a grover-themed 3rd birthday party

right now i am in party planning mode. my youngest daughter, anabella, just turned 1 a couple weeks ago (yikes, i can't believe it!) and my older daughter, luciana, will be turning 4 tomorrow (again, yikes, i can't believe it!!). i'm happy that their birthdays are close enough together so that i can just do one combined party (for now, not sure how it's going to work when they're teenagers)...

this year luciana is all about princesses but last year her obsession was sesame street. more specifically, that little furry blue monster, grover. i was also hugely pregnant with anabella while i was planning so i was trying to not go too crazy with all the details.

i knew i wanted to plan an indoor party (i didn't want to worry about a possible rain date or 97-degree weather) so i researched a few indoor play areas and ended up picking the klubhouse in woburn, ma. what i liked about it was the fact that the parties are private (some indoor play areas are open to the public and you just get a private party room), you could order pizzas directly from them and they also had the option to add a dance room with strobe lights and music, which of course we had to add since luciana loves to dance. plus, they do all the set up and clean up.

it turns out that it is a huge challenge finding anything with grover on it. elmo? elmo is EVERYWHERE! even cookie monster and big bird seem to be pretty popular. but grover, not so much. which is fine since i like to create my own party accessories. i started messing around in illustrator and came up with a grover drawing, which became the graphic i used for everything. i found this fun typeface called KG strawberry limeade and of course i had to include polka dots. here are the invitations:

i always like to include photos on the back of birthday invitations. i have a lot of family members that live far away so i think it's nice for them to have photos to keep for their fridge.

i printed the grover graphic on iron-on transfer paper (i could do a whole series of blog posts about my love for iron-on transfer paper) and put it on the front of a plain white t-shirt for the birthday girl. she didn't sit still long enough for me to get a good picture.

here's the back detail:

my husband, 3-week old anabella, and i all had matching t-shirts with the grover graphic on them. anabella slept through most of the party.

i definitely could not have pulled off ANY of this with out my aunt (pseudo-mom, best friend, guardian angel, knight in shining armour) debbie. she printed out a ton of grover pictures for decoration. AND, she was in charge of the cupcakes....

i found grover cupcakes on pinterest and figured it was just wishful thinking. until debbie found a baker near her that could do them and do them RIGHT (grover has fur and oval eyes, it's really all about the details). these were done by lily-cakes debbie brought them back all the way from long island, new york! how awesome are these???!!!

i have gotten a ton of use out of this cupcake stand, a 4-tiered stacked cupcake and dessert tower from wilton. well worth the $20 i spent on it!

i wanted to keep the favors simple. i ordered dark blue m&m's, put them in cellophane bags and tied them with polka dot ribbon. i printed the grover faces on white 2.5 inch round labels from paper source.

i also printed labels for the back of the favors.

 i mean seriously, how great are these??!!

the birthday song, along with a decapitated, flaming grover, ended up being a little overwhelming for the birthday girl!

she felt better after hugs from mommy & a juice box. i can't believe i couldn't find the grover's white grape juice boxes made by apple & eve. i tried 3 different grocery stores before giving up. i did find them later, at whole foods. oh well...

after the kids party, we had a family bbq at my in-law's house. luciana decided to take a dip in her clothes and sneakers. i guess the rules don't apply to the guest of honor!

well, back to party planning. back to princesses. i will take lots of pictures and i will try and post the details before the girls' NEXT birthday party!

a polka dot 2nd birthday party

my daughter is officially 2! she had a wonderful birthday weekend... her actual birthday was on a friday. my husband took the day off and we planned a day around a visit to southwick's zoo in mendon, ma. she LOVES animals so i thought this would be perfect. my husband did some research and picked this particular zoo because it also has rides. of course, after we got there and bought $20 worth of tickets, we realized our daughter was a little small for pretty much all of the rides - most of them had a height requirement (she's very petite) and didn't allow parents to ride with them. so, she was able to do the pony ride, we all went on a train ride "safari" and then we gave the rest of our tickets away to a random family on the way out.

look, a monkey!

her birthday party was on a saturday. here were the details...

where
the indoor playground in watertown, ma. our family lives in a small 2-bedroom condo and we didn't want to impose on our in-law's again (we had her 1st birthday there and they are gracious hosts and have the best yard for a BBQ) or worry about the weather for an outdoor party so the indoor playground was perfect. it's 5 minutes away from our house, has a MILLION toys for all ages (including a bouncy house), it's pretty affordable (with several ad-on options like face-painting or having a character, etc...) and they allow you to bring in whatever you want for outside food (of course we ordered pizzas and calzones from the italian restaurant i work at). 

