Hoot, Hoot... Look Whoo's One!

I can not begin to describe how excited I was to plan my daughter's first birthday party. Don't get me wrong, I was in no way, shape, or form ready for my little baby to be one. However, the excitement to organize a celebration to mark this milestone in her life was just to much for me to contain. I'll try to give you a little perspective... the planning started in the beginning of June! And all that excitement and planning paid off. I couldn't be happier with he way everything turned out.

 

 The invitations were oh so fun to create. I don't have one of those fancy cutter machines, so I had to make do and hand cut my trees and owls. But I am happy with how they came out. I think my favorite part of the invitations are actually the three stripes under the text of the invitation.

Even before I finished the invitations, I was already starting on the decorations. I had so many ideas I didn't even know where to start. The first thing I made was the Happy Birthday banner. I found the mushroom fabric at JoAnn's and fell in love! I later added two more banners for the mantle and front of the dessert table (that fabric was found at Hobby Lobby).

Then I started on the tissue paper "flower balls". These are super simple to make and add a really fun splash of color. To create them I took an entire package of tissue paper (10 sheets) and layed them all out flat on top of each other. I then cut the sheets in half (I tried not cutting them down, but it was not enough paper to make it look full enough). Then I folded the stacks accordion style. I used a pipe cleaner to wrap around the center and tied some twine to the pipe cleaner. Next you trim the edges to create a design. I left them that way until the day of the party. The last step is the open up the accordion folds and pull the sheets apart individually. Makes a perfect little puff ball.

It was actually my husband's idea to hang them from the bottom of the paper lanterns (he was actually being lazy about hanging them in the tress, but I ended up liking it). I found the paper lanterns at Hobby Lobby for $4.99 for three. Using the 40% of coupons for them, you really can't beat the price.

The center pieces were lots of fun to make. I started with flower pots from Hobby Lobby (which I got 40% off). I painted them with basic craft paint. Then I took tree clip art that I got from PrintCandee and put them on the pots using ModPodge. Then I took branches that I collected from the yard (yeah... my lawn people thought I was nuts) and a fake daisy and put them in the pot. Then I made little flowers out of crape paper streams and hot glued them to the branches. I think my family and friends will see a whole lot of these in our future. They turned out so great!

I also made the party hats for the occasion (not that party hats ever really get worn, but whats a party without hats?!). I highly suggest making your own party hats. It was easy and they match perfectly. There are tons of tutorials out there on the web, just google it.

On to the food! We made acorns. It was so fun, absolutely adorable, and they tasted awesome. To make them we used Hersey Kisses, Mini Nilla Wafers, and Reece's Peanut Butter Chips. We made stuck it all together using standard gingerbread house "glue".

But the star of the food show where they custom mini cupcakes from Lucy & Leo's Cupcakery. The little owls were absolutely perfect! And if you have never tried Lucy & Leo's before you are missing out. They are by far the best cupcakes I have ever had. I can't drive past without stopping in. We also rented the dessert table from them. It was just perfect. I made the tooth picks for the cupcakes using clip art from PrintCandee.

And the birthday girl was dressed to the nines in her HootyCutie original. I just love this owl fabric. It could not be more perfect for her party. Not only was it fun, but the colors were perfect. And who knows, you may be seeing it again real soon ;)

Jaycelyn was feeling much better at this party and even ate some cake this time. I made this tie dye cake, but it was kind of an epic fail. For some reason all the colors did not end up sticking together when they baked so the cake was cracking the whole time I was trying to get it together. It was a huge mess. I think next time I will leave the cake making to the professionals.

When all was said and done, it was a wonderful party for one special little girl. I enjoyed every second from the planing, creating, and the party itself. It was a day I will remember fondly for the rest of my life.

Like what you see? Want something for your next party? Just send me an e-mail.