An Event to Honor and Remember

Over the past two weeks I have had the honor of working on a very special project with an extraordinary group of people called Autumn's Army.This past December a family in our community suffered the most devastating loss that a parent can imagine. The Hoeft family lost their precious 5 year-old daughter, Autumn, to brain cancer.  Autumn's Army is "a group of concerned parents, family, teachers and school administrators, neighbors, classmates, friends and sometimes complete strangers that decided to band together" to help Autumn's family as they struggle to rebuild their lives without their daughter. This amazing group planned and organized a Tribute Dance and Silent Auction to benefit the Hoeft family and I was asked to help out. Sheek Shindigs designed and donated a dessert table for the event. The event's theme was based around two of Autumn's favorite things: pink and butterflies. I decided to use both of those elements to design a table that would honor Autumn and her memory. This is the table before the desserts were added:

I wanted the table to be simple and reflective of a little girl. I found the most adorable butterfly lamps at Home Goods and knew that they were meant for the table. I trimmed several of the serving plates and part of the center cake stand with white ruffles that I made from crepe paper. As a focal point for the table, I created an inexpensive butterfly "picture" by painting a blank canvas (bought at a local craft store) and embellishing it with paper butterflies that were donated by Megan of  Embellished Paper. Megan also donated the cupcake wrappers for the event. Thanks, Megan!

The dessert table featured pink and white cupcakes by a local vendor (Hopelessly Delicious Cakes and Candies), cake balls (Sheek Shindigs), and AMAZING cookies by my talented friend, Nicole. Yummy!

It turned out to be an amazing night for a more than worthy cause. Much thanks to Autumn's Army for all of their hard work and for bringing our community together. Thank you to the vendors and friends that donated items for the dessert table and/or the event as well as everyone that came out to support the family. I know that Autumn was smiling down on you all last night. While I never personally knew Autumn or her family, her story and the impression that she has left on myself and our community is one that I will never forget. Autumn's story has reminded me to slow down and cherish the time that I have with my children. They are truly a gift from God. She has reminded me to be thankful for my family, our health, and life in general. And, Autumn's story has renewed my faith in our community. Thank you, Autumn.

You can read about Autumn's story, here.

Vendor Information:

Dessert Table Design, set-up: Sheek Shinidgs

Cupcake Wrappers & Butterflies: Embellished Paper

Butterfly Canvas: Sheek Shindigs

Butterfly Lamps: Home Goods

Cupcakes: Hopelessly Delicious Cakes and Candies

Cookies: Nicole Soderberg

Cake Balls: Sheek Shindigs

Printables (food/donor labels): The Homespun Hostess





Operation Shower: Sea to Shining Sea

Two weeks ago I had the privilege of helping out with my second Operation Shower event, this time in Norfolk, VA. This event was organized to "shower" expecting women whose husbands were deployed and serving on the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN77) and was given a coordinating nautical "Sea to Shining Sea" theme.

Operation Shower's Chief Event Organizer, Amy Belle Isle, did another fabulous job designing the event. Nautical elements were incorporated throughout, including the graphic designs, table centerpieces, and food and dessert tables. One of my absolute favorites designed all of the graphics for the shower, Lindi of Love the Day. She rocks! Other amazing talents that were helping out with the event included Chris of Celebrations At Home, Ebony of Sparkling Events and Designs, and Deanna of 5 to 9 Events. These women made an already worth-while event a complete joy to be a part of. It is so nice to be able to come together and work with such a talented group of women for an amazing organization AND have so much FUN at the same time. Love them all!

Any guesses what Amy used to create the dessert table's backdrop? Place mats! It was such a creative idea and it looked great at the event. Not so much fun hanging it, though :)  Sugarland Bakery came all the way from Chapel Hill the morning of the shower to deliver the adorable nautical themed cake that they created for the event. These girls are seriously talented and equally as sweet themselves! Just Pop In donated the mini popcorn bags and Firefly Confections sent the cutest little cookies for the event.

Many generous vendors came together and donated so many wonderful items for this event. In addition to the "showers in a box" that each mother received, everyone was gifted a stroller, bath tub, clothing, diaper bags, boppy's, handmade booties and hats, diapers, and much, much more. It was an amazing day full of celebrating, honoring, and truly "showering" these women. They are part of a much larger group of men, women, and families that sacrifice so much for our country every day and I hope that they felt the love, appreciation, and support that everyone involved with Operation Shower strives to bestow upon them on their special day . I truly feel blessed and am grateful to have been able to participate in another Operation Shower event.

