Friday, June 11, 2010

Flower Birthday Party

My niece Charlotte turned one about a month ago, and I had the privilege of helping to plan her sweet party. I have been so excited to share this party with you all!

My sister thought a flower theme would be nice since Charlotte's birthday is May 1 (May Day). I immediately started brainstorming. I loved every minute of planning, buying, and decorating. Here are the details:

Our 1st order of business was the candy bar. They seem to be at just about every party, so we thought we'd try our own. We found the apothecary jars at a consignment furniture store and the others at Walmart. The pink table cloth is actually a shower curtain from Target. The candy was a mixture of colors, shapes, and sizes. We used pink and green M&Ms, rock candy, bubble gum balls, Smarties, pink and green popcorn (very delicious!), candy sticks, dot candy, and gummy worms (going along with the flower/garden theme). We used AstroTurf from the hardware store as the table runner and added a few silk flowers along the way. My sister made these candy bags using smaller white goodie bags placed inside the green bags which she cut to look like grass and added a butterfly for color.

We carried the same pink shower curtain table cloth and AstroTurf table runner into the buffet table. I used terracotta pots with garden gloves wrapped around (glue gunned down to secure the fingers) to hold the silverware. As an inspiration from Erin's serving plates, I found these pink printed plates from Target and a clear candlestick from the dollar store to make two sets of serving trays to hold the most delicious pink cookies ever! We had flower-shaped cheese and crackers, fresh fruit, and brightly-colored garden tools as serving utensils.

We used a bright green watering can to hold our drinking water. We also made pink lemonade to coordinate colors.

My sister ordered Charlotte her own mini cake to dive into. She also made cupcakes for the guests using tulip-shaped cupcake liners. Other cupcakes were decorated like dirt cake with Oreo crumbs and worms-a big hit with the kids. I also made our own party circles for the cupcakes using Charlotte's picture and her initial.

We decorated her dining room table using AstroTurf as place mats. We used my sister's wedding China (great time to show it off!) and my mom's antique green Depression glass from my great-grandmother.

As far as indoor decorations, we created several points of interest. I made a flower picture pot to display 5 adorable pictures of Charlotte. We also used my nephew's rain boots to hold open the door and placed flowers inside to coordinate. I made tissue paper poms to hang above the drink counter. We used flower boxes adding our own flowers and a butterfly. I found these candle holders at the consignment furniture store which I spray-painted white and added flower pom-poms and an early picture of Charlotte. My sister bought these flower head-bands from the dollar bins at Target as another give-away, so here's a picture of my daughter wearing hers. We used tons of fresh flowers all over the house in arrangements--they were a bargain from the grocery store!

We made a door sign using Charlotte's little feet. We also put a pink rake and hoe by her front door.

This is my favorite part! I made these flower balloons to decorate her front path. I found the flower tutorial on Martha Stewart's web site and made them into giant-sized standing flowers using the extra large size balloons (found them at Party City). We used my mom's metal flower hanging basket poles to attach these balloons. They were such a fun way to add balloons!

I'll be linking to these parties this week, so check out all the amazing ideas out there! Have a great weekend!!

38 comments:

Erin A June 11, 2010 at 7:00 AM  

Amy this is incredible!! It all looks amazing: I want to dive into that buffet table and candy table! The turf addition to the decor is just too cute and I just love that watering can with your drinking water! It all looks so fun and fresh, great job! And glad you made your own little stands, they look perfect!!

Amy @ Keep'n The SunnySide June 11, 2010 at 7:24 AM  

What a fabulous party! LURV the candy bar, buffet, and those outdoor balloon flowers are fantastic!!!! VERY well done!

Bird June 11, 2010 at 7:38 AM  

Soo much cool inspiration here!!!

Did you make the pink and green popcorn? If so can I pleeeeeease have the recipe?!! :)

My children's them is garden this year, so your party is a fountain of ideas!!!

I've also made those flower balloons before but never stuck them to the ground!! Great idea!!

The Martha inspired favor bags are just divine!!

LOVE EVERY SINGLE DETAIL!!!

The toppers, the party circles, the astro turf...ALL!!!! :)

Thank you for sharing it with us at Bird Crafts!!!

Love,
Bird

Tiffany June 11, 2010 at 8:10 AM  

Such an amazing party! You did a terrific job with every single detail! It all looked so professional and fabulous! Love the gloves around the pots to hold the utensils and the flower balloons out front, and the place settings looked so beautiful. Well, I just love it all! You have a gift for party planning for sure! : )

Jessica June 11, 2010 at 8:24 AM  

My favorite party yet!

TBonesMom June 11, 2010 at 8:36 AM  

Unbelievably cute!!!

beth kruse custom creations June 11, 2010 at 9:33 AM  

i think the watering can for the drinks is the best idea ever! makes me want to use this theme just for that reason!! everything else was so cute too!

Amy June 11, 2010 at 10:13 AM  

Bird-Unfortunately, I don't have the recipe for the amazing popcorn--we have a small candy shop here who made it for us. The pink popcorn was strawberry and the green was apple green flavor. I think she made the flavored glazes and poured them on top of the popcorn. Have fun with your garden party planning!

Leah's Little Bowtique June 11, 2010 at 10:17 AM  

Just love it! Great ideas!

