{Featured Clients} Jack's Vintage Carnival 3rd Birthday Party

Jack, the birthday boy with his custom cake made by none other than Mama Bird, Kat herself!

I know that it is still very cold in many parts of the US (and all over the world); however, we thought that we would dream a little dream of summer with this sweet celebration! Meet Kathryn, aka Mama Bird, who in her own words is..."Hyper, never sit still Wife, Mom, Haircolor Expert, inspiring chef, cupcake baker, organic growing, garden loving, wine drinking, obsessed with design, entertaining and organization. I read cookbooks as if they were novels and I am a Nigella Lawson/Candice Olsen want-a-be. I love my family, my life and throwing a party! I have been blessed with a Handy Hubby and a wonderful son." Wow, I am exhausted just reading your bio, Kat. Before we share with you the amazing party Kathryn threw for her son Jack's 3rd birthday (using our Vintage Carnival invitation and accessories), take a peek at her fantastic blog aptly named, Mama Bird's Nest.

Without further ado, step inside the Big Top as Kat shares with us pictures from Jack's party. By the way, Kathryn made EVERYTHING you see (with the exception of our invitation and printables). We are SO impressed and you will be too!

Kat's homemade tent pinata; I think we need step by step instructions!

A carnival would not be the same without the "stick your head in the wooden cut-out for a photo op"! In this case, the wooden cut-out is an adorable little red jalopy.

Each table was really under its own "Big Top" tent. So pretty. Kat!

What a gorgeous, inviting punch on a hot day; complete with coordinating cups, straws, napkins and tablecloth.

The water bottles were wrapped with our printable water bottle labels (in the coordinating carnival theme).
How cute is this hat?

Cotton candy sealed with a printable logo from our carnival collection.

Kat draped our printable accessory banner on her wooden fence and then her lollipop tree and cupcake stand with coordinating cupcakes took center stage! Look at the fun red and white striped hat with the blue poms and streamers atop the lollipop tree.

Popcorn anyone? Party rentals like popcorn and cotton candy machines made such a great addition this party!

Kathryn, thank you so much for sharing these pictures from Jack's happy day. Your special touches, from the lollipop tree to the homemade pinata really made this a "Big Top" event!

Anders Ruff Vintage Carnival Birthday Party - Customized - Printable Coordinating Design Accessories Collection (shown below) and available here.

Anders Ruff Vintage Carnival Birthday Party - Customized - Invitation (shown below) available here

{Featured Clients} Jack's Vintage Carnival 3rd Birthday Party

{Martha} Our trip to NYC for the Dreamers into Doers event!

Whew! What a whirlwind of a week. We spent this past week in NYC attending the Martha Stewart Dreamers into Doers event. 75 talented women entrepreneurs in one room - along with fabulous speakers (one being MARTHA herself!).

As you saw from Adria's previous post - we got there in 1 piece... after a flight of me getting ill :-(


Here is our NYC trip journal:

Day 1 of the trip:
8:30 am Taping of a LIVE Martha Stewart Show
Lunch presentation
12:30 Workshops
Dinner w/ some party girls

While we were waiting for The Martha Stewart show to start, we met the most fabulous girl - Lindi of Love The Day. She is the sweetest thing and we totally hit it off. We have a lot in common and she was a blast to be with during the trip.

(above) Lindi, Adria and me in the Martha Studio ready for taping!

(Above) Adria and Maureen waiting for the show
LOVE seeing that Martha sign.... SO COOL!


We were in the front row of the seating!

Here Martha is with Joey after the show. Joey is seriously funny!

Isn't this SO cool!? We would LOVE to be on the Martha Stewart show someday!


After the show....
We headed over to Martha's offices and hung in the hallways of Martha's design offices. Here we are with the fabulous Caitlin Losey. Thanks to Caitlin, this event was a success!

(Below) Here we are with Danielle of A Few of My Favorite Things. She was one of our favorite things of this trip ;-). SUCH a sweet girl and we just love her!


Lindi of Love the Day is in the yellow - we TOTALLY hit it off with her.

We got to have a fabulous lunch and meet some of the other party girls that we know from online. Then we got to attend some great presentations in Martha's Photo Studio.

At the end of the day, we got to sit and listen to a talk with MARTHA herself and Susan Solomon.


Below is Martha with Susan L. Solomon, Co-founder of NY Stem Cell Foundation.

