches across. Nicole's were more like 12 or 18 inches across. WOW!
{we'll see if she'll teach us how to make them!}
The dessert table was another beautiful focal point of the party. Nicole envisioned the table as a stage for a production of the Nutcracker ballet. She wanted it to look like what you'd see if you went to a performance of the ballet in real life. To that end, she found a photography backdrop on Craigslist that was just ideal! Purple velvet curtains framed the backdrop. Leftover hardwood floor panels were arranged on the tabletop to create the stage floor! Another brilliant idea? A music player under the dessert table - The Orchestra in the Pit!
The desserts included: Dancing Snowflake Cupcakes, Mouse King Confections, Russian (dancer) tea cakes, a gingerbread house from the Land of Sweets, Sugar Plums (from a 16th century recipe), snowflake lollipops, ballet slipper sugar cookies, icing trees, snow-filled krumkake and rosette snowflakes. Nicole made everything herself!
For drinks they offered Sugar Plum Punch and Melted Snowflakes. The plastic goblets they used were such a hit that most of the children ended up wanting to take them home!
The activities started with a Ballerina Makeover! Each girl was given tulle wings, a sparkly tutu, along with a lavender and silver flower hair clip. They were also given snowflake wands and lots of glimmery make-up.
After they were all ballerina ready, they decorated Gingerbread Houses!
This was followed by dinner and party games! Pin the Crown on the Fairy was such a hit! With watercolors, Nicole painted a poster of a Sugar Plum Fairy ballerina, framed it, and hung it low on the wall (where it doubled as party decor). She made crowns out of purple cardstock and Swarovski rhinestones for the game!
Christmas Crackers were given to the children as they left the party. Nicole made the Christmas crackers herself. She made Swarovski crystal necklaces for each of the girls and put temporary tattoos in the crackers for the two boys.
WOW. Isn't this party spectacular? We love Nicole's attention to every little detail. She is incredibly talented and creative. Lucky us, she is local here in Phoenix and we hope to work with her soon! Nicole is sponsoring a SURPRISE GIVEAWAY! Nicole is the owner of Tradewind Tiaras and offered to giveaway 12 of these beatiful Swarovski Crystal Napkin Rings. These would be perfect for any fancy dinner or party!
Here is how to enter:
1) Leave a comment telling us your favorite part of this amazing party!
2) Become a fan of Tradewind Tiaras on
Facebook and let us know that you did!
Winner will be chosen on Monday, December 13, 2010 at 11:00pm (MST). Any entries received after this time will not be considered. Open to US residents only. Winner will be chosen using random.org.
Nicole, we cannot thank you enough for sharing this beautiful party with us!
We are speechless! We look forward to many more wonderful things to come from you.