Patrice June 11, 2010 at 11:15 AM  

Wonderful! I would love to do this someday!

Tauni June 11, 2010 at 12:07 PM  

Darling. Wish I had a little girl, I would copy this idea in a minute. However, we have only been blessed with boys...my poor mother has even decided to stop wishing for a granddaughter at this point.

Donene June 11, 2010 at 12:57 PM  

This party looks so fun! you did a great job!

Heather June 11, 2010 at 7:00 PM  

This makes me really wish I was at that party! Great, no INCREDIBLE job. Such attention to detail!
Please come link up to Fabulous Friday our linky party!
Heather @ www.savingmoneylivinglife.com

S June 11, 2010 at 10:43 PM  

Wow, I am impressed! I am not that creative but I can use you as an inspiration!

sanjeet June 12, 2010 at 4:38 AM  

What a fabulous party!
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Pati @ A Crafty Escape June 12, 2010 at 1:28 PM  

Love the flower balloons!

Kristan June 12, 2010 at 8:58 PM  

Fabulous party theme! You did such a great job coordinating all of the elements!

Alyssa June 12, 2010 at 11:16 PM  

I have to quit looking at your party posts Amy - it makes my crepe paper and balloons I normally do look rather sad and pathetic. I'm totally coming to you for party planning ideas from now on. I'll sew you some stuff and you can help me party plan. How's that sound? Love it all, as usual.

Becca Ross June 13, 2010 at 10:51 AM  

I LOVE your photos in this post. The mosaic/collage look really stands out. Great post! Thanks for linking up.

Becca

Bird June 13, 2010 at 11:46 AM  

HI!!

I've featured this awesome party today!! :)

Thanks again for linking up!

Love,
Bird

Hoosier Homemade June 13, 2010 at 9:30 PM  

How fun! Love how everything is bright and beautiful!
Love the flower balloons too!
My other blog is...
It's A Blog Party, and on Mondays we have a Craft/DIY linky party.
I'd love for you to join us on Monday or any other day...we host a different linky every day!
~Liz

Josiah's Mom June 13, 2010 at 10:39 PM  

So cute! I love first birthday parties!!

Maddycakes Muse June 14, 2010 at 12:06 AM  

Hi,
I just discovered your blog! I LOVE your flower party!! I am featuring it tonight on my blog. I am a frugalista as well and feature ideas and tips to entertain and have fabulous parties without spending tons of money. I hope you enjoy the post.
Many blessings,
Michelle
www.maddycakesmuse.blogspot.com

Mad in Crafts June 14, 2010 at 2:31 PM  

What a fabulous party for a little girl!

Thanks for linking up to the Mad Skills party!

Lorie June 14, 2010 at 8:03 PM  

It i all very cute! And I love the flower balloons! I am going to feature them tomorrow!

mle June 15, 2010 at 10:50 AM  

What a super sweet party idea... and I don't just mean the candy bar ; )

Rory from Tools Are For Women Too! June 15, 2010 at 1:36 PM  

Wow! This is some kinda party! The love the balloons outside! Thanks for sharing the fun on Modern Craftswoman Monday! Rory

Stephanie Lynn @Under the Table and Dreaming June 15, 2010 at 9:34 PM  

Amy this is adorable! Love the flower theme. All the details are simply amazing. Love the door sign - super cute! Fantastic job! Thanks so much for joining the Sunday Showcase Party! I greatly appreciate it. Hope you are having a wonderful week! ~ Stephanie Lynn

Astrid in Bristling Acres June 16, 2010 at 7:50 AM  

I adore all the attentions to the little details for this party. I'm hoping I can use some of these ideas for my daughters' birthdays. Love those giant flower balloons!

Michele {The Scrap Shoppe} June 16, 2010 at 8:02 AM  

How very fun! Those balloon flowers are fantastic. Such a great party!

Unknown June 16, 2010 at 8:03 AM  

Wow, this is a great idea.

Beth@The Stories of A to Z June 16, 2010 at 8:51 AM  

This is so incredibly cute! I love those flower balloons!

Becca Ross June 17, 2010 at 10:24 PM  

Ok, I know you were linking the whole flower party up to my Home and Family Friday linky party. But, I LOVE your photos!!! I love the collage and I'm excited to try this on my own blog. I'm featuring you this week!

Becca
becca-homeiswheremystorybegins.blogspot.com

Megan @ Megity's Handmade June 17, 2010 at 11:19 PM  

So cute! It looks like you really had fun. I really like that you did a door hanging too.

Helena June 18, 2010 at 11:30 AM  

Holy cow, this is awesome! Talk about a perfect little girls party. I love everything- especially the flower headband on the baby, and the balloon flowers out front. so creative!

Thank you for participating in the Creative Therapy Session at Life in the Pitts

Helena June 18, 2010 at 1:57 PM  

I features this today, too- and if you ever want to throw me a party that looks like this, I would be ok with that.

http://lanieree.blogspot.com/2010/06/featuring-you_18.html

Its A Blog Party June 21, 2010 at 12:41 PM  

This looks incredible!
Thanks for linking up!
~Liz

Kate February 3, 2011 at 4:26 AM  

This is really great. I hope you don't mind I'm linking to this. I'm doing a picnic party in March and this gave me some great new ideas. Love the lemonade wattering can!

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