Valentine’s Day is almost here! How are you celebrating? If you don’t know yet and need some ideas, we can help! I am excited to share my Follow Your Heart Galentine’s Day Party as part of a fun Valentine’s Bash Party hop I am a part of; along with 9 other amazing party bloggers! And by visiting each party, you have the chance to win a $200 visa gift card to throw your own Valentine’s Day party! How is that for spreading some love?! Enter the rafflecopter giveaway at the end of this post!

I think in today’s busy world it’s so important to take time for those special friends; aka gal pals in our lives.  We often get caught up in the “I’m too busy” mentality that we forget to take time for what’s important. As women, we need to gift of friendship in our lives. We need it for our soul and overall happiness. To celebrate those special girlfriends in my life, I hosted a “Follow Your Heart Galentine’s Day” party. The overall feel I wanted for this party was pink, pretty and girly! My color scheme was pink, gold and pops of aqua. Sweet treats and pink champagne were a must! We also made our very own 2017 vision boards to go with the Follow Your heart theme!

I found the perfect banner at Hobby Lobby that said “Go Your Own Way.” I just loved the saying and it went so well with Follow Your Heart . Always be yourself, do what you love, go your own way even if other people don’t understand. They don’t need to, this is your journey, no one else’s.

For the cake, I decided to make my own, well semi-homemade (my favorite kind!) and made a pink champagne cake. So yummy! The recipe called for a boxed white cake mix with a few added ingredients and I made my own buttercream frosting. Click here for the cake recipe. My homemade buttercream frosting recipe came from my mom and I have been using it for years! Everyone always asks for my frosting recipe… today, I am sharing it with you!

Homemade buttercream frosting recipe:

16 ounces of Powdered Sugar

1/2 cup of softened butter

1 tsp of vanilla

A couple of tablespoons of milk

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, beat butter and vanilla on medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth
2. Add in powdered sugar and continue to mix
3. Add in a tablespoon of milk at a time; you may need to add more milk to get to your desired consistency
4. Frost cake and serve!

The cake was simple and pretty and so delicious! I added this beautiful “Follow Your Heart” custom cake topper from Christine at Two Chiuahuas. If you are looking for the perfect cake topper or other fun party decor, please check out Two Chihuahuas.

I also had the privilege of working with Lynette from Craft my Occasion. Lynette made these adorable cookies! They went perfectly with my theme! I mean, those ball jar cookies?! I just love how they turned out! I even used a couple of the hearts to decorate my cake! Lynette was so wonderful to work with; she is so kind and supportive; not to mention super talented!

All the cute cookies in the set!

I love adding custom printables to my parties. Meghan from Elva M Design designed the beautiful sign, cupcake toppers and party favor tags.  She made my vision come to life! Here are the cupcake toppers.

I framed the 8×10 sign in a thrift store frame that I painted and distressed, it looked so pretty on the party table.

No party is complete without a cute party favor in my opinion. My parties always include some sort of favor and this party I especially wanted to show the love and give my girlfriends a sweet little gift. I found these adorable pink and gold canvas tote bags at Hobby Lobby and filled them with a wall calendar, a pen, sticky notes, and of course, chocolate, pink Hershey’s kisses to be exact that I found at the Dollar Tree! The perfect touch was Elva M Design’s heart favor tag. It said “Always follow your Heart, Love your gal pal, Nicole.”

When I saw these Follow Your Heart plates and napkins at Target, I knew I had to have these at my party! How cute are these?! Target has the best holiday decor, wouldn’t you agree? These plates and napkins were the perfect addition to the rest of the decor. I also found the paper straws and heart stir sticks in the dollar spot!

For more prettiness, I added some light pink roses to the dessert table. When in doubt, add flowers! They always make a big impact and are so pretty! I displayed them in my beautiful vintage aqua ball jars. I just love my ball jars. I have a whole collection always try to use them whenever possible! Always look and see what you have available to decorate your party in your home; you will be surprised at what you find!

It was such a beautiful evening with my gal pals! My friends loved all the special details and making our own vision boards was so inspiring! We were encouraged by each other’s goals and creativity. I am thankful for my loving and supportive gal pals! And the amazing creative women I collaborated with on this party.

I highly recommend throwing your own Galentine’s Day party! They are so much fun and such a lovely way to celebrate true friendship! And even more fun when you create your own vision boards! This was my first time making a vision board-I have always wanted to do it! Have you ever made one? It was so inspiring to create my board with my girlfriends. We talked about our goals and what they meant to us and encouraged each other with positivity. I provided the following supplies:

• Foam boards (purchased at Michaels -they were buy one get one half off!)
• Scrapbook paper
• Washi tape
• Glue
• Inspirational quotes
• Stickers
• Markers/Pens
• Each guest brought a pair of scissors and anything special she wanted to put on her board.

CHEERS to FRIENDSHIP!

Let’s be gal pals! Join me on Instagram and Pinterest!

XOXO,

Nicole

Vendor Credits:

Party Styling and Photography – The Party Porch

Custom Cake Topper – Two Chihuahuas 

Follow your Heart and Ball Jar Cookies – Craft my Occasion

Follow Your Heart Printables – Elva M. Design

Go Your Own Way banner,  tote bags, gold and aqua box – Hobby Lobby

LOVE Sign, pink glass vases, pink heart plates, striped pink/white and gold heart sign, paper straws, XOXO gold sign, paper fans, party favors (calendar, pen, card), fresh flowers, mini cupcakes, strawberry marshmallows, follow your heart plates and napkins- Target

Light pink Heart balloons and pink Hershey’s Kisses – Dollar Tree

Tassel Banner (I mixed and matched two separate banners to make a pink and gold banner) and Foam boards- Michaels

Don’t forget! Enter to win a $200 Visa gift card to throw your own Valentine’s Day party! 

Enter here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Be sure to check out all of the parties in the Valentine’s Bash Blog Hop! You will be inspired! 

Chocolate Fondue Party by Fun-Squared ~ Dolly and Me Tea Party by Fawn Parties ~ Valentine Making Party ~ Follow Your Heart Galentine’s Party by The Party Porch ~ Shabby Chic Valentine Tea Party by Pretty Twinkle Party ~ Galentine’s Kisses by SNAP Creativity ~ Valentine’s Day Card Making by Make Life Lovely ~ Donut You Know I Love You Party by Your Everyday Family ~ Galentine’s Party by Tatertots and Jello ~ Cupid’s Cafe Dinner Party by Giggles Galore

The post Follow Your Heart Galentine’s Day Party appeared first on The Party Porch.