Wizard of Oz Party and {Surprise Giveaway With The TomKat Studio}!

There's No Place Like Home.

This is one of my favorite lines from The Wizard of Oz...as I feel it rings true in so many, many ways. This party was designed purely out of joy and a source of inspiration for you!

**ALL FABULOUS party photos are by the amazing Andrea of Open Shade Studios--a true delight and talent!***

{note: this is a lengthy blog post, but one I hope you find heartfelt and inspirational...at the end will be a VERY special surprise giveaway sponsored by Kim of The TomKat Studio! AND there is a giveaway for Kate Landers Events, LLC, hosted on Kim's blog, so be sure to hop over there to ENTER!!!}

{The Party Inspiration}

While I am fully aware of the many political meanings in the story The Wizard of Oz, as well as the adaptations made to create a movie out of the book (such as changing Dorothy's slippers from silver to ruby red!), there is one message in particular that stands out to me, as spoken by Dorothy:

Dorothy: "...I think that...if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard."

                                                        {from The Wizard of Oz; source unknown}           
What is it about this line that means so much? To me it reminds us that there really is no place like home; that our own imaginations can take us to the greatest places in the entire world--and you don't need to go anywhere great adventures!

                                                      {from The Wizard Of Oz; source unknown}
As you may know, I truly adore celebrating the lives of children as they are each so precious, and in particular, I love designing events that fuel their imagination.

                                             {from The Wizard of Oz; source unknown}
Therefore, creating a party based on a film that teaches the value of our imaginations and all the power we already have within ourselves (that you need not seek out for from others), was a dream come true. I believe building a healthy self-esteem within children is crucial, and there is a great message about self-esteem within The Wizard of Oz as well.

                                            {from The Wizard of Oz; source uknown}
 I also am known for creating small, intimate celebrations held at home, therefore "There's No Place Like Home" has another special meaning to me, as I have always felt that a party at a child's home can be very, very magical and bring a lifetime of memories within the very house they dwell in.

                                           {from The Wizard of Oz; source unknown}

{The Collaboration}

The idea for a Wizard of Oz party struck me last spring, and Kim of The TomKat Studio was the VERY first person that popped into my mind to collaborate with. I loved her daughter's fairy party cake and styling, and knew it would be a great honor to have the privilege of working with her.

I knew I wanted to focus the party on Dorothy, allowing each guest to feel as if they are Dorothy taking an exciting journey through Oz.

The message that Dorothy learns and shares with us was what I wanted to the the primary theme of the party to be. TheWizard of Oz is such a masterpiece, I could come up with 1001 ways to interpret it and style a party around it--but by selecting a specific meaning close to my heart and that I believe offers great values to young girls, was a no-brainer, and absolute direction for me.

I believe there are so many incredibly talented designers and stylists, and Kim has a special knack for creating things that are absolutely adorable; after seeing her Alice in Wonderland-inspired silhouette invitation, I knew a Dorothy silhouette and gingham detailing from her would be my dream come true for this party!

{Side note: I was so impressed with the gorgeous items Kim designed, cut, hand glittered and sent for the party, I actually feel I owe a full blog post dedicated to Kim and her incredible work--therefore stay tuned next week for a full exclusive interview with Kim! In it I will take the time to really share with you my sincere warm thoughts and deep appreciation for Kim and her work on this collection and styling too--a chance to give her a spotlight I believe she deserves for her work on this party which I simply cannot write in full detail in this post! }

Last spring when I contacted Kim, pitching this idea, she could not have been more warm and welcoming! She was on board right away, and I only mentioned gingham and a Dorothy silhouette, and she created one of the most precious printable collections I ever could have imagined from two very generic ideas!


{The Invitations & Printable Collection}

The extraordinary Jessica from Pen N' Paper Flowers was an instrumental part in the design of the darling Dorothy silhouette, which would be used throughout every printable piece for the party. The powerhouse duo of Jess and Kim knocked it right out of the park!

Kim created a custom new FULL COLLECTION for our collaborative effort on The Wizard of Oz party, and I instantly fell in love with it.

The invitations, banner, placecards, favor tags, dessert table signs, party circles--oh, each piece tied together pefectly!

{The Dessert Table Design}

I wanted a dessert table that was very "Dorothy-inspired." Thus I went with a design that incorporated periwinkle and white gingham fabric curtains pulled back with giant red sparkling bows (as the amazing photographer pointed out, it not only represented the curtains blowing in Dorothy's window during the tornado, but also reminded you of Dorothy's two braids!).

