16th b'day party - photo booth fun

I'm finally back to post about the photo booth we had at goob's 16th b'day bonanza!!

if you missed the yumminess of the candy bar/dessert table/complete overload of sugar - you can see more in the previous party post - here.

so, as it was previously booked as a 'pool party' - and the weather did not wish to cooperate on the day (nor the week beforehand - nor the whole of summer really.......I digress.......) we decided to set up a photo booth to keep the teenagers busy for a few hours of indoor fun!!

there were lots and lots of photos - and I promise not to post them all on here.
however I will share some of the fun - as it really was a hoot - and something I'd recommend for anyone.

here's the lovely birthday girl - miss goob - just before the guests started to arrive.....

....and my three girls.....

yeah - I'm pretty fond of them!!!! :)

.....here's how the photo booth looked in our lounge room.....

we pulled out the trusty box of dress-ups; hung some streamers from some string; added in a couple of tissue paper pom-poms; placed in a couple of lights; had various stools on standby for height variations when needed; used some little white-boards for messaging fun; re-purposed a lovely gold frame from a picture that was never going to hang on my walls (the pic was my mums - and it was always stashed away in the cupboard - so it was time for it to have a new life as a photo booth prop!!); and we stuck the new camera on a tri-pod.

for those that don't have loads of dress-ups like we do in this family - check out any cheap dollar-discount store and you're sure to find some props for the occasion. I also have more ideas pinned onto my pinterest board - party ideas here.

I thought of a few different ideas for the backdrop - however the great thing about the streamers (as opposed to a sheet/fabric) - it was able to be attached to the underside of the cornice with a couple of pins - and removed without barely a mark.

the girls actually stuck all the streamers together - they just taped them over the string - taping at the back. they decided that a couple of streamers in each colour made a better colour block than just alternating every streamer.

clever my girls are!!!!

edited to add: as for the logistics of actually shooting the photos - the girls kept putting the camera on self timer - and snapped away when they were ready. 

anyhoo - I decided all along that I wanted to photo edit the shots (post party) into photo strips - just like out of an old photo booth - so I played around a little in picnik - and these are some of the shots I came up with.....

to give you an idea of the difference from the original photos - here's a direct comparison.....

 the photos on the right were given a black outline (as opposed to white on the left) - then under picnik 'effects' I hit on 'gritty' - changing the darkness to only about 20-25%. (it usually defaults to around 40%)

here is some more fun from my eky and triple j.....

and as I said - I won't share all the photos here - but here's just a small taste of the fun had by the party girls.....

I've made up lots of photo strips (with 3 pics) of all the photos for goob to share with her friends - as well as another two mega collages like the one above. she can share the digital photo files - and they can print them off themselves if they choose.

everyone had a great time - no one is ever too old to dress up and have photo fun!!!

one hint that I must share - have another charged up battery on hand - as ours ran down and we didn't have another. (eeekkk!!) we'll definitely have two batteries next time.......because you know we have to now have photo booths at everyone's parties here in house-o-nefotlak.......I have been told!!!!!

oh - and for those that don't know - the wonderful photo editing site picnik is closing down on april 19 - however there is a new photo editing site just starting up that I was introduced to via the blog - the real housewives of bucks country - the site is called picmonkey - put together by some of the makers of picnik - and the lovelies from the fore mentioned blog have a great intro post to picmonkey - do go and have a read here.

picmonkey has not yet got the collage photo making abilities just yet - but they hint that it will be coming soon.

anyhoo - hope you enjoyed our photo booth fun.
we did!!

hope your week has started off well.

loads of hugz from here.
cheryl xox.

linking to these lovely blogs this week.....please do go and check them out......

16th b'day party - candy bar / dessert table

warning - loads of photos! (scroll near the end for all the details).....

  

glass jars = from dollar discount type store and freedom - found them in the vase section. would have loved fancy jars with lids - however plain jars were by far the least expensive option.

jar labels & lolly bag tags = free download of cath holden labels printed on white card - then cut out and added onto red card. blue ribbons and red & white bakers twine ordered online from sweet style.

lolly bags = blue spotty bags purchased online from the party people.  

cake platters (x3) = donna hay.

straw flags = blue straws from dollar discount store - flags made from white washi tape (ordered online from inky co.) - on the night a marker was used to write on girl's initials to keep track of drinks!

16 numbers = paper mache numbers from spotlight - painted red / then painted white / then rubbed back lightly with sandpaper. red & white bakers twine ordered online from sweet style.

lollies / candy = blue jellybeans (ordered online from sweet style) / jaffas and strawberry creams (purchased at woolies) / blue sugar almonds and cool mints and blue choc wedding hearts (ordered online from lollyworld) / choc kisses and freddo frogs (purchased at cosco) / blue sour straps and  milk bottles (ordered online from the professors online lolly shop) / cup cakes (made from cosco cup cake mix & betty crocker icing from woolies - super yum!)

cookie pops - made from crushing tim tams with cream cheese - then adding sticks & dipping in melted white chocolate - the favourite item by far (recipe kindly shared on the blog of mrs a. in the cove - owner of sweet style - recipe and great tips found here)

paper lanterns & balloons = from dollar discount store.

paper pom poms = made by me from tissue paper purchased at woolies.

napkins / plastic bowls / paper cups = dollar discount type store.

little tongs = purchased from provincial home living.

this party was all put together in under two weeks - and all the online shopping mentioned above was really convenient and it all arrived super fast. I would recommend any of the above online suppliers.
(if I've forgotten anything - of if you have any questions - please don't hesitate to drop me a message either on this post - or via email)

must again mention the amazing inspiration from Leanne from the blog mrs a in the cove and owner of the online shop sweet style. she does this stuff for a living - and her style is amazing. thank you so much Leanne for sharing your wonderful talent with the world. you make parties o - so - beautiful.

make sure you go have a visit -

I leave you with a picture of my beautiful (now) 16 year old - goob - who had a wonderful party - despite the torrential rain that came down that day!!!!

and I promise to be back soon to show you some of the fun of the photo booth we set up for the party.
(sneak peek seen at the end of this post here)

hope all's well in your part of the world.

loads of hugz from here.
cheryl xox.

linking to these lovely blogs this week.....please do go and check them out......

16th party preview

we survived!!
the party went off without a hitch - apart from the 17 degrees c and heavy rain!!! (eeek - we've plunged straight into winter from a non-existent summer!)
previously billed as a 'pool' party - plans were changed - and we all stayed indoors for the festivities.

also - party participants ended up being only a half of the original 40 that were invited - as there were many last minute messages from unwell girls. with fewer bodies having to fit within our house  - it all worked out much better in the end.

all in all - a great night was had by all.

here's a sneak peak of the table laden with sugar......

....and the lounge-room photo booth all ready for photogenic superstars.....

I'll post more about all the fun when I manage to upload more photos.

hope you are dry wherever you are this weekend. Canberra is wet and dismal - I'd advise not to come here for the next few days!!!

loads of hugz from here.
cheryl xox.