Tiffany and I, being the party planning addicts we are, knew this was a prime opportunity to put our skills to work!  We planned Jim a surprise party! A pretty awesome party if you ask me.  Although, it was so much fun, we don’t have many pictures to share with you.  We were too busy being a blast… er, I mean, HAVING a blast!

But you know us, we always have some DIY project up our sleeves, and this graduation party was no different!  One of the little projects we tackled were some pretty adorable graduation cupcake toppers.  They were made out of candy and were a HIT!  PERFECT for any graduation party.  AND since it IS graduation season we figured we’d show you how we made them.  This way, if you are throwing or attending a graduation party YOU could make your own!! BUT if you do, I must warn you they’ll go FAST so hide one for yourself before they all disappear! I myself, learned this the hard way.  No cute little cap cupcake topper for me !  My fault, shoulda known better!!!!!

Okay, here is our DIY graduation cupcake topper tutorial:

Materials:

• Reese’s Mini Peanut Butter Cups
• Reese’s Pieces
• Ghirardelli Squares
• icing gel
• and cupcakes (of course)

First, pick out all the brown Reese’s Pieces and unwrap all of the candy.  We put ours in the freezer for about 15 minutes before and it was MUCH easier to unwrap the cold candy.   While your candy is in the freezer eat the rest of the Reese’s Pieces!

When your candy is unwrapped, take a Reese’s Cup and flip it upside down.

Top it with gel.

Place a Ghirardelli square on the gel.

Then with a little more gel, “glue” a Reese’s Pieces on top!

AND VIOLA…. 

A cute little graduation cap for the top of your cupcake!!

We also made some simple graduation signs for the other cupcakes.  They were a nice touch but no one wanted THOSE cupcakes.  They were the rejects that were eaten last!

OKAY!!!!  Now onto the party…

Here he is…the guest of honor!  Jim had no idea what he was walking into.  Well, until he was at the door, looked down the street, and saw his parent’s car.  WE WERE SOOOO CLOSE!!! But he was really surprised!  We hid it pretty well!

GREAT JOB GUYS!  I know it’s especially hard for a certain few of you to keep secrets!  Don’t worry, I won’t blow your spot up!

Again, sorry for the lack of party photos.  I know it is very unlike us to leave out the details!  We won’t let it happen again!!

We partied until the wee hours of the morning!  Aunt Tiff made the kid’s night when she blew up the air mattress and put on a movie.  ACTUALLY, she made us parent’s pretty happy too.  The kids cuddled up and wound down, sorta! They still stayed up way past midnight… but hey, isn’t that what parties are for??

SUNDAY was GRADUATION DAY!!!!!

I figured we can’t have a “graduation post” without a few photos of the actual ceremony itself!

Again, Jim worked so hard… AND I want to brag about how awesome my husband is…. SO here are some shots of his big day!!

YES!! There were bagpipers!  Cabrini College is pretty fancy like that!   AND they had drummers…

I was happy I was able to pause my cheering to snap these few photos of my hunky graduate!  Although I DID break the rules and cross the “commencement barrier”  but hey, my husband only earns his Masters once.   Sorry Cabrini, your little white chain wasn’t holding me back! 

After the ceremony we took some family shots.  Here is Jim with his #1 girl….  

And his cheering section…. 

We were all so proud!

Jim, CONGRADULATIONS, for what is probably the 1000th time, but I am just so proud of you!  I love you and always knew you could do it!

CLASS OF 2013 BABY!!!!

AND for the rest of you SENIORS out there…  CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS to YOU!  May your graduation be quick, your parties AWESOME and your summer the best you’ve ever had!!!

Have a great one gang!

And always remember….

KNOWLEDGE IS POWER!!!

xx,

Heather

]]> http://appletiniphotography.com/jims-graduation-class-of-2013/feed/ 0 http://appletiniphotography.com/memorial-day-portraits/ http://appletiniphotography.com/memorial-day-portraits/#comments Mon, 20 May 2013 16:00:11 +0000 Tiffany http://appletiniphotography.com/?p=6368 What are you doing this weekend?

Going to the shore?  Okay, this post is not for you

Hanging around town with the family?  Okay, read on…

Memorial Day weekend is a great time to get those family portraits updated!! The whole family is together, everyone is off from work and the weather this weekend is suppose to be BEAUTIFUL!!

We can do portraits in the park or in a location of your choice.  We are limited to 4 sessions per day to allow quality time with each family.  Book Today!!

The lucky winner was selected at random by random.org

…DRUM ROLL PLEASE…

LUCKY NUMBER 13 – Danielle D.  I will be in touch soon with all the details!!

Congratulations!!