Also, a big thank you to Stephanie of Lifeography for all of the wonderful photographs. You can learn more about Operation Shower, what they do, and how you can help, here.

The girls: Chris (Celebrations At Home), Amy (Operation Shower), me  (Sheek Shindigs), Ebony (Sparkling Events and Designs), and Lindi (Love the Day).

Heading Out for Operation Shower

Tomorrow morning I will be heading to Norfolk, VA bright and early to help out an AMAZING organization called Operation Shower this weekend. If you have followed me for awhile, you may remember that I was fortunate enough to be able to be a small part of another Operation Shower event last October in Washington, DC. Being able to help out with that event was such a positive experience, so I am thrilled to have the opportunity to come back and help out this time around.

For those of you that aren't familiar with Operation Shower:

"Operation Shower is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides joyful baby showers for military families to ease the burden of deployment.

For military families who are expecting a new baby and are experiencing or have recently experienced deployment, we accomplish our mission through:

• hosting amazing baby showers
• delivering high-quality products
• creating a shared experience
• partnering with organizations to provide value-added services, such as health-related information

Operation Shower was founded specifically because we know that moms in a military family who hold it all together at home — moms who go through a pregnancy without their spouse by their side, deployed to a another part of the world, proudly serving our country, but wishing they could do more for those at home — these moms deserve our support, our thanks, our love and of course, they deserve a party!".

Here are a few pictures from a shower that Operation Shower held back in April at Camp LeJeune, NC. Pretty amazing!

I am looking so forward to this weekend and can't wait to share details and pictures with you later next week. In the meantime, you can learn more about Operation Shower and how you can help out this amazing organization over at their website or on facebook.

For Japan With Love

This Friday Sheek Shindigs will be participating in the For Japan With Love Bloggers Day of Silence {no postings} to acknowledge and help raise awareness and respect for the devastation going on in Japan, as well as to help raise money for relief aid to Japan. Please stop by the For Japan With Love site and contribute if you are able to do so. Every little bit helps!

“All of the donations {For Japan, With Love} will go to ShelterBox, which provides emergency shelter and lifesaving supplies for families around the world who are affected by disasters at the time when they need it the most. Each large, green ShelterBox is tailored to a disaster but typically contains a disaster relief tent for an extended family, blankets, water storage and purification equipment, cooking utensils, a stove, a basic tool kit, a children’s activity pack and other vital items.”



Thank you for your support!

A Devastated Japan: Sending Heartfelt Thoughts, Prayers, and Hope

When I turned on the news this morning to check the local weather my heart sank at the devastating news of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan. How horrible. I have a dear friend that is originally from Japan and still has all of her immediate family living there. I instantly began to think of her (and them) and couldn't imagine what she and so many other families must be feeling. I know that I would feel panic, desperation, terror, and sadness. This afternoon I learned that her family and friends are all safe. Thank goodness. My heart breaks for those that were not as fortunate and for their families.

In times like these, it is so important for us to come together and support those who need our help. The American Red Cross "stands ready and willing to assist following a magnitude 8.9 earthquake in Japan and the resulting tsunami that affected other countries in the Pacific region". If you would like to help you can go to www.redcross.org and donate to Japan Earthquake and Pacific Tsunami or you can also text REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation to help those affected by the earthquake in Japan and tsunami throughout the Pacific.



Praying that tomorrow will be a brighter day...

"Bee My Valentine" Party Printables for Operation Give Thanks

I am so happy to be able to share some great Valentine's Day Party Printables that are not only cute, but are part of a nation-wide fund-raising party for an extremely worthy cause as well. Miss Bird of Bird's Party Blog (L-O-V-E her!) created this adorable "Bee My Valentine" party printable collection for Operation Give Thanks.


