My sweet little ladybird turned one last week and its impossible to believe. This year flew by in a flash and my little baby, once so tiny and so dependent on me is crawling and cruising and happens to think she doesn’t need her mama so much anymore. A few Saturdays ago, our house was overflowing with love for this little girl, when we celebrated her first birthday.
I’ve literally been planning her birthday party in my mind forever. I mean I guess it just seems like forever… but it has been at least six months. I bought the cute little patterned bunting on etsy back in January and that became the inspiration for the party’s theme and color palette. I pulled in the pinks, turquoise and fuschia from the bunting and added bold stripes and polka dots (my favorite) to my party theme and decorations. Of course, I also perused some of my favorite blogs for further inspiration and shopped the internet for some deals on details like the turquoise striped paper straws and the bell mason jars from which little party guests sipped pink lemonade. Most of the details, such as the invitations, door and wall banners, chalkboard, food and drink labels, pom pom poofs, cake toppers and pennant toothpicks were handmade by me. I had the most fun making the party hats for all three kids, but put extra love and attention into Cecilia’s. All it took was a little paper, some ribbon and fabric and a glue gun… and Voila! I am in LOVE with that hat. Too bad she only gets to wear it once. My friend, Elaine sent me a template, which was the perfect fit for their little heads. Of course, my favorite detail of all, however, are the giant empty frames with strings of polaroids dangling from tiny clothespins. To make those beauties, I scoured the local consignment shop for weeks for old framed paintings on the cheap. Then I popped out the old paintings and painted the frames white. I used one for the chalkboard and the other two for my photo display, because of course, no party is complete without a photo display. Next I got glue gun happy with twine and buttons to make my display complete. They are the star of the show. Don’t you think? Well, actually, Cecilia was, but you know what I mean. Needless to say, after this party, I have a new found love for my glue gun.
The chocolate covered pretzels and cake pops I made myself and I bought the brownie bites and just added the cherry vanilla frosting and pennant toothpicks. The cake and cupcakes were from my usual old faithful, Metro Market. The inspiration for the cake came from this one, and its certainly not quite as fancy but I don’t pay a fortune for my cakes so I thought they did a really nice job.
I found the old wooden high chair at a garage sale for $5 and I painted it pale turquoise. Perfect for reuse as a photography prop.
Oh. I almost forgot that I found Cece’s birthday dress on clearance for $5.50 (hooray for Target!) and just added the little pink and fuschia flowers to the front of it. You can buy the canopy net at IKEA for $20 but I lucked out and found it at a garage sale for $2.50. I thought it would be really fun to hang from a tree out back and have her open her presents underneath it. When we set up for the party it was kind of gloomy outside, so I set it up inside instead.
Thanks to my dear friend, Sara, for snapping this photo of me and the birthday girl, because I rarely get to be on the other side of the lens.
Its hard to tell from these photos, but Cece pretty much just tasted her cake, knocked it over and started crying. At first bite, I don’t think she was a sugar fan. That’s okay. I already have two fanatics at home so we will just let her enjoy her fruit and vegetables while we still can.
A little while after the cake, we the sky cleared up and we headed outside to open presents. We were blown away by the sweet and generous gifts from family and friends. It was a very special day and although Cecilia won’t remember it, we certainly will and one day we will share these photos with her.
A bit later that evening, we headed over to a friend’s house and Cecilia was in the most content mood…or perhaps just exhausted from a long day of being flooded with love and attention. Either way, I had the chance to capture her in a way I never have before and I scored this one, starring her eyelashes. Just one of the millions of reasons why I just love this girl to pieces.
UPDATE!! ** Check out Cecilia’s Birthday Party featured over on Hostess with The Mostess!
Vendor credits:
Bunting Banner – Starlit Nest Gifts, Etsy
Polka Dot Garland – Fanciful Chaos, Etsy
White Dress – Target
Ruffled Romper – Peonies and Willow Trees, Etsy
Pink Flower Headband – Posh Peanut Kids, Etsy
Cakes – Metro Market
Flowers – Metro Market
Bell Mason Jars – Amazon Prime
Paper Straws – Amazon Prime
White Cake Stand, Turquoise Cake Stand and Cupcake Stand – Amazon Prime
Patterned Clothespins, Patterned Paper for Hats and top of cake, Ribbons, Twine, Buttons and Burlap for banners and decor – Michaels
Frames, Chalkboard, Party Hats, Tissue Poofs, Banners, Invitations – Handmade by me
