Mermaid Party by THE Kate Landers!

Have you heard of Kate Landers?  THE Kate Landers?!  Well, if you haven’t, it’s about time you did.  She is a high profile party designer who is A.MAZ.ING.  Kate is also a follower of HowDoesShe and decided to share some of her party planning secrets with us!  If you love a dreaming up parties, pay attention! 😉  Kate will be explaining the inspiration, creation, and details of her newest signature party by Kate Landers Events, LLC: A Mystical Mermaid Party!  I’m listening Kate!  Take it away….

{The Inspiration}

A lovely client requested a mystical mermaid party design the beginning of the summer, and it was an absolute joy coming up with the party design details for her daughters’ (two!) birthday celebration.  She wanted a non-traditional mermaid party; mythical, mystical and imaginative–a dream come true for me!  I loved it so much, in fact, that I just had to re-create one of my own!
The images in this post are from a re-creation of the mystical mermaid party I designed for my client.  It was photographed by the lovely Andrea of Open Shade Studios (can’t say enough wonderful things about her–she is FABULOUS!) *There are a few images of my own, which are noted as such, but are obvious in lack of quality from Andrea’s amazing work!*  You will see details from the original mystical mermaid party design I created for the client along with a few unique “Kate Landers” additions.  The color scheme is natural sand tones, mixed with white and soft coral pinks.  At the client’s request, accents of a “sea weed green” were used throughout–love that idea!  What is unique to this post is that throughout it you will find links to many of the designers and resources for products used in this party–you can order them direct for your own event!

{Our Mermaid Story}

There are several amazing stories about mermaids.  In my research I learned that they are beautiful creatures, often with long flowing hair, and sing the sweetest songs that lure captains of large ships right over to them.  Mermaids often sit high on rocks, and when the ships draw near, they crash into the large rocky masses under the water, and sink.  The mermaids then swim down and steal whatever beautiful treasures they can find. Mermaids adore pearls, silver and other treasures from both land and sea.

Based on this one account of mermaids, I decided to create a mystical mermaid party that takes place on the ocean floor, where the mermaids  (guests) would gather amongst their greatest treasures they stole from sunken ships.

This party is indoors–let’s face it, girls can love mermaids 12 months of the year, and can’t choose when their birthday is!   Therefore, I designed this mermaid party that is as beautiful in January as it is in July– no matter what the weather may be where you live!

{The Invitation}

The client opted for one of my favorite mermaid invitation ideas, a glittered starfish wand with a custom printed tag attached with flowing ribbon!  When you have a smaller guest list, a beautiful 3-D object like this is an option well-worth considering.  The actual size of the attached invitation is smaller; for the purposes of showing up in photographs, I enlarged it!  The invitations are available through custom order in our shoppe!  Starfish wands available as well, please inquire.

{Setting The Scene}

It was important to create an experience for the birthday girls and their guests to feel as if they were mermaids, and real sand seemed like the perfect thing to help create the proper environment!  A large brown tarp {from Lowes} was placed on the floor, covered with 250 lbs of play box sand (when the party is over clean up is easier with the tarp, and you can refresh your own sand box, or donate to a local school or church playground).

Check out the gorgeous felt mermaid party favors exclusively made for us by the lovely Miss Jane; each with hand stitched details and pearl accents, available by special order now, and soon to be in our shoppe!  One of the activities was for the girls to find treasures in the sand (pearls, sand dollars, sea shells) to collect and use to adorn their own beautiful hair comb and mirror!)

{Kids Table Design}

With all the sand, it was important the children got to feel it.  I used a low-lying coffee table placed over the sand, and chair cushions allowed the mermaid guests to sit comfortably on the “ocean floor”.  The table was set with a gorgeous ruffle edged burlap table runner, created by the incredibly talented Carolyn of Sweet Tea and Linen.  The burlap runner gives a sandy color and texture, and the ruffled ends create mermaid tails on either side of the table.  Speaking of mermaid tails, I can’t get over the most precious ruffle trimmed white napkins {by Pom Pom At Home from Layla Grayce}. They are spectacular… I folded and pressed them so they represented ruffled mermaid tails at each place setting.
Little glass bottles of soft pink and white sea glass (only to look at and hold under adult supervision!) were lined down the center of the table creating a beautiful sea-inspired centerpiece.  Later, each guest could take home their own bottle as a party favor and use as a decoration in their room {bottles and sea glass both from Michaels}. Please note these are glass and are not toys; they require adult supervision at all times.

One of my all-time favorite home decoration staple: a pair of white “Dauphine” candlesticks by Rosanna, Inc, from Layla Grayce.  They are absolutely stunning in real life–photos do NOT do them justice! They are tall so on a low-lying coffee table, I knew candles would be too much.  Therefore, I topped each candlestick with vintage ruffled milk glass saucers, each holding three petite sea anemone cupcakes {these spectacular coral sea anemone cupcake toppers, edible of course, were crafted by the incredibly talented Olga of Sweet Bouquet}.

