Tiki Time! Tiki Party Ideas From Paperlicious

Savor some South Pacific with your friends this summer: host your own tiki party. Set the island tone for your guests with this luau tropical tiki hut invitation from paperlicious.com. If you plan to ask guests to dress in their tiki-best, remember to mention that in the invitation. Ordering from paperlicious is so low hassle, you'll have plenty of time to transform your space into the tropical tiki paradise that this hip invite promises your party pals.

Bit of tiki history for you. This type of food and flair became popular in the United States in the 1940's-1960's. Trader Vic is credited for introducing many recipes for food and drink to this culture. There still are several Trader Vic restaurants or lounges in the US today. Check out www.tradervics.com for more tiki history. Or order Trader Vic's tiki party book for expert advice on how to plan your party.


A summertime outside space at a pool or back yard naturally lends itself to this type of party, but if weather doesn't cooperate or you need a little summer sizzle in your winter, indoor works great, too. Decor is essential and can be either light and bright with flowers (orchids, birds of paradise) birds, paper lanterns and the like. Or you can go retro lounge feel with rafia style grass skirts on tables, real fishing nets on the wall, brown beaded curtains, polynesian god statues, and tiki lanterns lining the path of your party. Play some polynesian jazz for your friends. Try Martin Denny or Arthur Lyman.

Food and Drink are perhaps the most important piece to bring the ooh-la-Shangri-la-la-la to the table. How about a real roast pig? If you're not a fan of hooves on the table, make the centerpiece a stuffed animal pig with tropical fruits all around the platter with it: pineapples, mangoes, bananas, etc. Try this "Classic 'Tiki' Mai Tai" drink from myrecipes.com or check out this blog devoted entirely to tropical drinks. This is a great opportunity to fire up the bar-b-que and try out some of these great grill recipes from fabulousfoods.com. Remember to serve your drinks in these tiki god mugs from retroplanet.com. Send your guests home with their mug for a fabulous favor.


Now turn the music up and get down low: Time to LIMBO! Any music will do and any old broomstick for that matter. Be sure to take some great pictures to keep the fun alive after the party is over.

The Freedom to Party - Fourth Of July Party Ideas From Paperlicious

Want to be a part of the biggest birthday celebration in America this year? Get started on your Fourth of July party plans today and take advantage of 15% off your Independence Day stationery order from www.paperlicious.com And there's something for every Fourth Day party style: from sparklers to stars and stripes to Old Glory herself. Or try a backyard barbeque, Texas-style if you like.

Paperlicious is here for you after the invitations are out, too. Try these patriotic party plans to turn your celebration into a Yankee Doodle Dandy.

If possible, choose a party location like a park or large backyard that provides plenty of space for picnicing and playing. Even better if it will provide a view of your local fireworks show later in the evening. You could even talk to a local business about using their parking lot for a 4th of July tailgate with food and activities up until the fireworks display.

You will have no trouble finding every manner of centerpiece, napkin, plate, banner, etc. to make your party sparkle. Try to keep your "destined-for-the-dump" decorations to a minimum so that America will have even more birthdays to celebrate in the future. Focus on the tables. Cover with an oversized white tablecloth that you can tie with a large red or blue bow around the legs. This looks great and keeps your cloth from being blown in the breeze. Run a red and blue streamer of crepe paper (used again later) down the center of the tables for a runner. Get an arrangement of red and white flowers and place them in a navy blue vase for the centerpiece.

Start your party in the late afternoon with a family bicycle parade or relay race. Play some feel-good All-American music like Springstein's "Born in the U.S.A." or "Independence Day" by Martina McBride. Decorate each bicycle with red and blue crepe paper streamers and miniature flags. Then mark out the course and they're off! Try some activities for the kids where the goal is just to make a lot of noise (much like fireworks). Get a roll of plastic packaging bubbles, unroll it, turn up the music and have a dance party as the bubbles all pop. Or play the classic "tie a balloon around your ankle" stomp game where everyone tries to pop everyone else's balloon while protecting their own. Ask a guitar-playing friend to come prepared to accompany a patriotic sing-a-long. Create your own Independence Day battle of the water balloon canons. Two people hold a beach towel and place a balloon in the center. They sling the balloon with the towel at an opposing team or target. This game will also cool you off after some of the other hotter ones.

