Tag Archives: tania’s design studio

Construction Birthday Party

April 6, 2016

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CAN YOU DIG IT! Prepare to get bulldozed with this Construction Party because this it is LOADED with creative ideas! My boy’s and their crew were in hard hat heaven with adorable themed treats, creative signs and classic work zone decorations like caution tape, construction cones, yield signs and more! So let’s DIG IN!

My favorite details are:

“Caution” wrapped Kitkat cakes
Toolbox lunches + “Under Construction” chocolate bars
“Wet Paint” can & Rice Krispie Treat paint brushes
Chocolate “Nuts & Bolts”
Custom hard hats + personalized place cards
Amazing cookie art by Cookievonster

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Because two of my boys are born on the same day, I combined their birthday celebration but to make it fair, they each got their own cake! Karlo chose the Kitkat cake as I was pinning inspiration on Pinterest. The Kitkat bars attached easily and the ‘caution’ tape nicely secured everything in place. I topped the cake with Oreo crumbs and some chocolate rocks (this was a choclate lovers dream cake) and to be honest, the assembly was far easier than I expected.

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We have a favorite chocolate cake mix that is tried and true in our home and I am so grateful to Amanda from i am baker because she transformed me from box cake star to homemade and from scratch diva! Here is the recipe for ‘The Perfect Chocolate Cake’.

I purchased the ‘nuts & bolts’ mold on Amazon.com and the process of making the chocolate treats was so easy. First, I melted the wafers I bought at Micheal’s in the microwave, stopping to mix everything thirty seconds. Once melted, I poured the chocolate into a Wilton squeeze tube and filled the molds which went right into the fridge to set. It took several batches, but I think they turned out so good!

To make the ‘paint brushes’ I skewed the prepackaged Rice Krispie Treats and then dipped them in melted chocolate. Letting the melted chocolate drip down only made them look more like wet paint brushes. The paint can was purchased at the Home Depot and I wrapped it in two sheets of patterned papers which are included in the party package. Taping the ‘wet paint’ sign was the the perfect final touch!

I decided to line the envelopes with some of the patterned papers. It was a simple detail, but one that made the invite more custom.

As always the blank thank you notes are included with every party package.

I prefer to wrap Smarties boxes with the chocolate bar wrappers as it is a nice neat fit!

Each guest had his/her own ‘toolbox treats’ which was filled with all sorts of yummy sweets to keep them fueled up for all the work at this job site!

Kids table setup!
Using black paper to as a table runner, I added some white strips to pave the road!

Hard Hat Area : I got a set of 12 for under 10$ on Amazon.com!

The ‘caution’ tape can be used anywhere you can think of! I decided to add some extra detail to the cake platter~

Clean up crew, aka party mom, was needed in job site: kids table!

These name cards/food labels are meant to look like the caution street signs. I created a short video on my Instagram to show this easy diy, here. If you aren’t already following me, find me @taniasdesignstudio.

Jenga is a perfect game for the budding builder! Except this game was enjoyed by all the adults best!

Pylon Ring Toss game, signage and points printables are included in the set!

Niko has a pair of PJs that match the theme, just bought them at Carter’s!

I love having the ‘birthday facts’ on the water bottle labels! So many guests have been fooled by the labeling and once they read the ‘Percentage DV based on happy kids’ they can’t help but smile.

Evon of Cookievonster is a master at her craft! I often have to tell guests to go ahead and take a cookie as they can’t believe I would let them eat one, let alone touch them!

Ain’t that the truth! Terrible twos in full swing~

Karlo and Niko’s construction crew were such hard workers

Happy birthday to these fine young men, mama will always think you job is well done :)

Tania

The full Construction party package can be found in my Etsy shop, here.

Vendors

Printables, photography and styling : Tania’s Design Studio

Sugar Cookies : Cookievonster

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A Great Day for Hockey {Montreal Canadiens Inspired}

February 29, 2016

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HE SHOOTS! HE SCORES! Amy Liu Bissett of A Dazzle Day threw a {Montreal Canadiens Inspired} Hockey Party for her son Gavin’s 9th birthday that had the crowds (of party guests) cheering! Influenced by his dad’s favorite team, the Montreal Canadiens, Gavin had a birthday party fit for any Stanley Cup loving kid! Amy used the team colors, hockey gear, and so many great themed foods to bring this party to life! As always, her DIY projects are simple and ao perfect!

My favorite details are:

black chalkboard ice rink as the sweets table backdrop
bench made of well used hockey sticks
welcome sign clipboard with hockey trading cards
handmade hockey jersey fondant cake topper
brownie hockey stick treat

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In Amy’s words:

Everyone had so much fun! This is the perfect birthday party theme for bigger boys. You get to play hockey for an hour with your friends and then enjoy yummy treats after the game. What’s not to like? Influenced by daddy, Gavin’s favorite team is Montreal Canadiens so I’ve used blue and red as the main party colors. I especially love my idea of drawing a hockey field on a chalkboard as the backdrop – simple and easy but looks nice!

Tania has once again created the ideal party printable per my request. She is awesome! Check out her Etsy shop!