Here’s a “pelican’s view” of the mermaid table!

Anyone who knows me and my events, understands that for me it is crucial to provide that experience for the guests. Therefore, I wanted to create something romantic, feminine, mystical and sea-inspired to create the illusion the girls were under water…beautiful ivory tulle was just the thing! Wedding tulle {wider} was draped from above…oh, and because I couldn’t resist, a vintage-inspired chandelier was hung above the table to add more “Coastal Shabby Chic”-inspired charm and beauty. {tulle from JoAnn Fabrics}

Each place setting featured a “bubbled” vintage milk glass bowl on top of a ruffled vintage milk glass saucer.  What about the menu? Shells (the pasta variety) and cheese, of course (No time to cook? I recommend the shells and cheese from Panera Bread)!  We printed darling place cards at each setting.  You will also notice the darling child-size goblets.  These are plastic, child-safe, and a new item soon available for purchase in our shoppe–I adore them!!

Mini starfish cookie wands were also at each place setting, tied in cellophane with a gorgeous raw silk cream and pink ribbon {hand crafted by Renee of  Bee’s Knees Creative}.  A bowl of pearls was on the table–pearls were used throughout the dessert table, part of a craft (decorating their own hair combs) and activity (searching in the sand for pearls, shells and other treasure), and as they are a beautiful adornment from the ocean itself, they had to be part of this mystical mermaid party! {pearls from Michaels and JoAnn Fabrics}.  Other activities included decorating handheld mirrors (Mermaids are said to love mirrors and their own reflections) with jewels (with an adhesive back), pin-the-tail-on-the-mermaid (felt game) and a game where the girls swim in their stomachs on the floor to the music, and when it stops they must stop–whoever doesn’t stop on cue is out–continue to play until there is one swimmer left!  For entertainment, hiring a person trained to make extraordinary sea-creature balloon animals is fun for the little ones, and a singing coach to teach the mermaids to sing like sirens is better for the older ones.

{Mermaid Dessert Table}

The mermaid dessert table was specifically designed to feature sea-inspired desserts; the backdrop served as white ocean waves, and the burlap tablecloth made for an “ocean floor” base.  These very neutral colors allowed the vivid corals in the desserts to pop, and allow the desserts to have a stage in which to really show off their beauty!  For the table covering, I knew I wanted a simple yet spectacular base, and a gorgeous gathered floor length burlap custom-made-to-order tablecloth, by none other than the amazing Carolyn of Sweet Tea and Linen, was perfect in every way.  I am in love with this tablecloth, and will add it as a regular item of Shabby Chic-inspired decor to our home (and for other events, of course).  It provided the texture and look of the sandy ocean floor, and tied in with the burlap table runner on the mermaid’s table perfectly! A chandelier over the dessert table adds a spectacular element, and when it is done in the same shade as the backdrop, it blends in as to not overpower the desserts, but still has a striking appearance.  For the backdrop I originally designed and created a backdrop of white ruffled muslin with hand-stitched loose ruffles for a whimsical look (very, very homemade!).  Then, a much prettier idea was presented to me in August to use a ruffled shower curtain as a backdrop (via a facebook post by The TomKat Studio–thanks for the great inspiration Kim!), and I went on the hunt for a stunning *white* ruffled shower curtain.

It was none other than the amazing Layla Grayce that had the most beautiful one I had ever seen!  Much prettier than my hand-made muslin backdrop (and more even rows of ruffles, too!)!  So I loosely pressed the layers and up it went to provide a feminine ruffled, Shabby Chic-inspired background for the dessert table, resembling beautiful waves of the ocean for all the mermaid guests to enjoy {On a personal note: I have a cozy white bathroom with white marble floors, white subway tiles, an old porcelain bathtub and pedestal sink–this shower curtain would be PERFECT!}

{The Cakes}

The birthday cake was a simple, smooth white fondant cake with 3 spectacular hand crafted (and edible of course) sea “flower-inspired” anemones, in shades of white, pale pink and a soft coral pink {created by the amazing Sweet Petal Bakery}.  The base of the cake was adorned with a camel colored velvet ribbon.  Below it, to give the cake more height, was another larger clear glass beaded cake stand, loaded with raw sugar “sand” and beautiful white and light pink sand dollars and sugared pearls.  My dream for this party was to have beautiful sea stars, anemones, urchins, and other beautiful things you might find on the ocean floor.  One of the most spectacular of all of these desserts was the sea urchin cake.  These phenomenal (edible) sea urchins were also hand crafted by the illustrious Sweet Petal Bakery , and made for a striking appearance (note: I did not make ensure the cake was strong enough to hold up these beauties, therefore the cake did “sink” inward!–lesson learned).

