The DIY Wonders of the Online World

It's been a really crazy week, this. But all fun just the same. :) I was able to put in a few hours of party prep 'work' (I wish I could do more of it, it's just so enjoyable!), and those are like the highlights of my every day. 

After weeks of browsing the awesome featured parties on Hostess with the Mostess, Kara's Party Ideas, and the Celebrations at Home blog, I began to wonder, how on earth do they get to do such extraordinarily amazing parties? How much does it cost? Do they have party planners? I have a list of questions that I would love to ask given the chance... :)

Based on what I've read from the party descriptions, some of them do have suppliers where they buy their stuff from, but I discovered that a lot of them...are proud DIY (do-it-yourself) projects!



I'm not really the arts-and-crafts kind of person (I think I've said that already in a previous post. :)), but after all the DIY party stuff I've seen, I think I would be more than willing to trod on the DIY learning path. With this super-budgeted party that I'm helping with (happening on October), I have to find ways to make it simply beautiful without having to spend too much. And I really really want to be able to do something like what I've seen on those blogs, and be able to execute a party that's not so cookie-cutter or 'traditional' (in the Filipino-kiddie-party-scene sense of the word).

The question now is: HOW?

Well, the answer(s) lies within the same realm that sparked this interest: THE INTERNET! :)

Templates, embellishments, and how-to tutorials abound in the online world, and here are some that you might helpful in putting together your simple yet uniquely fabulous party! 

FOR ONLINE PHOTO EDITING:

Scrapblog.com
Picnik.com
Pizap.com
Lunapic.com
Gimp
Cropmom.com

FOR LOOTBAG/TREAT BAG/INVITES and OTHER PARTY ACCESSORIES TEMPLATES:

ruthannzaroff.com
firstpalette.com
familyfungo.com
magicalkingdom.co.uk
tipjunkie.com
party-ideas-galore.com
quality-kids-crafts.com
hostessblog.com
ediblecrafts.craftgossip.com


FOR SCRAPBOOK EMBELLISHMENTS AND PAPERS (perfect for personalizing and designing your templates)


stamptv.ning.com
digiscrap.allcraftsblogs.com
farynarswings.blogspot. com
freedigitalscrapbooking.com
digitalscrapbookingfreebies.com
peppermintcreative.com

FOR FREE CLIP-ARTS:

disney-clipart.com 
1clipart.com
free-graphics.com

There really are a lot, and one Google search is going to turn up a number of great results! :) How I wish I had known the 'beauty' of all these DIY stuff and these freebie sites when I was planning for my daughter's past events, it could have made those occasions even more beautiful!

But everyday is a learning experience, and every kiddie party must see some improvement. So from this day forward, our future parties are sure to have a lot of DIY stuff.

When I do find the time to collate my DIY party stuff for the October party, I'll make sure to share some of the printables to everyone, just to you know, pay it forward. :)

Hope this helps with the party planning! :)