CHS Creative Productions

New Names, Websites & Plans

2012-01-15T21:28:00.000-08:00

Last year I decided to make some changes to my business and business name(s). I diversified/divided/conquered whatever you want to call it.......... I created divisions of CHS Creative Productions; Christmas Specialists and Carolyn Horten Events. After 16 years of business as CHS Creative Productions I felt that it was time to divide and conquer as well as the fact that I got tired of explaining everything we do. For those of you thinking of going into business for yourselves be careful how you choose your name.......... or you will do a lot of explaining.

I took the "holiday decorating" part of my business and created Christmas Specialists. For years I was "politically correct" calling Christmas decorating holiday decorating. Well the holiday decorating led to questions like if we were close to Easter oh you do Easter Decorating? Ah, NO! So I decided enough is enough I am a Christmas decorator, I have a Christmas decorating business and I have a warehouse full of Christmas stuff THEREFORE I AM A CHRISTMAS DECORATOR!! Nothing else, nothing less just CHRISTMAS. And so Christmas Specialists was created. You can view our website here and blog here and facebook here.

I then decided that while I have enjoyed all the different aspects of event planning, decorating, etc.. over the years I no longer want to be the person behind the business name but recognized as the professional I am. The person who has spent 16 years in the business professionally with 25 years of experience total planning all types of events for all types of clients. I have done weddings, corporate, non-profit, professional athletes, actors, celebrities, high profile clients and more. I have earned my stripes the hard way one experience at a time. I am the name behind the business and I decided that I wanted to be the name in front of the business and so Carolyn Horten Events was born. We have a new website that I am proud to say I did myself you can see here and a new blog here oh and a new facebook page here.

What about CHS Creative Productions?? I don't know yet I have a few ideas that I am working on so please stay tuned.

Designers Challenge Entry

2012-01-10T08:30:00.000-08:00

I had the honor of being invited to participate in the Designers Challenge at Sparkling Events & Designs. The theme was Love and the budget was a mere little old $100 buckaroos. Yup you heard that right $100 bucks for a party of 4. I'll just say it took me back many years ago when I had parties for my children "just because" and had no budget.

For all the details on the party and how I spent my $100 budget click here and for a get to know me interview click here. To see other challengers entries click here. Be sure to follow my new blog here since I will be giving away some of the props and extras I used.

Under Construction

2011-09-17T19:58:00.000-07:00

Please excuse the disarray, we are in the process of changing things up a bit.

We'll let you know when the dust has settled.

Christmas Decorating Elves

2011-08-29T09:08:00.000-07:00

Its that time of the year, time to think about the holidays and plan ahead. Why not make your holidays more enjoyable this year by having some help with your Christmas decorating.

Be your own Holiday Design Director! Ever think how nice it would be having experienced extra hands to help you install your holiday decorations? Ever wonder, how much quicker you could get it all done with just a little extra help? If so, our Holiday Installation services are for you. With Holiday Installers on site to assist you with your holiday decorating you will have more time to spend with family and friends as well as be more relaxed at the beginning of the holiday season.

Our friendly and professional installers will help you get your holiday decorating done in less time with less stress than doing it yourself. Discover the holiday secret of many busy women, their own personal Christmas elves.

Sound Familiar?
"Does it take you a week or more to decorate your house?"

"Do you find yourself exhausted before the holiday season begins?"
"Do you have a large tree that is difficult for you to decorate?"
"Is it hard getting your husband to drag out all the holiday decorations when you want them?"
"Does your office just need an extra set of hands to decorate your tree?"

If you answered yes to any of these questions or you are just remembering how painful doing it all during the holidays is, you need to call today and book your own decorating design team.

How Does It Work?
You give the Christmas Holiday Specialists at CHS Creative Productions a call and let us know what you need help with. We will work with you to determine how many installers you will need and for how long. Its that EASY!

You can also decide if you want to drag everything out and go through it ahead of time ready for the installers or if you want them to drag it all out for you. Either way once your decor is out and ready to go, you instruct the designers on what to put where and how you want it. If you want to mix it up a little bit our installers will be more than happy to offer suggestions on new placement or ways to change your decor from what you usually do.

The installers will come armed with work bags with "tools of the trade" extra lights to purchase should you need more. You provide the ladders, if you don't have ladders we can bring those for an additional fee. We can also come back and take it all down!

It's that easy, call today and check one more thing off your Christmas to do list!

Pink Wedding~

2011-08-24T17:59:00.000-07:00

A long overdue post from a June wedding. The wedding ceremony was held at the Richard Nixon Library and the reception was held at the Anaheim White House restaurant. Both locations were great to work with and very accomodating. The service at the Anaheim White House is phenomenonal!!! CHS handled the coordination, decor, bridal party florals and the fabulous centerpieces for the wedding. Frog Prince Paperie created the favor tags, table number signs and signs for the photo booth and cigar table, they came out perfect and matched everything perfectly. A special thank you to Jen of Photojenic for providing me with photos since I was a little busy that afternoon.

I hope you enjoyed the photos as much as I enjoy sharing.

Designers Challenge

2011-06-20T08:31:00.000-07:00

I have been asked to be a judge in the awesome Designers Challenge put together by Ebony of Sparkling Events & Design. 12 ridicoulously talented designers have been asked to put together inspiration tables with ONLY a $100 budget!!!

The Challenge - Plan a party on a budget of $100! Must include tablescape design, favor ideas and of course desserts!

The Theme - Go Green

The Challengers - The entertaining and party GODDESSES....this is a super talented and extraordinary skilled group of individuals!

The Purple Pug - Kristy

Mama to 2 extraordinary little guys. I design and create hip + handmade partyware. I am a glitter freak. I worship anything handmade. I hate to cook.

I love a challenge. I hate budgets. I am challenging myself to create some inspiring beauty and DIY dazzle with a lone Benjamin.

The Party Muse - Khaliah

I'm a true girly girl so my passion for pretty things grew at a young age. Once I was grown and on my own I found that I loved entertaining and after I had my son I found that I loved children's party decor. I started The Party Muse in 200c and have been having a blast ever since. I'm most looking forward to seeing how creative I can get with the small budget, I LOVE a challenge.

love the day - Lindi

I am a mother of two beautiful blue-eyed girls and wife to a handsome and brilliant man. Love The Day is a place to help find inspiration, ideas and custom designs to love your special day!

I am so beyond excited for this challenge because I believe some of the best parties are those with special homemade touches, inexpensive, and memorable. And I'm excited to show how far one hundred dollars actually goes!

A to Zebra Celebrations, Nancy

Nancy Pfeifer is at stay-at-home mom. She has been married 10 years. I have 2 gorgeous daughters, ages 5 & 4. I love blogging, obsessed with parties, love glitter, and anything zebra with pink!

A To Zebra Celebrations was opened in Oct 2009 after I had my daughter's zebra party. That's how I came up with the business name. We are all addicted to animal print in this house....lol well....not my hubby, but us girls :) I love anything crafty, unique, out of the ordinary. I could never find the decorations I had in mind for my parties so, I put my hands to work :) People inquired about my crafty things after some websites featured the zebra party and voila!!...I was in business. Blessed!

The one thing that excites me most about this challenge is that I will be able to inspire other mommies/women out there that a gorgeous party can be done on a small budget. They will be able to duplicate my ideas. It will be a stress-free party planning!

Bird's Party, Bird

Bird's Party is aimed at like-minded people and moms who love to throw a beautiful party but don't have a huge budget.

Our printable parties allow you to create something bespoke for your special events, at affordable prices!

Through our blog we provide creative ways to use them, tutorials, party inspiration, fabulous giveaway (to help make your party budget go even further...) and a Cake it Pretty section for the lovers of DIY, and sweet things!

At the mo, I'm into shabby chic, vintage stuff, so whatever you throw my way, I think I'll be hitting the charity and thrifty stores! ;D

Paper & Pigtails, Kori

My name is Kori Clark and I am the mother to two hilarious toddlers, two big furbabies, and one amazingly fun business - Paper & Pigtails. I know it's a lot of children, but I like to spread the love. Paper & Pigtails was born in March of 2010 out of my passion for my freelance graphic design career, my children, and invitation design. I love bringing new and fun designs to the printable party world, and can't wait for everything the future holds!

The thing that excites me the MOST about this challenge is the budget! As a mom, I know the need for a budget and as a mom who loves parties, I know how hard it can be to STAY on that budget! I am so thrilled to show a party that is feasible for almost any one to host without taking out a second mortgage!

Little Shindigs, Natalie

Little Shindigs is a small kids event planning company is So. Cal. It is also the name of my blog or as I like to think of it, my creative landing place. I am a kids party planner/industry network founder/ new handmade shop owner. My parties are often inspired by vintage or retro themes and my style has been described as clever, resourceful and my favorite to date, "quirky". The thing I am most excited about for this challenge is the mere fact that I was lucky to be included and that this isn't Survivor. :)

Frog Prince Paperie, Paula

Frog Prince Paperie was founded in order to help the DIY party planner add a little kiss of magic to celebrations. We are thrilled to have helped create and inspire birthdays since March 2010 by providing party printables and inspiration for fabulous DIY party styling!

It's very exciting to be a part of this design challenge. There are so many things you can to to create truly fantastic parties with a very small budget, and I'm looking forward to proving it!

Party Starters, Pamela

My name is Pamela Smerker, I am a 30 something, wife, a mother of 3 and the creative force behind Party Starters. Party Starters creates handmade custom designed part favor boxes and decorations for parties, showers and weddings. I have always enjoyed styling parties not only to celebrate my loved ones milestones, but also to share my ideas and tips with others. I am honored to be chosen as a party stylist for SED's Designer Challenge and look forward to creating a low budget party that will hopefully inspire people that they can do the same.

Eye Candy Event Details, Laura

I “officially” started my business in the fall of 2010 but have been planning parties quite a while for people, plus I have been a graphic designer for 20 years working for various top companies. I was laid off about 6 years ago & have been doing freelance jobs & other things to make ends meet. I LOVE what I do because it’s MY passion, it’s what I went to school for, it’s something I have done my entire life! When I “try” & take a day off, I find myself dreaming up a new idea or the next collection I want to design! I believe in what I do because not only do I provide people with creative designs, I also can provide them with the custom party décor to match. I am an illustrator as well & ONLY do designs that I create from start to finish – I do NOT use clip art or backgrounds – everything you get with me is ORIGINAL and I hope people can appreciate that! I LOVE helping people bring their vision to life through my designs!

I am so looking forward to this challenge because the women that I am alongside with in this challenge are the women whom I respect & have looked up to since finding this virtual world. I look forward to working with them & seeing how we can show the people how to party on a budget & do it well!

Hostess with the Mostess, Jenn

Jennifer Sbranti is the Editor-in-Chief of Hostess with the Mostess® (HWTM), a hip and modern party planning resource that she founded with her husband in 2006. HWTM brings creative entertaining ideas to light through an inspirational “how-to” website and popular daily blog. Sbranti’s work has been featured in media outlets such as People, InStyle Weddings, Life&Style,Pregnancy, and Extra! TV, and she has been a featured contributor to several well-respected online communities, including iVillage.com, BHG.com, and RealSimple.com.

I’m really excited to participate in this challenge because of the budget aspect... I think that’s something that will resonate with readers, and it will be fun to push myself to see how far $100 can go!

Piggy Bank Parties, Do

My name is Doris Driver but my friends call me, Do (like “Do-Re-Mi”). I am married to an amazing artist, my business partner and my best friend, J (aka Jeff). Our home office is based in Skokie, a suburb of Chicago, and I am a Michigan native.

After “retiring” from teaching at the age of 32, I worked full-time as a Corporate Event Planner and part-time as a Hand Calligrapher. In 2000, I opened “Autumn Writings: Digital Calligraphy & Stationery for All Seasons.” Autumn Writings offers Digital Calligraphy—computerized envelope addressing—and handcrafted custom invitations and stationery items.

