Like a record, baby…
May 3rd, 2009
We went to a rock-star birthday party yesterday for a little boy turning one. I thought it was kind of a weird theme for a little guy but it turned out to be totally cool. Plus, his parents are into metal and wearing black so it was perfect for them. After all isn’t the first birthday party more for the parents anyway? They had silver balloons and black plates, a star-covered birthday cake and pizza. The kids got little guitar-shaped bubble dispensers and temporary tattoos. Hard-rock music played in the background turned low. It was all good.
I love the theme now and can think of a ton of things to embellish it. Record-shaped cookies! Karaoke? A guitar-shaped cake! Decorate with old vinyl records and blank cd’s! The possibilities are endless. I tried to influence the party-throwing mother but she wisely kept me out of it. We’re old friends so she knows I tend to get a little over-excited about theme parties. She wanted to keep it mellow for her little guy and that’s always smart. I could learn a lesson or two from her.
So anyway, I had fun wrapping my present. I got the little guy a rock-star t-shirt and a book. I was going to just wrap them in a box with white paper and draw flames on the side but markers and crayons just didn’t seem rock-star-ish enough for me. I don’t own an airbrush yet, so that was out. I decided to make my present look like a record.
Drawing concentric circles can slowly drive you mad. I didn’t mind it though because a long time ago I took an art class in college and the professor made us draw a circle. You’d think that would be the easiest lesson on earth but it was actually very hard. I think it took us a week. Then we had to draw tiny lines back and forth across the circle. I wish I had that old circle art. In the end it turned out to be pretty amazing. I just remember how humbling it was to take your time and draw a line back and forth across the page. We weren’t allowed to erase or start over. It was a lesson in patience. I’ll never forget it. It’s the imperfections that make art interesting.
Bug made a pizza with the other disc that I used for the bottom of the package. Which just goes to show you that this kind of wrapping is very versatile. All you need are two round cardboard circles and some sharpies and you can decorate them however you want. A pizza, a swimming pool (with a rubber ducky as an accent maybe?) a record, a giant chocolate chip cookie…endless options! I think I’ll be wrapping presents like this again. I didn’t do the best job on the center art but it’s still a cool idea, I think. Who knows, sharing it here it might help somebody else get outside the (present-wrapping) box.
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:04 pm
love it. :^)
May 3rd, 2009 at 3:44 pm
What a great idea!
May 3rd, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Awesome. I could just imagine a Rock Star party that you designed, ooh lala.
May 3rd, 2009 at 4:16 pm
I wanna see photos of the cake & party!
Also, I debated whether or not to tell you that I found Rolling Stones t-shirts at Target yesterday. Doh! :-) I like the one you got way better though.
May 3rd, 2009 at 4:39 pm
So clever! Any photos of the party to share?
May 3rd, 2009 at 4:46 pm
I had a rock star party for my 10-year old son, and the most fun part was the guitar cake. I can’t help myself, I must include a link to my own post about it! Love your package!
http://andillraiseyou5.blogspot.com/2008/10/rockin.html
May 3rd, 2009 at 6:15 pm
That is an AWESOME idea!!! I love it.
May 3rd, 2009 at 7:08 pm
Hmmm…. Molly has a rock star attitude. This has some possibilities. Sounds like a LOT of fun. I love the gift wrapping idea.
May 3rd, 2009 at 9:18 pm
I had that same art lesson. Drawing perfect circles is maddening. Maybe that’s why I have my polka dot phobia. Hm. Seriously I nearly vomited at the sight of polka dots yesterday. Yeesh. I got probs.
May 3rd, 2009 at 11:21 pm
As someone who really appreciates your marvelous decorated boxes (and is going to keep theirs forever and probably store letters and mementos in it) I think your record packaging ideas is fab and I think I might borrow if for a certain rock chick friend of mine, next time it’s her birthday.
At my local Camden market they are selling bags made out of old vinyl records.The records make the two sides while a piece of coloured cloth/ plastic attaches them together like this http://www.bankstreetbazaar.com.au/media/thumb_DSCF2372.JPG
I think they are groovy ( boom, boom).
At animation college we had to draw bouncing balls for six weeks. Foot balls, ping pong balls, bowling balls, tennis balls, water balloons to learn how to imitate their movements. I’m impressed you learnt how to draw a perfect circle and I totally agree it’s the imperfections in art that make it interesting.
May 4th, 2009 at 8:01 am
I LOVE party planning…but you are so much more artistic than I am. I love your packaging…makes me want to have you for my neighbor so you can bring me pretty things. Please move to Canada.
OK, official call for help.
My daughter chose EGYPTIAN for her 12th birthday theme. Any ideas? I mean, 12 year olds do NOT want to play games right? Sigh.
I’ve got a ton of egyptian books for door prizes (costumes)…
Henna temporary tattoos….
Egyptian coins….
Chocolate moulds in the shape of Mummies, pyramids, & masks….
We are going to decorate gingerbread men cookies to look like mummies…
The cake is confounding me….
And my son chose Jetfighter for his 10th birthday. Oh.My.GOSH they are trying to kill me.
So far I have all the party supplies (they actually MAKE theme stuff for that)
White balloons for clouds….
Airforce chocolate moulds…
Jet fighter cookie cutters….
The end. I’m stuck. LOL. Oh…and the cake is ordered.
Please, any and all ideas are NEEDED. Anyone. Anyone.
May 4th, 2009 at 8:03 am
LOVE the wrap job :)
May 4th, 2009 at 8:07 am
Super cute idea to wrap the gift like a record… I wish that I could even come up with the ideas that you do, never mind pull them off! I think you need to come up with a party-planning business: your clients could tell you their theme and then you go wild coming up with the cool accents, decor, favors, etc. I’d pay you! :)
May 4th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
love it! brilliant. i so hear you on making circles … as i read I had flashbacks to freshman year design, making ink lines with plaka and these crazy metal pens that were kind of like fountain pens, and the lines had to gradually get farther apart to make an even gradation. shiver. yes, a huge lesson in patience!
May 4th, 2009 at 3:54 pm
Well, gee, now I can’t stop singing that song! :)
May 5th, 2009 at 8:23 am
I see it. Bright new banner to go with orange soda pop. I never knew when I made the orange flags that it would lead to all this. I must get the tablecloth and napkins made to match.
mom
May 5th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Super creative! I love it!
May 6th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
that is so neat! So rockin?!
May 6th, 2009 at 10:42 pm
I remember having to do that in art class. And I think we used indian ink because I remember I smudged my lines or maybe I dripped some ink. Well I think that’s what happened, my memory is very faulty. :)
May 7th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
That’s so creative! I would never have thought to do that in a million years. But I love the idea of the swimming pool with a rubber ducky accent. Cuteness!