Jennifer Schaerer
The weather is warming up, the sun is shining, and kids are counting the days until summer freedom is finally here.
This means graduation parties, family picnics, BBQs, reunions, and maybe even a wedding or two, which almost demand some creative paper crafting, dontcha think? So don’t get stuck in a rut and just make cards – get creative with your stash and spice up your next summer gathering with some paper crafted fun.
I hope by now you’ve heard about our book called Party Ensembles, and if you’ve had the chance to look at some of the projects within its pages then you know we covered everything from birthday and baby showers to Mother’s Day and Christmas with just about everything in between. And that “in between” includes summer and patriotic themes that are perfect for summer parties.
Here’s one of my favorites:
Wouldn't you love to be at this refreshing summer picnic?
Lucy Abrams perfectly captured the essence of an afternoon on the patio, refreshing drink in hand and girlfriends all around, didn’t she? I love how a little festive paper crafting can make a simple gathering into a special occasion.
And as simple gatherings go, we had one with our friends at BPD Studios a few weeks ago. Brian and his wife Shoko along with stylist Claudia Daniels hosted a fun lunchtime getaway for us at their studio.
Nothing like grillin' and chillin' on an early summer afternoon!
Shoko cooked, Brian grilled, Claudia served and styled (I’m not even kidding – the platters were arranged picture-perfectly!) and we ate, ate, and ate some more.
And in case you missed that cute-as-a-button munchkin attached to Shoko, that’s their son Bou (if you’re wondering about the name, it’s pronounced like Bo or Beau but spelled the way it would sound in Japanese). He is the cutest little guy you’ll ever meet, and he was happily passed around from lap to lap that day.
If you’re planning your own summer party (or any party, for that matter!), check out some of the sneak peeks we showed during Party Ensembles Week. And don’t forget the ones Cath showed in the Moxie Fab World HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE!
Win a copy of Party Ensembles!
In case you don’t yet have your own copy of this fantastic book, I’ll set one aside for one of you lucky readers. Let me know about your summer party plans in the comments (no later than this Friday, May 25 at 5pm MDT) and I’ll pick a random winner.
Hooray for simple gatherings and paper-crafted festivity!
I’m going to invite a few friends over for an garden party full of iced tea and yummy foods. I would love to use this book to plan and decorate for the occasion.
A summer family reunion in beautiful Colorado at Estes Park!
We ALWAYS have a 4th of July Party and this year its my turn to host!! I have been Pinning Ideas for awhile and I just know its going to be a BLAST!! THANKS for the chance to win and have a FABULOUS WEEK!! =)
We always try to have a fun 4th picnic with fireworks and a back-to-school bash.
my sister owns a catering company, and it’s my job to create ID cards for her wonderful dishes. …there ya go!
I will be hosting a baby shower for my niece as well as a bridal shower for my nephew’s fiance so this would be a welcome win!
We plan on having a barbeque for a large group this summer.
We always have a 4th of July party because the big fireworks show is just down the street from our house so you can see them really well from the driveway. It’s perfect. We get to sit and have drinks in the back on the deck and then move to the front for the show–no traffic!
Every summer is all about the birthdays at my house! One May baby, three June babies and Daddy’s July birthday all keep us in party mode.
Our summer party plans include Father’s Day, my husband’s birthday, my mother’s birthday, my grandfather’s birthday and my birthday
4th of July is always party time at our house. Fireworks on the lake finishes off the day for everyone and we celebrate our first date too.
I love our 4th of July party at the lake! Something about loving our country and the colors of red, white and blue so lend themselves to great decorating and great food with great friends and family.
My next big party with be the grandkids opening their wedding presents at my house the day after the wedding. I decorated 3 different size styrofoam trees with white flowers that are embellished with tints, pearls, glitter and ribbon. I used my Slice, my Big Shot, and a lot of punches to cut out the flowers. The trees will sit on a round mirror and pearls will be spread on the mirror. Can’t wait.
First, I’m going to celebrate the 4th of July really early with my daughter in Oklahoma. Then, I’m going to celebrate it fairly early with my son in Florida. (Since I’m an American who lives overseas, getting to be in the states anytime in the summer means you better believe I’m going to celebrate the 4th!). Last, but not least, I’m going to help my oldest daughter celebrate her children’s birthdays in their jungle location. Fun times ahead!
My daughter’s wedding is coming up on June 2…I have made a lot of things for it, starting with the invitations, and ending with favor boxes! I would love to have this publication for future reference!!
We’re planning a summer block party with our neighbors! The theme of the party is fun and casual!
No, I do not have a copy of this fantastic looking inspired magazine, and I would love to have one. Thank you so much for giving us a chance to win.
Since my husband and I are managers of an RV park we are constantly partying. It’s quite a challenge to keep planning something different all the time so I really need to win this!