In July of 2010, we launched a new online division, Piggy Bank Parties, and Oink!, the blog of Piggy Bank Parties. We created Piggy Bank Parties to encompass our dream of combining my passion for designing budget-friendly, themed parties and offering our exclusive hand-illustrated invitations at affordable prices. Oink!, the blog of Piggy Bank Parties, features real and inspiration parties, tutorials, recipes and inspiration for party themes. What I'm most excited about? The end result. I love that at the end of this challenge 12 extraordinary designs with budgets of $100 or less will be featured. An amazing amount of affordable inspiration all in one place! {break for a Happy Dance!}

And last but certainly not LEAST... The Judges:

Carolyn Horten, CHS Creative Productions

Carolyn Horten is the Owner and Creative Director of CHS Creative Productions a full service Event Coordination & Holiday Decorating company that was founded in 1996. Carolyn took her passion for parties and decorating and turned it into a business where she loves to come to work every day. Carolyn has over 20 years experience in coordinating and designing exceptional events and decor for discriminating clients. From over the top events to intimate celebrations, Carolyn excels at creating memories that last a lifetime for her clients and their guests. Carolyn specializes in high end children’s parties.

I’m excited to be judging this challenge because not everyone always has a huge budget and if you are just trying to pull something together with a little money and some time you can make it Fabulous; it’s a true testament to talent and creativity. Some of the best ideas come from being creative on a shoestring and I can’t wait to see what this talented group of ladies comes up with, I know it will be spectacular!!

Jillian Tohber Leslie, Catch My Party

A lover of parties and entertaining her whole life, Jillian Tohber Leslie left a ten-year career as a Hollywood TV and film writer in 2009 to start Catch My Party, a website for people to share party ideas, tips, and photos. Catch My Party was a dream for Jillian, so watching it turn into a reality has been the most exciting and satisfying creative endeavor she's ever undertaken. A native of Short Hills, New Jersey, Jillian received her BA and MBA from Stanford University. She currently resides in Santa Monica, California, with her husband, David, her daughter, Lainey, and her company mascot, Gertie, a seven-year-old Tibetan Terrier. You can find Jillian on Facebook facebook.com/catchmyparty and Twitter @catchmyparty.

Jillian is excited to judge the Designer's Challenge because she can't wait to see how all these talented party women put together parties on a such a tight budget. Jillian says, "I'm looking forward to seeing all the inspirational and creative ideas. I can't wait to be blown away."

Tanya Martinez, Save the Date for Cupcakes

Tanya is the Creative director of Save the Date for Cupcakes~ where you can find inspiration for all things "sweet and fabulous". I am excited to see all of the creative ways to design on a budget!

Ebony Sparkes, Sparkling Events & Designs, LLC.

I have had a passion for event planning and design for many years. I believe that I get my passion for creativity from my mom because she was ALWAYS crafting something when I was growing up. My journey began with scrapbooking. I was scrapbooking when there was nothing but glue, paper and stickers, not all the fancy stuff we have now! In 2010, after brewing this dream for many years, I launched Sparkling Events & Designs with the mission of adding "sparkle" to all types of celebrations!

One of the missions of SED has always been able to show people how they can create a fabulous party on any budget, so I'm extremely excited about this challenge.

And the Final Judge, You!

That's right you all will get to vote on who you think has the best party! These inspirations are for YOU, so you should have a say!

There will be categories and best overall party!

Jungle Baby, Baby Shower~

2011-06-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of hosting a Baby Shower for my "other daughter". I had the invitations and printables custom designed by Paula of Frog Prince Paperie to match the bedding the Mom to be had chosen. The design Paula created turned out absolutely adorable and is now available as a full collection here and here in her Etsy Shop. The baby shower was a last minute switch to my home and as I was knee deep in a wedding for the following weekend, I just tried to make the shower as sweet and easy on all of us as I could.

These adorable fondant cake toppers were custom made by Lynlee of Lynlee's Petite Cakes to match the invitation and printables. I simply sent her the invitation and she worked her magic creating images that matched the invitation perfectly, they were absolutely adorable. They were the perfect way to dress up a plain white cake.

These adorable and yummy cake pops were also made by Lynlee of Lynlee's Petite Cakes. This was the first time I had used cake pops or eaten them and they were absolutely delicous.

These fondant cupcake toppers were absolutely amazing, the detail and design were just perfect. They were just so darn cute I could just look at them all day. The cupcakes were set in custom printable cupcake wrappers.

For Favors we used this adorable "Thanks for Swinging By" monkey tag and filled it with kisses that were decorated with custom kiss stickers.

We served lunch so we wanted to create a simple place setting for the guests. Since there was no buffet for munching when guests arrived we used these adorable monkey snack cups and filled them with trail mix and placed one at each place setting along with their thank you favor. To define the guests place setting we created placemats very last minute by using white cardstock and sticking a 2" round cut out in the corner of the cardstock. Nothing fancy, but it worked.

The Tess banner was hung over the drink station and after the shower the Mom to be hung the personalized sign in the babys room.

We used a lot of the full line of printables but unfortunately I didn't get a lot of photos. You can purchase the full line of printables here.

I can't say enough good things about Paula and Lynlee their execution of my requests was spot on. The printables were perfect and printed wonderfully and all the fondant and cake pops were packaged amazingly not one item was broken. First Class vendors that I highly recommend.

Paper Goods by Frog Prince Paperie

Fondant Cake & Cupcake Toppers by Lynlee's Petite Cakes

Cake Ball Pops by Lynlee's Petite Cakes

Pampered Spa Parties~A Family Affair

2011-04-11T07:43:00.000-07:00

Please welcome Pampered Spa Parties, a new division of CHS Creative Productions. I am diversifying and letting go of some of the responsibilities I have. Ultimately custom children's parties and holiday decorating are my first loves and priorities and I can no longer be respnsible for the signature parties we used to offer.

Pampered Spa Parties will still be a fully mobile spa experience, it offers client's the same high quality product and service as our custom parties without the higher price tag.

My daughter Jessica and (just like my daughter) Demi are taking on the Pampered Spa Parties division and will be handling all aspects of these parties (overseen by me for awhile of course). They have worked on some changes, created a website that will focus entirely on Pampered Spa Parties and are while we speak having marketing cards made. They are both excited and looking forward to their new opportunity and have already scheduled some photo shoots of the new decor themes they intend to add right away, to give Clients more options. I personally couldn't be prouder of both of them and am quite thrilled that they are learning some small business skills early on in their lives. I am looking forward to sitting back and watching their ride as they jump into what it takes to work for themselves.

Please show them support and check out their blog/Website; and follow them on Facebook: . I would really appreciate it.

Easter Freebies & Inspiration~

2011-04-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

Easter is almost here and its time to start thinking about setting your Easter table and preparing for Easter celebrations. No matter what your style is there are a great many FREE Easter printables out there for you to use as inspiration for your Easter celebrations. Some require "liking" or comments but for a few seconds of your time this is not too much to ask. Especially since these creative ladies are always offering up some wonderful eye candy and designs throughout the year, you will be ready for the next Free items they offer.

{Sidenote, this is my first time re-posting other peoples work on my blog and I hope that I have done it right and not wrong, if I didn't follow your procedures or protocol PLEASE let me know. It is not my intention to upset or not play fair :) }

Gwynn Wasson Designs is offering her Easter FREE printables here. I love the bright colors she chose, so fun. For each person that "likes" Gwynn Wasson Designs on Facebook they will be donating 25 CENTS to the American Red Cross FOR DISASTER RELIEF IN JAPAN!

Shindig Parties is offering this adorable printable collection here. So sweet and with the crosses very traditional Easter with a fun colorful twist and how cute is that Bunny teapot?

These adorable printables from Paper & Pigtails here. I had fun with this Easter inspiration shoot, it was my first time and I learned so much. I thank you all for your kind words, it means a lot to me :).

How cute are these Plush Birdies from from Birds Party Blog here. They would make adorable little Easter gifts by themselves or in a basket, or to use to decorate a mantle or your Easter table, love them.

If you aren't looking for party printables but lovely little Easter notecards to send to family and friends then Piggy Bank Parties has just what you are looking for with these free Springin' Gingham Notecards here.

Tip Junkie is offering a sweet Easter Activity sheet here from NinaSevenblogspot.com These are so cute and colorful and great for keeping the littles ones entertained before or after the egg hunt.

{Inspiration} Easter Bunny Brunch & Freebie

2011-04-06T12:08:00.000-07:00

Kori of Paper & Pigtails was kind enough to let me use her adorable Easter printables at my first attempt at inspiration photos. I had a lot of fun and learned so much. Kori is offering the Easter printables for FREE here.

These are what I used for the bunny tails, and just happen to be one of my favorite candies, if you love coconut, you will be a fan. (best price and where they always have them is Wal Mart)

Quality Vendors~

2011-03-25T07:03:00.000-07:00

CAUTION Buyer Beware!!! It is so important to choose quality vendors when planning your event. As I always like to say there are no "do-overs" in event planning! Sure there are a lot of bad vendors in every type of business, but if your painter doesn't show up to paint your house or paints it the wrong color, you can fix that. If a vendor does not show up for your event you can't fix that so easily. I see and hear a lot of stories in my job where people or clients have chosen the wrong vendor or is having a "friend" help them.

Well last week I saw it again and it was a doozy. My client had only hired us to do the decor, set up and event layout for the event. She had hired a "taco guy" for the catering. My client was hosting 60 guests at her home for lunch after a 1:30 p.m. baptism and all the guests were going straight to the house after the service. On her way to her house my client receives a telephone call that the caterer is not there. They were a complete NO-SHOW, NO PHONE CALL, NO EXPLANATION and NO APOLOGY!!!! Did she have a Contract, NO, had she made a deposit NO.

Any reputable vendor is going to require a deposit, a Contract or some type of signed agreement stating what they are going to provide, the hours of service, etc... This one DID NOT and probably for good reason, that way they could take a bigger job if one came along or not do the job if something else came up. My client was devastated, food had to be brought in quickly and she had no level of recourse with the vendor. When she called the following day she was told by this company's answering service that they had done the same thing the previous weekend to someone else.

I understand that in this economy people are looking for ways to stretch their event budgets, but you really have to be careful on how you do that and what type of company you hire. Ask a lot of questions, take a look at their website, are they licensed and insured, do they have employees, what types of clients do they work with, go with your gut when you speak to them. If the vendor isn't asking you a lot of questions that is another red flag to their experience and capability to handle your event.

I have seen my share of event disappointments because of all types of vendors and all because of a few dollars. As an event professional I do my best to steer my client towards vendors that I KNOW will do the job right the first time, but unfortunately there are times when my client has already signed contracts or has made their mind up. For my Clients who have hired me for on-site coordination services I am usually able to control or fix a bad vendor situation and usually ahead of time, but for those who have no extra help or quick alternatives on the day of the event they are left with a bad taste in their mouth and a lot of disappointment.

Don't let this happen to you, if it seems to good to be true; it just might be.

New Blog Buttons by Paper & Pigtails~

2011-03-24T08:18:00.000-07:00

Big HUGE overdue thank you to Kori of Paper & Pigtails for creating some new buttons for me. Kori dressed up my logo for my blog header and I just love the custom back ground design, that I now know is hand illustrated.

She created similar Facebook, Twitter & website link buttons.

And probably my favorite is the smaller logo button for facebook and other sites, so that I no longer look like

ive Prod

in the image button!

Thank you so much Kori and again so sorry for the delay in posting this, by no means it wasn't because I wasn't happy! Kori is also designing new business cards for me on fabulous shimmery cardstock and I can't wait to give those out. Maybe I will be better at handing out cards that are sooooo pretty!

Purple Palooza Part III~ final post

2011-03-22T07:45:00.000-07:00

Purple Palooza Part III the final edition. It was my intention to get this done much sooner, but things just got so busy around here and there were so many darn photos it was all very hard to decide. So please excuse this very lenghthy post, but I feel like if I don't get it done now in a final swoop with the highlights I'll never get it done. There was so much going on at this party, I have chosen some of the highlights to share with you.

