Jude's First Birthday: A COLOR PARTY!

This past weekend we celebrated our son Jude, with a first birthday COLOR Party. Besides being filled with fun, family, friends (the 3 necessary "F's" to make any party wonderful)...it was the first time I really tackled several DIY party projects and I must say, they all turned out ADORABLE. Thanks to Pinterest and a handy mom and sisters, all the ideas came to life and made the party all the more cute. I know Jude appreciated it too; at least it seemed that way when he was enjoying his giant rainbow cake and cake pops. Below are a some pictures of some of the fun we had as well as, the decor and food we showcased.

Our Family photo in front of the main area!

The INCREDIBLE sign my sister made highlighting Jude's 1st Year! It was an MDF board, painted with chalkboard paint. She used liquid chalk markers for a bright, vibrant look! 

Colorful Paper Goods

YUMMY Chocolate dipped oreos using colored candy melts

Can you believe there was 1,376 jelly belly's in there? My dad guessed within a hundred and took the winnings home to indulge in

More fun BRIGHT colors

Rainbow sticky corn...an old tradition from my childhood. Adorable mini popcorn cups from Target, and all the label cards created and designed by my other sister.

An old serving piece revamped by my husband and I for an outdoor drink serving station. Thanks to good ole spray paint

Another chalk Menu board. So cute

Isn't his tie adorable? It was an iron on appliqué bought from Etsy.com

The dessert table; Bright colored chocolate and white cake pops in sundae glasses. Also, check out those PINWHEELS as a backdrop!! 

Giant cupcake cake! 

Giant 18' balloon wreath to welcome people to the party. I used an 18" wreath (the kind made with shredded wood, kept in the shrink wrap), floral greening pins, and dollar store balloons. You take a few balloons, fold in half longways, hold on the wreath and pin down tight with the pins. Do this over, and over and over. This wreath used about 300 balloons! (They came in packs of 25 for $1)

The Birthday boy enjoying his moments! He wasn't much of a cake smasher; more like a "frosting licker". But he did enjoy all the goodies!

Thanks for stopping by. Keep an eye out for more of our "Reasons to Party".

-Sarah

Sparkle Party

Earlier this year my daughter turned 4, and being the only girl in the family, and the princess lover that she is, her parties are a blast to plan and host.  Last year I caved into her desire for a princess party, but in an effort to avoid duplicating any parties, I convinced her (ok I didn't really have to do any convincing!) to have a "Sparkle Party".   We planned a smaller guest list, so they could do activities like cupcake decorating and bracelet making, without the cleanup being TOO huge. 

I used glitter washi tape on the cups and straws to dress them up a bit.

We also bejeweled the cutlery!

To make this banner which was used as a backdrop, and is now hanging in her room as decor, I used a large heart punch to cut out all the hearts, then fed them through a sewing machine.  I wound them up on an empty paper towel roll until I was ready to use them.  CRAFTER BEWARE: They tangle really easy and I had to cut in many places where I couldn't undo the mess.  I cut strips all the same length and glued them along the top to a thin long piece of wood, for easy hanging.

Here is the tablescape complete with doily banner, plastic table cloths as backdrop covering, and the heart garland.

Rosette Cake.  Use a wilton 1M tip, hold perpendicular to surface you are frosting, and slowing move in circles.  Lots of Tutorials on Pinterest!

We LOVE celebrating Birthdays in our home!

-Rachel