Grilling is the answer for your dinner tonight. Check out the hundreds of great grilling recipes and ideas from kaboose.com or use your own family favorite. Remember to grill your vegetables, too, for a treat even the kids will love. Watermelon (leaves room for a seed-spitting contest) can be cut into balls or stars and served in a watermelon bowl like this one. Fresh squeezed lemonade will hit the spot on a hot summer day and can be served red (with strawberries or raspberries). Don't forget to homemade ice cream to serve just before or during fireworks.

Speaking of fireworks, if you plan to present your friends and family with a homemade display, check out the Council on Fireworks safety first to be sure you've covered all your bases. www.fireworksafety.com. When the sun is going down, remember to have some bug spray handy for those All-American mosquitos that sometimes show up uninvited. Maybe even some ear plugs for those little ones who don't love the big booms. Help your guests enjoy the lights of the night by giving them a comfortable place to watch. Have large pillows and beach blankets available for families to sit together on and enjoy the view as you celebrate your freedom!

SALE! Fourth of July Party Invitations!

ALL Fourth Of July Party Invitations are on sale at www.paperlicious.com for a limited time only. Receive 15% OFF!! Choose from fireworks, backyard bbq, American flag, sparklers, and red, white and blue patterns!

Plus always free shipping on orders over $65.

We use only heavy weight quality 100% Recycled Fiber Neenah Environment Paper for your custom invitations.

From Bride to Baby, Child to Mom- Paperlicious has you covered for all of your party planning needs!

Homerun Baseball Party Ideas

What do you get when you combine America’s Favorite pastime with America’s hippest stationery? A Grand Slam invite to your baseball party from Paperlicious.com! The look of this invite is as classic as the game itself with a simple red, white, and blue banner of baseballs and faint diamond in the background. Don’t forget the coordinating thank-you cards to send after the party.

With baseball season already in full swing, you could take them out to the ball game at a Major League, Minor League, or Triple A or local ball club. Then you’ve got your entertainment and food bases already covered.

Want to take a swing at hosting your own homemade baseball party instead? Go All American with red, white, and blue décor or use memorabilia of your favorite team with posters, jerseys, pennants, magazines, etc. Fill up clear vases with foil-covered chocolate baseballs from www.blaircandy.com.

Try this baseball diamond of activities for lots of laughs and fun. Have 1^st base, 2^nd base, 3^rd base, and home plate activities laid out in the shape of an actual baseball field. At first base do some spring training activities to “get in shape” like jumping jacks, push ups, jogging in place, etc. At 2^nd base have a dizzy bat race and immediately run to 3^rd base where kids have to hit a target with a baseball (after they’ve spun around with the dizzy bats). You could hire a dunking booth here if you wanted to really go all out. At home let kids give their best “slide” and take a picture for replay. Have someone trying to tag them out and a parent umpire to call them safe! Kids can go around and around this course as long as you or they like. Other fun ideas are: a big league chewing gum bubble blowing contest or a sunflower seed spitting contest.

Food couldn’t be easier. Why not concession style with hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, and, or course peanuts and cracker jacks. Baseball cupcakes are super simple with white icing and red licorice for the laces.

Thank your guests for helping put this party down in the hall of fame with a meaningful favor kids are sure to keep. You can create a deck of baseball trading cards with one for each child who is at the party. Check out www.mytradingcards.com for details. You could make one card of each guest for himself or you can create a deck for each person with the entire “team.”

An idea for the MVP (birthday slugger) is to have a personalized bat for all of the guests to sign to commemorate the special occasion. www.sluggergifts.com has all the information you need.

Plan the perfect Soccer Party!

“Ole, ole, ole, ole…” Ms. Paperlicious here to get you geared up for your little champ’s soccer birthday! You’re sure to score with any of our hip soccer invites. They’ll work for boy or girl and you can choose ink colors to match your favorite team’s colors.

Get everyone in the game by asking them to wear their soccer best to the party. You could make shirts for each guest with their name on the back and the number of your child’s age (so, eighth birthday, everyone has a number 08 on back). That way everyone will be on the same team.

Play some great soccer tunes during all your festivities. FIFA’s soccer anthem, “Ole, ole, ole, ole,” is available on itunes.com and amazon.com. The Hit Crew has an album “Soccer Party Music” with more than a dozen kicking soccer tunes. Check out www.rhaphsody.com.