There were a total of 5 tents in the yard and each tent was decorated with swagged purple fabric in different shades with hanging chandeliers for lighting. This is the main tent, and there were tents for the food and drink, photo booth, entertainment (face painting, caricature artist and balloon twister) areas and of course the tiger tent.

We used simple but beautiful purple glass vases with a cluster of extra large beaded picks coming out of them. They added a little bling to the table without cluttering up the table and complimented the chandeliers in the tents. Since there was going to be so much going on at the party, I knew these tables were going to fill up fast with all the goodies.

We were visited by two VIP guests a brother and sister team of white tiger cubs. For more about the cubs please visit here to see the post all about them. All of my staff wore purple neck ties, I love to match the staff to the party theme.

Guests were greeted at the front entrance of the house by 100 ft. of purple carpet to guide them through the house and out into the upper level of the yard. .

At the front entrance guests were greeted by party prop tables. These tables were filled with an assortment of purple dress up props for them to wear during the party and take home with them. Props included purple neckties, purple derby hats, purple feather boas, purple necklaces, purple rings and purple bracelets.

One of the entertainment options at the party was a photo booth. Guests dressed up in an assortment of party props and entered the booth to have their photos taken. They then received a photo to keep for themselves and a photo to put into the scrapbook for the birthday girl.

Lots of favor bags ready to be handed out by the birthday girl. For large parties it is hard to make sure the birthday child acknowledges each guest, but by having them pass out the favor bags adds an intimate thank you to the guests. Favor bags held plush stuffed white tiger cubs for each guest to take home as a special momento of their meet n'greet with the white tiger cubs. The wonderful signs and tags were created by Kori of Paper & Pigtails, for more about them visit here.

The party started late afternoon and went into the evening. We covered all outdoor lighting with purple gel so that when the lights came on the yard had a purple glow to it. There were 300 lights that had to be covered, it looked amazing in the evening and was worth all the crawling around in bushes.

Yes, that is a purple decorated golf cart. We ran two golf carts throughout the entire party. They were used to transport guests from the lower parking area up to the house and back as well to shuttle guests from the party in the lower level to the upper level of the house to the restrooms.

The candy bar consisted of a lot of purple candy. We kept the candy bar simple and tight since there were going to be so many guests at this event. Having the candy streamlined in a row works great when there are going to be a lot of guests passing through in line formation.

Purple sheer bags were supplied for the guests to fill with candy to take home with them.

The birthday cake was a three tier pillow style cake large enough to feed 150 people and was absolutely delicious.

PARTY DEETS; 75 Children, 80 Adults, 2 weeks to plan party, 2 days of set up, 11 CHS Staff on site, 15+ Catering Staff, Face Painting, DJ, Photo Booth, Balloon Decor, Ruth & Chris Catering, Balloon twisting, White Tiger meet n' greet, Caricature Artist, Stilt Walker, Juggler on a Ball, Golf Cart Shuttle Service, 300+ lbs. of candy, 400+ dress up items, 75 Favor Bags, 600+ yards of fabric........... 1 very happy birthday girl!!!

Back from SXSW Festival~

2011-03-21T07:39:00.000-07:00

Home from the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas and what a great time we had! We custom made a 20 ft. long 12" vinyl record back drop wall for the event for Erika Records Inc. to display the awesome vinyl products that they manufacture. {Side note that is me on the right and if the lady in the middle looks like me, thats because it is my client/cousin Liz, Owner of Erika Records Inc.. Owning businesses runs in the family, we are all self-employed.}

The record wall was created to display the amazing custom products that Erika Records Inc. makes and to showcase the range of what can be done with vinyl. It was a huge hit and we received a lot of compliments on the display. So many people stopped to just take photos of the back wall which is always such a great feeling; client/guest appreciation is why I do what I do.

Pallets arrived safe and all together, such a relief! This is always the part that has me worried will it all arrive on time and un-broken and it did! {happy dance}

The booth before.......... boring.

The booth after.........colorful and so out of the box compared to other displays at the SXSW Festival.

Here I am trying to get some work done before the show started.

I spent the week at the SXSW Festival coordinating all the giveaways and promos that were being offered. Every day we had hourly drawings, deluxe giveaways, hosted bar and appetizers, spin the wheels and a Deluxe Grand Prize drawing. At night we entertained clients and did a little bar hopping to check out all the bands playing. It was a lot of fun meeting and greeting record industry execs, the public and even a wandering penguin. But my feet, my poor feet did not think it was such a great time. They are still rebelling and not happy at all with all the things I did and places I went.

Red, Black & Silver Holiday Decorations~

2011-03-10T05:01:00.000-08:00

Still catching up on some Holiday Decorating photos. This was a fun combination of colors, red, black and silver a little different from all the traditional colors that were requested for 2010.

Extra Large swags for the elevator lobby.

One of my favorite ornaments this season was this black damask looking and bejeweled ornament. In the right setting this ornament would look good as decor for a party..........hmmmm it would look great with all the damask fabric I just got. I'll have to file that away in my memory.

Somehow managed to get a photo without the awesome packages under the tree, these things happen I guess. Still not happy about that one.

Doll Cake Craft~

2011-03-09T06:09:00.000-08:00

At a party a few weeks back, the Mom had planned a fabulous craft for the girls to do. When I walked in the house I knew something yummy was happening, because all you could smell was cake. She had spent several days before the party baking cakes in a special form from Wilton, Wonder Mold Kit You only need to purchase one kit for the mold and then extra dolls.

It is important to bake the cakes a few days before the party so that they can cool before being frosted. She had doll cakes baked and ready with a base frosting for the girls to decorate.

She provided them with Wilton Color mist spray and sprinkles to decorate their cake doll with. This was a young group of girls so the spray colors was a great idea. If you were having older girls you could have colored frosting bags for them to use to decorate the cake doll with.
The finished product. The cakes were already placed on cake trays and ready for the girls to take home with them when they left. The children really enjoyed themselves, it was an outstanding craft/favor. The supplies can be purchased at Michaels or any party supply/cake supply shop.

FYI: I would only recommend doing this for a small group, anything more than 10 and you will be turning your kitchen into a full time bakery.

Women You Are Amazing~Repost

2011-03-03T15:16:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here fixing a oops I made while editing my blog and came across a post I made a year and a half ago and I thought it was worthy of sharing again. Since the original post I have learned how to thank people for their posts and I have made a lot of new friends/contacts and those who inspire me, I made it through holiday decorating but my dog I had to put down :(. This post is as true today of my feelings as it was then, but maybe even more so. Since I have become better at social networking and have "met" and followed more people I have seen even more glimpses into their lives for better or worse and Ladies WOW I am inspired, you are amazing!!

Originally Posted September 17, 2009~Thank You for sharing
For me this blogging thing is not always easy, I don't have a lot of time to create wonderful photo collages (my skills are lacking there), not always sure what to say, sometimes I feel like my posting about what I do is bragging (not that I think at all that I am better than anyone) it just goes back to my upbringing of keeping things professional and not sharing every little detail with everyone, I haven't learned yet how to thank someone for posting and I could go on and on. But the one thing blogging has brought me is new friends and the chance to see that I am not alone with my trials and tribulations of being a female business owner, a women with high expectations, a wife and a mother.

I am sitting here looking at a very busy schedule, a full calender, an upcoming week full of employee interviews, looking at paint samples taped and painted on walls, homework, bills to be paid, out my front window a garden that needs some tlc and a manicure that went south after one day of getting it done, a stack of custom job folders that I need to work on, a faithful pet who is on her last leg and so much more...........

Then I look around at my favorite blogs and see women exhausted, giving of themselves for a charity or a friend in need, taking care of their life, working on their business, struggling with financial issues and so much more. And yet they have time to help a friend, create a wonderful blog post, plan an amazing party, take care of their families and their business and so much more.

I think women are truly AMAZING and they are stepping up and getting it done and knocking themselves out to do a great job! I think that the current economy has created the opportunity for women to be aggressive and go after their dreams in order to get it done! It just blows my mind to see so many women who maybe were once stay at home moms now stepping up and creating their passion and I am proud to be part of such a group. I see husbands who are supportive of their wives efforts who might not have been so supportive a few years ago.

How we are doing it is different for everyone, but we are doing it and all you have to do is look around the internet to see great products, services and businesses that are women owned. I feel like I am sometimes sacrificing little bits of myself as my business grows and I see it and struggle with how to keep the balance, how to let my children know I love them, give my time to my husband and my friends, make the client happy, talk to my parents each day and just try to get everything checked off my to do list, but then that is just one more thing to worry about. But thanks to blogs I realize I am not alone and that helps, it helps me know that I am not just going crazy. So thank you for sharing and while I might not always have the time to post a comment or commiserate for me it means something. So please keep on sharing.

Behind The Scenes Holiday Decorating~ Part 2

2011-03-01T14:14:00.000-08:00

Behind the Scenes Part 2. (part 1 here) Behind the scenes is always interesting, we work wherever there is room.

Pop Up tents are especially nice when working outdoors!

Just some of my awesome team!!!

Flying trees................

Me supervising, just can't take anyones word that its installed ok, I have to have a look myself.

Now they are re-fixing it, because things like trees on buildings just make me nervous.

All done and ready to come down.

Ready to go up.

Some locations are always just more difficult than others, one to hold, one to watch and one to tighten.

One down and two more to go.

Yeah its up, that ~~sucker~~ wreath is heavy!

Setting up camp again.

Thats right camping chairs LOL.

Lovely shade from the pop up, our dear friend on installations.

Behind The Scenes, Holiday Decorating~Part 1

2011-02-25T07:06:00.000-08:00

A little behind the scenes peek into holiday decorating, well two peaks into the behind the scenes, so stay posted for the next one. People often say how do you keep track of it all? I don't know really I just do, but when I see photos like these I sometimes wonder the same thing. Of course to remember things like this you, you forget other things. Which is why I keep LISTS lots and lots of LISTS and I love to check things off my lists.

Covering the carpet before we load in. Holiday decorating is messy, glitter, glue, wires. Glitter is the worst culprit, no matter how many times you vacuum or bathe it just sticks around.

Carpet covered and tables stacked ready to receive product.

The first truck arrives and its time to unload, all hands on deck.

Now its unloaded, the dreaded next step, getting it all in and up to our work room. They are all waiting for me to tell them what to do next, because I like to supervise don't you know. And also, because my staff knows that if there is anything I hate more it is doing double work; they know I am going to tell them what to take first, where to put it and what order it goes in. Plus believe it or not as it all goes by me I can tell if I have everything just by looking at the boxes.

And in it comes everything to the appropriate area. Wreaths to the wreath assembly area stacked and waiting to be decorated.

Ornaments to the ornament area. All of these boxes have to be broken down and ornament counting and sorting begins. This is the most important part of the process, mistakes here can cause problems later.

More loaded in, it looks chaotic but really it isn't.

Ok, so maybe to me it doesn't look chaotic but it does look like I have confused a few other people.

Ribbon making area and centerpiece assembly. Boxes of ribbon ready to be made into bows, lots and lots of bows.

Garland to be fluffed, lights checked and sorted.

{me, my daughter Jessica and my Mom}

One of the nice perks of working for yourself is I get to work with my daughter and my Mom can come by, take photos, visit with my staff and take in all the ~~chaos~~ fun.

Me supervising or as I like to phrase it orchestrating the whole process. Besides someone has to be in charge, and that would be me.

Once I know everyone knows what to do for the time being, I am off to find a quiet spot to return calls and finalize details for more jobs and checking on other jobs.

Then I must return to ~~supervise~~ orchestrate.

This was one holiday decorating installation, it wasn't all the product and it wasn't my warehouse, it is a job site. The above is why we like to fondly refer to what we do as camping. We bring it all, set it up, do the work, break it down and move on to the next installation. Part 2 will show us "camping" outside, that is always a lot of fun.