Ekkkkk, my first set of TWINS!!  I have worked with a lot of different family dynamics but twins were new for me and I seriously could not have asked for a better, more adorable, amazing, beautiful set of twins!  These guys were all smiles and so much fun from the time they got out of the car.

I love the way Mom coordinated the family outfits and the weather and light was absolutely beautiful this fine Sunday afternoon.  We had a great time shooting at Washington Crossing Park, waving to the ducks and looking for boats.  I love when kids get really into a photo shoot and this whole family was such a pleasure to capture!

On with the adorable images….

Seriously, who doesn’t love that big eared, red pant wearing Mouse?  As far as mice come, I know he’s MY favorite!! You know who else is a huge fan? My Haddy Cakes!

She is going through this Mickey Mouse phase.  She doesn’t discriminate though, she loves ‘em all… Minnie, Donald, Daisy, Goofy, Pluto… even Pete!  The whole Disney gang!  Her favorite show at the moment is Disney Junior’s, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  She could watch it all day!  SOOO, since she’s a Mickey Mouse freak right now, I thought I’d be an awesome Mom and throw my little Mouse lover a Mickey Mouse Birthday!  Okay, it’s not JUST a Mickey Mouse Birthday… It HAD to be a Mickey Mouse CLUBHOUSE party!

By now, you should know that I wasn’t just going to Party City to purchase Mickey Mouse invitations. I needed something special.  Something handmade.  Something that was going to excite all the Mouseketeers invited!  So this is what I came up with.  These awesome custom-made Mickey Mouse Invitations…

The Mickey shaped head is unmistakable, and the signature red pants, complete with buttons, finish the Mickey-look!  The pants are designed as a pocket that the actual invitation slides into. Definitely not your typical Mickey Mouse invitation!!

I’m hoping the creativity of these custom invitations get the guests excited about all the Clubhouse fun we are going to have at Hadley’s party. With an invite like this you know the party won’t disappoint!!  Well, I’m HOPING it won’t anyway!

Have a great one, Gang!

xx,

Heather

I remember my communion like it was yesterday, I absolutely loved getting all dressed up in my white dress.  Gianna was just as excited to be in hers and looked absolutely beautiful.  If she’s this beautiful on her communion day in her little white dress can you imagine her wedding day?  We had a great first communion portrait session with family in this beautiful field behind the Little Angel’s Church.  It was perfect weather to celebrate a First Holy Communion.  Gianna loved twirling and modeling in her special communion dress.  I loved her hair, crown, little gloves and all the sparkle on the dress!

Congratulation Gianna on your First Holy Communion!

For a rockstar birthday party the invitations must be super cool!  You want your guests to feel the rockin’ vibe as soon as they open them.  This will get them excited to attend and ready to rock-out with the guest of honor!

Check out THESE custom invitations made specifically for Sophia’s 3^rd Birthday Party.

Sophie is a total Rockstar so a Rockstar Birthday Bash is the perfect theme for her.  Her guests will feel like VIPs with this invitation designed to look like an All Access Backstage Pass.   Anyone lucky enough to receive this lanyard invitation can wear it to the party to show off their VIP status!!

I love how the information is laid out and the language used.  Terms like “show starts @ 3″, for the time of the event, and “venue” for location, really aids to the VIP All Access vibe.  Like you are really going to a rock concert, rather than a birthday party!  So clever and unique!

Awesome, right?

I can’t wait to see the details of this party.  With an invitation like this you JUST KNOW Sophie and her friends will be partying like Rockstars!!!  I’m sure this is one party no one is going to miss!!!

If you’d like some custom invitations contact us.  We’d love to help you design something fabulous for your next party!

Keep Rockin’,

Heather xx

Today we have a SUPER exciting announcement

…drum roll please…

Want to win a free session for yourself or a friend from Appletini Photography?  In honor of Mother’s Day, we are giving away a FREE NEWBORN SESSION to one lucky Momma!!!  Woot! Woot!  Whether it’s your first, second or tenth child there is no better feeling than bringing a newborn into the world or welcoming an adopted child into your home.   With this contest we want to celebrate the new life in your life!

The contest rules are simple; all expecting or adopting mothers are eligible.

Go to our Facebook page

Like us

Tag yourself or an expecting mother in our contest post for a chance to win. You can tag them in the photo or mention them in the comments.

The LUCKY WINNER will be selected at random and announced on Monday May 20^th

The winner receives:

A FREE session for their newborn!!!!!

A review and ordering session!!!!!

Digital images and print rights!!!!!

Facebook cover file!!!!!

HURRY UP….Head over and tag all of the expecting Momma’s in your life!!!

I will travel up to 35 miles from 19067 for an adorable newborn!