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We've gotten two beautiful Canada Day parties on the site.

Candace M's Canada Day Party

And Genevieve B's Celebrating Canada Day... Philly Style Party

For those of you who don't know, Canada Day is celebrated on July 1, commemorating the day when Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and the Province of Canada were combined into a federation on July 1, 1867.

I've already asked everyone to upload their July 4th parties so I could blog about them.  Well to honor our Canadian friends, I also everyone to add their Canada Day parties, too.

I plan to do a big blog post about all these recent festivities.

I can't wait to see what everyone has done!

I'm planning to do a TRENDS post after the July 4th weekend to showcase all the great parties you've thrown to celebrate.

Please add your photos to our site.  We're excited to see all the cool creative ideas you've come up with!

Until then... have a safe and Happy 4th!

I found this interactive Candyland-themed engagement announcement on the Broke-Ass Bride.  It's wonderful.

I love creative people in love!  Check it out here.

Happy Friday!

I don't know if you saw the Hazardous Teen Birthday on our homepage, but it's one of my favorite parties.  It was planned by Pamela Smerker for her 13 year old son.

Pamela is the creative mind behind Party Starters, a site that sells handmade party essentials -- party favor boxes, party banners, cupcake toppers, bottle labels, signs, and invitations.  You can see her products in her Etsy shop here but she also loves custom orders.

She has a great blog filled with party ideas, inspirations, and tutorials.  She even shares with her readers what it's like to be both a mom and an entrepreneur, a balancing act many of us struggle with.

Her site is turning 1 and she's throwing a party from July 5th - July 9th.   A real online party!

She's having guest bloggers all week (of which I will be one, thanks Pamela!) and there will be festivities and prizes galore!

So what should you do?

First, check out her blog and her shop.  Then from July 5th through the 9th, keep checking back to see all the great stuff she has in store.

Knowing Pamela, I think this will be a very good time!

I saw these desserts from Martha Stewart and thought they were so beautiful I had to post them.

American Flag Tart

Flag Cupcakes

Pretzel Sparklers

Red, White, and Blue Parfaits

Berry Pound Cake with Whipped Cream

Wishing you a festive and sweet July 4th!

Last night we rolled out our newest feature, our "like" button!

Now on each party page, in the info box at the top, you will find one of these.  (In case you're wondering, we're big fans of cupcakes over here.)

So if you like a party, please give it a click, and help us spread some happy cupcake love all over the site.

I love parties at the park.  I love that they're outdoors, casual, and free.

In this TRENDS post I thought I'd highlight some of our favorite kids' and adult parties at the park, to show off what our users have done to make these parties special.

KIDS'  PARTIES

What I think is great about this Cap'n Harris Turns 1 party is how the host, Amy, took a pirate play structure and built a whole theme around it, complete with real treasure hunt.

And to keep things simple Amy asked her guests to bring their own picnic lunches, then provided the fun party foods -- cookies, cupcakes, and cake.

Here's the pirate play structure

Here's the treasure map to find keys to open the treasure chest

The treasure chest

And what was the treasure?  The gorgeous cake!

What I love about this Snakes, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails Triple 1st Birthday is how the hosts added their own creative and personal touches -- banners, balloons, matching tee shirts, and photo collages -- while keeping the whole thing casual, by serving an easy picnic lunch in brown paper bags with kid friendly foods (sandwiches, tangerines, chips, grapes, goldfish, and donuts).

The birthday boys in their homemade shirts

The picnic table set up and the Happy Birthday banner

Simple picnic lunches with kid friendly foods

Personal photo collages of each boy to incorporate the theme

ADULT PARTIES

Amy, the same host who threw the Cap'n Harris Turns 1 party also put together this Surprise 30th Library Party for her bookworm sister.

The personal details are beautiful, and yet again, it was a casual potluck lunch where Amy provided the cookies and cupcakes.

And another nice details -- for gifts, Amy asked everyone to bring along bookmarks for the birthday girl.

The invitations looked like borrow cards from the library

Amy painted a handmade "library" backdrop for the party area

Pages of old books were used to make bunting, cupcake wrappers, and sprinkles

Becca, from the Birthday Girl Blog, added this 31st Birthday Picnic in the Park.

She created a logo that she used throughout the party which tied the whole thing together in a simple but elegant way.

The menu included sandwiches wrapped in parchment paper, juice, chips and home baked chocolate chip cookies that doubled as the favors.  She even made dog cookie favor bags for the four-legged friends.  And the rest of the menu she left to her friends to fill in.

Becca's personalized party logo

Parchment wrapped sandwiches

Homemade chocolate chip cookie favors

Becca taking advantage of all the park had to offer

I love how with these parties in the park, the hosts kept their budgets low by serving simple picnic foods and/or making them a potluck, took advantage of what the park had to offer (play structures, carousels, etc.), and by adding lots of  personal and creative details, made them special in their own unique ways.

Along time ago I wrote a blog post on Paper and Cake because I love the printable partyware they do.  And this lemonade stand is no exception!

Need an activity this summer?   Make a beautiful lemonade stand with their printables.

And this one is so gorgeous you don't even need the excuse of kids to do it!

For $14.95, here's  what the Paper and Cake kit comes with:

Invitation (fits A7 envelope) + Pennant Banner + Coasters Cupcake Picks + Lolli Wraps Lolli Flags Straw Markers Jar Labels + Treat Wraps + Skinny Treat Wraps + Snack Box + Pinwheels Paper Doilies Menu + Signage + Lemonade Recipe Card Stand How To Foam Ball Cover Sheets Paper Chain Sheets Full Pattern Sheets

You will definitely be the talk of the neighborhood with this!

If you read my blog, you know I love anything personal and quirky when it comes to parties... especially weddings.

(To see two of my favorite personal and quirky weddings click here and here.)

So when I saw this wedding invitation, or should I say, 20-page wedding "comic book" on Offbeat Bride, I had to write about it.

The story, written by the bride and groom, is touching.  The illustrations, drawn by the groom, are gorgeous.

Here's the beginning...

To see the rest, go to the groom, Giles Timms' blog.  It's a lovely tale.

I found this cake on the Creative Hostess blog, another great party blog, and fell in love.

The cake comes from neviepiecakes and it's a chocolate cake with chocolate chips covered in fondant.  What I find most impressive are the hand painted flowers.

What princess wouldn't go nuts over this?