Activities for this party will most likely be best outside. So if the weather permits, meet at a local park or rent a soccer field. If your back yard allows, you can mark out your own field with some spray paint and cones for goals. Looking for more than just a traditional game of soccer to entertain your guests? Try having the kids lie on their backs with feet up in the air. Have two teams and a bucket of balls for each team. Kids pass the ball from one to another with their feet only. (depending on the age and skill level of your kids, you can have them space out for more of a challenge or just in a straight line). If the ball drops, it has to be passed again. Pass the balls all the way down to another empty bucket or to a goal. Everyone loves to take a swing at a piñata, but have you ever watched kids kick it open? Use a blindfold just like you would with a stick.

To make a soccer ball cake, use a 2 quart glass mixing bowl that is oven safe. Prepare one cake mix and bake in the greased mixing bowl. The cake will come out round on top. Ice with white and black and voila! Or if you are more ambitious, you can die and cut out rolled fondant in little octagons to cover the whole cake. Place the cake on a small square of astro turf for a great presentation. Be sure to take a picture of the birthday star pretending to kick the cake. For a party needing more substantial food, open a "concession stand" with easy and quick foods like pizza, pretzels, nachos, popcorn, and soft drinks.

Be sure to have a game ball available for all of the guests to autograph as a favor for the birthday boy/girl. Send the kids home with a personalized trophy from awardsforanything.com. We love this poseable soccer figure and you could engrave it with a thanks for making this a kickin’ soccer celebration!

Paperlicious Named One of the Top 200 Leading Moms In Business

PAPERLICIOUS.COM NAMED ONE OF STARTUP NATION’S
TOP 200 LEADING MOMS IN BUSINESS

ATHENS, GA – May 5, 2009 – IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Paperlicious LLC (http://www.paperlicious.com) announced today that it has been voted as one of Startup Nation's 2009 Top 200 Leading Moms In Business competition (http://www.startupnation.com/leading-moms-2009). The competition, sponsored by VerticalResponse, recognizes the achievements of mothers across the country who run outstanding businesses, ranked according to public votes accumulated from January through March 2009. The goal of the contest was to “shed some light on the unsung heroes of the U.S. economy,” according to the Startup Nation website.

Owned by Amy DeRouen Nelson, Paperlicious came in 34th out of 200 businesses and is the only full-service online stationer in the Top 50. Over 600,000 votes were cast among several thousand contestants.

“After five non-stop years of taking care of my infant twins and my other baby, Paperlicious, I am extremely proud to be honored with this award. With the help of my supportive husband, Troy, this business keeps growing beyond what I had ever imagined. I definitely think our top-notch customer service, combined with our affordabe prices, makes Paperlicious an appealing choice,” commented Nelson.

Nelson designed all of the paper products for her wedding, which was seen on E! Style Network's “Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?” series in 2004. When she learned she was expecting twins, Nelson decided to leave her career as a publicist at Lava/Atlantic Records and start her own home-based business. In 2005, Paperlicious was conceived in New York City.

At Paperlicious, the focus is on fresh contemporary designs and affordable prices. Paperlicious uses only 100%-recycled fiber paper that is Forest Stewardship Council certified, processed chlorine-free, and Green-e certified.

Gifts & Decorative Accessories called Paperlicious a “fresh face” of the 2006 National Stationery Show. Paperlicious products have been featured in Pregnancy Magazine, on Parent Magazine’s Goody Blog, and on other popular mom-blogs across the web. The online stationery boutique also has catered to such high-profile clients as Kid Rock, Pamela Anderson, and Nicollette Sheridan.

For more information, please contact:

Amy DeRouen Nelson
amynelson@paperlicious.com
706.534.0781

Hey new/expecting moms!

Last week to register for our great Mother's Day giveaway featuring some must-have new mom goodies! Paperlicious Momager Calling Cards™, Tybooks for baby, Bathluvé, Boogies Wipes, Sophia Gifts designer burp cloth, Paperlicious Invites & Photo Cards, and a $25 Target Gift Card!

Click below to enter to win:

http://www.paperlicious.com/pages/mother-of-all-giveaways-pv-c0-26.html