Operation Give Thanks is a nation-wide fund-raising party to help the amazing organization, Operation Shower, continue on its mission to throw amazing baby showers for military families to ease the burden of deployment. I had the privilege of volunteering with Operation Shower back in October and was able to see first-hand how wonderful this organization is and how important its mission is to so many deserving families. By making an online donation of $5 or greater to Operation Shower, you can help spread some LOVE this Valentine's Day to many deserving military families AND download some Fabulous printables as well! Did I mention that the "Bee Mine" Valentine's Party Printable collection includes: Fill-in party invites, 2" cupcake toppers (or round favor tags), party icons and cut-outs (bees and beehive) that you can use as cake toppers too, napkin rings or jar and bottle wrappers, place-cards or dessert buffet labels (Bee My Cupcake and Pink Lemonade), candy jar fancy labels and a 5" x 7" super cute party sign - Instructions and list of materials are included. How great is that!






BUZZ on over to Bird's Party Blog to show your support and DOWNLOAD these great printables. Tell Bird that I sent you ;)

Operation Shower: A Star is Born Photos

As I mentioned last week, I was so honored to have the opportunity to volunteer with Operation Shower at Walter Reed Medical Center. Operation Shower truely "showered" a group of expecting military families with an afternoon of recognition, appreciation, and (the fun part!) lots of baby items! It was remarkable to experinence the joy that this event brought to these families.

The theme of the shower was "A Star is Born!". Amy of Stem Parties (and the Chief Event Organizer for Operation Shower) did a wonderful job creating a movie premiere feel to the event.

Guests entered the event by walking down a red carpet where they were greeted with a gift bag and clutch.

The concession table prior to the event starting.


Some of the table decor

The concession stand with cupcakes from Georgetown Cupcake (they were delicious!).

Some of the event volunteers (me, Lindi of Love the Day, Amy of Stem Parties, Chris of Celebrations at Home, and Ashleigh of Posh Parties, LLC. )

For more information about the services that Operation Shower provides and how you can help this amazing organization, click here. For more details and photos from the event, visit Operation Shower on Facebook!

Operation Shower: A Star is Born

Today I was honored to be able to have a small part in helping set up an event that Operation Shower is hosting at Walter Reed Army Medical Center tomorrow. Some of the amazing women that are working hard to make this event possible for expecting military families are LeAnn Morrissey of Operation Shower, Amy Belle Isle of Stem Parties,and Chris of Celebrations At Home. The theme of the event is "A Star is Born". Can't wait to share pictures after tomorrow!

Amy Atlas Toppings Bar

I ADORE Amy Atlas. Her work is constantly providing me with inspiration and fresh new ideas. If you aren't familiar with her you can check out her work here. Amy recently teamed up with Kelly Ripa and Electrolux in their Banana Split for a Cause event which benefited the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund. Here are a few pictures of the event. We are working on an ice cream bar for a baby shower this month and this event has definitely given me some great ideas. Enjoy!

The Toppings Bar

Ice Cream Cone Cookies

More Toppings

Another View

Kelly and Stephen Bruce (Serendipity owner) making their banana splits

Kelly's Banana Split

Amy and Kelly in front of the toppings bar

What a beautiful event for such a great cause!

Two Tiny Hands Fundraiser Launch Party

Sheek Shindigs is helping out a great new foundation with their first fundraising event this Saturday, June 26th. If you are local, please consider stopping by. There will be activities and food for the kids as well as several opportunites to support Two Tiny Hands.



You can find more information about Two Tiny Hands, how to support this foundation, and details about their fundraising launch party here.

Two Tiny Hands Foundation

Sheek Shindigs is helping a wonderful new foundation with their launch party and first fundraiser event on June 26th. Two Tiny Hands is a foundation that provides support to families that have lost a child to SIDS. They help children and parents by providing comfort packages to siblings and care packages to parents. They are currently raising money to help them achieve their non-for-profit status by June 26th. If you would like to learn more about this amazing foundation, why it was started, or to donate, click here.



Two Tiny Hands Fundraiser Launch Party



A fundraiser hosted by Rick & Maggie Hansford
in honor of their daughter Ellie. Proceeds benefit
families who have lost a loved one to sudden
infant death syndrome (SIDS).

They will be collecting new stuffed animals at
the door to send to siblings who have lost their
brother or sister.

Admission is $5

The event will have fun for the whole family:
• moon bounce
• face painting
• snow cones
• games

Light refreshments will be provided with a candy
bar for the children.