Sprinkles & Baking~

2011-02-23T06:36:00.000-08:00

I love sprinkles! I love going to the cake supply store and looking at all the fun stuff they sell. But my most favorite part is the sprinkle displays, so many colors and styles. When I look at it all my mind just imagines all the fun things you can do with them..................

I haven't been in a cake supply store in awhile but this past weekend I signed up for a "class" and was reminded again of how much I like looking at all the sprinkles.

Years and years ago I dabbled in making fondant cakes, back when people would say fon what? We also used to do cupcake decorating parties as well as cookie decorating parties. Funny thing is this was before cupcakes and decorated cookies were the rage. (I so wish I was better at taking photos back then).

Looking at all the amazing goodies that people are making I have been thinking it would be nice to start playing with baking stuff again, NOT to sell mind you but just for fun. Ok maybe for a party or two, but I can guarantee you it won't be for one of those for 150 people with 2 weeks notice!

I think cakes must run in my family, one of my cousins is an exceptional cake maker in England, she has since retired and my other cousin loves to make cakes as a hobby. This past weekend she talked me into taking a class with her and that was when I was reminded how much I love being in a cake supply shop. So I'm thinking I needed a hobby, and maybe this could be it again.

Keeping It Simple~2 yr. old party

2011-02-21T07:27:00.000-08:00

Sometimes a small party can just be the sweetest thing. This was a Angelina Ballerina birthday party for an absolutely adorable 2 year old, who happens to also be named Angelina. Mom and Dad wanted a small party where Angelina could just have fun with her close friends and family without feeling overwhelmed.

Adorable t-shirt and matching headband that matched the hand made invitations.

Party favors were a set of Angelina Ballerina books for the guests to take home.

A small but sweet white dance floor for the aspiring ballerinas to be.

A special visit by a pink ballerina, who read Angelina Ballerina stories while the birthday girl and her guests enjoyed lunch.

Then onto the dance floor for some ballet lessons and twirling.

One moment while I check my real ballet shoes :)

The party craft was stuffing bears and dressing them in their own ballet outfit complete with ballet slippers.

Having fun stuffing our new friends. {please excuse the clear tub, the wind picked up and kept blowing the stuffing out of the basket}

Just a small gathering of friends and family that was relaxing and fun for everyone. Keeping it small meant that these 2 & 3 year olds weren't overwhelmed with too much going on and the Moms could relax and enjoy themselves as well.

Girlfriend quiet time!

Fabric Canopy Three Ways~

2011-02-17T08:36:00.000-08:00

The following is the story of a fabric canopy, three ways. Whenever I have fabric panels sewn for decor I try my best to figure out sizing that allows me to use the panels in different ways. Why? Because sometimes I like to make things more difficult for myself, not really but kind of. And also because having these fabric canopies made is a little pricey and I like to be able to use them for different settings. I like to have the edges sewn and have ends sewn on both ends for the poles so that they have a completely finished look. So this is the story of three different looks and one huge set of fabric panels.

This was the first life for this fabric canopy, it was created for a Quincinera, the client wanted bright colors, a canopy over the dance floor that was tall. This original canopy was huge I think it measured 20 ft. l x 15 ft.w x 14 ft. h and then we extended it the other way and covered the head table as well. Definite impact in the room.

This canopy was seriously weighted down on each leg since it was going to be on the dance floor. The guests really enjoyed themselves on this dance floor under the canopy, I always love to see children enjoying themselves in the surroundings I create. It is really amazing to watch how grown up they act when they are in a more adult environment. They were awesome and not only had a great time but there was no swinging on the legs, thank goodness.

We hung paper lanterns along the side of the tent and lit them with LED battery operated lights to add some ambiance when the lights went down. I love this canopy in this height and it makes a huge statement in a room.

But then here is the same canopy completely transformed into a different look and I love it too. A shorter and not as big version but just as nice.

The party guests enjoyed it too. They were oh so grown up sitting under their lunch canopy, again such a pleasure seeing them enjoy themselves. These smiles are what make my job complete.

The funny part was after the girls had finished their lunch, all the Moms brought their drinks under the canopy to enjoy it themselves for the rest of the afternoon. And who could blame them I love being under them, it just creates such a different feel to a party and a space.

And one more time, here is another canopy using only two of the colors. I love when I can re-use items in so many different ways it always makes things so much more fun! And for this canopy I did the math right, isn't it wonderful when a plan comes together. Just another reason why I love fabric there are so many things you can do with it.

How do you get more uses out of your party props? I would love to hear about them.

Purple Palooza Part 2~ White Tiger Cubs

2011-02-16T15:29:00.000-08:00

Purple Palooza Party PartII~ White Tiger Cubs, there was a lot going on at this party, but I thought they deserved their own post, just too cute!

It isn't every day you prepare for two white tiger cubs to be the VIP guests at a party {white tigers are not white when they are little, they are actually a yummy beige color}. We wanted to make sure they enjoyed their time with us so we prepared a very special VIP tent for them. Well it was actually based on what we thought they would like; plenty of room to play, closed off area so only invited guests could get up close and personal, solid back wall for no distractions, shade to keep the sun off of them, of course we had to add a little purple to the area so it would match the rest of the party, oh and some specialty lighting.

And here they are. They arrived very happy and interested in what was going on, they were even wearing purple to match the party, my kind of guests.

Fresh from their VIP trip to Vegas this 6 month old brother and sister team

were ready to play.

They even stopped for a moment to be introduced to the birthday girl, who by the way did not know they were coming. She kept wanting to know why there was a penned in area and by the look on her face I don't think she was buying my story that the juggler needed to be in there; smart girl.

But upon arriving at their very own VIP lounge they were not quite interested. I mean really not interested in going in, they wanted to explore some more and were really loving laying on the grass. Not a lot you can do when a 80 lb. white tiger cub isn't interested, except wait and have a visit.

It took a little cajoling, but still not too interested. Did the decor not meet their standards it was hard to say. Did their lounge not meet their expectations, because they had just come from a week in Vegas, there was no telling. Of course there were so many things going on around them, they were just a little pre-occupied. And I'm sure the smell of steaks cooking didn't help.

Ah, finally inside the VIP lounge they seemed to be quite happy enjoying the space, playing with each other and enjoying more of the grass.

I was one of the lucky ones who was invited in for a photo shoot.

All I can say is WOW not something that happens everyday.

My daughter Jessica was also invited, just one of the benefits of being the daughter of the planner.

The VIP lounge was perfect for guests to watch the tiger cubs as they

interacted with one another.

We observed them and they observed us. You really could just stand and watch them for hours.

Just look at the size of that paw!

The birthday girl getting ready for her photo shoot with the VIP guests.

This was such a great experience for the birthday girl, her family, guests and my staff and I. I can only imagine how much more exciting it would have been if the elephants had of been able to make it {not joking}. This was just one part of an amazing party that we had the privelege of planning. A special thank you goes out to Jackie of Wild Wonders for finding this awesome brother and sister team {on short notice} and making it happen for the birthday girl.

Purple Palooza Part 1~ Paper & Pigtails

2011-02-14T07:40:00.000-08:00

Purple Palooza Party Part 1~and a big shout out to Kori of Paper & Pigtails!!!! For this party as with most of my parties I had only two weeks notice. Kori was referred to me by Kate Landers as someone she would highly recommend who might be available. Kate e-mailed Kori and within two hours I had an e-mail from Kori and we were on our way!!

I spoke with Kori the next day and she was off and running designing the printables. Even though this was a Purple Palooza party the client wanted to include their daughter's American Indian name Little Dove as well as dream catchers into the party motif, just a little bit. While I was explaining these design ideas to Kori, I'm thinking this girl is probably thinking I'm crazy. Well Kori got it and rocked it, she created custom hand drawn doves and dreamcatchers and incorporated them beautifully into the signs.

Kori created the Thank you tags for the favor bags, which held white tigers for all the children to take home with them to remember their experience with the white tigers at the party. She cut them out for me and added jewels to all of them, which I didn't ask for but was such a nice surprise.

Kori created tent signs for the caterers and they were so pleased with how wonderful they looked, who wouldn't be. Kori also made napkin bands for the cutlery but unfortunately I didn't get a photo.

Kori created all the signs for the Purple Candy Bar, added jewels and rounded the corners so they were ready to go for set up {more on the candy bar in a seperate post}.

Once the design was approved Kori just took the ball and ran with it, I was sending e-mails like I need 1 of these, 50 of these, 2 of these, make it this size and that size, etc... and she just kept track and ran with it, AMAZING!! I love when a vendor gets what I need, doesn't spend a lot of time explaining to me how it will impact them and just gets the job done and Kori did that and more. Not only did she design everything, she printed it, cut it, cropped it and added jewels and worked on it until the absolute last minute so that it would reach me in time, again a true professional.

Thank you Kori for such an amazing job on such short notice, you rock!! You can find Kori at these links facebook, etsy, website. Kori not only creates wonderful work for children's parties she also designs commercial work, logos, branding and so much more.

Interviewed by Kate Landers LLC~

2011-02-10T07:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday my interview by Kate Landers LLC was posted and you can view it here. It was an honor to be included with the other amazing women she has interviewed. For the interview I submitted photos of the last party I did before holiday decorating began. It was a Purple Palooza for a very sweet 9 year old.

There were so many awesome vendors involved in helping me pull off this party with only 2 weeks notice. I will begin blogging about them on Friday with more party details. I can't wait to share all of the fun things that happened.

In the meantime check out the interview to learn a little more about me.

Happy Chinese New Year~

2011-02-03T07:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Chinese New Year!

I just love Chinese New Year, the colors are so vibrant and fun. This year I missed the opportunity to do a commercial Chinese New Year installation which I have always wanted to do but because of the time frame and the fact that I was knee deep in holiday decorating I had to decline. I was so disappointed but I will be doing my homework now, so that I can put in a bid for next year.

Which reminded me of these pictures we took when we were in Las Vegas during Chinese New Year. I love the size of the decor, the quality of the decor and all the decor from the ceilings. I dream in this scale, but of course I do realize everything is bigger in Vegas, but a girl can hope.

I mean look at the size of that vase! When I see something like that a little glimmer comes into my eye, you know the glimmer; when you see something and your mind starts spinning on how can I get me one of those, will it fit in the car/truck/van and will anyone notice me dragging it in. But then I hear the words of the warehouse manager saying "and where am I going to put that?" and all hope for the moment is smashed. I then just store the item in my mind for future use.... But a girl can dream and of course I would need two of those one just wouldn't be enough or big enough (I did say this was a dream right so I'm going to dream big).

Another love of mine, fabric and my favorite color is red, how divine is that? And look another big vase, might need two of those as well.

Ahhhh ceiling decor, another one of my favorite things. This is starting to feel like a few of my favorite things post and I'm loving it! Gorgeous fabric covered lanterns and big, my heart is so happy looking at these.

I can only imagine what the warehouse manager would say about this one, so I won't let him see the glimmer in my eyes but............how cool would it be if he had a friend? And look at all those giant gold coins, just laying around so fun.

More ceiling decor, but that is kind of high I would have to let one of the guys do that one. I could just supervise from the ground. I love looking at these photos they make me just smile and I don't if its because of the color or if its the fact that they are all my favorite things in the scale I would love to have. So I'm thinking if I can get that job, who knows what I might be able to add to my arsenal.

Los Angeles Zoo Holiday Decorations~

2011-01-29T22:00:00.001-08:00

This year we had the privelege of decorating the Los Angeles Zoo again and we had a great time doing it. This is the front entrance which is kind of hard to photograph because it is sooooo BIGGGG! But I think I did ok.

