[Party] Baseball Team Party

Just stopping by to drop off some pictures from Smarty Pant's team baseball party. We kept it simple but had a lot of fun with the details.  Since I'm 99% sure that a baseball-themed birthday party is in our future, I'm glad that I was able to do a little "research" and have a trial run with this mini-party.

[Party] Washi Tape Decorations, Part 2

We had Happy Vee's birthday party last weekend.  It was a low key affair at a local children's art studio and we decided upon a sea animal and bubble theme in honor of Happy Vee's new pet-- Garfield the Fish. 

Since this was a bit of a last minute thing and it was a small party, I decided to make the decorations using my stash of washi tape.  I posted the other washi tape decorations and then decided to finish it up with a couple more things. Since Happy Vee LOVES balloons,  I knew that I had to do something balloon-related for him.

And of course I had to incorporate a little washi tape into the invitation too...

[Our Week] Turning Four!

Someone special turned Four this week! We kept it simple and he had a wonderful time. Honestly, we could've stopped with the balloons... A room full of giant 16-inch balloons about made his year.  :)

I stayed up late the night before to blow up these bad boys... By the end, I was dizzy. I think it counts as exercise. ;)  Worth the effort though, it's been keeping them busy-- there's a game of jungle volleyball-oon going on as I type.

We had a few more surprises for the birthday boy.  Some presents, lunch at his favorite restaurant, a visit with Chuck E. and a trip to the pet store to pick out our newest family member.

The boys decided on the name Garfield... from the Garfield the Cat comic strip.  They came across my old Garfield comic books and for some reason Happy Vee has a connection with the cantankerous cat. Funny guy!  So Happy Vee had a wonderful birthday and I've been busy learning about keeping an aquarium.  It's quite a process, but so far so good.

Hope you're having a nice weekend!

[Party] Washi Tape Decorations

So I slacked on the planning and Happy Vee's 4th birthday party doesn't have much of a theme... But that doesn't mean we can't make it special!  I decided to pull out my washi tapes and challenge myself to use them for all the party decorations.  Here's what I have so far--

Washi Tape Favor Bags

Washi Tape Mini Banner

Washi Tape Gift Wrap

Click "Read more" for the details

[Party] Space... The Final Frontier

This weekend we celebrated Smarty Pant's 6th Birthday with a SPACE Party! The party was held at the boys' favorite gymnastics center-- one full hour of climbing, jumping and bouncing children.  Yep, all the parents were high-fiving each other and I think I saw a couple of fist pumps-- Yes!  :) The birthday boy had a BLAST and I think all of the kids were thoroughly entertained during the party and thoroughly exhausted by the end of the party.  All good!

Click "Read more" for the SPACE party details

[Party] Decorative Paper Cups

I'm in full-blown party mode and am having fun with the little details.  I created glitter cups last week, and this week I'm working on some decorative paper cups.  Since we're not having a lunch, I thought these small cups would be a fun way to serve snacks. Namely yogurt star cookies, space-themed goldfish crackers, fruit salad and astronaut ice cream.  

And if you're wondering... These guys won't be at the SPACE party, but they sure photograph nicer than black paper!

click "Read more" for the tutorial

[Party] DIY Glitter Party Cups

It's seems that with every party I plan, I get a little obsessed about something.  This time... it's nut cups.  Yep.  Good ol' nut cups that I won't be serving nuts in.  So I did my usual research on Etsy and found several options, but with shipping and handling, they're pretty pricey for what they are.  So I decided to DIY it.

I found a package of small cups at a discount party store for $4 and I already had the glue and glitter... So I really couldn't justify spending $14 for almost the same thing. Besides, lets face it, 6 year old boys could  care less what the cups look like.  :)

This was an easy project and gave me a chance to play with glitter.  Not often that you get to pull out the glitter for a boy's party, so I took full advantage!

[Make] Star Paillette Garland

How about a simple and economical way to add a little pizzazz to your party?

Gotta love paillette sequins...

And the mini glitter stars are fun too.

bling! bling! bling!

Click "Read more" for the details

[Party] Space... The Invitation

It's that time of year again!  How did that happen so fast??  My big little guy is turning 6 next month (sigh).  His fifth year was full of big milestones-- learning how to read & write, playing sports, increased maturity, lots of deep questions about the world around him... Five was an incredible year and I'm looking forward to year six!

This year, Smarty Pant's decided he wanted a Space Party.  Cool!  I'm so glad he didn't say Star Wars or some other theme that involves a lot of little people running around shooting and slashing at each other.  I don't like to intentionally give myself a headache, ya know?

Anyhow, here's how the invitation turned out--

I took the astronaut photo years ago at the Museum of Flight in Seattle and, with a little photo shop magic, added a  current picture of Smarty Pants.

If you're interested in using the astronaut for your own Space Party, I created a downloadable file. Just click the File tab and select Download to save it on your computer.

Also, here are the free fonts that I used for the invitation-- red rocket, rocket script, astronaut

So invitations are out... Let the party planning begin!

[Make] 3-Dimensional Paper Stars

This weekend I started planning for Smarty Pant's 6th Birthday Party.  I can't believe a year has gone by since his Police Party last year!  I really wish I could slow down this growing-up stuff... Anyhow, the theme this year is SPACE and we're having the party offsite, so I've been trying to come up with simple decorations that I can easily transport and assemble a few minutes before the party.  That's where these 3-dimensional paper stars come in...

Stars make a fun and versatile decoration for many occasions-- birthdays, Independence Day, Christmas, fairy wands...  Below is the how-to.

Click "Read more" for the tutorial

[Wordless Wednesday] Confetti Balloon

source

Pssst... have a creative day!

Bubble Birthday Party

This weekend we celebrated Happy Vee's 3rd Birthday with a Bubble Party.  He was thrilled!  Every day for the last couple of weeks he would ask about his "party with friends".  The birthday presents and the sweets were nice, but more importantly, he was excited to have a big playdate with his favorite friends and family. 

:: the invitation ::

{click here for more details}

:: the decorations ::

{a closer look at some of the details}

the banner was created with many, many shimmery paper circles and letters cut from my cricut.

i glued the circles to transluscent thread and hung the banner on the mantel with clear hooks

the "bubble art" were created with satin balloons mounted to bubble wrap

{the "bubble" mobile hung above the dessert table}

the "bubble mobile":  shimmery paper circles glued to transluscent thread and hung on an embroidery hoop

{the rest of the decorations were simple-- balloons and paper lanterns}

::  the desserts  ::

cream puff "cake"

mini ice cream sandwiches on a stick, dipped in sprinkles

mini drumsticks

homemade blueberry jello & yogurt pops

making a wish

::  the drink station  ::

  juice & milk for the kids

sparkling drinks, iced tea & beer for the adults

the round plastic bottles originally held martinelli's apple juice

::  activities  ::

a really cool bubble show-- educational and fun!

{after the show, there was bubble play in our backyard}

a potpourri of bubble wands-- the fly swatters were a hit and the plates made great big bubbles.


the bubble wrap "stomp" was pretty fun too.

:: Favors ::


bubble bath & a bottle of bubble solution

So my "baby" is officially 3-- unbelievable!

Hope your weekend was wonderful.

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