Sunday, August 4, 2013

A Sweet Pink 3rd Birthday

It's definitely hard to believe that Landen's third birthday party has come and gone. It was that very first ladybug party that made me realize how much I *love* planning little birthday parties.

Although the inspiration for this party hit me a little later than I would have liked, I loved it all the same, and it turned out perfectly.

Landen is now at an age where she likes to voice her opinion, so her vote for the birthday party theme was "pink" (and Doc McStuffins...but I vetoed that one). I had been thinking about a "sweets" theme because she has a sweet tooth for sure, but she also loves to listen to the old song "Sugar, Sugar" on the way to daycare. So pink + sweets + sugar = our birthday party theme.

First up, the birthday "cupcake"! We just *had* to have a pink cupcake for the birthday cake. I didn't want any writing on the cupcake so I created the miniature banner for the topper. Cake by Baked to Perfection.

 
Pink chocolate covered popcorn, Smarties, and some purple M & M's were the party favors. I sprayed several mason jars with silver paint and used painter's tape to create striped designs on several of them. They were perfect for treats, silverware and flowers.

 
More pink chocolate covered popcorn to snack on at the party. Here's the recipe - I just turned my white chocolate chips pink with food coloring.


Some delicious dip for the adults to snack on.
 

 Pink lemonade and mason jars to sip from...plus some fun straws.

The birthday banner....please ignore the mini-blinds and no curtains...still waiting on kitchen window treatment inspiration...(if you have any ideas for me, pass them on).
My infamous puff balls...so cheap and easy to make and they add so much fun to the party décor.

Another decoration that has become tradition is several of my Instagrams of Landen throughout the year. I hung them from the mantle this year and framed it with some more puffs. My picture didn't turn out bright enough, so I'll have to try snagging another before I take them down.
 
Also, I created all of the pink/fuchsia carnation bouquets myself and ordered the flowers from Ivy Hutch. The idea came from a Today show segment while I was on maternity leave with Callen.  

How cool is this sidewalk chalk I found while killing time at Meijer one day?! Perfect for the sweets theme.
 

And my beautiful birthday girl. I love this shot of her. She's looking so grown up these days.
It was such a treat to create this birthday party for my special girl. If I could quit my job and plan children's birthday parties for a living, I would. Sadly, I don't think there's much of a market in rural Northwest Ohio for this, so back to teaching I go in September. I am quite excited because I already have a theme picked for Mr. Callen's first birthday party coming up in December. Hehe!