We did a lot of decorating at the Zoo but with holiday decorating the photos can start to get redundant because the decor is all the same just in different places. It doesn't look like it but the wreath is BIGGG it is 7 ft. round and it still doesnt look that big on the front entrance. I got a crick in my neck taking these photos, not to mention bumping into a few people while I was walking and looking up. But luckily no one was hurt in the taking of these photos, which is great. Since you see I am the clumsiest of all the CHS employees, I am the one who always needs the First Aid kit. Did I mention how BIGGGGG this entrance is?? The Los Angeles Zoo is the only outside installation we do. I mean who could resist right? Its the Zoo, animals, children and Christmas sheesh {oops didn't mean to use the word Christmas that is a no no in my business}. Plus we are spoiled we like to be inside.Doing outside installations is COLD! We were lucky with the Zoo installation this year, it threatened to rain all day, but held off thank goodness! Did I mention we are spoiled we don't like to be COLD or wet. Starting work at the break of dawn and being wet and cold is just not fun and while we take our job seriously we like to have fun during installations. We installed a lot of wreaths and swags at the Zoo and NO we DO NOT decorate in the animal pens. We only decorate at the front entrance and in the marketplace. So if my insurance carrier is reading this I want to re-iterate " WE DO NOT DECORATE THE ANIMAL PENS!"

Ouch see those bushes/ferns to the left of the picture, I do believe they are pre-historic attack bushes. They have got to be the meanest, prickliest, sharpest bushes/ferns I have ever had the pleasure of walking through. They are nasty, sharp, prickly and painful.

Ahhh, the ATM tree, my nemisis. For 45 days I am thankful not get a phone call that this tree has blown off the building. I know that it is strapped down, weighted down and all kinds of tied down but that still doesn't make me rest any easier until we have taken it down. It especially doesn't help when I hear a man say, large trees fall over all the time here so if it gets windy enough that tree doesn't stand a chance. Sheesh the things a man says so non-chalantly.

{Side note: it stayed up, of course because we are professional decorators}

And speaking of men and the things they say, see that garland below now there is another story. For some reason this garland was a pain and that just happens. My job on installations is to ask a lot of questions, what are you doing, why is it taking so long, is everything okay? Thats my job to keep installations on track and on-budget and to trouble shoot any problems. Well that garland seemed to be taking longer than I THOUGHT IT SHOULD, so I asked "whats the problem?" and was answered with a full range of explectives, which I won't share with you. So I walked away quietly, humbly and quickly because you see sometimes things don't always go the way I THINK THEY SHOULD and let my guys get on with it. And as I am walking away I hear another man say "She must be the coordinator." ah funny men always have something to say.

Real Parties~ Family Friendly 40th Re-visited

2011-01-17T04:43:00.001-08:00

Who could ask for a better location for a Family Friendly 40th Birthday, on the beach on Balboa Island, California. My client wanted a fun and fabulous 40th birthday party, but she also wanted it to be child friendly, because their family is so important to them and their friends. They wanted the adults to be able to relax and have a good time and the children to have fun and be entertained during the party, so the adults could relax and have a good time.

I wanted a fresh and clean ambiance to the party with colors that popped. Even though this party was on the beach it wasn't meant to be a beach party. My client lives on the beach so a nautical theme wasn't as important as creating a fun and vibrant back drop for the event.

Because we were on the beach in the middle of July it was important that there was shade coverage for all areas of the party and the tent gave us just that. The paper lanterns were a fresh pop of color to the space to break up all the white of the tent and they moved nicely in the breeze. When working outdoors in a space like this you have to be careful with fabrics that can blow away. Regular paper lanterns do not have a true solid color and can sometimes get lost in that much white of the ceiling, so we spray painted all of them so that the colors were bold and vivid.

This party definitely had a grown up feel, with the awesome live band, great food, full service bar and dancing for the adults. There was also a smoothie bar and wheatgrass bar, which was a great hit with everyone.

But after that, the amount of activities for the children was a huge focus of the party.

We created a craft activity tent on the sand off the large tent and offered children a large variety of crafts to keep them entertained during the party.

As with all of our craft activity stations, it was staffed with our friendly staff; ready to assist all the children with whatever craft they wanted to do.

There were bears to stuff and dress in board shorts or adorable bathing suits.

There were sunscreens and sunglasses to protect the little ones from the sun.

There were sun visors to decorate and wooden surfboards to paint.

There was sand art bottles to fill, with wonderful colored sand.

There were frisbees to color and decorate.

And when the children needed a break from all the crafts there was a face painting station offering awesome face painting for the children and glitter tatttoos for the adults.

This was the most popular face painting choice of all the boys that day.

There was a strolling magician entertaining the children and adults with slight of hand tricks.

But the best entertainment of the day was when the sons of the birthday girl got on stage and performed a special song for their mother for her birthday and then led everyone in singing Happy Birthday! It was absolutely priceless.

There were large pillows for crashing on and listening to the band.

There was a juggler teaching the children how to spin a plate.

who also entertained the guests with moving furniture as needed..........

and juggled a few balls, that quite perfectly matched the decor.

This was a FUN party for everyone and not bad for two weeks notice.

I LOVE my job~

2011-01-04T20:00:00.001-08:00

One of the many reasons why I LOVE what I do.... I get to work with my daughter!!

That and receiving awesome feedback from my clients. I have received some awesome thank yous this week and that makes holiday decorating a job well done in my book. Many of my clients are decorating their spaces for their clients/customers and when I receive thank yous from them that their clients/customers loved their holiday decorations it just makes my day!

Happy New Year~

2011-01-01T17:11:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year and Goodbye 2010!

What a year it has been. I have been blessed with so many opportunites this year to grow my business. I have met new friends, I have put myself out there and offered advice and support, I have met new clients and worked with old clients. I have learned, I have failed BUT most of all I have regained the love of what I do and now know that I wouldn't change it for the world.

I started 2010 feeling like I was headed straight for a brick wall or a straight jacket, I felt like owning my own business was no longer fun and enjoyable, I felt like I was going to explode... and then I tried a few new things, thought that might be what I needed, but quickly realized that what I do is what I am good at. I have earned the experience I have one painful memory at a time, I was a party planner when it wasn't cool. I didn't have blogs or support groups or thousands of planners for inspiration at my finger tips. I started my business before the internet was King. I guess how I really started 2010 was TIRED.............

I no longer am tired of the daily grind of business, no longer tired of working for myself, I no longer want to get a "real" job where somone else is responsible for everything and I am just an employee, I no longer am resting on my laurels and playing it "safe". I am invigorated and ready to take on 2011 with the same zest I had years ago, I am looking forward to creating new opportunities for myself and my business, I am looking forward to being more creative and I am looking forward to working with new friends and increasing my business. I have finally come to the conclusion that to have sustained my business for the last 15 years is AWESOME and to have not burnt out during the last 3 years in these tough economic times is FANTASTIC. That I lived through all the "hobby" comments from my husband and above all am grateful for a business that has sustained my family for the last 3 years when out of the blue my husbands great job no longer existed; thank you economy.

I have met some awesome women this year who have inspired me with their wonderful attitudes and love of a good party. I have seen awesome photos of fabulous parties, I have heard sad stories of other husbands losing their jobs and dreams being squashed, I have watched old friend party planners close their businesses; my heart has smiled and my heart has cried and through it all it has inspired me and I thank each and every one of you who I have met along the way, you are AWESOME!

Darn Computers~

2010-12-04T20:20:00.000-08:00

Ahh, Life funny how it just happens. Here I am busy with holiday decorating, which is going extremely smoothly, getting ready for our busiest week of holiday decorating and I'm thinking to myself, WOW this is going really well this year..................... HA!!

Last Saturday I sit down at my computer before leaving for work after only having 5 hours of sleep; I turn on my computer and am greeted by the message "OPERATING SYSTEM NOT FOUND"...............so I re-start because obviously this must be a mistake, this really couldn't be happening to me.......again that awful message NOW WHAT!

I spend the next couple of days randomly turning on the computer hoping by some miracle that it was all just a bad dream, but no such luck.

But I felt confident, that all I really needed to do was get to a computer store and buy a new computer, because I have been good..........I have been backing up my quickbooks, and backing up on an external hard drive and recently I copied everything onto cds so I felt confident.

I go to the computer store and purchase a new computer, a very nice one lots of power and storage, a large monitor :) and I proceed to tell the computer salesman how confident I feel and of all things he says........ IF YOU BACKED IT UP RIGHT ...... OH NOOOOOOOOO! My stomach drops and I can feel the tingling of shingles returning (which I had the pleasure of getting right before holiday decorating).

But after a very stressfull ride home, thinking about all the things I probably would have to re-create..............................turns out COMPUTER GUY WAS WRONG!!!!! Us girls are not as dumb as they think we are! I did lose bookmarks and lots of email addresses and email folders but nothing that was really that awful.

I highly recommend that you invest in online back up services and an external hard drive, both are PRICELESS!

Happy Thanksgiving~

2010-11-24T19:19:00.000-08:00

Best wishes to everyone for a wonderfully Happy Thanksgiving! I am thankful for so many things in my life and am looking forward to sitting down with my family and enjoying a meal tomorrow; albeit at a restaurant. Thanksgiving is not about the meal but those that you are surrounded with and I am sticking to that........

I try to remind myself often during the year of all the things that I am grateful for and try not to dwell on those things that I am not grateful for. I truly believe that it is the bad things that make us appreciate the good more. That doesn't mean that the pain or disappointment of the bad things is not painful, it just makes the good that much better. {I hope that made sense, I am only running on about 5 hours of sleep these days}

I am Grateful For...............
My Family, Shane, Jessica & Chase
A marriage that has lasted 17 years and that is still going strong
Parents who are always there for me and who are my biggest fans
Old friends and new friends
A business that allows me to be creative, and bring joy to others
The opportunities I have been given

As I get older I realize that the most important things in life are who I have with me and not what I have. While I do enjoy the finer things in life they are only made finer because of those you are able to enjoy them with! Sounds cliche but is so true.

Thank you to everyone that has touched my life and who have allowed me to touch theirs. It is an honor and a privilege to do what I do, and that is never lost on me. Best wishes again for a wonderful Thanksgiving, may you be surrounded by family and friends and be able to enjoy all your blessings!

Happy Halloween~

2010-10-31T16:54:00.000-07:00

I hope you have a wonderful Halloween and get lots of treats and not too many tricks! Its a little strange here since my children are grown they are off doing their own things, really doesn't feel like Halloween, maybe it will later when the little ones start knocking on the door~

A Picture Says It All~

2010-10-30T21:03:00.001-07:00

This is a little bit of what the beginnings of holiday decorating feels like, and probably looks like! Standing around, walking around and wondering.......

Do I have everything?
Did I forget something?
Where is it all going to go?
Is that truck going to be big enough?
Is there going to be enough time?
Do you have 500 of these?
Where was that supposed to be?
WHAT color combination did you want?
How many hours are there in a day again?
How early is early?

As much as holiday decorating is intense I wouldn't trade it for the world. I love holiday decorating, it is non-stop action, creativity, thinking on your feet, fun and breathtaking.......it is what I live for this time of year! Rising to the challenges that I have been given and chosen.

The last few years as we have grown I have done less decorating and more directing.........but this year I plan on decorating more and can't wait. Don't get me wrong directing is just as important as decorating, because holiday decorating is a dance of coordination, organization, time management, trouble shooting and creativity and without excellent directing skills holiday decorating could not be accomplished; not to mention a huge traveling disaster!

I love me a scissor lift and/or a cherry picker!

Spiderman Party~

2010-10-24T22:33:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few glimpses of a Spiderman party we recently did. This party was a lot of fun and the birthday boy couldn't have been sweeter and more appreciative as were all the children at the party. I can't show you too much of this party to protect the client's privacy.

