PARTY MAGIC’S PASSION PROJECT
Time flies and it seemed like March was just yesterday! The month of March always brings for me good tidings, mostly because of two things: it’s the birthday month of my husband, and it’s ICBB preschool‘s Moving Up Day!
This is the month where the Party Magic team’s dedication to their craft is put to the extreme test, as we not only styled all THREE Moving Up Day events of the preschool (which were held in Teatrino, Promenade Greenhills), but had to do this while trying to fulfill our obligations to our birthday party clients as well.
More on this year’s Moving Up Day events in another blog post. For the previous year’s Moving Up Day, check out A Hairspray Musical by ICBB Kids
A NEW KIND OF PRINCESS THEME
If you are the type of mom who’s tired of the usual themes, here’s a twist that I’d like to show you:
Instead of a simple “princess” theme, why not take a “higher level” look at it and consider Once Upon A Time, or Fairy Tale Characters? The good thing about approaching the usual princess theme from this angle is the huge potential it has for interpretation, and the “mashing up” of various characters into one setting.
Here is a sneak peek of what I chose to do for sweet Olivia’s party:
Storybooks abound in the ceiling of Olivia’s party
Gold leaves and vintage books create a romantic air over the guests
Geppetto’s Workshop, found in the photo-op section of Olivia’s party
Special thanks to Happy Folks Studio for doing an amazing job as always in capturing the spirit of this event!
THE CAST OF CHARACTERS AND THE DESIGN APPROACH
While it’s all great to bring out your favorite characters and just hope that they “blend” well together onstage, there are obvious limitations to the combinations of characters (hello, Pocahontas and Cinderella?). So my client, Hazel, and I brainstormed the cast of characters that we would be using for the event:
Rapunzel, Merida, Dorothy (of Wizard of Oz), Cinderella, and Pinocchio.
In my mind, the best way to approach this type of overarching theme is to create a subtle, more nuanced design by focusing on the setting or a particular element of the fairy tale rather than the characters themselves.
This type of approach can be seen in the invitation we designed for Hazel:
No sight of Rapunzel (just her long hair). Pinocchio’s hat is just peeking off to the right of Olivia’s name. Cinderella and Dorothy’s shoes, and Merida’s bow and arrow round up the rest of the elements. Again, no actual characters seen anywhere. This creates a subtler (and dare I say more sophisticated?) feel.
Cinderella’s Royal Ride
Another good example would be Cinderella. Just because Cinderella is part of your theme doesn’t mean that you need to have a standee of the Disney princess greeting guests as they enter the party, as this might be too “in your face”. Why not a royal carriage instead?
I also decided to add this romantic-looking book arch as an entryway into the venue.
Off to the left, a large book adorned with vines greet the guests with the eternal words, Once upon a time…
Pinocchio-in-Progress: Geppetto’s Workshop
Similarly, why don’t we pretend that Geppetto, Pinocchio’s maker, is in his workshop, crafting his latest creation, a little wooden boy he is thinking of naming “Pinocchio”? Here is a glimpse of his workshop:
Look at the wood glue on the table!
In conceptualizing Geppetto’s workshop, I wanted to create a rustic sort of homey feel, a room that looks a little bit messy with lots of wood elements, something that people would believe to be a woodcarver’s workshop.
Merida at the Great Hall of DunBroch Castle
For the dessert table, I thought that it would be nice for a change to focus on Merida, the bow-and-arrow toting princess from the movie Brave. Here we arrive on a scene at the banquet of the Great Hall in DunBroch Castle, with the bear-triplets sneaking around for a bite of tasty desserts!
The legendary phrase, “Once Upon A Time” as a focal point of the dessert spread, painted in forest green and adorned with vines
Up to no good: the irrepressible triplets Harris, Hubert, and Hamish
Vintage book pages litter a column that borders the dessert table
Rapunzel and Dorothy Share The Spotlight
While the entrance, dessert, and photo areas were subtle reminders of famous fairy tale characters, I thought the stage would be a more appropriate place to put some characters, more specifically, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, and Rapunzel!
I love how the stage background blended the two fairy tales together, with Dorothy flanked by dear Toto and a castle tower (perhaps that of the Wicked Witch of the West?), while Rapunzel stands beside her boat (the same she used with Flynn while watching the fire lanterns spread through the evening sky).
In the above photo, the theme Once Upon A Time is reinforced through the large book behind Rapunzel.
PARTY MAGIC: A WORLD OF POSSIBILITIES!
One thing I love about my “job” (if you could call it that), is that we are in the business of “creation”. Every week brings new parties and with it new chances to create something new. I think that this new theme brings with it a fresh perspective into the classic Princess theme.
The sweetest, most romantic of birthdays to you dear Olivia!
Love,
Michelle