Summer plans most certainly include wine tasting parties. A group is kick starting it off this weekend on the California coast.
We are getting a pool this summer so many BBQ’s will be held at the old CASA. I would love some inspiration to making these even more talked about then usual with the clever decorations and themes! Thank you!!
We definitely have cookouts on the agenda for this summer!
I can’t seem to find this special issue at my local bookstore so I’d LOVE to win it! I did a spa party a few months ago and I wish I’d had this as inspiration. I made some things but I wish id done more!
some very kind people from several churches are coming over this weekend to put a new roof over our porch room. we are having a big cook-out as a thank you for all of their help. then we’re doing a big Memorial Day BBQ on Monday. July 4th will be another BBQ, which are really the only kinds of big get-togethers we have anymore during the nice weather. we try to spend as much time as possible outside around the grill!
I’m planning a late July/Early August family party for my whole family who live about 2 hours away and it is also a trip to the mountains for them…it is usually a whole weekend kind of thing which makes it even more fun…
We’re hoping to have a family reunion as this will probably be the last one for my sister-in-law.
We always get together for the 4th and celebrate my mom’s birthday that day also since her birthday is july 5th.
I was planning on having a Spring Victorian Tea Party, but now it will turn into a Summer Tea party. Thanks for a chance to win.
My sons graduation from high school and going off to college party in August!!
I don’t have any party plans yet. I just would really like to have a copy of that mag.
Our summer parties include two birthdays for grandchildren in June and my husband’s birthday in July. This book looks awesome!
We usually have a few parties in the summer. We’ll have a few swim days and invite my entire family, as my honey and I are the only ones with an inground pool…we usually bbq for these. Then we’ll have a get together with my honey’s work friends…so I could use this book for some new ideas. And at the end of the summer is my birthday…so we’ll do it up big then!
Hoping to BBQ more and we have an Empty Nesters Party coming up.
Craft club summer potluck. This book would be the hit of the gathering!
OK…welll i have to say i do not have any summer plans yet and over here down under we are about to go into winter but when summer does arrive i know we will be having a HUGE party as my hubby will have just finished training at the police academy and he will get his station to go to. i am so proud of him!!! so party all round!
we will be hanging out the home patio and enjoying each others company, as well as close friends, having little bbqs and playing bocco ball!!! seems everyone likes to hang out eating and drinking at our patio!
Besides the usual Memorial Day and Labor Day we have several summer birthdays including one on the 4th of July. We usually have a cookout and go swimming in our pool.
We usually have a big 4th of July party at my daughter’s place in the country. She’s next to a lake and both sides of the families attend and many friends too. Fireworks, good food and great people to celebrate with. Doesn’t get much better than that.
I’ve got 3 parties/get-togethers to plan for- my son’s 5th bday, a cookout for my husband’s team from work and another cookout for my son’s pre-K classmates and families at the end of summer.
Impromptu–so I have to keep lots of pretty projects on hand.
I definitely plan to have a few BbQs in my backyard!
We’re having a birthday party for our daughter and 2 of her cousins this weekend. Lots of games, pizza and of course, cake!
No vacation plans yet, but I just got a smoker, so I plan to smoke all kinds of tasty treats. Can you say smoked ribs?
We are actually having a little Memorial weekend BBQ party Sunday for my parents friends–my Mom had a stroke about 3 weeks ago, was not able to drive. I also had eye surgery 10 days after her stroke, and couldn’t drive her anywhere. Their
friends/neighbors have been so helpful in fetching groceries, driving them to some of the endless Dr’s appointments–so we are showing our appreciation by having a little BBQ. I’d love to make some cute decorations, however I know have an abscessed tooth, will have oral surgery on Tuesday and am currently in the land of “Vicodin” to keep the pain at bay. Thank heavens I have wonderful hubby and kids who will help while I sort of “ooze” around.
We are headed on a cruise this summer and we plan to hang with friends on the weekend. We also plan on taking advantage of how close we live to the beach! LOVE:)
A week at a farm!!
My summer party plan is to PARTY all summer. We love the weather, backyard bbq’s, family, friends and food, the perfect combination
I love having themed birthday party’s for my daughter!! This summer we are not having party’s but we will be going on vacation(not sure where yet), this book would be great to help with ideas for my daughter’s birthdays!! Thanks for the chance to win!
We have several birthdays… and gatherings to go with them. This book looks to be a wonderful resource to own.
Birthdays, holidays, end of the week days…always a fun reason to have a get together when the weather is warm, and the sun is shining! Have not been able to find this book locally. May have to break down and order it!
We always have outdoor patio parties at our house in the summer. Sometimes we have special things to celebrate other times we just like to get together with family and friends and spend time together. This year we one outdoor wedding, one 60th birthday and two graduation parties. Thanks for a great giveaway.