Custom Spiderman Cake~

2010-10-24T21:16:00.000-07:00

It seems like lately I have been on a run of custom parties with only two weeks notice, which has not left a lot of time for blogging, so please accept my apologies. This adorable Spiderman cake was from a recent party and was no exception. With only 3 days notice my favorite bakery Rossmoor Pastries pulled it off for me, like they always do. I am often asked by my clients to design and bring the cake or have it delivered to the party. Sometimes it comes from the bakery and sometimes we transport it, I must say I have become an expert on cake transportation and handling. Ordering and designing these cakes can often be nerve wracking, since these are custom cakes and not in-expensive to say the least, I am always nervous that the client will love them.

I love designing the cakes and Rossmoor Pastries is so great about working with me, especially last minute. Dianne is my go to girl at Rossmoor and she is an absolute pleasure to work with. I believe telepathically we are on the same page when it comes to designing my cakes. She is great at helping me to create my visions and this Spiderman cake was no exception. A few of the cakes we have designed are in the order book at Rossmoor and some have been ordered by customers as they sit in the fridge waiting for me to pick them up, which is always such a huge compliment to me.

If you are ever in need of a great looking and best of all great tasting cake I highly recommend Rossmoor Pastries, you won't be disappointed.

Thank you, Kori Clark Designs & Paper & Pigtails~

2010-10-22T21:33:00.000-07:00

I recently had the pleasure of working with Kori Clark of Kori Clark Designs and Paper & Pigtails and what a pleasure it was. Kori was referred to me by the wonderful Kate Landers. As an event planner it seems like I never have more than 2 weeks notice to pull a party together which leaves little time for me to collaborate with some of the awesome talent out there.

Last weekend I had a very large, very last minute event and while I was talking to Kate about the short amount of time I had and how I wished I could use someone for table signs, gift tags and more she was more than happy to offer to contact some of the designers she has used in the past; two hours later I had an email from Kori and she was all that Kate said she was and more. I am used to working under pressure and Kori was able to work right along with me. It was like she read my mind and I didn't have to explain myself too much she just ran with it and scored a touch down. Not only did she come up with two great designs for table signs, gift tags, candy table signs, buffet signs, napkin wraps and staff name tags she printed them for me, embellished them with jewels and rushed them to me all this with a few days notice. They were awesome!! Unfortunately, I cannot share that party with you yet, but I can't wait until I can. Kori was sweet, professional and easy to work with and most important the quality of her designs are top notch! I would highly recommend Kori to anyone and look forward to working with her again in the future. I consider Kori my new party planning secret weapon and friend.

Just a few of the awesome styles available at Paper& Pigtails and if you need custom work done check out Kori Clark Designs .

{Images courtesy of Paper & Pigtails}

Thank you again Kori for such an awesome job and to you Kate for such an awesome referral!!

Sweet Gems Cakes~

2010-04-26T16:01:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of meeting Grace from Sweet Gems Cakes. She made this adorable cake for my client's daughter Devon's birthday. It was an American Girl theme party and all the girls brought their American Girls. Grace created the figure on the cake to look like Devon's American Girl doll, all the way down to the accessories. So very cute and yummy as well.

Grace is very talented and her work has been shown on Platinum Weddings and the Food Network. I look forward to working with her again.

Our New Website~

2010-04-26T14:10:00.000-07:00

Our website is born! After several months of thinking and planning and thinking it is finally finished. It wasn't just a case of re-doing one website I had to figure out how to make 7 different websites more cohesive and that was the tricky part, but if I do say myself I think it came out quite well. Thank you to my daughter for her Photo Shop skills because without her it wouldn't look nearly as nice.

I think the site is a good representation of the work we do and the different types of work we do, which is always tricky when you do so many different things. So please take a look and let me know what you think, I'm sure there are some tweaks that I will have to work out but nothing that will keep me up at night, hopefully. www.chscreativeproductions.com

Happy Birthday Devon~

2010-04-12T18:34:00.001-07:00

We had the pleasure of assisting with Devon's 7th Birthday this weekend at the Black Gold Golf Club. Even though I have "kind of" officially taken the day off I just wanted to give you a sneak peek of the event. I can't wait to see all the photos myself. Will probably be a few days before I can get more of the details up, but it was a wonderful party, fabulous clients and an all round terrific end to an event whose decor changed completely within 96 hours of the party all for the better. I couldn't be more pleased! Stay tuned for more.

G. Harvey Private Showing~

2010-04-10T08:20:00.000-07:00

We had the pleasure the other evening of working with Whistle Pik Galleries of Fredericksburg, Texas for a
private showing of G. Harvey's new 2010 collection of artwork. It was a wonderful evening; the showing was held in a private home in Laguna Beach that was just amazingly stunning and such a wonderful back drop
for Mr. Harveys breathtaking work. It was a pleasure to meet Mr. Harvey and the wonderful staff of Whistle Pik Gallery. This painting is called Dreams Of A Nation and the photo does not do the artwork justice, just
one of my many favorites that I had the pleasure to view.~

Thank you again Whistle Pik Galleries for choosing CHS Creative Productions.

Diva'Licious Parties~

2010-03-31T10:05:00.000-07:00

Looking for a great party theme for your girly girls next birthday? Our Diva'Licious party decor will be sure to please. We offer Diva'Licious party packages as well as Diva'Licious Spa Parties. From our floor length table linens, custom animal print overlays, ostrich feather centerpieces and all the glitter and glam any girly girl would love, our Diva inspired parties are one of a kind FABULOUS!

Getting Things Done~

2010-03-30T09:22:00.000-07:00

I just love this book and it was a godsend last December! As a small business owner my life can often be overwhelming with so much to remember on so many different levels. I had been trying to figure out what other technical tool I needed to buy to make all my other technical tools work together better, and was having no luck. I had even reminisced back to my days as a legal secretary and the old school tickler system, but couldn't find anything like it out there either. I knew that I was missing something but couldn't figure out what it was. After the completely hectic business of holiday decorating I was overwhelmed, frustrated and just wore out. I had let a few personal responsibilities fall through the cracks and was just at my wits end with myself and my systems. How was I going to grow my business when I was struggling where I was at currently?

On a visit with my brother commiserating about all the problems of owning your own business and all the responsibilities I had told him that I felt like my head was going to explode. I used to take pride in the fact that I could remember EVERYTHING but not any more, there was just too much too remember. He started to tell me about the book/system Getting Things Done, I was hooked and definitely interested, I made a note on a piece of paper because I knew my head could not take another thing and vowed to buy it the next day. But then the sweetest gesture was given to me, after my brother left he went to a book store, bought the book and brought it back to me. I was so surprised and grateful, so I began reading it that night and never stopped until I was finished. I must say I am notorious for purchasing self help things and picking through them to find the parts that I like, but this book I made the effort to read it from front to back, because I knew I was at my wits end and had to find something that would make sense. Well it did, I read the book implemented the system and am now able to relax, really relax and be in the moment of everything. I can even have a day off and not be worrying about what I'm not doing because I know it is where it should be. I see the whole picture and am not constantly being sideswiped by last minute things that I should have remembered. I have the open mind to creatively think about how I want to expand my business and what direction I want to move forward in in all aspects of my life.

I am now reading Ready For Anything, and love it too. David Allen does a great job of helping you clear the decks of your mind so that you can operate from a place of knowing and seeing the big picture no matter what type of business you run or job you have. I am a devout fan and am singing the praises of the system constantly. I wish I had known about the system and books sooner, but I was just too busy being busy, how ironic.

If you are feeling the same way or feel like you could just use some free space in your mind I highly suggest his books. Read them, implement them and move forward with your dreams because everything else is where it should be!!

{FYI all you need is a lot of index cards and hanging file folders in your file cabinet, a label maker and a real calendar and you are good to go! Book=Free, Supplies=$30.00, Reward=Priceless }

Ceiling Decor~

2010-03-26T08:34:00.001-07:00

Ahhhhh Ceiling Decor, I love it! Anytime you can decorate above an event the better, it just adds a whole new dimension to the space. However, it comes with its own set of difficulties. Now that party season is warming up I get a lot of calls for ceiling decor and people asking for a basic price quote. Which there is no such thing. Ceilings involve so many different requirements, but the most important requirement is how long do you have the space for. We require a minimum of 4 hrs. before any other vendor sets up in the space to install the decor. Which in most venues means committing to paying for the space longer than your event time. If your venue tells you that having the venue earlier should be no problem, GET IT IN WRITING, we require it.

Make sure when you are hiring a company that they have the insurance coverage required to work at the venue and are able to provide proof to your venue and list them as an additional insured. Don't make the mistake of thinking that because they have a business they have the proper insurance coverage. Not only is business insurance required but also workers comp insurance at most venues. You would hate to find out that on the day of installation out of the blue they were required to show proof and were unable to do so.

Ceiling decor is a great use of the space but can also be costly, but it is important that you use a company that is experienced in installing ceiling decor, will do a great job and most of all install it safely, because after all it is going above your guest's heads.

Above & Beyond!~

2010-03-24T09:53:00.000-07:00

Still going through holiday photos while working on the new website design, sheesh its beginning to feel like deja vu this whole website thing. But it is getting there and I am quite happy with how its turning out.

Looking at these photos makes me smile, I remember the fun times and how great my staff are that they go above and beyond to get the job done! They are the BEST!!!!

Holiday Cheer~

2010-03-21T21:31:00.000-07:00

We are finally getting through all our holiday decorating photos and since I'm playing blog catch up I thought I'd share some of my holiday favorites with you. This was Commerce Casino for the 2009 holiday season, if I must say so myself it turned out fabulous this year. It is always great when the vision is only exceeded by the end result.

We spent the 5 days before Thanksgiving executing this installation. We decorated 15 large Christmas trees, 1,000's of feet of garland, 45 large wreaths, centerpieces and lets not forget all the packages that were wrapped so beautifully. It doesn't seem like much if you say it fast, except for the fact that every ornament, ribbon and flower is wired on; that's a lot of wiring.

We also time lapsed the installation of a large tree and I'm hoping that I will have it back to share with you, I can't wait to see it.

I hope you have a great Monday and a wonderful week.

Winter Themed Memorial Dinner~

2010-03-18T08:28:00.000-07:00

Last month we had the pleasure of creating winter themed decor for a memorial dinner. We used manzanita trees for the table centerpieces. They were spray painted silver and we added glittered snowflakes and jewels to hang from the branches. For the base we added the most beautiful Kito white roses with greenery, snowflakes and jewels. They really made quite the statement.

On top of creating these wonderful manzanita trees the client requested sugared fruit trays, something I had never done before but was up for a challenge (or so I thought). The photos of the fruit did not come out so good, but let me tell you it was not an easy task. We sugared over 600 pieces of whole fruit from pineapples to limes and everything in between. They were placed on platters along the center of the main table. They looked fabulous but again what a job. We coated each piece of fruit in egg white and then sugared it with white sugar, they then had to dry, but you can only do it no more than 2 days before the event otherwise the sugar will begin to crack and fall off since it was whole fruit. Then you have to transport it there and put it on the platters all the while crossing your fingers that all the sugar doesn't crack off. So my tip of the day to all you creative people is~ If someone, family, friends, client asks you to sugar fruit, run like heck the other way LOL!

Happy St. Patricks Day~

2010-03-17T10:55:00.001-07:00

Happy St. Patricks Day!

Sweet 16 Party Ceiling Decor~

2010-03-16T10:24:00.000-07:00

A few months ago we had the pleasure of creating a pink and white ceiling swags for Ashley's Sweet 16 birthday party. The client was using a large space and needed something over the dance floor to pop and to also cohesively bring the two sides of the room together, she opted for a ceiling swag with crystals. I think it was just what the room needed and matched the other decor wonderfully.

For more great photos visit the photo gallery.

Moments Like These~

2010-03-15T09:52:00.001-07:00

Moments like these is why I love what I do! I love making my clients happy, I love seeing the end result, but most of all I love moments like these! This is why I love owning my own business, I get to work with my family and have moments like this. This is me and my daughter at an event between set up and party start time sharing a moment. I don't remember what we were laughing about, but seeing these photos makes me smile and on a Monday that smile is priceless.

