{"id":10991,"date":"2012-06-05T13:35:37","date_gmt":"2012-06-05T13:35:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/andersruff.com\/custom-printable-parties\/?p=10991"},"modified":"2014-10-06T11:18:39","modified_gmt":"2014-10-06T15:18:39","slug":"milk-and-cookies-party-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/andersruff.com\/custom-printable-parties\/parties\/birthday-parties\/milk-and-cookies-party-3\/","title":{"rendered":"A Sweet Milk and Cookies Party"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you ‘utter-ly’<\/strong> love milk & cookies?\u00a0 My 2-year old son, Max, does!\u00a0 And what better way to celebrate our little cookie monster’s birthday\u00a0than with a sweet milk & cookies party!<\/p>\n

Ready for the best news?\u00a0 Using Anders Ruff’s darling ‘Vintage Milk & Cookies’<\/a><\/strong> printable set, the party prep was simple & inexpensive, \u00a0& the clean-up was quick!\u00a0I gave myself a little challenge for this event & pulled\u00a0off the party prep & planning in a matter of days and with a very limited budget.\u00a0 You can too!<\/p>\n

What we LOVE about this party:
\n– The DIY cookie jar favor jars (tutorial here<\/strong><\/a>)
\n– The barn feel with the hay bales<\/a><\/strong>
\n– Max’s birthday shirt
\n– The fan backing on the logos and bunting pennants (Tutorial here<\/strong><\/a>)<\/p>\n

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Other great parties to check out:<\/strong>
\n– \u00a0Vintage Milk and Cookies Baby Shower<\/a><\/strong>
\n– Cookie Monster<\/a><\/strong>
\n– Baker’s Sweet Milk and Cookies Party<\/a><\/strong>
\n– A Gorgeous Farm Birthday Party<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

{Doesn’t the birthday boy look excited to be wearing his custom shirt by Sweet Threads Clothing Co.<\/a><\/strong> ?}<\/p>\n

{FIVE TIPS FOR EASY & BUDGET FRIENDLY PARTY PLANNING}:<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m sharing some of my favorite tips & tricks for tying an event together with minimal effort, but without sacrificing style or breaking the bank.<\/p>\n

First:\u00a0 Choose a theme!\u00a0 <\/strong>Choosing a theme early in the planning process helps to eliminate a great deal of stress as it narrows down much of the decision making process.\u00a0 Invitations, activities, decor, party favors, food & color scheme will naturally coordinate with the chosen theme. Once you’ve decided on a theme, a plan can start to take shape!<\/p>\n

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As you can see, I chose a darling vintage milk & cookies theme.\u00a0 With my son’s current cookie obsession, this theme fit perfectly!\u00a0 The printable invitation<\/a><\/strong> & graphics package<\/a><\/strong> we chose from Anders Ruff<\/a><\/strong>, set the\u00a0feel\u00a0of our theme & the color palette.\u00a0 That is the beauty of using printable graphics!\u00a0 They help\u00a0stylishly and effortlessly guide both the overall feeling of an event & also help tie in the fun little details that will knock your guests’ socks off!\u00a0 Lucky for you, Anders Ruff<\/strong> <\/a>offers printable invitations and party packages in dozens of very unique and popular themes!<\/p>\n

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‘Moo’-ving<\/strong> right along…\u00a0 After last year’s big ‘First Bee Day’ Celebration (seen here<\/a><\/strong>), it was nice to keep things simple.\u00a0\u00a0 Max’s grandparents were excited to receive this adorable invitation<\/a><\/strong>, perfectly customized for his sweet celebration.\u00a0 The invitation sets the stage for your event & is the first glimpse of your chosen theme that your guests will have! $\"\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n

Second:\u00a0 Take inventory!\u00a0 <\/strong>With your chosen theme in mind, before heading out to shop for your event, look around your house to see what you already have that can be used as is<\/em> or even repurposed.\u00a0 You will be amazed by what you already have that you can use.\u00a0 Here are a few things I discovered in my home:<\/p>\n