theme
last year it was a sock monkey theme. this year, i kept it simple - i just chose a color palette and based everything around that. i chose my current color obsession - navy blue (just take a peek in my closet) and to make it more girly, paired with hot pink. then, since it's me, LOTS of polka dots...

invitations
after it rained for weeks and weeks (it felt like!), the sun finally came out. so i put luciana in a hot pink dress and took her outside for a photo shoot. there were so many great shots that i had to make the invite 2-sided!

front:

back:

attire
i knew i wanted the birthday girl to be comfortable and i knew i wanted her to wear a shirt with a 2 on it. i just happened to go into carters and for the first time ever, found exactly what i was looking for. the perfect skirt - navy with hot pink polka dots. just like the invites! i swear, i didn't subconsciously see this before i did the invitation design...

i wasn't finding a shirt for her that i liked so i ended up making my own. i used a plain white t-shirt and printable iron-on transfer paper to add my design. (i LOVE iron-on transfer paper - stay tuned for a post just on that!). i even made one for my husband and me.

detail:

 you can kind of see the whole ensemble here. this is when she realized everyone was singing to HER...

also, this was the dress she wore on her actual birthday (from target) for her trip to the zoo.

i don't know how i found 2 outfits that were within the theme (and again, matched her invites!) but i really lucked out!

favors
i guess the end of july is the height of school supply shopping season so i decided on art supplies. everything was on sale! the sketchbooks were the splurge (at $2.20 each) but all of the other items included (package of crayons, watercolor paint, stickers) were $1.00 or less each. then i wrapped them in cellophane bags meant for wrapping baskets (from a local party supply store) and secured them using 2 1/2 inch round stickers i designed and printed (sticker sheets from paper source).

detail:

yeah, i caved and gave away candy too. in small, separate packages so parents could chose whether or not to take them.

the (cup)cake:

i was having a hard time deciding between a cake, cupcakes or cake pops (super trendy and super hard to make). so i left it up to my husband. he (very decisively) picked cupcakes. so, that's what we went with. 

 

i didn't want to make myself crazy with fondant, etc... so i just went simple - chocolate cake with chocolate frosting or fun-fetti cake with vanilla frosting, both with rainbow sprinkles (the itsy-bitsy ball ones, i forget what they're called). i did find cupcake wrappers in navy blue and hot pink with white polka dots - i couldn't resist. the stand is the 4-tier stacked dessert tower by wilton. for only $20 it was probably cheaper than making my own and cost the same as those flimsy, decorate-your-own, one-use paper ones. i had brought ribbon to decorate the edges (with double-sided tape so i could easily take it off), but i got to the party and had to set up the stand with the cupcakes as quickly as possible so i left it off. 

i created "happy birthday luciana" using 1 1/4 inch circle stickers (sheets also from paper source) and popsicle sticks (from any arts and craft or party supply store). i made a bunch with just the number 2 and stuck them on the cupcakes in the back.

we also had hoodsies (no ice cream scoops required - yay!). 

detail (notice how even the candles are coordinated!):

miscellaneous decor

i mixed and matched navy blue and hot pink plates and napkins.

 

i had bought sheets of 1 1/4 circle stickers in navy and hot pink and never used them for anything so i ended up decorating the plain cups i had purchased to make them polka dot!

the after party

the immediate family ended up back at my in-law's house for a BBQ. water toys were set up for the kids (kiddie pool, slip-n-slide, sprinkler) and the adults were able to relax a little while watching the kids play.

this is me with the birthday girl (pic taken by me):

this is us from her birthday party last year (photos from my SUPER talented cousin, alyssa):

it's crazy how the time just flies! before i know it, i'm going to be planning her 3rd birthday!

a sock monkey 1st birthday

the weather is getting warmer and summer is almost here, so i thought i would show details of my daughter's 1st birthday party, from this past july...

first, a quick story... my husband and i call our daughter monkey. actually, the monkey reference originally started because of my mom. when i was born i had a thick head of jet black hair. so thick that my eyebrows and hairline were pretty much connected. according to my mom (as quoted from my baby book):

timi and randy also came to visit us in the hospital. they both said "she's beautiful". i thought to myself, are they kidding? she looks like a monkey!

