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!!