...weekly roundup...

Can you believe it's already October? It seems like just the other day I was lamenting how summer was ending, and now I'm full swing into Fall and excited about it! Pumpkins, Halloween costumes, and the Holiday rush ahead! Well, enough getting ahead of myself... time to slow down and share some highlights from the week:

• A vintage style Sports Ticket Invitation is my latest new addition to my Etsy shop.
• This week I highlighted many great Sports Party ideas-- games, a printable Sports Name Game activity, decoration ideas and more.
• Have you seen Cathe Holden's blog/website, Just Something I Made? One of my all time favorites. She's such a talented designer and so many ideas! You must check it out.
• Martha and her crew are up to it again-- have you seen this very cute Chalkboard Banner/Bunting? 
• Yum, yum, I saw this delicious recipe for a Salted Golden Carmel Bar online this week-- it's basically a gourmet Rice Krispy treat. I think I need to make it this weekend!

Have a great weekend!

...weekly roundup...

10 Years Since Camp Nutenbeier-- My Summer Camp Wedding

It's been a busy week here at B.Nute productions. Lots of work, and new items posted. Below is a round up of the latest and greatest:

• I've been a busy bee trying to update my website full of great party ideas, holiday party ideas, party resources, and of course very cool designs! Check it out.
• I've been wanting to create a series of Paper Doll Party Invitations... and finally have had the opportunity. This week I posted a Halloween Paper Doll Costume Party invitation. I love how it turned out. Keep posted for the next ones to come... a Wedding Shower Paper Doll Party, Baby Shower Paper Doll Party, Princess Paper Doll Party, etc.!
• My son's {very belated} birthday party is coming up... a Pro Sports Championship party... new invite too. I'll post it soon!
• Preppy is back, and I'm ready... Check out my new Preppy Paisley party invites- perfect for a wedding shower, baby shower, birthday or any occassion!

I'm looking forward to the weekend... my husband and I are going to get a chance to celebrate 10 wonderful years! Can't wait for many, many more...

For Your Amusement- Cool Exhibit

While travelling the other day through SFO, I got to check out a very cool exhibit of vintage slot machines.


They all had great graphics on them... Hard to capture, but here's a little taste.



This one would look great in a casino at North Shore Lake Tahoe.



A great Halloween one...



Art Deco style too...

So, if you're travelling United in or out of SFO, be sure to check it out!

... and let the shopping frenzy begin

Assorted Rosie Flo Colouring Books

It's time... Halloween is over and the holiday season is in full swing (eeeghads, how early it begins!) So, to help you out in the shopping madness, I'm going to highlight over the next couple weeks some GREAT finds... at least I think they're pretty neat!

First off is Rosie Flo. I just stumbled upon this colouring (yes, it's British) book at a local book store (in California) and couldn't put it down! Should I let me daughter have this, or should I keep it for myself??!! :)

Sample (low resolution, sorry) Image from Rosie Flo's Animal Colouring Book

Such incredibly creative drawings that you color in. You also have the task of adding a head, legs and arms... anything goes. The book themes are great-- the image above is from the animal coloring book. All the fancy dresses are some type of animal, or animal theme (see above, the bee hive, and the bug wings...)

So, check out the Rosie Flo website, and make sure to get one of these books for that artist in your life... young or old!!

P.S., I found my copy at a local bookstore, but I also found it on Amazon as well.

Jars, Jars and More Jars

To go along with my last post...

how 'bout adding some jars to that game room motif?

Wouldn't these look cute on the mantle,

in a bookshelf or on a side table?

Game pieces are always a hit,

but what about these croquet balls too.

Great vintage wood balls...

I love this idea too!

Cards from any questionare-type game

would be a great addition to my family's dining room table.

It would be really fun at a dinner party as well!

And, then there's the paint brushes in jars...

this may not go well in the newly anointed game room,

but sure could make a great arrangement

pretty much anywhere.

Think of all the rest of the jar decorating possibilities throughout the year...

• Halloween- candy corns, spooky fake spiders, toy eyeballs, etc.
• Thanksgiving - small gourds, fall leaves, acorns, nuts, etc.
• Christmas - ribbon candy, peppermints, small ornaments, bells, tinsel, etc.

and the list goes on.

Have you used jars to decorate in your home? What do you put in them?

Pictures above were taken at Martis Camp, Lake Tahoe.

Themes Aren’t for Everyone... or Are They?

So, I have to tell a story... I love this story, it makes me smile in satisfaction every time I think of it!

For my wedding, I did the theme-thing... I know, you’re thinking, “eeeeghads, she’s one of those types of people...” I think I could get away with the theme-thing for a wedding in my family because a) I’m the youngest of 4, so our family had experienced many traditional weddings, and a theme would be a good change... and b) I’m the “artist-one”, so I could get away with it!!