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An antique white farm style beadboard side table from my office was used as the focal point for our dessert display<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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A cherry wood sofa table was used to display additional cookies<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Ikea jars with metal lids\u00a0were dressed up with\u00a0Anders Ruff<\/a><\/strong> printable flat labels and housed several yummy\u00a0varieties of\u00a0cookies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Wood letters that spell MAX–leftover from last year’s party– got a fresh coat of paint and gave a nice pop of color to our main dessert bar.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Old Starbucks Frappacino bottles (donated by a friend) had their labels removed and were sterilized\u00a0to\u00a0resemble vintage milk bottles. (or \u00a0you can purchase them here<\/strong><\/a>)<\/li>\n
Remnants of burlap fabric<\/strong><\/a> were used to cover tables & wrap milk bottles.<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0 {Look how cute the bottles look with a few simple Anders Ruff<\/a><\/strong> printable embellishments!\u00a0 2″ party logos were attached to handmade paper rosettes & party flags were attached to darling striped straws!}<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Twine & clothes pins were used to hang our birthday bunting made by attaching printable banner elements from the printable ‘Vintage Milk & Cookies’<\/strong> package<\/a> to more handmade rosettes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n $\"\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n
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A round glass vase was transformed into a cookie jar (and provided the inspiration for my cookie jar favors) using custom chocolate brown vinyl lettering from A&E Design Works<\/a>.\u00a0 (Stay tuned for a cookie jar tutorial.)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Tablecloths & serving stands\/platters were all things I already owned and just had to be washed and set in place.\u00a0 {The gorgeous platter, cake stand and tiered stands you see here are part of a beautiful collection from Willow House\u00a0with Angie Bytnar<\/a><\/strong>.}<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Craft paper was used for wrapping gifts.<\/li>\n
Leftover paper shred was utilized for lining cookie trays and embellishing a party hat for the guest of honor.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Once you’ve gathered things you may be able to use from\u00a0your ‘at home’ inventory, make a short list of obvious supplies you may need to either borrow or purchase to carry out your theme. (Color coordinating paper plates, cupcake liners, napkins, etc…)<\/p>\n
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Third:\u00a0 Window Shop! <\/strong>I love shopping for party inspiration and am always amazed by some of the incredible things there are for purchase that can cut down on my prep time and help pull off my vision.\u00a0 Inspiration can come from just about anywhere!\u00a0 I generally like to start at the local dollar store to see what items from my list they may have.\u00a0 (I usually find quite a bit there!)\u00a0 Of course, craft stores, such as JoAnn, Michaels and Hobby Lobby are a must.\u00a0 Purchases made\u00a0at these\u00a0locations\u00a0can be great, especially if you utilize the plethora of coupons that can be\u00a0pulled from local newspapers or printed from online.\u00a0 Thrift stores, grocery stores and discount stores like Ross & TJ Maxx are also full of great party finds.\u00a0 Typically, I go from store to store with my notepad & pen & make notes about the things I see.\u00a0 I generally don’t buy anything on my first trip,\u00a0and try to discipline myself into just jotting down specs about possibilities.\u00a0 This keeps me from overbuying and\/or spending too much on items that I may find cheaper at other stores.\u00a0 (Of course, if there is an incredible sale or a must-have item that has low inventory, you may consider purchasing it on the spot, especially if there is a good return policy.)<\/p>\n
For this particular party, I found the following things from the Dollar Store:<\/p>\n
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small glass bowls that would be fashioned into my take home cookie jar party favors<\/li>\n
cookies (Famous Amos for filling the cookie jars, fudge striped cookies, etc…)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Fourth:\u00a0 Purposefully Shop.<\/strong>\u00a0 With your notes in hand, return to the stores where you found the\u00a0greatest deals for the items needed.\u00a0 Be sure to consider which things\u00a0best meet both your party vision and your budget restrictions.\u00a0 (It’s always a good idea to save receipts in case you don’t end up using something or find an unexpected deal at a future date.)\u00a0 Anything you couldn’t find locally, may now be purchased online.<\/p>\n
I found several fun prop items already on sale at Michaels & JoAnns and was able to use additional money saving coupons.\u00a0 I also scored a few clearance items at Target.\u00a0 Things I purchased included:<\/p>\n
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Hay bales for the dining table centerpiece and dessert table<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Galvanized bucket and milk jugs for displaying cookies & milk.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Mini wooden crates for each place setting & for the dessert bar.<\/li>\n
Large wooden crates for adding height\/levels to my display and a rustic touch.<\/li>\n
Ceramic cows & milk cartons for a touch of whimsy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Fifth:\u00a0 Simplify Food\/Dessert Prep.<\/strong>\u00a0Unless you absolutely love slaving away in the kitchen, give yourself permission to purchase some of the food\/desserts.\u00a0 It’s a good rule of thumb to opt for a few tried & true homemade items\u00a0that are crowd pleasers & also make for a great presentation.\u00a0 Then, \u00a0fill in the rest of the needed food\/desserts with some\u00a0prepared store bought\u00a0items that require minimal prep & mostly need some simple styling\/arranging.\u00a0 From those purchased items, I like to splurge on 2-3 specialty\/gourmet items for that added WOW factor.\u00a0 These specialty items generally serve two purposes–they act as a dessert & due to their custom nature, also usually function as part of the decor too!<\/p>\n