I also wanted a very smooth, clean white backdrop and floor-length tablecloth, so that I could allow the desserts the opportunity to really shine.

The adorable banner Kim made was just PERFECT! I also wanted the table to be child-friendly, and remembering how Dorothy carried that infamous basket with her throughout her journey, I opted for baskets lined with the gingham fabric or white eyelet trimmed-napkins instead of breakable glass jars or platters--allowing children to reach for a sweet treat and not risk getting hurt!

{The Desserts}

The *amazing* desserts were created by some incredibly talented designers, masters at their craft.

First were the spectacular cookies created using Kim's design for the printables, made by Angela of Queen Of Tarts Cakes.

She also made the most precious gingham cookies with a red initial "E" for birthday girl Emily--CHARMING! Red "disco dust" (edible glitter!) was sprinkled to add that pop to the cookies as well.

Yummy ruby red cake pops were a delightful treat, all beautiful and smooth, created by Sweets On A Stick.

Pristine white chocolate covered oreos were created by the incredibly talented Sweeties by Kim, with a custom checkered pattern designed to mimic the gingham.

I loved the idea of using red poppies on the dessert table--not only for a pop of color, but also to tie into the red poppy fields from the story. Sweet De Ja Vu created the most exquisite edible sugar poppy cupcake toppers that arrived in perfect form, and looked stunning!

Cookies, oh, cookies! The Cookie Jar created an entire COLLECTION of Wizard of Oz inspired cookies, and every single one arrived without a stray crumb anywhere!

First were the basket cookies, an idea Kim had, and made a darling favor as well!

Then there were the lollipop cookies, decorated with some sugar crystals for sparkle! They were perfect for added height on the dessert table, and of course incorporated that infamous guild from The Wizard of Oz!

Then, of course, yellow brick road cookies, which cookie designer Lisa thought to creatively add "brains" "heart" and "courage" to, as that was what the journey on that road was all about--genius!

Badges of Courage cookies were created as well, a popular one with the girls!

One of my personal favorites Lisa made were the Hot Air Balloon Cookies! I absolutely LOVE the unique design!!

Two Sugar Babies creates the cutest fondant cupcake toppers, and this time was no exception.

I came to Charynn with the idea of a "Toto" cupcake topper: a red circle base, white scalloped top, with a black cut out toto with light blue collar--she created PERFECTION! I think I will be ordering some of these for the holidays...thinking little white Westies with a green collar, red scalloped background with green smooth circle base--what do you think?

She also made darling classic rainbow cupcake toppers, a favorite among the girls!

{I should note the custom cupcakes had a tumble on the way to the shoot, so I had to race for a substitute, and used grocery store cupcakes. Needless to say, they weren't my "first choice" (though they were YUMMY!) and the red cupcake wrappers didn't fit well...I was bummed but lesson learned to carry more cupcake wrappers and paper to create custom wraps when needed!)}

Hostess Ding Dongs were a fun treat to tie in a hint about the wicked witch, without making it too scary!

I also wanted there to be real, home made elements on the dessert table, reminding us of Dorothy's life on the farm. Therefore I opted for a simple, small chocolate frosted birthday cake (something you rarely see on a stylish dessert table), which Kim's cake topper made from plain to precious in a heartbeat!

One of the party favors was a darling little jar of the most amazing strawberry pineapple jam by Hope's Pantry. It literally glistens in the sunlight, and there is a TERRIFIC STORY TO THE RECIPE. I am going to be ordering several jars for holiday gifts this year--just darling! They look precious here with Kim's custom party circles--I am guessing Kim will have a perfect holiday party circle to use for my holiday hostess gifts!?!?!

{The Party Table}

Designing the table is a favorite aspect of event styling for me. I knew I wanted lots of clean, fresh white, so the white wooden garden chairs and white floor length table cloth gave a clean space to work with. Then, I wanted to add lots of the periwinkle and white gingham elements, with pops of red.

The first thing I wanted was a custom ruffle-trimmed periwinkle gingham fabric table runner, and the creative gals at Uncommon Fabrics made the PERFECT runner--isn't is darling?

 I also had my dear friend and most talented seamstress I know, Lynn, make each of the girls a darling old-fashioned gingham apron so they all felt like Dorothy (and two of the girls ended up being Dorothy for Halloween thanks to their ruby sparkling shoes and gingham aprons!). Each apron hung on the back of the chair {you may remember this styling created by Life: Beautiful Magazine for my custom gingham party for their beautiful publication in the Summer 2010 issue}.

