A Very Merry Un-Birthday!

I'm neck deep in inspiration photos for my daughter's upcoming birthday party. She wanted a Mad Hatter Tea Party. Well, she wanted a tea party, and the controlling Martha Stewart in my head said, "Mad Hatter Tea Party!" So, I introduced her to the scene in the movie, and very gently persuaded her that she didn't want just an ordinary tea party, but a MAD HATTER tea party. After a little bit of, "Oh, but look how much fun they're having," and "Wouldn't you love to have an UN-birthday party?!", and finally "How about if everyone gets to dress up?", she was on board. So, we are having a Mad Hatter Dress-Up-As-Whatever-You-Want Tea Party!

Here's the inspiration board:

1. http://www.countryliving.com/cooking/entertaining/valentines-day-tea-party
2. https://www.etsy.com/listing/169188105/paper-straw-20-pcs-baby-pink-sparkle | 3. chic-deco.blogspot.com
4. Fyreflyhollow.etsy.com | 5. meehameeha.blogspot.com | 6. alice-in-wonderland.net | 7. disneypartyblog.com

Everything aesthetic in my heart is eclectic. Lots of textures, colors, patterns, shapes...and if that eclectic jumble happens to be VINTAGE ECLECTIC jumble, sign me up! I wanted soft colors with pops of bright; I wanted frilly with pops of structure; I wanted girly with pops of sophistication (because everything aesthetic in my heart is also double-minded -- and that's possibly not limited to just aesthetic, or just my heart). And THEN, my friends, I found THIS:

Are you kidding me right now? I almost fainted when I found the plates (they're PAPER!). But when I realized there was an entire LINE of these breath-taking paper products, I couldn't even stand how much I wanted ALL of it! It's a line by Talking Tables called Truly Scrumptious (there's a sister line called Utterly Scrumptious that mixes and matches). The only drawback for me was my budget. I had already bought some supplies, and I couldn't bring myself to spend more. So, if you're planning a tea party, GET THESE, and then send me photos so I can live vicariously through you. Deal?

Here is my design. To be honest, I already created my daughter's invites, and they were so similar to other designs out there, I couldn't bring myself to post it. I'd hate to think someone thought I stole their intellectual property, ya know? So I recreated a design based on my inspiration board. And frankly, if I had time to print and send invites, I'd rather have done these.

They are a 5 x 7 "tea bag" with a 2 x 2 "RSVP" hang tag. (Yes, I unashamedly Photoshopped some Truly Scrumptious down in the corner.) This design, at this point in time, will go into the DIY section of my shop. Clients can send me the information they'd like on the design, and then I will send them PDF versions for them to print, cut, and assemble themselves. I would love to start doing some hand assembling (i.e. the gold foil invites I have yet to play around with), but at the "I have two small children and a mound of laundry that never ends" phase of my life, I'm not sure it's wise to embark on ONE MORE thing that will suck up my time. 

The design will be in my shop within the week: pixelpaper.etsy.com