After the discussion, we got to have a photo taken with Martha.
My favorite photo is below...the one of us with Martha! (Thanks to Stacy of Scrumptious Swirls for having this fab pic taken - we are all SOOO happy)

Martha only took ONE photo before she left. I think the swarm of people scared her off (as it should have!) We were so lucky to get in the shot!

Then we headed off to dinner at the Oyster Bar with Courtney of Pizzazzerie. We then met up with some of the other fabulous girls....

We hung out at ACE - (Adria kept telling everyone to meet at AXE.... DUH!)
Here are some of the fabulous women business owners that we met and connected with while at the event....
(above - Left to right- Front) Rebecca of Fresh Chick Design Studio, Nancy of A to Zebra Celebrations, Stacy of Scrumptious Swirls, (us) Maureen Anders and Adria Ruff of Anders Ruff
(above - Left to right - Back) Andrea Alley, Courtney of Pizzazzerie, Andrea of Dolce Drive

Love those girls!

Day 2 of the Event:
10:15 am - Workshops
Lunch
More workshops

Here we are outside the entrance to Martha's design offices and test kitchens...


Pinch us - we got to meet some of the (amazing!) talent from Martha Stewart Living....
(above) Hannah Milman (SVP Exec Editorial Director of Martha Stewart Crafts)
(above) Terri Trespicio - Senior features editor for Whole Living Magazine

(Above) Sarah Carey of Martha Stewart Food...


Before we left, we made sure to get photos with some of the girls that we connected with.

(above) Maureen, Rebecca of Fresh Chick Design Studio, Jill of Modern Cupcake, Adria.
Jill and Rebecca were SO cute. I just love how playful and fun they are. I just wish we were closer (They are all the way in AZ!) Dying to try one of Jill's fabulous cupcakes. We are determined to get her to ship us some! ;-) Stay tuned for that!

(above) Rebecca of the Fresh Chick Design Studio!
Rebecca has an amazing personality (so funny) and has a great sense of fashion. She is a "real" person who is all about helping others. I could just tell from meeting her that we would get along great. Just seeing her put a smile on our face!

(above) Kim of The Celebration Shoppe.
Kim is SUCH a thoughtful and kind person. She is the type of person we would consider a "true friend". She is also a genius business women with a really good head on her shoulders.

(above) Nancy of A to Zebra Celebrations
Nancy seriously always had a smile on her face. She seemed truly grateful for this opportunity and was a lot of fun to talk to.


(above) Courtney of Pizzazzerie.
This girl has energy! I can see why her blog and facebook posts are so exciting and lively! Courtney is seriously full of pizzazz and she is a SUPER fun person to talk to! Her mom was attending as well and is the SWEETest lady ever!


(above) Stacy of Scrumptious Swirls
Stacy is a ball of fun. She is so enthusiastic and fun to be around. She is super passionate about her work and meeting new people. We just LOVE her (and her cookies!)

3 Favorite things about this trip:

1) Being able to tour Martha's corporate headquarters/design offices. I loved just "taking in" all of the creativity from her office building. It was so awesome to see the different sections of her office where people from every aspect of Martha's brand design and create. REALLY cool to see the designer's desks and what they have up on their bulletin boards. We got to walk by the test kitchens, stock rooms and prop areas... SO amazing! I was like a kid in a candy store, seriously.

2) Attending a live taping of Martha's show! It is so neat to see the "behind the scenes" from her studio and what happens to make a show successful. Got to meet JOEY and her production staff were so friendly and "together!" What a great team she has.

3) Meeting other women entrepreneurs that we have networked with online for months! I loved meeting them all in person and figuring out if their "online personality" matches them in person. Most of them were exactly as I would expect. A few were Totally different from what I expected! Pretty interesting! We build some relationships that will last and we are forever thankful for this opportunity.


Thank you to the Martha Stewart team for hosting us. We had the most fabulous time!
Hope to be back soon!

{Martha} Our trip to NYC for the Dreamers into Doers event!

{Video} Clip of Maureen and Adria from Martha Stewart Live Taping

Here is a clip of us from the Martha Stewart show live taping. (Adria had her new iPod touch that she was DYING to try the vintage video feature on)

The show was about to start.... So fun!


Also in the clip, Lindi (a new fab friend!) of Love the Day designs....

Stay tuned early Monday for all the photos and story about our trip....

{Video} Clip of Maureen and Adria from Martha Stewart Live Taping

{Giveaway Winner} A $25 Shop Credit to Burlap & Blue

Winner, winner chicken dinner. The lucky winner of a $25 shop credit to the fabulous Burlap & Blue (drawn via Random.org) is #27, Leah:

Leah said...
I like all the cake stands especially the red ones.

