GRADUATION PARTY

It's almost that time again - graduations are just around the corner! Here is a recap of a party I designed for my niece and nephew a couple of years back (can't believe it - they're just home from their sophomore year of college!). You heard a bit about it here, and saw a bit of it here, but now is time for all the juicy details! This was a particularly fun party to put together because it was for two graduates, giving me a chance to have a bit of fun with the design. The two graduation caps on the invite are a good example of how we played off the fact that this was a party for both a boy and a girl graduate.

The graduate silhouettes used in the banner also played off this theme. I really loved this idea of using two silhouettes and the first invite that I designed played up this motif (seen below), but that design was vetoed by one of the graduates, making the double cap design next in line for consideration. It was their party, after all! (don't you just hate when the honorees have an opinion?!?) Luckily, I was able to sneak the silhouettes into other aspects of the party.

See. Cute, right?

If you haven't guessed, the graduates' school colors are blue and white which became the obvious palette for the decor. The dark blue and light blue worked well with the design for both a male and female graduate. I loved how the water bottles looked all lined up in the fridge.

Because the weather for the day was questionable, my sister decided to move the party indoors. This caused a few moments of panic as much of the decor planned for the tent would not work indoors, but a last minute banner and some other small details worked wonders to create the look we were hoping for indoors. The menu signs were very well received by the guests for their playful practicality.

For dessert, we served a cookie bar along with the cake and some fun, personalized M&M's. I just couldn't resist the idea of a sign that said 2 Smart Cookies!

The Class of 2009 whoopie pie flags were pretty darn cute too. Cellophane bags with coordinating labels were provided for the guests to take some treats home as well.

My favorite project, by far, for my niece and nephew's graduation was definitely the photo montage dvd that was created using iPhoto, iTunes and iDVD. These applications worked beautifully together to make this project really easy to do and super fun. I loved going through all of the photos of the graduates and reminiscing about their lives and all of their wonderful accomplishments. The DVD was shown over and over throughout the day for family and friends and the guests of honor even enjoyed watching it time and again and playing it for their friends. I was just happy to have chosen songs that were not considered dorky and uncool by the high school crowd! (for your reference so you can be as hip as I, the songs were "Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield and "Time of Your Life" by Just Jinger)

For favors for the girls, Petunia and I made up cute little flip flops using a similar technique to the tissue poms that we love to make so much. You'll never guess what we used to make the poms to insure they would be water proof. I'll post a tutorial later in the week to fill you in on all the details of this fun project. The flip flops were displayed in my nephew's wrestling gym bag just to play down the girly factor a bit. I loved the contrast of how they looked in this old, beat up bag.

Despite the sketchy forecast, the day turned out perfect. After a fabulous party and tons of fun, the final detail: thank you notes.

It was an absolute pleasure helping to put this party together for my adorable niece and nephew. I am so proud of all of their wonderful accomplishments but even more so of the incredible people they have become. Congratulations Philip and Kayla! XOXO