{The Desserts}

Raw sugar {by Domino Sugar} made perfect “sand”, clear glass bead-rimmed containers {from Home Goods} served as vessels for most of the treats, and I tied raw silk ribbons {from The Paper Source} with generously streaming “tails” around some of the pieces for a whimsical, flowing look.  Sweet Petal Bakery also created these beautiful clam shells with sugared pearls!  Look at the spectacular detail!!!! I am in awe. These would be perfect on a cake or cupcakes, I just let them stand alone on sugar “sand” for effect.

These sweet pale pink octopus cupcake toppers, custom created by the amazing Two Sugar Babies, keep the dessert table child-friendly, and look sweet atop white frosted cupcakes in white ruffled baking cups.  I can’t help but smile when I look at their darling faces, so precious these octopi are!Beautiful swirled pink and white chocolate dipped pretzel rods {by CocoaConfections} were whimsical beauties and delicious–they served as “sea spike” seashells, in gorgeous chocolate/cream and light pink/cream designs. Chocolate dipped pretzel rods by CocoaConfections really added perfect height to the dessert table. The candy sea-glass was one of the desserts I was most excited about. I love sea glass (it is used in our home as decoration in clear glass apothecary jars), and the idea of “edible sea glass” astounded me.  This beautiful coral pink and caramel tan sea glass candy was beautifully created by Jessica of Nothing Bakes Like A Parrot.  I do recommend this as a dessert for the adults only (which is GREAT because dessert tables at children’s parties I design are always enjoyed by parents as well, and it is terrific to have something just for them!). Sea sponges have always been fascinating, and they come in so many varieties. These “sea sponge” sweets were created out of the most amazing melt-in-your-mouth handmade marshmallows by Asian Inspired Desserts and Cookies Baked by Fusion Sweets. These are the grasshopper ones (chocolate and mint, yummmm), which I dusted in extra powdered sugar, and added “bubbles/holes” by poking them with the wider and pointier edge of a toothpick. {Exclusive dessert feature later this week will show you how gorgeous they are BEFORE I turned them into “sponges”}.  Speaking of sponge-like sweets, brown-butter madeleines by Sparkles Kitchen made perfect edible “scallop shells”. Pearlized white gumballs are a perfect traditional take-home sweet for this dessert table!  Mini sugared pearls were used all over the table, sprinkled about and mixed in with the raw sugar sand. They were served as “Turtle Eggs” (these are SOFT sugared pearls, be careful you know which you are serving!)  Sugar and cinnamon coated doughnut holes {Dunkin Donuts} make “Sandy Sweets”.  This idea was inspired by one I saw on Save The Dake For Cupcakes (Thank you Tanya!)

A huge hit were the stunning pearlized pink candy sea horse pops by Leslie’s Likables {sweetleslie540} (complete with sugar pearl accents to match the party–these are spectacular in person!). I love Leslie’s candy on sticks for height on a dessert table. Leslie’s Likables {sweetleslie540} also created a fabulous chocolate shell box {not featured} that makes a perfect party favor or cake topper.  In my case, I took all the amazing chocolate starfish, seashells and mini seahorses out of it, and served them as “Mermaid Delights”!I always love old fashioned rock candy sticks, and the pale pink ones served as “geode crystals” for the mermaid dessert table. They always great texture and sparkle to a table.  A truly delicious and always popular dessert table treat are custom decorated sugar cookies.  These cookies by Bee’s Knees Creative are above and beyond–taste is incredible, and they were all decorated to my specifications, turning into beautifull sand dollars, starfish, mini sea stars, scallop shells, and sea horses. Renee always creates the perfect cookies for me! The stunning candlesticks were used here as well, with the anemone cupcakes (anemones/sea flowers by Olga of Sweet Bouquet), really bringing that splash of coral that pops against the white backdrop!

{Costumes and Birthday Attire}

It is always important to me that the birthday child (or children in this case) and their guests wear something to help fuel their imagination and “become” a character. I created this mermaid tail skirt with a shiny caramel tulle, layered over a white vintage skirt, and completed with a “burlap” ribbon bow at the waist {burlap ribbon from Michaels; caramel shiny tulle from JoAnn Fabrics}.  The tail trails the birthday girl (and of course, you can do these for each guest as well) in the back!  I was ecstatic to find this sweet tulle dress, which I adorned with a pale peachy-pink wide double-faced satin ribbon sash, which had a variety of my own vintage and custom tulle-and-pearl pins attached, perfect for the birthday girl to wear at the party (I love the mermaid tail to be used in the dress up chest long after)!

{Party Favors}

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{Sigh}.  All the details are simply perfect.  Kate, thank you for sharing your expertise on this gorgeous party with us.  For more party inspiration make sure to visit Kate Landers Events.  —What party themes are you dreaming of creating?