I hope you have a great week and take time to enjoy the moments, or if nothing else I hope there is a photographer around to take photos of those moments for you to look back on.

Royal Princess Party~

2010-03-12T08:53:00.000-08:00

Just before the holiday season began for us we had the pleasure of creating a Royal Princess & Knight party for Princess Camilla. What began as a small intimate party turned into a larger party 150 guests to be exact and it was a huge push to get it all in the space, but we managed it by the skin of our teeth. This was tricky because it was a party with a lot of special needs guests and we needed to make sure there was room for strollers and wheelchairs. One of my favorite things was the footmen sign, so simple but so sweet. This was necessary since there were stairs up to the main party spot and guests would need assistance.

The Client didn't want a "Disney" princess party but something that was sweet and classic looking. I opted for ivory, pink, chocolate brown and gold accents. This color scheme was perfect for the large mix of adults and children and created a very nice background for the party. We created a large fabric canopy with custom pennant flags to cover the craft area to provide shade and a large burst of color to the yard. This is where we hosted the craft station for the children.

The Client was a huge fan of wishes and really wanted each child to read off the wishes themselves we knew it was going to be a logistical nightmare. So what we chose to do was a wish tree, the children filled out wishes and hung them on a gold manzanita tree, when it was time for the wishes we read them to Princess Camilla. The craft station was a hit as always and we had two hours worth of craft activities for the children to make and take home.

This party was non-stop activities, from games, crafts, wonderful catering by The Kitchen for Exploring Foods, the yummy cupcake station and sweet refreshing drinks. It was another job well done and we look forward to Princess Camilla's party this year.

Fancy Nancy Centerpieces~

2010-03-11T07:21:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of creating custom Fancy Nancy Centerpieces. I had been wanting to play around with these types of centerpieces and now I had the chance, I love when that happens. The Client liked the idea of them all being different, since everything Fancy Nancy does is different. I used topiary ball forms, spray painted terracotta pots gold and added jewels to the pots and inserted the topiary form, which fit nice and tight and then began layering on the fun stuff. I was able to use lots of jewels, butterflies, tiaras, ribbons and of course feather boas. The styrofoam topiary forms work great since all you have to use to attach everything with is U hooks. Not only were they great for the party, but 10 little girls took home a decoration for their room. They were adorable and a big hit, I just wish we were able to get better photos but there were just too many darn windows in the room.

Just a Little Behind~

2010-03-09T19:19:00.001-08:00

Wow you know you have been really busy when you finally get back to your blog only to realize that you have not blogged since New Years! I must say in my own defense that it was not for lack of work to be blogging about, but more like time. So needless to say I am a little behind. I can't even remember sharing my new logo, which I am absolutely thrilled about. (not really new, we had it finished in October of last year so that we could get it on our new t-shirts before holiday decorating), but by now you have seen it since we have re-done the blog and are in the process of re-doing the websites with the same clean look.

This is the problem with being behind and catching up............where do you start??? Do I move onto holiday decorating photos or start with the latest event and move backwards to catch up????

The photos always seem to be the hardest for me to get together. But now that I have my daughter working in the office 3 days a week plus the weekends (silent scream of YEAHHH!!!) and have set her up with photoshop and corel I am hoping to be able to get photos together sooner rather than later. I am always in awe of the amazing photos and collages I see on other Blogs so I'm hoping with more technology and an extra set of hands I can attain that level of photography images to share with you.

So for now I will start again on my blogging journey, which I have missed.

Happy New Years~

2010-01-01T10:26:00.000-08:00

Happy New Years, may 2010 bring you much good health, happiness and prosperity!

I am not going to reflect on the bad of 2009 I am going to reflect on the good things and go into 2010 with a better attitude and a desire to do more and to do better in all aspects of my life. So without further adieu........Goodbye 2009, you were an interesting year.

Thank you 2009 for .............
all the lessons learned, the good, the bad and the ugly
you for keeping my family safe and healthy
for the new friends, new clients and new employees.
for all the wonderful business opportunities you delivered
not letting me lose my sanity
allowing my business to grow
for a wonderful family who have supported me through your ugly times and celebrated with me your good times
for the love of a great husband
the addition of new storage facilities
my most creative year yet
my busiest year yet
letting me see the error of my ways so that 2010 is better
keeping my head spinning, because now I see clearly what I want and don't want for 2010
reconnecting with family and making amends
being my 13th year in business
allowing me to see my 14th year
letting me see that HARD work DOES pay off

I am sure there is more but as you all know we can't wait to dig into the new, so I am off to continue my dismantling of bad organizational habits to create a free mind and space in which to create more, love more and enjoy more the job that I am blessed with! Because through it all I know that I am blessed. My work is never the same, the challenges are never the same, I am always learning something new and the best part is that I get to create memories for my clients that will last a life time. I hope that some of the good they remember from 2009 is the wonderful party or decor that I created for them to celebrate their special occasion or holiday and I hope that that memory always brings a smile to their faces.

So bring it on 2010 we are ready and waiting for you!

Merry Christmas~

2009-12-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas from my Team to yours!

I hope you have a wonderful holiday and take the time the enjoy the simple things with family and friends.

Thoughtful Reflection~

2009-11-18T17:24:00.000-08:00

Today was an awesome day, we finished our holiday decorating installation at Los Angeles Zoo, YEAH TEAM!

As a decorator I worry a lot about the final product, as a business owner I worry that the Client will like it, and as someone who puts her heart and soul into her work I worry that it won't bring pleasure to those who see the final product. And somewhere between the visions, the client and the end result..........IT HITS YOU! Look what we did and look who we did it for! WOW!

I had one of those moments today when I realized where my holiday decorating services had taken me, I was standing in Los Angeles Zoo and they were loving what I had done. Yes I would have liked to do more, yes I would do things differently next time and yes I shouldn't worry so much but that is why there is tomorrow and today I believe I really enjoyed today.

It hit me hard that what I do now started so many years ago when a client asked me if I could decorate her house for the holidays, "yes" and "of course" were my immediate answers. I remember at the time thinking how fun to be able to do that in a much bigger home than mine, the ideas were just swirling and that is how it began. And here I am today standing in Los Angeles Zoo, who doesn't know what that is, and two days from now we will begin decorating Commerce Casino, the largest poker casino in the United States and when we finish that job we will begin decorating Longo Toyota the largest Toyota dealership in the United States. I guess my point here is not how amazing I am, (because if you notice I always use "we", that "we" is my team of fabulous employees that make my visions come to life, without them it would not be possible) but look where one small footstep so many years ago brought me. I am a believer in dreams and that thoughts are things and I am glad that in this moment in my life I have the clarity to see it.

Today I watched and enjoyed and worried about the Client's reaction and when I received their approval my job was complete and for that I am grateful.

This post is not about the end result, or the final decor product, or the words of praise we received it is about the process and the people who made it possible.

That is my Adam risking life and limb and Christmas Tree!

There is Bruce & Nathan left to hold the wreath while the installation is being pondered.

There is Holly, who I sent over to watch the guys feet while they were installing a tree above her, to make sure they didn't fall through the cracks. Thinking back now what was she going to do if they did fall through the cracks ????? Seemed like a good idea at the time.

There's Jessica (my daughter) the Goddess of wreath making, I love you Jess!

There WE all are, sorry guys didn't have time to go through all the photos
(there are a lot more WE's but these were the Los Angeles Zoo WE's)

Thank you to each and every one of you who made a moment in my life possible. Adam, Bruce, Claudia, Holly,Jennifer, Jessica, Kris, Leslie, Myra, Nathan & Paz, THANK YOU!

~Happy Veterans Day

2009-11-11T07:23:00.001-08:00

Happy Veterans Day! A heartfelt thanks of gratitude to the veterans of this great country of ours. If it wasn't for their sacrifices we would not enjoy the freedoms we have today. God bless every serviceman who has served this country and their loved ones who have stood by them and God bless every serviceman who is currently serving our country. You have and will always have made this world a better place.

[photo courtesy of Pixabella]

~Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T09:29:00.001-07:00

Best wishes for a fabulously wonderful and safe Halloween.

~Operation Shower

2009-10-30T21:02:00.000-07:00

Taking a quick minute to catch up on reading blogs, I discovered this post by Amy at Stem about Operation Shower that she is involved with and I couldn't resist sharing with you. The following is a copy of Amy's post.

{So most of you here probably know I'm the Chief Event Planner for Operation Shower. Operation Shower is a 501(c)3 charity that provides "baby showers in a box" to expectant moms who have spouses deployed in the military.

You also all know what a tragic week it has been for our military and the numerous losses of life we've had this month. So, so sad.

In the midst of worry and sadness, Operation Shower tries to bring joy to military families that are separated at a very special time in their lives. Imagine being pregnant while your husband is overseas defending our country. It's not political. It's human.
.

So, as we approach Thanksgiving, please take one moment and check out my post on the Operation Shower blog here. I'd be so thankful for it.

I'd also love it if my fellow bloggers could link to the Operation Shower post. Amazing things happen with the power of the internet. I know we can all make a difference. Please, leave me a comment if you post so I can thank you personally.

Have a safe Halloween and a blessed holiday season.

Ever grateful,

Ames

P.S. You can also click on our website for an opportunity to donate.}

~Sweet 16 Sweet Shoppe~

2009-10-12T15:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Belated Sweet 16 Ashley ~ I finally am taking a day to catch up on some long overdue things, like sharing some of our recent events that I haven't had time to go through the pictures before now. This is a photo and below a collage of the very Sweet candy bar for Ashleys Sweet 16. The candy bar was delightful and so was the decor, but the decor will have to wait for another post. One thing at a time..........

The adorable "Sweet Shoppe" sign was made by Party Decorations by Marlyss who creates wonderful decor. Ashley's Mom created this Sweet candy bar and I just helped a little I was there to do the ceiling decor but couldn't resist having fun with the candy bar as well. There were so many special touches to this party I can't wait to share them all with you.
{how funny is life, Ashley's Mom just phoned to tell me she was sending the photos from the photographer, so I will leave this as a quick post and when I get the professional photos I will post those}

Until then Enjoy.................

Giving Back~One Child at a time

2009-09-30T20:30:00.000-07:00

Aldabella Scarpa............is giving back to American Children in need. For every pair of shoes you buy they will donate one pair to an

American Child in need.

With the holidays coming it is time to buy those little ones holiday dresses and of course adorable shoes to match. Before you go looking any further for those adorable shoes check out aldabellascarpa.com. They have the most wonderful and whimsical collection of shoes all made from Italian leather in adorable color and pattern combinations. I discovered them this past week at the LA County Fair and was wishing I had a little one to buy shoes for. As a mother I was always very picky about the quality of shoes that I bought for my children and if my children were still little I would be their new biggest fan. Their product pictures do not do them justice, too cute! Not only do they offer a great product but they are paying it forward to American children, and anytime I find a charity that is working for the benefit of Americans I become a FAN!

~Thank You for sharing

2009-09-17T07:28:00.000-07:00

For me this blogging thing is not always easy, I don't have a lot of time to create wonderful photo collages (my skills are lacking there), not always sure what to say, sometimes I feel like my posting about what I do is bragging (not that I think at all that I am better than anyone) it just goes back to my upbringing of keeping things personal and not sharing every little detail with everyone, I haven't learned yet how to thank someone for posting and I could go on and on. But the one thing blogging has brought me is new friends and the chance to see that I am not alone with my trials and tribulations of being a female business owner, a women with high expectations, a wife and a mother.

I am sitting here looking at a very busy schedule, a full calender, an upcoming week full of employee interviews, looking at paint samples taped and painted on walls, homework, bills to be paid, out my front window a garden that needs some tlc and a manicure that went south after one day of getting it done, a stack of custom job folders that I need to work on, a faithful pet who is on her last leg and so much more...........

Then I look around at my favorite blogs and see women exhausted, giving of themselves for a charity or a friend in need, taking care of their life, working on their business, struggling with financial issues and so much more. And yet they have time to help a friend, create a wonderful blog post, plan an amazing party, take care of their families and their business and so much more.

