Get Your Valentine's Day Party Started!

The Valentine's Countdown that I'm hosting over at Nickelodeon's Parents Connect kicks off today with inspiration for a celebration worthy of Cupid himself!  You'll find six ideas that will get your party planning juices flowing from some of my favorite peeps around - Anders Ruff, The White Library, Southern Belle's Charm, Paper, Plate + Plane, One Charming Party and The Purple Pug.

Speaking of the Purple One, here's a closer look at the Monster Love Valentine's Rave she put together.

Is that supercalifragilisticexpiali-awesome or what? 

What I love most about this set up is that Kristy, aka The Purple Pug, created it using things she already had on hand.  In my book, the key to planning a successful get-together - whether it's a simple play date or a more involved party - is using things you have in new and creative ways.  It will make your guests go "Why didn't I think of that?" and best of all, won't break the bank!   Without further ado, here's the scoop on how the Monster Love Valentine's Rave came about.

Kristy went with little twist on Valentine’s day décor by using non-traditional colors that are perfect for boys and girls. She also used lots of kid friendly materials, like yarn and kraft paper (brown paper bags would work well too).

She started off making the yarn pom pom monster - pom poms are so easy to make with the kids! - and embellished them with eyes, feathers, pipe cleaners and craft pom poms to make them come to life.

The table backdrop was wrapped in kraft paper and featured a printable mini-banner by the fantabulous Kori of Paper and Pigtails.

Kristy printed at home, glittered it up and assembled it using some kitchen twine. Kori also designed two different coordinating patterned papers that Kristy mimicked in the backdrop by adding the swirls of yarn and random felt hearts.  I love the whimsical look!

Kristy used the newest project in her shop, Heart Art, as tags for the favor bags.

They're pictures drawn by her pug puppies - aka her kids - with glitter accents that she attached to brown paper lunch bags.  She folded the tops over, cut the edge with scalloped scissors and tied them shut with scraps of yarn, which she also used to line the platter.

I mentioned the patterned paper Kori designed and here's an example of how it was used.

 
She wrapped pieces around Trident gum packages and finished them off with pieces of kitchen twine.  So simple and co cute!

For refreshments, Kristy stuck with shopping in her own pantry.  These adorable and perfectly coordinated hearts?

Are Pop Tars cut with a heart-shaped cookie cutter and stacked on the top of the box, which Kristy covered in the patterned paper and wrapped with yarn.  Could you just die? 

You can probably guess what these are.

That's right - Ring Dings.  The Pug took a small paper mache hat box she had lying around, made a little heart garland out of felt for the perimeter, topped it off with a few doilies on top and put some handmade glittered toppers in the pastries to give them some flair.

When the little monsters got thirsty, there was monster juice ready and waiting - just tiny glasses with googly eyes attached and filled with various clear, colored drinks, like Kool Aid and Gatorade.

So there you have it!  All the detes on how to create an adorable and unique kid-and-wallet-friendly party like this yourself.  Take a tip from Kristy - work with items you have around the house and put them together with a little Monster Love for a totally sweet and lovable presentation!

Thanks to The Purple Pug for sharing and head on over to the Valentine's Countdown at Parents Connect for more Valentine's Day party ideas and to win some terrific prizes! 

Images: The Purple Pug