Sunday, June 5, 2011

Ryan & Will's 1st Birthday Party

I was inspired by all the handmade parties I've seen online and wanted to give myself a similar challenge. Planning for this party began five months in advance. I wanted it to be super special for my twin boys and husband. All three of them share the same birthday. How amazing is that!

The trick of course was finding the time to finish all the different elements I wanted. Between all of my normal mommy duties, household chores, errands and freelance gigs, I was able to sneak some time to research, learn a few DIY birthday projects, design and create my very own handmade birthday party.

The aqua and blue circus theme was inspired by a paper carousel from Meri Meri given to my boys. I loved the elephant especially, so that became the centerpiece of my design.

After creating the party invitation, everything began to fall into place. I sewed a simple elephant themed fabric pennant and a crochet banner. I repurposed my old baby food jars into these pretty little containers for Jelly Beans. I whipped up some homemade caramel popcorn as another party favor, we added a jar full of animal crackers and goldfish to our dessert table. I made birthday shirts, pj's and bibs for the boys. I also created three giant smash cakes. The party hats were handmade too!

As an added touch - my husband hired his co-worker to play 'Happy Birthday' and some other songs on his bagpipes. It was an ode to the boys half-Scottish heritage and filled the neighborhood with some pretty cool tunes.

Happy 1st Birthday to the sweetest little boys in the whole world and my loving husband. Thank you for putting up with me when I am in my crazy creative moods. I love you and am looking forward for many more years of celebration.

XOXOXO






10 comments:

KatrinkaJane said...

Would you mind sharing some details about the baby food jar repurposing and the clown noses (which I assume you made)? Thanks!

Mae Armstrong said...

Hi Katrinka - I'll post a simple tutorial for the baby food jars. For the clown noses...to save you some time you can purchase them at http://www.zymetrical.com/foam-clown-noses-p-425.html?origin={adtype}&r=gf. They are very inexpensive. The only thing I regret is not adding the elastic cord. The clown noses doesn't stay on very well. I didn't have enough time for that last step. Hope this helps. Come back again for the baby food jar post. :)

Suzanne said...

Hi Mae! I found this post through Tip Junkie and I immediately fell in love. My son turns 1 in August and I have been looking all over the internet and haven't been able to find anything that I like. I was wondering if you would be willing to do custom invitations and such with this design. I saw this and thought this is perfect! If it's not something you can do that's fine too. Thanks!

Mae Armstrong said...

Hi Suzanne! Thanks for checking my blog. Do you mind sharing the link from Tip Junkie? I never got an email back. I submitted my party there but wasn't sure if they would feature it. I can definitely customize this invitation for you. I designed it along with a matching thank you card too! Email me the details and the colors if you wish to change it. Send me a direct email at mae_armstrong@hotmail.com

Lili said...

everything is soo precious! shared it in my FB page!

Mae Armstrong said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mae Armstrong said...

Thanks Lili! That's really nice of you. I really appreciate it. :)

Lissa (Bellenza) said...

Just love the orange and blue palette! And all the amazing handmade details you worked into this darling party!

*katie said...

So, SO cute! Love it all!

Alli said...

Mae, you throw the best parties!!!

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