Here’s how it works.  The Fry Girl sets up a mini donut machine at your event.  Your guests watch as they make their “healthy” donuts. (Each donut made with 100% canola oil, has 26 calories, 1 gram of fat, and 3.5 carbs.)  Then your guests get to top them with cinnamon sugar, vanilla, chocolate, raspberry, powdered sugar, Vermont maple sugar, or Oreo cookie crumbs.  Sounds like a big yum to me, don’t you think?

The Fry Girl is based in LA and already has a huge celebrity clientele that includes Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Denzel Washington, Adam Sandler, Ellen Degeneres, and Tori Spelling to name a few.   But don’t be surprised to see my name on that list soon.

The reason I love Lisa’s work is because she thinks in terms of unifying a party through a common theme or “brand.”

This usually involves a logo she designs and a complementary color palette that is use throughout the party on place cards, favors, napkins, centerpieces, etc.  Here are some logos she designed for some Bar and Bat Mitzvahs.

Her goal is always twofold — to add a personal touch to the event and to give it that “wow” factor.  Some of her logos and favors…

Lisa said that what makes a party special is the thoughtfulness that goes into it, and you don’t need a big budget to do this.

For example, when she threw her son a big Bar Mitzvah, one of the things her guests talked about most was the Photofetti, confetti made from personal photos, she used to decorate the tables.   This little touch cost her as little as $100 but it was personal because she used pictures of her son, and left a lasting impact.

Lisa writes a fabulous blog called Favorite Things about “all things parties.”

She even has a list of vendors on her site in the Washington, D.C. area that she personally recommends.  If you like parties, I recommend you give her blog a read, and if you want cool one-of-a kind party favors, trust me, use her.

Gifts, clothes, shoes, and makeup are all donated by local merchants.  This year, the party, which is being held on April 17th, aims to get into the Guiness Book of World Records for the world’s largest quinceañera.

Check out these excited girls getting to view some of the dresses that have been donated for the big day.   Seriously, the models look like real-life princesses!

I just saw party flip books for the first time, and thought this might be just that thing.

So what is a party flip book?

Well, it’s just what it says, flip books (those little books you flip through that look like little movies) made at your party of your guests doing silly things.

A company like Pic Flips sets up a little 10′x10′ studio at your event.  Your guests, using props, signs, and anything else they can think of, make 6 second videos that in about a minute and a half are turned into tiny flip books.

A couple great things about the concept… it creates something fun for your guests to watch as people make their videos, plus guests have something to show off (their little flip books) and take home.   You can even customize the cover with your party logo.

I don’t know how expensive this whole shebang will run you, but I think this could rock at a wedding, Sweet 16, Bar or Bat Mitzvah or any other big function where you want to get your guests to loosen up and have some fun.

Via  Pic Flips

Here are some of my favorite cake disasters:

This blog is right up there with another one of my favorites.

Hugo is one of the main photographers for both Quinceaneras Magazine and My Quince Magazine, so he says 99% of the Quinceaneras he shoots end up in print.

His photographs are both gorgeous and one-of -a-kind.   He uses eye-catching backdrops and interesting props to show off his clients, and he designs his pictures so they look like professional modeling shots.

And to top it off, he’s a really nice guy who takes pride in his work and understands that to be a great Quinceanera photographer his job is to make his clients look and feel like princesses.

Here are some “modeling shots” from his Quinceaneras’ Signature Photo sessions…

And his breathtaking Quinceaneras in their gowns…

So if you live in Southern California, are having a Quinceanera in the near future, and have the goal of being famous someday, start by hiring Hugo.  He’ll give you your first taste of stardom.

Because we’re so excited about our site, Catch My Party, we wanted to share some of that excitement with you.  So to 1 of the next 100 new users who add their party photos to our site, we’re giving away a new iPod Nano.   Yup, it’s the one with the built-in video camera, the cool aluminum finish, and the larger screen.

The New iPod Nano

We will randomly draw a name out of a hat and put the video up on our blog so you can all watch the suspense.

So go on, add your photos, write about your party, send the whole thing to your friends and family, and most importantly… have fun!

What got me interested in Sharon is how one-of-a-kind her parties are.  In fact, I’ve never seen anything like it.

For her Musical Princess Tea Party, Sharon comes dressed in a big pink ball gown and tiara.  She brings a rack of princess gowns, shoes, tiaras, and magic wands for her guests.  She provides royal table settings, satin chair covers, room and table decor, plus she can even take care of catering (including gorgeous princess cupcakes) if you like.

The princess table.

The rack of gowns, with shoes, tiaras, and magic wands.

Since Sharon is a trained vocalist and educator, her parties aren’t just about the makeup and glamour (although that’s definitely part of it).  They involve musical stories and games, ribbon dancing, professional face painting, princess crafts, and beautiful hand-made princess favors she custom orders from craftspeople on Etsy.  Sharon’s parties are so complete, she also provides custom invitations and thank you notes for her hosts.

Princess Sharon leading her guests in ribbon dancing.

Princess Sharon face painting.

Her handmade favors.

Her custom cupcakes.

Her one-of-a-kind spa parties.

One of her happy princess fairies.

Even though Sharon throws these extravagant parties, what she prides herself on is creating warm, enriching, inclusive environments, so that all her guests feel like happy princesses when they leave.

If you live in the Boston area, and you want to give your daughter the party of a lifetime, hire Princess Sharon.

And for those of you who don’t live nearby, but want to partake in all-things “princess,” visit Princess Sharon’s online gift and favor shop where she sells many of her custom items.

However, my husband and I were recently in North Carolina visiting family and we went to a local Walmart, walked down the snack aisle and couldn’t resist the Hostess Cupcakes.  I probably hadn’t had one in twenty years.  But I have to admit, it was pretty darn tasty.  That’s why when I saw these pictures I had to post them.

Twinkies bring back a lot of good memories for me because they were my snack of choice in elementary school before my mother unfortunately discovered health food.  So I know if I were at a wedding and someone served me a Twinkie cake, I’d love it.   I’d probably go home, blog about it immediately and call all my friends and say, “You’re not going believe what they served!”  And I promise you, I’d never forget that wedding.

That’s a lot of impact for a cake that costs $60.

Yellow and White Twinkie Cake

Bride and Groom Twinkie Cake

Chocolate Ribbon Twinkie Cake

Twinkie Wedding Favors

If you go to the Hostess website, they’ll even show you how to make one.

Last year's My Fabulous 15 Contest Winner, Athaly

This year’s party will be held October 3, and the prize includes transportation for up to ten guests to the party, a personal event planner, audio/visual screens, dinner for up to 200 guests, a DJ/emcee, decorations, a birthday cake, a professional photographer, a videographer,  plus there will be a live concert from pop artist Pee Wee.

Only teens from Los Angeles, San Jose, Las Vegas, Denver and Kennewick, Wash. can enter by writing a brief essay that answers these three questions:

1. What does winning a Quince mean to you?
2. How do you stay in touch with your friends?
3. What is your favorite subject and why?

And here’s some other important info:

“The person entering can also include any financial, medical or other hardships faced by the teenager; his/her goals, dreams or plans in life; community involvement or personal service to benefit others; scholastic achievements and how winning the Grand Prize would change his/her life or the lives of others.”  If you’re applying definitely do this!

The submissions are due August 16 and the semi finalists will be voted on by the public.

I have to admit, this sounds fun and absolutely worth entering.  If you do enter, I’d love to hear what you wrote so post it here.