thanks mom (she doesn't have a filter). after my husband heard that story, he started calling me monkey. then when i got pregnant, instead of saying "it" (before we knew it was a "her"), we would just say the monkey and it stuck! of course her room is filled with monkeys (blankets, stuffed animals, sheets, decorations, etc...) and of course when she turned 1 we just had to do some kind of monkey-themed party! this poor girl is going to hate monkeys when she's older!

the postcards i did for her invitations:

i set up my own photo shoot in her room, spreading out one of her curtains as a backdrop. i also gathered up assorted monkeys and arranged them in the bin on top of her toy chest. she wasn't walking at the time so i had to set up something for her to hold onto. i also had some cute ones of her in a white wooden rocking chair, holding some of the monkeys but i thought this set-up made her look like she was a more of a "big girl". i'm so happy i got some cute pictures of her in that party dress! i didn't feel as bad when she grew out of it...

for decorations, i wanted to keep it simple. i wasn't finding what i wanted so i purchased this adorable sock monkey clip art from cupcakecutiees on Etsy, got plain pink and red party hats and gift bags and made my own using printable sticker paper:

the birthday banner i made using the sock monkey clipart (i added the letters), printed on white card stock and cut into circles:

since most of the kids were 2 and under, i figured favor bags full of candy wouldn't work. i thought it would be fun (and would fit with the theme) to give parents kits to make sock monkeys at home. i found printable instructions here and included them with a pair of red-heeled socks (of course, my 7 year old nephew was a little disappointed to be getting a pair of socks instead of candy but lesson learned for next year - older kids need candy!):

my daughter wore a sock monkey onesie that i found on zazzle.com and my husband and i wore matching shirts (yes, we're big dorks). she ended up wearing her bathing suit for most of it anyway since it was a very hot july afternoon. this is me & the birthday girl:

the cake - my first attempt at fondant!

i know, it's a little goofy looking. i made this cake as well as a sheet cake with white frosting and pink and red fondant polka dots. i thought i was being clever (and budget friendly) when i just bought white fondant and then got red food coloring to make pink and red myself, since i only needed a little bit. if you decide to do this, make sure you have disposable gloves! that didn't occur to me until i was kneading the fondant to get the color mixed in properly and, in the process, dying my hands red.

the birthday girl seems to like it:

 i love kids covered in birthday cake (good thing she was in her bathing suit):

 

i have to figure out the theme for her 2nd birthday, which is right around the corner (i can't believe it!). of course, i'll keep you posted...

p.s. a big THANK YOU to my in-laws for letting us host the party at their house and use their big back yard!

a shower for lauren & dave

my sister-in-law, lauren, is getting married in june. she is the older of my husband's 2 younger sisters. i've known her since she was 14 so the thought of her getting married is making me feel a little old! lauren really is like a little sister to me (especially since i have 4 brothers!) so i'm really trying my hardest to make whatever i'm involved in, really special.

her shower was quite an undertaking. there are 8 bridesmaids total but between us and my mother-in-law, we all did our share and pulled it off. of course, i did the invitations:

matching address label on the face of the envelope:

lauren and dave are having a june wedding, overlooking the beach. her color palette is very subtle - metallic dark gray and silver with a few light pink and hot pink accents. i thought the shower invitations were a great place to be a little less formal. i wanted them to be more fun. both their save the dates and wedding invitations featured a sand dollar so i kept that theme.

of course once i created the invitations, i had to make sure everything else matched.

instead of a guest book, we had cards for guests to leave advice for lauren and dave:

detail:

we also came up with trivia questions and i made those into a trivia game that was played while lauren and dave were opening gifts:

we collected all the trivia answers and i'm going to make them into a keepsake book.

for favors, we decided on starfish wine stoppers. we really wanted something the guests could actually use (as opposed to a cookie or candy or bubbles, although nothing against those ideas). they came already in boxes with white ribbon so we just had to add the favor tags. i punched holes in the tags and then cut slits next to the holes so they could be slipped onto the ribbon without having to untie and retie all those bows.

for my brides that are also friends, i usually do matching thank you notes as a gift. of course, since it was for my sister-in-law i did a little extra and also pre-addressed all of her thank you note envelopes (i credit that idea to my sister-in-law, julie, who addressed all my thank you note envelopes when i got married). since i made the invitations, i had the guest list anyway.

here are the matching thank you notes with return address labels (the sand dollar pattern continues on the back):










it really was a great day and i can't wait for the wedding!