And The Winner Is...

Comment number 2 from LisaD! I used Random.org to get number 2.  Congratulations Lisa! You will be receiving the set above shortly.  Hope you have a great ice cream get-together!

An Ice Cream Get-Together & A Giveaway!

Now that the sun is out and it feels like summer, you probably want to get together with your friends and enjoy the nice summer evenings. However, it's not always easy to find the time to cook dinner for so many people. Invite them over for ice cream instead!  I just recently did this with my friends and it was great.  I haven't seen my friends in a while and it was so nice to get together and catch up.  We sat on my balcony on a beautiful Saturday evening and ate ice cream with toppings.  Everyone was relaxed and the kids had a great time playing outside together. Best of all, it was so easy.  All you have to do is buy some ice cream and some toppings such as sprinkles and chocolate chips and you're done! Your guests will love piling up their ice cream just like when they were kids. You can even put ice in a cooler or a bucket and use it to bring your ice cream with you and meet everyone at the lake for an after-dinner treat.

I used these ice cream cups and spoons that I sell in the shop and although it was something small, it made it just a little bit more special. It would also be great to use these cups on a normal weeknight and have ice cream and toppings for dessert. The kids will love it! The set comes with two small wooden scoops that are perfect for picking up sprinkles.

And so that you can enjoy a nice summer evening with ice cream, I am giving away one set of these ice cream cups and spoons.  It includes 10 ice cream cups, 10 mini wooden spoons, and 2 wooden scoops for your toppings.  There are a couple of ways to enter the giveaway:

1. Leave a comment here.
2. Leave a comment on our facebook post about this giveaway.

You can enter twice by posting a comment in both places.

That's all! I will pick a winner randomly next Thursday, June 20 2013 at 9am my time (GMT+1). The winner will be announced in a blog post and will also be notified personally if possible.

Good luck!

This giveaway is now closed.

New Look and Online Store

Some of you may have noticed that we have a new look around here.  That's because we updated our logo and colors to match those of our new online shop!  It's taken months, but it is finally live.  I wanted to make available the pretty party supplies that I love.  We are also selling our party printables there. So you can get everything you need for your party in one place!

You can get to the shop by going to www.shoppaperandpartylove.com, or by clicking on the shop banner on the right of this page.

At this time, the shop is available to those of you that live in Switzerland, as we can't ship internationally yet. You can still purchase our party printables from Etsy if you live outside of Switzerland.

I hope you enjoy it and check back often for new items!

Mexican Fiesta

Since Cinco de Mayo is on Sunday, I wanted to share a recent Mexican Fiesta dinner party that I had at my house a few weeks ago.  We've had such a long winter in Switzerland, with many months of gray skies and cold weather, that I wanted to have a small dinner party with lots of color.  Since we love Mexican food and don't get it too often here, I thought it would be perfect to have a Mexican Fiesta!

To set the tone,  I made mini pinata invitations which the guests had to pull apart to get the information inside.  And to set the mood even more, when the guests arrived at our house, they could choose from a paper flower headband or a small sombrero to wear for the night. 

I made fringed streamers using tissue paper that I had left over from another project and strung them up on twine over the dining room table to bring in more of the fiesta feel.  I used the same streamers on the drinks table and over the taco bar to tie it all together.  I also made tissue paper flowers and designed some party printables to use as placecards and to make napkin rings. And, I re-used the bean cans as vases to bring in more color on the table.

On the drinks table, we had strawberry agua fresca, beers and margaritas. I served chips and three different kinds of salsa for an appetizer.  For the main course, I set up a taco bar with all of the fixings so that the guests could choose for themselves what they wanted on their tacos.  

Finally, for the dessert table, I used the leftover tissue paper again to make rosettes to hang on the wall behind it.  I covered a dresser with a hot pink tablecloth and used terra cotta pots and saucers to make a mexican style cupcake stand.  On the stand were the yummiest margarita cupcakes! I also made a tres leches trifle and laid out some chocolate balls.

It was such a fun night! The colors and the theme really helped us to feel like we were in warmer climates, even if it was for just a few hours.

If you would like to have the recipes or need any help planning your own Mexican Fiesta, feel free to contact me or leave a comment below!

Mini Piñata Invitations

It's almost time for Cinco de Mayo and I wanted to share these mini piñata invitations that I made for a Mexican Fiesta dinner party that I had at my house recently.  It was such a long, grey winter in Switzerland and Spring did not come early, so I decided to have a small dinner party with lots of colors.  What better way to do that than with a Mexican Fiesta!

To set the mood, I made these mini piñata invitations.  I used a cereal box to make them. I then designed an invitation and rolled it up, along with some confetti, and placed it inside the piñata. I added some ribbon to the invitation and placed a "pull me" tag at the other end of the ribbon to make sure that the invitation would come out easily. 

It turned out very cute and those that received it loved the idea.  I also designed a printable set that would be perfect for your next Mexican Fiesta.  Come back soon to see the pictures of the party!