Inspiration: Sailor of the Quarter

Our next party is for a special guy named Danny.  This is the 2nd quarter in a row that he has received the high honor of "Sailor of the Quarter" from his command in the US Navy.  We want to do a fun, vintage Navy inspired party while still maintaining the laid back feel of summer.  Here's an inspiration board I put together for this particular party:

Tell me what you think!

♥ Andrea

Fun up-do with braids

Here at Pockets & Posies, we love anything creative and funky - but more importantly FAST!!!  So, naturally one of our favorite places to find ideas is Pinterest (click here to follow us on Pinterest). I found a link to this really fun hairstyle and decided to give it a try for church this morning.  Since I had so many people ask me how I did it, I decided to it would make a great post for the blog :)

To start, here's the original link:

I looove this blog!

Source: thebeautydepartment.com via Kayla on Pinterest

Since I don't have her awesome bangs, I had to get a little creative.  I divided my hair from ear to ear and then I parted the front half in it's normal spot and the pinned two halves out of the way. (Also, instead of curling all my hair, I only curled the ends after I had braided them. WAY faster.)  See where it's parted?  I have a ridiculous cowlick that keeps me from having fabulous bangs, so I have to keep them long.

Earrings by Lia Sophia, lip color is CoverGirl Outlast Lip Color in Burgundy.

I followed most of the instructions, dividing the back hair into three, separate, loose braids, each with the tiny plastic bands around the bottom - they're much easier to hide. Then I arranged and pinned them as well as I could without a hand mirror (no idea where I put it...).  Once I'd pinned those pieces, I braided the two side pieces but THERE'S SOMETHING IMPORTANT I DID WHILE BRAIDING that might prove helpful! To avoid major bumps when I pulled the front/side braids back, I braided the hair in the direction I wanted to pin it instead of straight down.  (Clear as mud? Good.)  Anyway, this helps provide that polished look. Not having a hand mirror, I took random photos of the back with my handy dandy iPhone until I could see it pretty well, then I brandished it with my favorite flower clip to spruce it up a little.

Voila!

Here is a picture of the left side, you can see how the front/side braid lays over the bottom braids to form nice up-do.

Picture of the back before I added the flower.

Right side with the flower.

Picture of the back, complete with flower.

Have you tried any new hairstyles lately?  Want to try this one? Tell us about it or send us a link to a picture!  Thanks for reading!

 ♥ Andrea

Birthday fun!

Pockets & Posies recently took the opportunity to plan a very special birthday party for a very special girl - Andrea's daughter, Karis! Special friends came to help us celebrate - Mickey Mouse style!

Here is our birthday girl arriving at her party.  She is wearing a tutu handcrafted by her Mom, Andrea.

One of the biggest new trends in parties nowadays is photo booths!  We created our own with various props, wrapping paper, and lots of fun personalities.  Below are some of our favorite shots.

 The birthday girl and family.

 Mom and Dad have a special message for their baby girl.

 Two of Karis' dear friends show off their Mickey Mouse style!

EJ shows his modeling skills with our "bowling ball".

 The various mustaches were a huge hit with everyone there.

 Emily and her darlings pose for a family photo.

 Samantha and her Uncle James take their turn in front of the camera.

 James won our Justin Bieber look-a-like contest portion of the evening.

 

 Our birthday girl shows off her favorite pal, Mickey Mouse!

 She's also been learning how to write her own name, pretty good for a 3 year old!

 Daddy goofs off for the camera.

 Karis' "Florida grandparents" Janis and Stanley pose for their latest and greatest family portrait. This is what 38 years of marriage will do to you...

 Lily, our resident diva-in-training shows us how it's done.

 Our menfolk pause to reflect on the seriousness of the occasion.

 Porsche and Danny demonstrate a "freeze frame".

 Smooch!

 Samantha and Lily show off their high fashion choices.

And of course the evening wouldn't be complete without the Dainty Delight girls taking their turn in front of the camera!

As you may can tell, we had a load of fun.  Not many 3rd birthday parties can be classified as "epic", but this one totally qualified.  After showing off our voguing skills at the photo booth, we played paper towel bowling, ate "Hot Diggity Dogs" and hamburgers, and tasted the delicious sangria Porsche made for the more mature party guests.  We also offered water and sweet tea of course, after all, we ARE in the South.  Here are some pictures of our decorations and food.

 Balloons hung from the chandelier made a great centerpiece for the party.

We hand made each of the cupcakes, using Double Stuff and Mini Oreos to create the Mickey Mouse silhouette and ears. They were then topped with red sugar to add some color.  Delicious!

True to her detail-loving self, Porsche hand cut each piece of fruit that went into the refreshments for the evening.  She created the red from a Burgundy wine, accented with oranges and apples to give guests a taste of traditional Spanish sangria.  She took a more exotic flair with the white, using a Chablis wine and adding pears and strawberries.  She was later informed that both were delicious!

After we ate, we sang happy birthday to Karis and enjoyed some cupcakes.  We let the kids run off some of the sugar before we sat down to open presents.

Happy Birthday, dear Karis!

 Yummy chocolate!

 Run run run!

The presents were Karis' favorite part of the evening. Here she is opening her new Minnie Mouse shirt from Samantha.

After we opened presents, we let the kids play some more and we all sat around the house, enjoying one another's company.  Good food and good friends make for a wonderful party!

Brother and sister pose together on the couch.

We were so glad that Emily's mom, Patty, was down from Wisconsin to join in the fun!

Brandy shows off a little Carnival style. 

  Karis decided it was time to redistribute some of the props from the photobooth while we were all sitting around...so of course, we obliged.

 "Red solo cup...I lift you up..."

 Karis' regular babysitter, Wanda (AKA Deeda), relaxing at the table with Patty and EJ.

 Peanut, our beagle, was so tired out from all the fun, he forgot to take off his tux before napping.

While we wish our blood relatives from Texas could've been there with us, we consider ourselves very blessed to have such wonderful friends that are like family to us here in Florida.

In other Dainty Delights news, we're planning to hit up a few more craft shows, so keep a look out on our Facebook page to stay updated on where we'll be.  We're also hoping to plan a baby shower sometime soon for our friend Brandy and use our talents and creativity to celebrate a new life.  Until then, keep smiling!