When it comes to birthday parties, I'm usually an all-or-nothing kind of party planner. When I outsource the birthday party, the party place (mini golf, laser tag, trampoline park, wherever it may be) does it all; all I provide is the birthday cake and party favors. When I host it at home, I do everything -- the food, crafts, favors and activities. I consider myself pretty good with simple crafts -- but I never realized how much difference hiring a professional to oversee the party activities would make to a home birthday party, until Dragonfly Designs hosted a jewelry making party for The Pea's 12th birthday. Owner Stacee and her assistant will come to your home, bring all the materials your guests need to create beautiful custom jewelry, do all the setup, supervise the whole activity, and clean up afterwards. Stacee has been hosting these parties since 2005, and she has been creating jewelry all her life, so she's the perfect person to help your daughter and her guests create amazing works of art. Keep reading below and see for yourself!
To start things off, each guest made a simple beaded bracelet. A table was laid out with a variety of beads in every shape and color, charms, metal spacers, feathers, and other trinkets. Each girl was given a stack of little bowls and told to help themselves to whatever they wanted to use for their bracelet.
Check out the amazing variety of beads, charms and spacers we had to choose from! It's kind of like Ali Baba's Treasure Cave of Beads. That's one huge advantage a Dragonfly Designs party has over doing it all by yourself. It would cost a small fortune to assemble the quantity, quality and variety of beads to match this collection -- and you'd have a LOT of beads left over after the party was done.
Stacee and her assistants helped the girls every step of the way. They gave each guest a length of stringing wire with a clasp already attached to one end. They gave advice on selecting beads of complimentary shape, size and color. They taught more complicated beading techniques for the girls who wanted more than just a single-string bead bracelet. They provided idea boards filled with finished projects to inspire the girls and see just what kinds of creations were possible.
Each guest even received a laminated instruction card to help them figure out how long their bracelets should be.
Once each guest had finished stringing the beads for their bracelet, they gave their project to Stacee or her assistant, who finished the bracelet off by adding the other half of the clasp and crimping the ends. That way, each bracelet (and subsequent piece of jewelry) came out perfectly, with no random bits of wire sticking out.
(Check out 3Po enjoying himself immensely. The boys were a bit shy at first, declaring the whole thing to be "too girly", but when Stacee said that they could make keychains, and when I reminded them that Mother's Day was coming up, they decided to join in. The funny thing was that both boys ended up making bracelets for themselves!)
Once their first bracelet was done, Stacee let them make more beaded jewelry. They could choose to make a necklace, earrings, hair comb, bookmark, keychain, zipper pull, you name it. The girls (along with 3Po and Jammy) really went to town, putting all their imagination and creativity to work. Everyone was absorbed in the process, and the 2 hours really flew by. As one girl told me, "I could do this all day!".
The end results were AMAZING. The girls made hair clips, earrings, necklaces, hair combs and bracelets. I loved the fact that each and every creation was unique. Everyone used different beads, some girls added charms, some added feathers. Because Stacy started and finished each piece, each piece looked really professional. Again, that's something I could never do on my own!
I can't stress enough how EASY the whole thing was. Stacee and her assistant literally did EVERYTHING. They worked nonstop for those 2 hours, starting off jewelry pieces, finishing off jewelry pieces, wiring up special beads to make charms or accent pieces, returning unused beads to their containers, giving advice, answering questions... like I said, nonstop. And by handing over the activity portion of the party, I was able to see to all the other details of the party: food, drinks, greeting latecomer guests, showing guests where the restroom was, all the other things that make a party run smoothly.... without having to disturb the activity flow! I was able to walk around, admire everyone's work, and actually enjoy the party.
Ha... you didn't think I'd actually be able to resist trying my hand at jewelry making myself, did you? As soon as I saw that table full of awesome beads, I found myself itching to making something. I made a double strand necklace, and Stacee used a wire-wrapping technique to transform a large metallic bead into a charm. It was beautiful, and I can't wait to wear it!
Ha... you didn't think I'd actually be able to resist trying my hand at jewelry making myself, did you? As soon as I saw that table full of awesome beads, I found myself itching to making something. I made a double strand necklace, and Stacee used a wire-wrapping technique to transform a large metallic bead into a charm. It was beautiful, and I can't wait to wear it!
Needless to say, Bay Area peeps, I highly recommend Dragonfly Designs for your daughter's birthday party. Or yours (see photo above.. yes, grownups love making jewelry too!). Or for your best friend's baby shower. Or bridal shower. Or for that school auction party you were thinking of hosting. I could go on and on about their summer camps and classes, but that's the subject of another post. Or two. Stay tuned.
One of The Pea's friends pretty much summed up the whole experience when she said:
Best. Party. Ever.
Go check out Dragonfly Designs!
Disclosure: Dragonfly Designs hosted a complimentary party for my daughter. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.
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That looks like SO MUCH FUN!!
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