We had our wedding weekend up in Lake Tahoe, California. A place that holds so many memories for me, from the time I was a baby, to even living up there a couple years right after college. I decided on going with an “old time Tahoe”/summer camp theme. Think of the rustic lodge-look, mixed with that Tatum O’Neill/Kristy McNickel movie about coming of age in summer camp. I wanted that. Sophistication, fun and maybe a little wild behavior too! :)

As I dove into creating the theme; grouping the guests into “cabins”, coming up with camp activities like knot tying, lanyards, learning guitar, and creating boy scout inspired badge books for each guest, I got a little feedback from my father, one who’s opinion I always take to heart.

He said, “I think your ideas are great, this will be so much fun, but when I think of many of our friends that we’ve invited, I just don’t know how many will really participate, Sweetie. I’d expect only 20-30% or so. Will that be OK with you?”

“Yes.” I said... I heard him, I’d be OK with that, but I thought, maybe he’s wrong with this one??

Sure enough, the participation was AMAZING... 100% if not even more. We ran out of boy scout badges! My husband’s elderly grandfather and my grandmother were giving it their all learning guitar chords... one of my mom’s friends artistically created a nature-inspired frame that hangs in her home even today, and many folks put on their bi-focals to figure out how on earth you make a lanyard! And, yes, the bar badge (received by drinking a good amount of beverages), was a hit too!

At toast time, I had the counselors add up all the badges per cabin, and announce the winning cabin. It was quite a scene... no matter the age, everyone loves a little competition. The winning cabin all got camp t-shirts, and wore them with pride!

I know, there are still many theme-nay-sayers out there.... I saw a t-shirt on a woman at a Halloween party. It read, “I don’t do costumes.” Well she doesn’t know what she’s missing! She needs to come to a bnute party-- that will change her mind!

Making a Party an Experience

I knew my Master’s thesis would come in handy one day! I remember the semester before I worked on my thesis, I spent a day in the New York Public Library researching ideas on what I’d like to explore. There I was in in the library-- an incredible old open space in the middle of Manhattan-- wooden tables, old fashioned lamps, and miles and miles of bookcases. I had a stack of books in front of me, and picked up one called, “Art as Experience.” I was enthralled. This is what I WANTED!! I wanted my thesis to be an experience. I wanted people to see/experience my thesis and remember it. Not for the colors, or an image, but as anyone would remember a memory... I wanted them to walk away, and a year or 2 later remember what they had experienced -- the feelings the images evoked, the people they met, the conversations they had...

Enough about my thesis, that’s a whole separate discussion and I’m sure a lengthy one... but here it is -- SEVERAL (yes, several) years later, and I’m thinking the same thing. I want bnute productions’ Party Kits to evoke an experience for the party attendees. I want party goers to remember your event and not be just one of the same of the many, many parties that they go to each year... I want your party to stand out. I want to make it an experience.

So, how shall we do that, you ask?
1.Give Context - Set a tone, Give a Story, Get Artifacts, Turn on the Music
When the atmosphere is in the theme, it will make the event much more memorable... and even folks who just “don’t like themes” might get into it! I remember a Halloween party I went to over 10 years ago. The hostess went all out in a true haunted house style... tattered curtains, cobwebs, old trinkets on display. She even swapped out all of her everday photos in frames with haunting images. It was great! I didn’t even stay too long at the party, it was one of many that night-- back before kids, before marriage, but to this day, I definitely remember the details, I felt like I was in a haunted house out on some spooky property, not in a victorian apartment in Cole Valley, San Francisco.

2.Use their Senses - Sights, Sounds, Smells, Taste, and Touch
Don’t forget the little things-- and the senses we forget about (say, touch, or sounds, even smells...) it’s these senses that really stick in our head, and make us remember an event more than another. Take for example a certain smell... whenever I first walk into my parent’s house, after I haven’t been there in awhile, I take a deep breath.... it’s the smell... their beautiful 1930’s home definitely has a distinct stately smell that reminds me of home. After I’ve been in it for awhile... a night, a day, whatever the visit, the smell diminshes as I get involved in the activites, conversations, and festivities. It’s that initial smell... One I’ll never forget!
3.Let Loose and Let Their Imaginations Run Wild
Dress ups, talking in the lingo of the theme, games or a little competition set in the theme is always fun, and will definitely make the event stand out from the rest. I love to dress up... even now! There have been few dress up events where I haven’t participated... whatever the reason that day/evening when I was getting ready-- too tired, “just not into it...” I just didn’t get into it, and didn’t dress up... and how I regretted it. The party wasn’t nearly as fun as the parties where I get “into it!” I think it’s that little extra commitment that you make to the event-- like I’m GOING to dress up, I’m going to talk only in an English accent... whatever the effort, it pays off in the end for a great experience, and fun, even funny memories! So, set out extra dress ups for those who don’t think they need it... set out a “lingo” dictionary... and get everyone into it!

4.Have fun!
No explanation needed here!