Retail Love #6: Like a Kid in a Candy Store!

I *love* candy.  It's sweet.  It's accessible.  It's beautiful.  I don't necessarily love to eat candy (I outgrew the taste of most candies long ago), but I love the memories candy evokes.

So when the opportunity came about recently for Sweetest Whimsy to become an affiliate of A Candy Store, you'd better believe I was jumping up and down like a kid high on sugar!  A Candy Store is an amazing site online, heaven for lovers of candy in all forms.  You can buy in bulk and pay wholesale prices or browse by brand, color or theme. 

My Blue Heaven

Have you ever noticed that there are very few naturally blue foods?  Not so in the candy world!  A few years ago, I threw a Percy Jackson-themed party, in honor of the release of the movie The Lightning Thief.  In the Percy Jackson series of books for tweens, Percy has a penchant for blue foods, which his Mom cheerfully indulges with blue sweets from the candy store where she works.  So our party food theme was quite obviously "blue" and the guests had an excellent time filling their treat bags from a buffet of blue candies!  I only wish I had ordered them from A Candy Store because there is almost no limit to the different kinds of blue candies you can choose from:

Blue Raspberry Sour Straws - 15lb

Berry Blue Jelly Belly - 10lbs

Blue Whirly Pops - 60ct

Blue M&Ms Candy - 5lb

Childhood Delights

In addition to candy in every color, A Candy Store will delight your memory with favorites from (my) childhood:

Candy Buttons Unwrapped - 1000ct

Necco Junior Wafers - 5lb

Fun Dip - Small Packs: 48ct

Novelties

And then there are the novelty candies that are too cool to pass up:

I'd definitely eat through the entire case of Harry Potter Chocolate Frogs to collect the valuable trading cards inside! 

These have always fascinated me:

Tequila Worm Pops: 36ct

Jones Soda Carbonated Candy: 8ct

Yes, Soda Candy, just like the uniquely flavored Jones Soda itself!  Can't wait to try these.  I have a feeling that A Candy Store's flat rate shipping deal is going to come in handy!  All of these candies are going to be pretty heavy, so thanking my lucky stars that the shipping won't be!

Retail Love #5: Colors, Patterns and Themes

The Retail Love continues!  As of today, Sweetest Whimsy is an affiliate of THIRTY different retail companies, large and small, online!  That equals a gazillion different products, ranging from invitations to party favors to cake decorating supplies to personalized gifts.  And a whole lot more!

Today I'm loving some adorable party accessories from an awesome site appropriately named Plates & Napkins.  However, they sell much more than just plates and napkins of course.  If you're like me, and you like to see your party theme colors done right, throughout the entire event, you will LOVE this site.

Hot Pink Stripey Paper Straws from Plates & Napkins

I am a sucker for pink, as everyone knows.  And these pink stripey paper straws are totally sweet!  The price is right too; I've seen this elsewhere for much, much more.  (A smart girl's got to stay within her budget sometimes.)

Something really cool about Plates & Napkins is that you can browse by color or by pattern, so if you're really wanting a chevron design in a particular color for example, you will find it!  Like this:

Chevron 7 inch plate in Green from Plates & Napkins

Got plans to celebrate the 2012 Summer Olympics next month?  Plates & Napkins has it covered!  These Union Jack Napkins are perfect for Opening Ceremony tea and scones:

Union Jack Beverage Napkins from Plates & Napkins

You can browse all of Plates & Napkins many, many themes, colors and patterns from Sweetest Whimsy's new Retail Love storefront (kind of like a mini-shopping mall of stuff I love!) or from the Paper Dolls Blog.  If you see something (or things) you like, you can order directly from the website links OR just contact us and I will be happy to help you with your order!
 

Paper Invitations Meet Online Reservations

In April we sent out some very cute and chic invitations from Tiny Prints for my soon-to-be 11 year old's birthday party.  They offer an amazing service, their Online Invitation Manager, as a free perk when you order party invitations from them!  So we took advantage of the service, and I have to say, I really loved having that option.  Usually, when you send out paper invitations, you don't have the option of having your guests RSVP online.  At best, they might email you their response.  So it's pretty sweet when your guests can go online to a secure, dedicated site that features the exact invitation design you chose and RSVP!  Better still, you (the host) can manage the RSVPs and post messages and updates for your guests.  It's especially nice that you don't have to print your own email address on the invitations, just your dedicated Tiny Prints RSVP website, especially when you use your work email for non-work stuff.  And did I mention the RSVP site is absolutely FREE with your order?!
Invitation my tween daughter chose, exactly matched by the RSVP website created for us by Tiny Prints:

Birthday party invitation, Bold Zinnias
from: Tiny Prints, Inc. 

Planning a party in the near future?  Don't forget your FREE online RSVP website!  Free online RSVP service from Tiny Prints.

Lovely Luna

A few weeks ago I featured some really unique items from a new fave, Luna Bazaar.   Well now they are having a nice little June special in honor of June Weddings! 

Take 5% off any size order at LunaBazaar.com. Use WEDDING5 at checkout. Expires 6/30/2012.

They are the absolute authority on gorgeous paper lanterns, in all colors and sizes, and have been featured recently in Martha Stewart Weddings.  But of course they have more than just lanterns!  Luna Bazaar has gifts, favors, centerpieces and decorative accents perfect for weddings as well as other special events.  All of them are a little off the beaten path if you're looking for something different!

4th of July & Summer Party Cards Sale!

Summer is almost here and that means the Fourth of July and Summer Parties!

OK, so you have an All-American menu ready, a guest list in mind and the grill is already warming up. That’s a great start. Now it’s time to invite some folks over!

There is no better place to order your summer party invitations than Tiny Prints. They are the leader in all things invitations. You can choose from over 100 designs, including some specifically for July 4^th.

These are not your run of the mill, off the shelf invitations, either. They are seriously classy…and you can customize everything. The process could not be simpler:

1.    You choose from one of over 100 of their summer party invitation designs.

2.    You personalize them. Change the font, change the text colors, upload a picture, etc.

3.    You approve them and use promo code 15INVITES when you checkout to save 15% (ends midnight Pacific Time June 26).

4.    They send them for you (this only costs the price of a stamp).

5.    People come over to your house, blow some stuff up, and everyone eats way too much food.

6.    Everyone wants to come back next year. You are a local legend.

It’s time to order, so check them out today. Don’t forget the 15% off sale ends at midnight June 26.

Beau-coup Fun!

So my daughter's birthday parties came and went with much fun and fanfare, and the absolute hit of both events was our Beau-coup party favor! OMG, those girls went nuts over these mini candy dispensers, which we filled with gummy candies related to our party theme (natural history museum scavenger hunt) such as gummy dinos, fish, marine animals, etc.

Now Beau-coup is sponsoring an awesome Pinterest contest!  I love Pinterest!  Now's your chance to start your pinning to win a Beau-coup Gift Certificate.

Mini Candy Dispensers with Scoop

from: Beau-coup.com


Beau-coup Pinterest ContestCreate a Pinterest Board and enter to win a Gift Certificate to Beau-coup. If you love planning every detail of the perfect party, this is your chance to express your personal creativity. They are giving away three gift certificates for the most creative themed birthday party boards on Pinterest. Show your themed birthday party ideas for a chance to win up to $250 so you can throw the ultimate themed birthday party! Just click on the image below to find out all the details.



While you are there, check out their graduation party favors and summer wedding favors, Beau-coup has party favors for all occasions, helping you celebrate life, one event at a time. Good luck!