(Leah, we can probably guess which cake stand you are going to use your credit towards...)

Leah, congratulations!

Please email me at carrie.andersuff@gmail.com to claim your prize.

Thanks again to Linda of Burlap & Blue for sponsoring this week's giveaway!

{Giveaway Winner} A $25 Shop Credit to Burlap & Blue

{Giveaway} Shiver Me Timbers Wooden Pirate Ship

Our giveaway this week will have your child or children shouting "Ahoy!" David and Adrienne, proprietors of Manzanita Kids, are offering our fabulous followers the opportunity to win this incredible, handmade wooden pirate ship. *Please note that pirates are sold separately.

"Swab the deck ye blasted pirate! High sea adventure awaits the lucky child who gets this wooden pirate ship. The deck is removable to reveal a secret hiding place for your buried treasure, and the figurehead at the front of the ship will guide the pirates to their buried treasure. The deck with removable mast can act as a raft when the seas turn black and shipwreck the formidable vessel.This sturdy ship is approximately 15" high, 11-1/2" long and 5" wide. It is hand-cut out of hardwood, sanded smooth and left naturally unfinished. The deck bottom is grooved so it locks into the ship. Your ship will be made especially for you, so there may be slight variations from the photographs. The pirates are available separately."

David and Adrienne were kind to send in some questions and answers regarding their background and how Manzanita Kids came to be:

*How did you get started making toys?*

It's a team effort by my wife Adrienne and myself. We started making toys shortly after our son was born almost a year ago. My wife and I both come from a fine art background, which is how we met in school, so we are visual thinkers which helps. We wanted his toy box to have variety and some alternatives to plastic and battery operated devices, in addition we wanted to give him toys that allowed room for his imagination to develop.


*What inspires you?*

Naturally our son is a great inspiration, as I write this he has rediscovered his stash of cardboard boxes and paper. There is something pure about the manner in which he plays and engages the world around him. I believe that our role as toy makers is to stimulate a child's imagination, we are involved at the front end and simply provide a stage, they decide the role it plays.


*What are some of your favorite items in the shop?*

Well, I'm very excited about some of the new toys we are designing at the moment some new puzzles and a table. However, the current toy that I think best meets our goals is the tree fort, it's a simple design that holds endless opportunities.

Tree fort from a distant, magical land (*figures sold separately)

Nesting bunnies Valentine's Day set

**Special Note: Today through Friday, January 28th, Manzanita Kids has generously offered our followers a 10% discount towards any item in their shop. Please use the code: ANDERSRUFF at checkout.

Giveaway Description:

One Pirate Ship (shown below) from Etsy seller Manzanita Kids

*Pirates sold separately

First Way To Enter

• Visit Manzanita Kids on Etsy and leave us a comment (here) telling us your favorite toy!

For Additional Entries* (Not required, but may increase your chance of winning!)

• “Like” Manzanita Kids on Facebook
• “Like” Anders Ruff Custom Designs on Facebook
• Add Manzanita Kids as a favorite on Etsy
• Add Anders Ruff as a favorite on Etsy

{*For each additional entry, please leave a comment below indicating which additional step(s) you completed. We will check if you win!}

Winner will be chosen via random.org, on Friday, January 28th at 1:00 PM ET

Open to US residents only

*Please note: if you win and are a US resident residing abroad, we ask that you cover international shipping fees.

{Giveaway} Shiver Me Timbers Wooden Pirate Ship

{Sneak Peak} Martha Stewart - Dreamers Into Doers Event

{Sneak Peak} From our most AMAZING trip yet!!!
If any of you have been watching facebook/twitter, you should know by now that Maureen & I were able to attend the Martha Stewart Dreamers into Doers Event this week.
We flew out Monday night to be able to attend her conference and a live taping of her show (Tuesday and Wednesday of this week).

Here are a couple sneak peaks from our trip - We will have a full write-up on Monday (1.24), with more photos from the live taping, and conference so you can see all of the FABULOUS women we met this week.

These are just a few "fun" photos to share....
Maureen and I ready for "take-off" on the plane Monday night.... (Maureen gets motion-sickness on planes - and those little puke-bags were designed just for her)... sorry M, had to tell everyone - it's just too funny

Here we are at the live taping.... waiting to go into the studio!

Martha talking to the audience during the show...
Martha speaking at the conference....

Stay tuned for more on our Martha Stewart Dreamers Into Doers Event!

{Sneak Peak} Martha Stewart - Dreamers Into Doers Event