Sunday, September 25, 2011

Tangled

The entire inspiration for this party came from my favorite quote from the movie's theme song...

"And tomorrow night, lights will appear just like they do on my birthday each year."


My daughter asked for a Tangled party as soon as she saw the trailers for the movies.  My daughter is 5 now and has a very strong opinion about her birthdays.  Lucky for me, she picked a theme about a story I loved as a child.

Rapunzel's dress is purple and pink.  Naturally, I used those colors in the decor.  I also incorporated lanterns, suns and the yellow lilies. 

I wished we were saving this theme for an older birthday because my vision was to light up the backyard with lights and lanterns.  I decided we would begin the party on a late afternoon, knowing it would surely last through early evening.  As I envisioned, the outcome in the day was great but at night it was perfection!


I used regular cardstock in purple and pink to make the outside of the the invitation.  The inside was a golden paper (golden like Rapunzel's hair).  The golden sun in the front of the card was the ultimate giveaway. 

For centerpieces, I used "magical" yellow lilies. 

I made paper lanterns for the tables.  I used battery operated candles to ensure everyone's safety.

All about the lanterns!  The lanterns were such a special part of the movie.   



Some shots of the table.
 


A five year old's party must have tons of entertainment.  I bought small plain white lanterns from Oriental Trading.  The intention was for each child (and adults!) to take one down, decorate and hang it back up.  These were to be taken home at the end of the party. 




  
Children's craft area
    
Decorated lantern


I displayed the piñata near the entrance of our house.  Funny story about this piñata...this piñata would not break!  My husband had to tear it apart to get to the candies.  It was quite entertaining to watch the kids try and try but piñatas are meant to be broken easily.  I have decided piñatas are not my strength and I will not make them ever again.  :)


The little girls all wore tiaras. 


I ordered the cake from a local grocery in purple and pink.  Can you believe the theme was so new, they did not have a Rapunzel cake yet?  I bought the figurines from the Disney store. 
The birthday girl wore no shoes!  She insisted she needed to be barefoot just like Rapunzel.  It was her day so I let her.  :)
 
The birthday girl and me.







Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Parties!: Minnie Mouse Birthday PartyIf you love to decorat...

Parties!: Minnie Mouse Birthday Party
If you love to decorat...
: Minnie Mouse Birthday Party If you love to decorate for parties, then you know that the best part about throwing a party for a one year old...

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Minnie Mouse Birthday Party

If you love to decorate for parties, then you know that the best part about throwing a party for a one year old is...you get to pick the theme! 

I was inspired to use Minnie Mouse when the birthday girl met her at Disney.  She was completely smitten with Minnie. Just look at her face in this pic.  She was only eight months but she really enjoyed meeting the characters at Disney.  

Of course, I just had to put my own creative twist to it.  I don't like the ordinary look of store bought decorations.  I like to make everything.  I decided on the theme "Fashionista Minnie".  Fashionista Minnie loves polka dots and the color hot pink.    :)


We held the party at our home to keep it simple and comfortable for the baby.  I moved my furniture around and out of the house to create more of a party feel in the living room.  


I used a Cricut to create diecuts for many crafts.  The Cricut is a life saver!  If you are crafty, it is a great investment.  I bought mine on overstock.com at a greatly reduced price. 

I made a topiary with a white bucket (Target $1!) as a base and a Minnie shaped frame with a picture of a special moment of the birthday girl.  I made 11 of these, one for each month. These topiaries served as favors at the the end of the party.  They were quite a hit since pictures are so personal.  (Month eight in the picture below is another picture taken when the birthday girl met Minnie. :)  ) 

I glued Minnie Mouse shadows with a pink bow onto a candy jar.  The candy jar was filled with M&Ms.  I came across these jars at Michaels and had to have them because the lids were polka dotted! 

I made balloons with the same Minnie shadow and bow for the cupcakes. 


I made the banner with the Cricut as well. 


I made hats out of cardstock and feathers for the kids.  I made mouse ears out of foam.  I displayed the hats by placing them on top of the favor boxes. 

The birthday girl wore a special hat with a tiara on it. 


The girls had necklaces and bracelets to choose from.  I bought glow in the dark bracelets for the boys.  Having only two girls, it is a challenge for me to keep the boys in mind but the glow in the dark bracelets were a success!


On the tables, were tall topiary arrangements of pink and white flowers.   


A touch of Minnie made out of styrofoam balls and spray painted in black. 

And custom made table runners in black with white polka dots and pink trim.  They came out pretty good given it was my first time on a sewing machine. ;)

A few more shots of the decor...






The birthday girl in outfit number one.
 


With my girls.