How did I do this for our ‘Milk & Cookies’ party?\u00a0 By sticking to a simple ‘milk & cookies’ theme, it meant\u00a0I didn’t need to do a huge dessert table.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I chose a couple of favorite recipes we’d make–my husband’s whoopie pies and my Oreo truffles.<\/p>\n
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From Costco & Walmart, we purchased some prepackaged cookies and found fun ways to arrange them.<\/p>\n
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Our fun ‘splurge’\/ gourmet items were these gorgeous cookies from Sweet Goosie Girl<\/a> \u00a0 and CookieXchange<\/a>, as well as incredible fondant cupcake toppers from Fondant Flinger, all of which were custom designed to coordinate with both the colors of our event and the printable graphic package.<\/strong><\/p>\n
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We kept our party favors simple & edible too, and by coordinating them with the party colors, we got twice the bang for our buck because they served as part of the decor until they were taken home by guests!<\/p>\n
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Adorable milk carton favors from Anders Ruff’s printable package<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0held supplies of \u00a0Milk<\/em> Duds and Milk<\/em> Chocolate Malt Balls.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n $\"\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n
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Milk<\/em> chocolate bars were embellished with custom candy bar wrappers from Anders Ruff’s Vintage Milk & Cookies printable package<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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\u00a0Cute chocolate and white striped sacks with coordinating party printables were available for take away treats.\u00a0 Family members loved being able to select a few extra cookie favorites to take home for later.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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Guests also got to take home the mini cookie jar favors from their place setting.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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We had a wonderful day celebrating one sweet little boy.<\/p>\n
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Vendor Credits:<\/strong>
\nEvent Styling:\u00a0 Jen Carver, Banner Events<\/a>
\nPrintable Graphic Designs:\u00a0 Anders Ruff Custom Designs<\/a>
\nInvitation here:
\n<\/a>Party Printables here:
\n<\/a>Custom Shirt:\u00a0 Sweet Threads Clothing Co.<\/a>
\nCustom Milk Bottle Cookies:\u00a0 Sweet Goosie Girl<\/a>
\nCustom Monogram Cookies:\u00a0 CookieXchange
\n<\/a>Custom Fondant Cupcake Toppers:\u00a0 Fondant Flinger<\/a>
\nCustom Vinyl (for cookie jar favors):\u00a0 A&E Design Works<\/a>
\nStriped Straws\/Cupcake Liners\/Polka Dot Balloons\/striped sacks:\u00a0 Smidge and Pinch<\/a> & Hey Yo Yo<\/a>
\nServingware:\u00a0 Willow House with Angie Bytnar
\n<\/a><\/strong>Photography:\u00a0 Mi Vida Photography by Rebecca Pierce<\/a><\/p>\n
Supply Resources:<\/strong><\/span>
\n– Hay Bales here<\/strong><\/a>
\n– Small and Large Wooden Crates here<\/strong><\/a>
\n– Terra Cotta saucers here<\/strong><\/a>
\n– Burlap here<\/strong><\/a>
\n– Wood Knobs here<\/strong><\/a>
\n– Jute here<\/strong><\/a>
\n– Milk Bottles for Drinks here<\/strong><\/a>
\n–\u00a0Brown Striped Straws here<\/a><\/strong>
\n– Glass Bowls for the favors here<\/strong><\/a>
\n– Ceramic Cows here<\/strong><\/a>
\n– Anders Ruff Printable Milk Carton here<\/strong><\/a>
\n– Polka dotted Balloons here<\/strong><\/a>
\n– Striped Straws here<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Do you ‘utter-ly’ love milk & cookies?\u00a0 My 2-year old son, Max, does!\u00a0 And what better way to celebrate our little cookie monster’s birthday\u00a0than with a sweet milk & cookies party! Ready for the best news?\u00a0 Using Anders Ruff’s darling ‘Vintage Milk & Cookies’ printable set, the party prep was simple & inexpensive, \u00a0& the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":11698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,1481,1480],"tags":[986,1413,1415,154,3014,1412,1414,167],"class_list":["post-10991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-birthday-parties","category-birthday-partyfolio","category-partyfolio","tag-chocolate","tag-cookie-jars","tag-cookie-party","tag-cookies-2","tag-diy","tag-milk","tag-rustic","tag-vintage"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/andersruff.com\/custom-printable-parties\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/andersruff.com\/custom-printable-parties\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/andersruff.com\/custom-printable-parties\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andersruff.com\/custom-printable-parties\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andersruff.com\/custom-printable-parties\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10991"}],"version-history":[{"count":128,"href":"https:\/\/andersruff.com\/custom-printable-parties\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31429,"href":"https:\/\/andersruff.com\/custom-printable-parties\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10991\/revisions\/31429"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andersruff.com\/custom-printable-parties\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/andersruff.com\/custom-printable-parties\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andersruff.com\/custom-printable-parties\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/andersruff.com\/custom-printable-parties\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}