Food: chocolate fondant cake, chocolate cupcakes, popcorn, brownie, dipped pretzel sticks, pigs in a blanket, lemonade

For the favor box, I gathered up a few hockey related items for the kids. I love the hockey pencil and the little gold medal!

*****

VENDOR CREDITS & RESOURCES:

– Photography: Amy L.B. Photography
– Party Design and Planning: A Dazzle Day
– Party Printable Package: Tania’s Design Studio
– Crafts items: Dollarama, Walmart, Great Canadian Dollar Store, Michaels

You can see how this party package can be styled in two ways by checking out my son Luka’s 8th birthday party here…

The full party package is available in my Etsy shop, click on the product listing below or here to view the details and ’score’ the party package!

Happy celebrating!

Tania

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Butterfly Kisses Birthday

February 15, 2016

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Every now and then I have a customer who wows me with their party styling and I am sharing one such party today!

This Butterfly Kisses party has me envisioning little girls with pastel colored wings imitating butterflies fluttering around! Everything about this butterfly party feels so sweet and dainty.

My favorite details are:

three tiered cake with cascading butterflies
chocolate dipped butterfly pretzels
coordinating pastel tissue paper pom poms
sweet ribbon tied favor bags

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To see the full product listing click HERE.

Happy celebrating!

Tania

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A Magical Butterfly Tea Party

February 12, 2016

Something is brewing at this beautifully styled little girl’s birthday tea party. Once the little party girls left their shoes at the door, they stepped into a party steeped in charm!

Amy of A Dazzle Day follows a signature color palette of soft pastels for all of her girly parties that she dreams up and styles for her little mini me Mia! At the end of the day, all of Mia’s guests’ hearts were warmed by both the tea and the loveliness of the afternoon.

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In Amy’s words:

Beautiful pastel colors are my favorites in designing a little girl’s party. This year, I used a mixture of pastel colors at Mia’s butterfly tea party and loved the result. Everything looked elegant and perfect. You’ll see lots of butterflies, flowers, and greens. The girls all felt very special and grown up sitting around having their tea and desserts. Thank you, Tania, for designing this beautiful birthday package! Tania is so talented and I love working with her! You will definitely find something you love!

DIY

– Pastel fondant cake
– Sugar cookies
– Homemade marshmallows
– Butterfly cake pops
– Flower mini fondant cake
– Paper flowers for decoration
– 4 year old flower sign
– Doilies and tissue paper pom poms
– paper tea cups
– Photo booth frame

Crafts & Games: Decorate your butterfly with beads and Butterfly Puzzle

Favors: I have prepared a tea set for each girl, including a gold spoon, tea bag with dried flowers, jar of honey, and a handmade paper tea cup.

VENDOR CREDITS & RESOURCES:

Find this party package in my Esty shop HERE.

Happy Celebrating!

Tania

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Happy Halloween 2015

October 30, 2015

What a better way to celebrate Halloween than look back at all the great years of Halloween past? I decided to create a yearly photo banner that you can add to each year and pull out with your Halloween decorations and enjoy for the Fall season. My boys loved seeing themselves in all their ‘spooktacular’ glory! Please download and enjoy!

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I also added a few ‘BOO’ banners for fun too!

Download your 2015 Halloween Freebie here…

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Top Chef Modern Bistro

May 25, 2015

What a perfect party for your little foodie! My party momma friend Amy of A Dazzle Day put in an order for a modern pizza party theme for her son Luas’ 7th birthday. Fill up on all the creative party details and see what was on the menu in Chef Lucas’ Kitchen!

THis party was featured on Hostess with the Mostess (HWTM), see all the great things Jenn had to say about this party, here!

Amy got these mini pizza boxes from Boston Pizza and then asked that I design a cover and four sides. I just love how they turned out!

Who awesome is this photo booth? I love the wire utensils strung together and yes…she made that too!

Happy birthday Top Chef!

Tania

Full party package is available in my Etsy shop, please click on the picture below!

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Birthday Hockey Face Off

May 7, 2015

The good ol’ hockey game…It’s the best game you can name!

Hockey is our family’s sport and with the Stanley Cup playoffs going on at the same time as my oldest sons birthday, it was only right to have a hockey themed party!

I designed the party printables to have a bit of modern vintage and I wanted it to be a hockey theme with no particular team preference. Navy and red seemed to fit that idea best.

Anyone interested in some hot cocoa!

I am such a fan of stripes, so the black and white tablecloth worked perfectly because it reminded me of referee stripes. All the sweets were hockey themed; Oreo puck stack, NHL stick and puck dip, hot chocolate and who will forget those beat up toothless hockey player cookies!

Using the cookies to decorate the cake was a last minute decision. When I saw the cookie art created by Cookievonster, I knew I had to showcase this rugged bobble head looking hockey star!

I lucked out and found these Stanley Cup Special Edition Oreos !

And then I found this great Sticks & Puck Dip by Leelalicious.com, the tutorial that I followed can be found here.

Happy birthday to one happy hockey fan!

Tania

The full party package is available in my Etsy shop, click on the product listing below or here to view the details and ’score’ the party package!

