Sewing Party for Project Hope {Brooklyn, NYC}

Last Saturday I attended a sewing party for Project Hope in Brooklyn that was hosted by Liesl & Co. (creator of my favorite sewing patterns for chidren- Oliver + S, I'm sure you're all familiar with her work). Obviously, it was wonderful helping out such a fantastic cause, but there's nothing like getting together with like-minded women who are happy to talk about all things creative.   I went hoping that being around amazingly creative women like Liesl and Heather Ross would inspire me to get sewing again.  It worked! 

The amazing thing about meeting amazing people is that you realize that they are people too.   Liesl and Heather were even more kind, gracious, and fabulous in person than they are in print, and it was such a joy to spend the morning with them. Liesl's beautiful daughter was there helping too, which made it even more fun. She made us all name tags and stuck them to our backs.  The company was fantastic, and  I was in absolute heaven in that gorgeous, light-flooded studio.  Take a look at these pictures and hopefully you'll see why I left with a skip in my step.

By the way, Crafty Chole is just about the cutest book ever that was illustrated by the amazing Heather Ross (I was kicking myself that I didn't take my copy to have it signed for my daughter), and have you seen the Crafty Chloe blog with darling, kid-friendly craft projects? Brilliant!

Also, I'm going to be the first one on the Oliver+S website on April 2nd to buy patterns from their gorgeous spring/summer line. Brilliant.

You can see the wrap-up post to see all the dresses that were completed HERE on the Oliver + S blog, and they also put up a gallery of images I took from the day on their facebook page.  You can see them HERE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Thanks ladies! Let's do it again soon!  We'll just pretend I'm sitting in the empty chair at the front :)

 

Happy 1st Birthday, Jones {Salt Lake City Event Photography}

 

Can you believe I'm finally posting Jonesy's first birthday party? I guess it's high time that I post it, now that he's nearly two.  Good thinking.

We decided to do an "I Love Jones" NYC themed party, and have the type of event we could never have in New York.  When we were at Rainbow City in the spring, Jones was absolutely obsessed with the bouncy castle, so we decided to rent one. They are ridiculously inexpensive in Utah (we got 5 hours for $95 total), and it was the highlight of the party for the kids. The adults loved it too. 

Our color scheme was based on the colors of the subway, and the food theme was "NYC street food." I made the layer cakes, and my amazing mother decorated them.  I absolutely loved Jones' tiny cake and my mom did a brilliant job of making the 1 look just like the number 1 train sign. I was so impressed.  Then again, my mom can do anything.  She and my Dad just ran around helping me with all my crazy plans, and I'm always so grateful for their help.

Thanks to my amazing family for doing all the grunt work.  My husband and brother-in-law shucked 30 ears of corn with absolutely no complaining.   They are good men.  Jake manned the grill too!   I love that I can just dole out tasks and they jump right on board (my often sinking ship). My fabulous sisters Erin and Stace helped with the prep and took pictures as well.  Of course I just had to take some too.  You can see them below, with a few Stacey and Erin's to fill in the holes where I missed something. 

These pictures make me so excited for summer...

MENU

• Make-your-own fruit kabobs with Jonesy favorite fruit: strawberries and watermelon
• Hot dogs (National brand, unfortunately it's nearly impossible to track down Nathan's brand in UT.  After a failed wild goose chase, my original idea of freezing them and bringing them on the airplane didn't seem so crazy)
• Grilled corn
• Jones Soda 
• Elmo apple juice boxes for the kids
• Pita chips and hummus
• Goldfish crackers (another one of Jonesy's favorites)
• Layered Almond Sour Cream Cake with cream cheese frosting, decorated by my Mom
• Gourmet ice cream bars (just like you'd get from a truck here in NYC)

DETAILS:

• Decorations:  subway maps (used them to cover the kids' picnic table and make the posters), used metro cards that I strung into a garland, and good old crepe paper
• Custom cake plate liners
• I Heart Jones buttons from Just Buttons
• Game: Pin the sticker on Jonesy's apartment (Manhattan bus map) 
• Serveware from Old Town Imports.  I especially loved using the punch bowl for the Jones soda, and I love how pewter can make even the most simple menu look amazing.
• Mini candy bar - subway colors (with candy left over from Matt & Stef's wedding)
  
• Bouncy castle from Utah Bouncy Houses
• Favor: candied almonds like you'd get from a Nuts-4-Nuts stand in Manhattan, with an "I heart Jones" sticker

above pictures by Stacey

left by Erin, right by Stacey

 

 

 

 

above two images by Erin

After dinner, we cleared the table off and brought out the cakes and treats.  It was nice to keep the food in one central location, and it kept it simple.

 

  

  

  

above 2 pictures by Erin

 

 

 

 *picture by Erin

 

 

 

 

 

picture on left by Erin

Probably my favorite portrait that I took from the entire party.  Love this kid.

The end.