As you may know, bunting is a trademark of mine at my events, so I had the talented Jaime Mancilla create the most precious pennant flag bunting--petite flags, on several strands adding up to nearly 60 feet! It created a beautiful visual and festive space. Jaime's work was incredible, I could not have been happier, and cannot wait to order more bunting from her--she truly does lovely work!

I hand made each of the darling ruffle trimmed fabric party hats, used old fashioned mason jars for the girls' glasses, simple white plates and silverware. White eyelet-trimmed linen napkins adorned each plate, topped with one of Kim's darling placecards--PRECIOUS!

Red wire cupcake stands added the pops of red I needed, filled with the party cupcakes (and made perfect centerpieces, too!)

{Costumes & Accessories}

I absolutely adore watching the transformation that takes place when a child puts on a costume. I wanted each and every girl to feel like Dorothy, so they were all given their own pair of darling ruby red slippers, of course! {the back of each tag made by Kim had their names so we knew which size went to which girl!}

In addition to their aprons, the girls were given the FULLEST and FRILLIEST pettiskirts to wear, by Dream Spun Kids!

Dream Spun Kids pettiskirts are SPECTACTULAR. I *adore* the gorgeous light blue with red trim one they made JUST for the party!

Dream Spun Kids' pettis are the absolute fullest, made of the softest material, loads and loads of ruffles--I have seen and felt many pettiskirts and these stand above the rest.

They also have gorgeous bows to go on front--some of the girls opted to go without a bow, others with!

Grace was worried as she was taller than the rest of the girls--yet she looked absolutely stunning with those long legs in the perfect petti--I was thrilled to see that no matter what the girl's shape or size was, the pettis fit perfectly.



Miss Emily wore a posh petti tutu from Strawberrie Rose.

WOW. Yet again I have seen many tutus, and these by Strawberrie Rose are by far some of the most well-made, truly posh petti-tutus. Incredibly full and one of the cutest tutus you could imagine--just look at those darling gingham bows!!!! {Emily couldn't keep from playing with it, she loved it SO MUCH!}

Lillian looked LOVELY with the hand made gorgeous gingham fabric rose hair clip by Hailey Rose {brydferth}. Absolutely PRECIOUS! Hailey is a delight to work with, and crafts beautiful things--I loved the treats she made, especially the navy and white gingham fabric rose I will be wearing soon!

Catch a closer look here...

Hailey Rose also made a PRECIOUS headband with a trio of fabric roses. Had to share this one Hailey snapped of it--just darling!

Speaking of hair accessories....Kim's friend at Banner Boutique made the most exquisite, darling glam flower hair clips and headbands with rhinestone centers, dupioni silk rose headhads and sparkly red tuxedo bow hair snaps--and could not have been sweeter!

The girls were absolutely tickled with their GORGEOUS treats!!!!

While Abigail looked sweet as can be with her sequin tuxedo bow, Savannah looked stunning in her red luxe flower head band with rhinestones from Banner Boutique!

Loving these happy girls!

And this close up of Lillian--precious, just like a little Dorothy!

{Having Fun}

The guests really had a ball!

And I love this photo of them all arm-in-arm, like Dorothy, Toto, and her new friends on the yellowbrick road!

{Activities and Games}

These will be coming soon...as the post would be far too long if I included them here. But check back SOON for all the details as the girls made their way from the farm through Oz and back home!

***Several fabulous people collaborated for this party, and I wanted to express to you all how much they were truly remarkable and delights to work with!

 I want to thank each and every single one of you for your participation, you are so incredibly talented, it is a gift knowing you! There are more photos, however I only had so much space, so to each vendor--there are, I promise!***

{SURPRISE GIVEAWAY FROM THE TOMKAT STUDIO}

Last but not least, the amazing Kim of The TomKat Studio is offering one very, VERY lucky reader a $50.00 credit to her darling shop!!! With all her NEW COLLECTIONS, I am sure it will be hard to choose a favorite!

Here's how to enter:

1. Leave a comment on this blog post sharing your favorite details of the Wizard of Oz party.

AND

2. Become a fan of The TomKat Studio (be sure to stop by and tell her hello!)

AND

3. Become a fan of Kate Landers Events, LLC (if you already are one, thank you!)

That's it!!!! For an extra entry, visit Kim's shop and in your comment on this blog post, tell us what you would love to see Kim add to her collection next!

Must be 18 years of age or older to enter.

Giveaway ends on Sunday, November 14th at 11:59pm PST!!!

DON'T FORGET THERE IS A GIVEAWAY FROM KATE LANDERS EVENTS, LLC, on Kim's blog, so be sure to hop over there and enter!!!!