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Time Flies : Niko is One

April 15, 2015

Wow did this year fly by! When I started thinking about the theme for my youngest son’s birthday, all that came to mind was “My oh my, how time flies!” It has been nothing but a pleasure watching this little man grow and I really wanted to make his first birthday special as I am pretty sure it will be my last 1st birthday celebration. Bittersweet, but mostly sweet :)

I love my boys and I can’t wait to show you how we celebrated this munchkin’s first birthday!!

The ‘propeller pops’ are marshmallows dipped in melted red chocolate wafers. I then rolled out some store bought fondant and stamped out some tear shaped ‘propellers’. Finishing them with some red m&m’s brought the treat to life!

The LIFE magazine cover was the first thing I designed in this party package and it was sent as a save the date to guests!

I purchased these adorable little brown suitcases on Amazon and then attached some cute luggage tags, which are included in the party package.

I had so much fun customizing every detail of this party and many of the “in service” food items were also sent home as party favors!

I used an IKEA rolling tray as the “In Service cart” which was filled with the many party favors; snack mix, sugar cookies by a sweet friend Shereen of The Sugar Tree, water bottles, chocolate bars and of course, napkin and utensils!

My little man even had his very own cockpit! I created the large propeller using a cake centerpiece printable and then cut out two large tear drop shapes from the patterned papers.

Every Captain need a proper hat!

There are many tutorials online on how to make scalloped pinatas, but to give a quick explanation: purchase a paper party lantern, hot glue paper tissue that you cut into circles, layer by layer. Then fill it with treats and seal the bottom with a large piece of the patterned paper. Pretty simple and cheap!

There were two games designed to keep the little party guests entertained throughout the afternoon. First was this is Airplane Toss; purchase white foam board, trace and cut out several sized circles with and exacto knife and added some pinwheels!

The second party games was Pin the Propeller. I sent the poster to print at Costco on their largest lustre photo print, the kids were then blindfolded and attempted to make the target.

Dream BIG, little ONE! These cute shoes were purchased at Zara.

Here is a large series of a photo banner I created to document all the months and milestone firsts that meant to such to us!

At the end of the day all the guests were sent to the “luggage claim” to pick up their favor bags!

Happy birthday my dear sweet little boy! You are loved!

Tania

Full party package is available in my Etsy shop, here

Vendors

Printables, photography and styling : Tania’s Design Studio

Sugar Cookies : The Sugar Tree

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Backyard Camp Out

March 30, 2015

We are that family that starts the weekend camp trips in early May and continues all through the summer and wraps up the season just before school starts in September. So it was really not surprising that my son Karlo decided on a camping theme for his sixth birthday! So many great memories have been made while out in the wilderness; sitting around the campfire, fishing with grandpa and dad, going on long ATV rides. Really, this is the magic of childhood :)

When I plan a party I always ask my sons what they want most, Karlo said he wanted to see, “all the animals in nature”. Well, I had already designed the printables so I incorporated some cute forest animals in the sweets I made.

These cute little owls were a combination of several Pinterest cupcakes I had pinned. I used the petal frosting technique for the belly and then frosted the wings and ears with a star tip. Fondant eyes really made them pop!

The cute little toadstools were purchased at a local cake baking supply store in Langley called Scoop-N-Save. They have all sorts of fun baking items for all party themes!

A scavenger hunt was a perfect party activity, too bad our Westcoast weather didn’t want to cooperate! I am sure that it will come in use sometime over the Spring or summer months.

Oh how I loved this sly little fox! I saw a tutorial on how to create this cutie on Handmade Charlotte and I knew we would be great be friends! It was actually a very simple to follow tutorial and turned out even better than I had hoped :)

My birthday boy was so happy with his party, he especially loved momma’s hedgehogs!

These cute little hedgehog critters were inspired by none other than the fabulous Martha Stewart. Just used a particular frosting tip, sliced almonds and the nose and eyes are fondant.

I hope you had S’more fun looking at the photos!

Full party package is available in my Etsy shop, click here.

Happy celebrating!

Tania

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Mod Outdoors Man Birthday Party

March 18, 2015

Choosing a party theme for a growing boy is always a challenge. It is the need to create something that the child likes and what the parents want! I got the inspiration for this design because 1. daddy hunts 2. little man likes to camp 3. I thought I could combine the outdoors man theme with some modern black and white graphics! A great recipe for a hip party for a cool lil guy!

Accents of gold were incorporated, one being the spray painted forest animals like this full grown moose!

These chocolate acorns were a huge hit and very simple to make! Hershey Kisses were attached to mini cookies with frosting and then a butterscotch chip on top.

Wide open spaces, that what little boys need, room to roam and explore!

I love making this style of cake, I have a step by step tutorial in my ‘Pretty Party Basics’ section so if you are interested in trying this frosting technique, that is a great place to start!

Chocolate bar wrappers were used to cover the smarties boxes!

I loved designing the different party signs! I decided to make a gallery of the different prints so I cut them out into different shapes and sizes and attached them to black foam board. Mate actually has several of these hanging in his bedroom today!