Stix n Pops: Monters Party Photoshoot by Elissa Stone

Today's Blog guest is Elissa Stone from One Stone Events, I had the opportunity to work with her on a Fun Monsters Party styled Photo Shoot for Bird's Party Magazine. It was an honor to work with such a talented woman. Please make sure to visit One Stone Events website and facebook page....Elissa styles just beautiful party and events.... and now lets have Elissa talk a little about herself and the the details about this cute Monsters Party scape!

Elissa Stone from One Stone Events

I'm really excited to be guest blogging today at StixNpops! Elizabeth collaborated with me on this 'Little Monster' Party' for Bird's Party Magazine. Her marshmallow pops are so much fun and they were a great addition to the shoot. I really appreciate Elizabeth letting me hang out on her blog today. I hope you all enjoy the party. I am moving into the niche of boutique party styling, so keep an eye out for my new blog, coming soon. And now, onto the party details!

Because the color palette is very bright and exciting, I chose to let those colors really pop off bright white linens and platters. I wanted to add another pattern to the polka dots, so I went with stripes; always a nice complement. You can imagine how excited I was when I found striped wrapping paper in the exact same colors as the darling ‘Little Monsters’ printable collection I was designing to.

Dessert table: While I am careful to not design so literally to a theme, the hanging installment of koosh monsters and balls was too fun to pass up! I knew the moment I saw those, what I wanted to do with them. They were so full of color and texture and added the quirk factor I’m always looking for. I spent a long time hanging them at various heights and levels and on different planes to get the right balance.

TIP: Take pictures with your camera as you set up to get a different view of what your table looks like. This helped me find the balance when hanging everything, so I knew what it would look like in pictures.

I made the paper rosettes, using Bird’s party circles as the center. I used those to frame out the hanging installment.

I used science beakers for décor, vessels and as buffet sign holders. I made colored water with food coloring and bought dry ice to create a really cool effect on the table.

Some TIPS about dry ice: bring a cooler with you to pick it up. Always use tongs or gloves when handling. Don’t touch the dry ice directly. Warm water makes thicker fog. You can use it in a drink dispenser, as long as it is not touched or ingested. The liquid it is in is safe to drink. It is, after all, just ice.

I made jell-o ‘shots’ with edible eyes.

TIP: put the eyes in the jello at the last minute or they will melt and run. These sat upon Skittles and Mike & Ike’s, which matched the colors of the party.

Cakes by Costa made a collection of cupcakes to form the pink monster. I love how it came out! It matched the printable collection perfectly. She also made individual cupcakes sitting up on their side, which is a nice twist to the tradition cupcake. These monsters were also from the collection. They sat on platters adorned with the polka dot paper from the ‘Little Monsters’ printable collection.

Cupcakes by Cakes by Costa

The simple marshmallow pops were really easy to make and were covered in nonpareil sprinkles, to emulate the polka dot theme.

The ‘Little Monsters’ bunting banner hung over the fuzzy fabric, on the front of the dessert table, which I saw as monster ‘teeth’.

Alternative desserts: I would not make every dessert to match the collection, but some alternatives to the cupcakes would be the cookies or marshmallow pops that have the matching monsters. You can learn how to make these Marhsmallow pops following Elizabeth's Tutorials on StixNpops.

The cookies are from The Cookie Jar and the adorable marshmallow pops are from StixNPops.

TIP: Make sure to take great photos of all your details at least an hour before guests arrive. You will cherish those memories and have proof of all your hard work! My photos were taken by Darci Woodiwiss Photography.

Cookies by the Cookie Jar

Monster Marshmallow Pops by StixNpops

Drink station: I kept the drink station very simple because everything was on a bright yellow cart against an aqua wall and we put lots of dry ice in the grape juice to add that super cool monster-y effect. The water bottles were wrapped with paper from the collection and the party circles and a small circle banner (made from the party circles) hung on the front of the cart.

Seated table: The placemats were made from cut up fuzzy fabric. The floral arrangements were in tin cans, wrapped with the polka dot paper from the ‘Little Monsters’ printable collection. My two favorite details of the party were the fruit loop ‘runner’ and the eyes on the leaves hanging over the table. It’s always great to infuse a little humor where you can. To continue with the stripes I added to the theme, cut ribbon was laid across the ends of the table to add that nice pop of color and look like stripes.