I knew The Craft Cabinet wouldn’t turn out half bad when I saw the yellow store front. “At the very least,” I thought, “we’ll give a�good first impression.”�
Cautious Optimism: My motto in life.
Expect the Best, Prepare for the Worst: My other motto in life.
Salvage Life in Long Beach was an amazing venue. Beth Giles opened the doors to her vintage boutique wide open with a 3-week old infant on her hip and a toddler at home. She was indefatigable! Never did I look so calm, so rested, and so energetic when I had a new born and little one underfoot. I certainly didn’t sweep the floors and clean windows an hour before twenty strangers walked through my doors when I was in her shoes almost 6 years ago.
With such a limited budget for decor, we knew we needed a place that was pretty on its own. Salvage Life was bright, clean, and filled with stylish vignettes. We added balloons, vintage inspired party decorations, and a few ribbon streamers.
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Danni and Gena are the lifesavers responsible for the pretty dessert archway. Andrea and I gave them a rough idea of what we wanted and then they took it to the next level.
The miniature cupcakes (sea salt caramel and chocolate; strawberry cream) are from Baby Boy Bakery. Andrea has worked with Jacqui in the past for several events, and�her custom and organic cupcakes�have yet to disappoint. We rounded out the table with chocolate toffee almonds and merengues.
August and September are the hottest months of the year in southern California, so we erred on the side of caution and kept the dinner light and cold. Sandwiches and�salad from The Corner Bakery, lots of fresh fruit, and a small platter of nuts, olives, and dried fruits. We washed everything down with grapefruit soda, guava punch, sparkling water, and wine.
We mingled and made stuff. A simple party premise, but it was so much fun.
Andrea and I had a small budget, and we couldn’t afford to do everything we wanted, but we both agreed from the start that we wanted to generously thank everyone who came out in support of The Craft Cabinet. I know I’m being rude by bragging, but I think our swag bags (hate that term) were fantastic. The contributions from Tristan and Danni alone would have made me a happy crafter. We even included sweet treats for the drive home! (Thanks, Gena!) �The bags deserve a post of their own, and Andrea will share what went into each bag this week. I’ll be sure to link to it.
Not everything went smoothly, of course. I spent way too much time worrying about how I would be perceived and if I would disappoint anyone. I dodged the camera a lot. I wish I hadn’t expended so much brain power�on something so silly�but, on the plus side, no one will ever accuse me of being an attention seeking ham! Nevertheless, I’m proud of what we accomplished and even more proud that I stepped far, far outside my comfort zone. 250+ points to me for that one, regardless of my execution. I’m sure I’ll get better with this sort of thing over time. Speaking of which, we’re thinking of having another one right before the holidays. Are you game?
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All photos in this post were provided by Mary Dau Yung of Yung Bean Photography. Thank you, Mary. You were able to capture more than I ever could, and that’s not because I forgot my camera.
A special thanks to Danni and Gena, who helped set up and contributed to the gift bags.
Would you like to know who came? Here are their blogs! I’ve also included an opportunity for those who attended the party to link to their posts, so you can check them out that way, too.
Brenda | Secret Agent Josephine
Lisa | Trapped in North Jersey
Sarah | Little Penelope Lane (and Penelope Lane Boutiques)
(And hello to Tina, Andrea’s sister and Larissa, my friend!)
It looks like a blast – I wish I could have been there!
This party looks like it was so much fun! These are great photos too – such pretty colors! I wish I could have joined you. If you ever want to have a craft party in Asia, I’m there! {just sayin’} :)
How cute are you guys?! I love that last photo especially. This looks like such a fun idea, and I’m bummed I live across the country and can’t join you for the next one. Come to the east coast, pretty please?
Oh my gosh – it all looks wonderful!! The store is SO cute – what a great venue for you! The food looks wonderful (sea salt, caramel, and chocolate!), and the decorations are just right. Congratulations for moving outside that comfort zone and for putting on such a great event!
I love the color scheme that extended to even the drinks! Good job ladies! I wish I could have been there:)
Stepping out of your comfort zone is always cause for celebration. That you had fun doing it is pure bonus! So glad for you that your event went well.
This looks like it was a great event! And how adventurous of you to host something like this if it isn’t your typical M.O. Very brave, Jules! (and very inspiring!)
I had SUCH a fabulous time! My first crafty meetup, my first time decorating for an event, AND my first time providing Bake All The Things treats for goodie bags!
Thanks SO much to you and Andrea for jumping on your idea and creating such a great event! Can’t wat for the next one. Maybe in November just before the big holidays??
Guess I better go write up my own blog post now, hah!
Thanks, everyone! :) My internet is ridiculously spotty right now, so I can’t respond to every comment like I usually do…but I’m reading every one, of course!
We were thinking of doing another one right before the holidays, sometime in November.
as absolutely silly as this sounds, I’m so glad we went with that brand of sparkling water, and the orange colored Izzes. When I mentioned that brand of water, I just knew they had a pretty label, not even thinking they tied into our event color scheme. See, everything just fell into place and was meant to be. Thanks for being a great partner in crime ;)
So much fun! Wish I lived in CA so I could go.
Thank you again for hosting!! :) Are the other pictures available for us to view too? I’d love to include more in my write-up… Can’t wait for the next event!!
Me too! Wish I was a Californian so I could have been there for this!
Jules, what a great way to leap from your comfort zone. Looks like so much fun, wish I was able to attend.
It looks beautiful and (most importantly!) fun! I’m so sorry I missed it – will try to be better about the next one.
Thanks again Jules for all the hard work you two put into this! It was a fun evening. My only disappointment is that I didn’t get to those gold-flaked cupcakes in time. ;-) You certainly did NOT disappoint, and again, I’m so glad to have met you.
My own re-cap similarly talks about how uneasy I was with stepping so far out of my comfort zone to attend. And all I had to do was show up…so kudos to you for going out on that limb and making it all happen.
this looks like so much fun! you guys did an amazing job!
I’ll be there! Whenever, wherever. I’ll even sing like Shakira if you want me to. Er, maybe not.
Seriously, though, I had a blast. I can’t thank you enough for the perfect excuse to branch out and meet new people.
It was fabulous! I had a great time–thank you for giving me the opportunity to meet other locals! Please have another one, I can’t wait to do it again.
That sounds like so much fun. I wonder if there’s anything like that out my way? The food pics were totally making me drool, by the way.
loved meeting you! that night was awesome <3
xo,
andrea
It was so wonderful seeing you again, Jules!
Thank you for all of you hard work, putting CC together!
WOW just what I was looking for. Came here by searching for American water ouzel