1 Happy Easter Photo Card, Paper Culture
2 Eco Plastic Easter Eggs, Eco Eggs filled with jellybeans
3 Painterly Pastel Eggs DIY Tutorial, Papernstitch
4 Porcelain Egg Candles, Revisions Design Studio
5 Milk bottles, Acme Party Box Company with striped paper straws, Just Artifacts
6 Fun table setting with kraft table runner, chalk drawn utensils and colorful confetti
* To view images of our spring inspiration, visit our Pinterest boards.

For an eco-friendly way to set up a fun table setting, bring in Kraft paper as a table cloth that will entertain both kids and adults. Using chalk, you can draw utensil outlines as well as provide an artsy alternative for guests to draw on the paper. Scatter the tops with colorful confetti in spring shades of mint green, coral pink and canary yellow. Not only will this brighten up your Sunday brunch, but also your Easter egg dying station. For beverages and things, we like to reuse jars and bottles like the milk bottles from Acme and accent them with paper straws (always eco chic!) in the chosen color scheme.

A good way to emphasize recycling materials is to bring them to life in new settings. In addition to using eggs to dip and dye, try using them as candles. You can break them in half, pour in soy wax and light them. Or, if you rather save your eggs for your traditional hunt, go ahead and check out Revisions Design Studio’s porcelain egg candles with soy wax! They’ve already done the job for you so you can buy them as is and set them up for your tablescape.

As an eco-friendly business, we like to support all things that help out Mother Earth, so we were extremely egg-static when we saw these eco plastic Easter eggs from Eco Eggs, which are made with corn and are completely compostable. You can use them as favors filed with jellybeans for a more casual spring party or even hide them with little prizes and treats for the little ones for their Easter egg hunt. Cap off your party by sending your guests away with one of our fun spring themed Easter cards from your family thanking them for hopping along to your party to usher in Spring and to celebrate this season with all its promises of new life.

Ocean Terry Oversize Fouta Towel, Nine Space
Reversible Beach Chair, Julie Brown Designs
Lunch Pot, Black + Blum
Wooden Utensils, Sucre
Splish Splash Pool Party Invites, Paper Culture
Baby Float with Sun Canopy, Swimways
Lomography Camera, La Sardina
Summer Fun Paper Plates, Tag
Medium Tote Bag, J.Crew x Sea Bags

Start off your watery escapades with one of Paper Culture’s summer party invitations, find the one that best fits your pool party, and invite all your dear family and friends. Then pack a picnic lunch in Black + Blum’s ingenious lunch pot to eat with the crafty wooden utensils from Sucre. And, as always, a camera in fun colors to document the memories.

Needless to say, my daughter’s first pool adventure was a blast for the entire family filled with yummy food, refreshing water games, and laughs and relaxation. We practically had to drag her out of the water with promises of future pool parties!

1 Prime Cut Apron by Sur La Table, $24.95
2 Bamboo Barbecue Cutting/Serving Board by Crate and Barrel, $29.95
3 Backyard BBQ Invitations by Paper Culture, $1.39
4 Burger Coasters exclusively at MoMA, $22
5 Oliver Appetizer Plates by CB2, $2.95 each
6 Barbecue Sauces by Williams-Sonoma, $12.95 – $14.95
7 Hamman Stripe Monogrammed Hand Towels by West Elm, $10 each
8 Mobile Foodie Survival Kit by PLANT, $26
9 Extreme Barbecue by Dan Huntley and Lisa Grace Lednicer, $8
10 Fyrkat Picnic Charcoal Grill by Bodum, $80
11 Tool Set with Hardwood Case by Mr. Bar-B-Q, $120
12 Everything’s Better T-Shirt by Stubb’s Bar-B-Q, $15

Fun items like the burger coasters and Oliver appetizer plates will be a smash at any summer party. And dear ‘ol dad can always use an apron highlighting all things meat as well as a grilling tool kit in a hardwood case. We’ve provided direct links to all of the items, but we’ve also created a Barbecue Mood Board on Pinterest as well. Check it out and also take a look at our other Pinterest boards while you’re at it.

We at Paper Culture hope that this will help you kick off your summer in the right way. Don’t forget to send an invitation our way!

Before finding out their baby girl’s gender, Tammy and her husband were calling the baby, “Bumby” and the nickname totally stuck. While planning for the baby shower, Tammy didn’t want to go the all-pink route (she is a self-professed tomboy) and chose a neutral color palate of pale yellows and dove grays to set the tone. She settled on a bee-themed party and the cute-as-can-be baby shower was an absolute success.

Tammy designed the baby shower invitation, the Stroller Peek-A-Boo and as one of the many perks of being a part of the team, she was able to customize the colors of her invitation to match her party’s palate. The end result was displayed on a wooden easel.

Tammy used mason jars (re-used from canning jams) for beverage mugs and added whimsical striped paper straws for added charm.

Her talented pastry chef-sister created a lovely dessert platter complete with a cake stand constructed from recycled cardboard and covered with found ribbon. The desserts on the plate included passion fruit curd tart, s’mores pudding cups, blackberry mochi cake, and a small yellow butter cake in the middle. A mini tea luncheon was also served on yellow gingham fabric.

Tammy’s family and friends honored her with an amazing party. Check out the bee-autiful ladies of Paper Culture. From left to right are Katy, April, Huiling and Tammy!

As a thank you to all who attended, party goers left with small jars filled with honey from the farmers’ market. Jute twine and old yellow ribbon adorned the jars. Aren’t the labels adorable?

It’s easy as one-two-three to create a bee-themed baby shower. A few decoration ideas might include: bright yellow candy and licorice in jars, yellow and black balloons, and bright sunflowers for floral arrangements. Food and drink can be anything lemon- or honey- flavored and other party favors might include something from Burt’s Bees‘s product line or beeswax candles.

For more bee-related party inspiration, I highly recommend you check out these resources:

Angelica’s Little Beehive Cake

Bee is for Birthday

Mother to Bee Baby Shower

Images of Bee-Themed Baby Showers

Best of luck to Tammy, the mama-to-bee (sorry, I can’t help myself)!

PC: When was the last time you attended a McDonald’s birthday party?

CW: In my mind, I attend one every birthday – but in reality, it has been a lifelong dream never fulfilled until this birthday.

PC: What’s your favorite childhood memory and did you recreate it?

CW: When mom was away, dad’s form of cooking was to take me to McDonalds – not to say that I looked forward to mom leaving, but…

PC: Grimace or Hamburglar? Why?

CW: Grimace – because my tummy these days looks like his! (and besides, I think Barney is a Grimace rip off)!

PC: Was there ever a Happy Meal prize you coveted? Do you still have any Happy Meal toys from your childhood?

CW: Well, only a few years ago, I kept going to McDonalds in search of the perfect engagement ring – but alas, there was a streak of toy cars and rocket ships and no rings – so instead I ended up resorting to the boring stereotype – my wife’s loss!

As a child, I’d attended several parties at the golden arches. And as an immigrant, I understand the allure in wishing for a birthday party at the fast food institution because I was rarely allowed to eat there. I can see why Chris was lovin’ it!

Happy Birthday, Chris! I wish you get to be a big kid for more days this year!