Saturday 17 October 2015

BLOG TOUR INCL. REVIEW - PARTY STYLE - KIDS PARTIES FROM BABY TO SWEET SIXTEEN BY GEMMA TOUCHSTONE

This book really is a must have for anyone who has a party to organise

Title: Party Style
Sub Title: Kids Parties from Baby to Sweet 16
Author: Gemma Touchstone
Publisher: Cedar Fort Publishing
Genre: Non-Fiction
Release Date: 13th October 2015

BLURB from Goodreads 
As the creator of PartyStyle.com and editor-in-chief of Party Style magazine, Gemma Touchstone knows how to make childrens celebrations memorable. Packed with easy and elegant DIY craft ideas, cool themes, and must-read entertaining tips, this book shows you how to party in style.


PURCHASE LINKS

More book information provided by the Author

You can get over $2,500.00 worth of exclusive party printables with your Book purchase for download off of the www.ILovePartyStyle.com web site. 

The Book Kick off party for the PARTY STYLE book will be in orange county, ca at the CAKE expo at 5:00 Pm October 17th tickets are available on Living Social get more info www.cake-expo.com 

Gemma Touchstone will be teaching pin worthy parties at the pinners conference in Salt Lake City, UT Nov 6th & 7th and you can save 10% on tickets with ticket code partystyle
Gemma Touchstone will be speaking at ISSE along with  Colin Cowie and some other amazing speakers and you can save $500.00 on your ticket when you mention PartyStyle Book Tour.


Find Gemma at the OC DATE NIGHT MARKET 11th March https://www.facebook.com/DATE-NIGHT-Market-964563633581813/timeline/?ref=hl

For more dates on her Tour around the USA 
Please visit the Blog www.GemmasPartyStyle.com 

Gemma Touchstone's next book HOLIDAY HOSTESS is already in the works and will be out in time for the holiday season in 2016.
(so that is certainly being put on my want to read wishlist right now!~Jeanz)


Sneak Peek  


Look Inside  



***GIVEAWAY***
Giveaway runs till the Blog Book tour is over from October 1 - November 15th 
THE GRAND PRIZE is a kitchen aid mixer, IPAD Air, 
Honeycomb Decor Pack with multiple sizes and colors, 
Bakers Bling sanding sugar in several colors, 
$100.00 gift card to Home Goods,
 $100.00 Gift card to Michael's Craft Store 
and Autographed copy to the book. 
3 ft LOVE Balloon Set. 
(These are Gemma's own must haves for the perfect party).






REVIEW
Title: Party Style
Sub Title: Kids Parties from Baby to Sweet 16
Author: Gemma Touchstone
Publisher: Cedar Fort Publishing
Genre: Non-Fiction
Release Date: 13th October 2015

BLURB from Goodreads 
As the creator of PartyStyle.com and editor-in-chief of Party Style magazine, Gemma Touchstone knows how to make childrens celebrations memorable. Packed with easy and elegant DIY craft ideas, cool themes, and must-read entertaining tips, this book shows you how to party in style.

INITIAL THOUGHTS
I really fancied reading this one when I was offered a copy. I was initially sent an e-copy which I began to read on my tablet. Then I received a surprise paperback copy through the post and this made me even more eager to read more of the book. So on the whole I wasn't sure exactly what to expect from the book, but to it's fair to say I was looking forward to learning more about it.

MY REVIEW
As I explained within my "Initial Thoughts" I began reading an e-copy of this book, then was pleasantly surprised to receive a paperback edition in exchange for my honest review. First of all the book is such a cute size, small enough to fit in your handbag if you are wanting to carry it about when organising your party. (It's about 7" x 7" which is 18cm x 18cm.)
The cover of the book has a large picture to the left hand side and three smaller pictures to the right. The large picture is a table with glasses and a bottle on it, so a "party setting". The three smaller pictures are of a gorgeous looking dessert, a happy smiling "birthday girl" and finally the last of the smaller pictures is of sweets or perhaps popcorn (sorry I'm not entirely sure). The cover also feature Gemma's blog address, though personally the font used for it could have done to be a bit bolder or maybe an font that is easier to read. (not that it matters as the blog address is also featured within the book!). There's a blue banner like section across the left hand side of the books picture with the whole title on it.  Would the cover make me pick this book up from a book store shelf? The cover would certainly catch my eye and my interest enough for me to pick a copy up in a bookstore to learn more about it. Whether I would want to purchase such a great visual book in e format I'm not sure but I'll discuss my reasoning for that in the main section of my review.
Where do I start talking about this book? It is absolutely packed with idea's, tips and lists! There's everything from information on choosing the ideal venue for the party, and the important invitations, to party theme's, non-alcohol cocktail recipes and party game suggestions too.
There are two really useful list's of theme idea's split into Boys List & Girls List. Though I think some of them would crossover really well for boys or girls. On the Boy's List are theme's like Trains, Dinosaur, Cars and Toy Soldiers. The Girl's list has themes such as Princess, Ballerina, Rainbows and Vintage/Retro. 
There were also various themes on the separate lists that I  thought would actually fit either gender such as Circus, Magician, Hollywood and even Cowboys. I remember my now 19yr old going to many fancy dress parties dressed as a cowgirl complete with stetson, holster and boots and loving every minute!
There's also a great quiz in the book to determine your very own party style. I did it and there was a definitive winner and two other close seconds and I have to say that it really worked and the individual party styles that I was assigned via the quiz questions really did fit me well!
There is a very useful countdown to the party section in the book which begins at 6 weeks to the party and counts right down to 5 days, 2 days etc to the party and even has items listed that need to be done 4 hours and 1 hour before the party. It's a really good planning tool. 
This book is a huge resource of really useful information, it has advice on choosing your venue, the type of party you want, as well as the correct table settings for certain party types and idea's for party decorations. I honestly wish I'd had access to this book when my daughter was younger. There is so much more packed into this perfect sized party planning manual! There are great illustrations throughout, which was what I was concerned about the quality of in the ebook version but as I have had both physical and e-copy to compare I can say I love, love, love the book in both formats! Please follow the links further up on this post for a "Sneak Peek" and "A look inside" to see for yourself! I highly recommend this book, if you have youngsters, it has some great idea's on games to play to entertain the young ones as well as tips for the adults on how to take pictures at the party that will look great that you'll also love looking back at in years to come! There's only one thing to bear in mind and that's this book is created and published in America so obviously some customs/traditions etc may vary to our UK counterpart. Though I think that on the whole the majority of idea's crossover the US/UK divide easily.
So did I enjoy the book? I really did, even though my daughter is now 19yrd old! I'll definitely be sharing tips with friends and relatives.Would I recommend the book? I would recommend the book and I will be advising and recommending that friends and relatives purchase a copy of this book for themselves.It really is a valuable resource and full of information you will want to refer back to as your child grows older! Would I read another book on childrens parties? I would but I have to say any other party book has a lot to live up to, to be compared with this one!
Would I want to read another book by Gemma Touchstone? Definitely! Yes please. In fact as I have commented above in a different section of this post I am adding Gemma's next title Holiday Hostess to my Want To Read Wishlist right now! I'd really like to check that one out when it's available for review etc).

So now you have read my review don't forget to enter the Giveaway above for your chance to win a copy of the book and some fantastic party supplies! ~Jeanz




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