I think women are truly AMAZING and they are stepping up and getting it done and knocking themselves out to do a great job! I think that the current economy has created the opportunity for women to be aggressive and go after their dreams in order to get it done! It just blows my mind to see so many women who maybe were once stay at home moms now stepping up and creating their passion and I am proud to be part of such a group. I see husbands who are supportive of their wives efforts who might not have been so supportive a few years ago.

How we are doing it is different for everyone, but we are doing it and all you have to do is look around the internet to see great products, services and businesses that are women owned. I feel like I am sometimes sacrificing little bits of myself as my business grows and I see it and struggle with how to keep the balance, how to let my children know I love them, give my time to my husband and my friends, make the client happy, talk to my parents each day and just try to get everything checked off my to do list, but then that is just one more thing to worry about. But thanks to blogs I realize I am not alone and that helps, it helps me know that I am not just going crazy. So thank you for sharing and while I might not always have the time to post a comment or commiserate for me it means something. So please keep on sharing.

~Blog Feature

2009-09-13T07:31:00.000-07:00

We have been featured on the Swanky Blog. The other day I had the pleasure of speaking with Brandy from swankychicks.com. Brandy had emailed me to see if I would mind speaking with her about a new business venture idea for her business, which I was pleased to do. We had a wonderful conversation where I was able to share my experiences with her and to offer her some advice and direction and in return Brandy shared some of her knowledge with me on things I wasn't that knowledgeable about. It was a great conversation and now I have a new friend in Arizona.

Thanks for the shout out Brandy and I can't wait to hear how it all works out.

Ice Cream Sundae Bar~

2009-09-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

Pink & Sweet & Adorable.........need I say more???

I just wanted to share with you this adorable layout and ideas for an Ice Cream Sundae Bar, brought to you by EAT DRINK CHIC. Not only does Amy Moss share with you some wonderful photos and ideas she has graciously added the templates for creating all the wonderful personalized signs. A truly generous offering. Check out her site for more great ideas.

I'm inspired........................

Random Thoughts~

2009-09-03T17:53:00.000-07:00

OHHH the heat is stifling here in Southern California. I had to meet a client downtown and decided to take the opportunity to seek our some new ideas in Los Angeles afterwards........unfortunately I didn't do much seeking. It was 99 degrees and then went up to 101 where it hung out for awhile. I wanted to buy some flowers for me but knew they would probably be dead by the time I got home..... so I am sharing my favorite flowers with you and an e-mail of Random Thoughts that I received from a friend.

Hope they both make you smile.................................

-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you
realize you're wrong.

-I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to
have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and
sticks when they've invented the lighter?

-That's enough with Michael Jackson.

-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was
younger.

-There is a great need for sarcasm font.

-Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and
suddenly realize I had no idea what was going on when I first saw
it.

-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually
becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90
minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at
the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and
a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really,
really gets it.

-How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

-I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than
take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

- I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear
your computer history if you die.

- A recent study has shown that playing beer bong contributes to the
spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

- Was learning cursive really necessary?

- Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else
to say".

- Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron
test is absolutely petrifying.

- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all
I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up
to prevent a d!ck from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in'
examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete
idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said,
"Yes that's G, as in....(10 second lapse)...ummm...Goonies."

- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and
instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I
know how to get out of my neighborhood.

- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the
shower first and THEN turn the water on.

-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty,
and you can wear them forever.

- I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu'
to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up. Example: "Jeff caught the swine flu last night."

-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

- Bad decisions make good stories.

-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would
probably just be completely invisible.

-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go
around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly
nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a
problem....

-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work
when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything
productive for the rest of the day (kinda like now).

-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't
want to have to restart my collection.

-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are
going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me
if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear
I did not make any changes to.

- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this
ever.

-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching
TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me
if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this.
It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room.
Will we still be friends after this?'

-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello?
Dammit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes
to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and
run away?

- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not
seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

-When I meet a new guy, I'm terrified of mentioning something he
hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet
stalking.

-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle,
then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

-Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising
speed for pedophiles...

- As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers,
but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not
know what time it is.

-It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

-I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to
answer when they call.

-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to
with it.

-Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car
keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey
but I'd bet my a$s everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3
feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

-It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the
link takes me to a video instead of text.

-I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they
drive behind obeys the speed limit.

-I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

-I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or
Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

Happy Bride~

2009-09-02T20:10:00.000-07:00

These days with all the tv shows about Bridezillas and the drama that is associated with Brides its nice to have the pleasure of working with a Bride who is just enjoying herself on her Wedding Day.

I had the pleasure of assisting Shannon & David Meyer on their Wedding Day a few weeks ago and they were absolutely enjoying every minute of their day. Their was no drama from them, their parents or anyone. It was an absolutely enjoyable Wedding and I wish them all the best in the future.

Photographs provided by D2 Phototography

New Holiday Decorating Client

2009-08-22T20:56:00.000-07:00

We are so excited and still doing the happy dance around here. We have been chosen to do the holiday decorating for the Los Angeles Zoo this year. We couldn't be more excited to add another great client to our list of Clients. We will be working in collaboration with Fox Studios who will be creating a new holiday back drop for the Reindeer Romp at the Zoo. Kind of like a double header for us here at CHS.

Ahhh Inspiration

2009-08-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

The other day I had the pleasure of enjoying as my friend puts it a "daycation". I had the pleasure of visiting the Getty Museum, after years of driving by it and thinking I'd like to go one day I finally had the chance. It was absolutely amazing, the art was fabulous and the buildings and the way it was designed was brilliant. Everything was designed down to the utmost detail. The collection of paintings, drawings, sculptures and more was just wonderful. Of course the things that inspired me since I can't paint, draw, sculpt, etc... were the wonderful bed above and the chandeliers. They inspired me because fabric and hanging things is what I love to do.

I fell in love with this bed the details were amazing. I looked at it and thought one day I'm going to get a party that I can design a canopy like this.............. and I can't wait!

The swagging of the fabric, the tassels, the ostrich feathers, the use of multiple fabrics just brilliant.

Just look at the wonderful little flower all beaded, just one more of the many details of this amazing bed.

And then there were the fabulous chandeliers, just breath taking and amazing the details were beautiful.....

All in all it was a wonderful "daycation" can't wait to go back

Holiday House Tour

2009-08-15T15:42:00.001-07:00

I am so excited!!! I have been asked by a Women's Club in an affluent area to decorate a complete house for their Holiday Homes Tour and not a Christmas house. This year they are adding a children's house to the tour and I have been asked to showcase my different parties and themes throughout the house, I can't wait. I was worried when they called and said Holiday that it might be happening in the middle of our Holiday Decorating season and if so there would be no way I could do it, but YEAH it is at the beginning of November which will fit into my schedule perfect.

My creative ideas and thoughts are definitely burning the midnight oil. I have been wanting to update and play with different ideas for Children's parties and this will be the perfect place to do it.

I will keep you updated as the ideas stream forth..........................

Happy 40th!

2009-07-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

I have finally had a chance to go through the photos from the Fabulous 40th Birthday Party we did a few weeks ago! All decor, design, ideas and execution were designed and executed by CHS. I personally am a BIG fan of the color combination. To view more photos click here

Hope you enjoy.......................

Face Painting~Shout Out

2009-07-19T21:19:00.001-07:00

Two weeks ago I had the pleasure of working with my friend and party planner/face painter extraordinaire Risa of colorfulfaceart.com! We set Risa up in her own cabana on the beach and watched the magic happen from full face painting to glitter tattoos Risa does it all and does it brilliantly.

Please note that we both match the party because isn't that what its all about, details, details, details! After a crazy week planning this party I was so thrilled to see Risa.

Coming soon the photos from this fabulous 40th birthday party..........................

Beach Party Part 3

2009-07-15T19:26:00.000-07:00

Finally I have had a chance to go through all the photos from the Graduation Beach Party and get them up on my photo gallery. It took awhile since I had to lighten them all up due to the miserable rainy weather we had that morning. Yes things are wet in the photos and yes the layout is not exactly what I had in mind, but we made it happen.

It literally was raining, not misting, not dewy but raining with nasty dark clouds just hanging around daring us to have a party. It was 12:10 p.m. and the party was to start at 1:00 p.m. we had to do something and we had to do it fast! We couldn't put linens on tables, rain was running off the umbrellas and canopies onto everything. Even the things we had under overhangs were getting wet because not only was it raining it was windy too. All this lovely weather in the beginning of June at the beach in California, go figure.

Luckily my client had two houses side by side, not including the two houses in the back of those two houses. So with 30 minutes before the party was to start my staff and anybody else with two hands and two legs including some very confused valet attendants began emptying one house of the furniture and bringing things inside and on the patio. Needless to say it was complete chaos!
But we did it and it worked. Of course at 1:00 the rain stopped and I'm sure guests were wondering why there was a big empty patch of grass and all the tables were on the patio and in the house.

All in all despite the darn weather we pulled off a great party. The children were entertained all day with crafts and games, we had a fabulous caricature artist, a delightful balloon twister and an amazing frisbee dog show on the beach. There was a wonderful beach ball cake but somehow in all the confusion I never got a picture of the cake, dang it!

No matter what the weather the show must go on.............

Happy Birthday Twila

2009-07-12T09:19:00.000-07:00

I am so busy right now with back to back parties but I just wanted to get a quick photo up of the wonderful birthday party we did yesterday. It was a a 40th birthday party celebration and what a celebration it was. The above is just a quick peek of the event. Amazing that this was pulled off in literally 5 days. We had The Trip band, courtesy of Essence Entertainment playing on stage, who were a great band, we had a strolling juggler who did some great stuff and had the kids twirling plates on their fingers, we had Tim Mannix performing strolling magic tricks, we had my good friend Risa from colorfulfaceart face painting and doing glitter tattoos, we had a smoothie bar and catering and much more. It was a great party and everyone had a great time. All the decorations and flowers were created by me and my staff and wow what a great look for a summer party on the beach and best of all the weather gods smiled on us and we had great weather. This was the same client whose party we did two weeks ago that got rained on, what weird weather we have been having.

I am swamped right now with custom parties and will do my best to get more photos of the past few weeks parties up as quickly as possible but I just wanted to share.

Stay tuned for a photo link to more pictures of this great party.

A Fun Weekend

2009-07-06T07:25:00.001-07:00

I hope everyone had a happy and safe 4th of July weekend. I managed to rest a little and just enjoy. Easier said than done since I have 6 Price Quotes sitting on my desk for custom events, that all need to be done asap. Price quotes are the most difficult process about what I do and they can quite literally sap your energy very quickly,but enough about that.

We are lucky that we live in a city that you can still light fireworks yourself, I have to admit I have a little pyromaniac in me when it comes to fireworks I love lighting them. But this year was so different, my youngest son is 14 and he can now light them so I get to sit back and watch. While it was nice not to be bouncing around worrying about who was going to catch who on fire it was also very bittersweet. This was the first 4th of July my daughter wasn't with us, she was off at Nascar with tickets she won.

Chase (my son) and friends

Sitting there watching my son burn money in the street and not having to be in charge of the lighter it gave me a chance to reflect on how crazy my life has become and how quickly time flies. I miss my babies and I miss my stay at home mom days and I miss my children's friends and I miss not having the most decorated house on the block and pulling out all the fun stuff for all the kids to do and, on and on.

Sticking flags in pots was about all I had the time and energy for this year, and I was actually quite proud of myself that I remembered to do that.

My life has become crazy, my business is growing, my days run into each other, I run from event to event, one weekend to the next, one creative idea to the next, and I love it but I also love the way it used to be running from one playdate to the next, one home decorating project to the next, one relaxing moment to the next. I guess this is just one of those times that I am reminded be careful what you wish for and don't forget to continue to create memories along the way. I will find balance but I don't think it will be soon :) .