Mairin's first birthday was incredibly fun. And, due to my growing obsession with Pinterest, I went a little overboard on the whole affair.
This post is a collection of pictures, inspiration and vendors that helped make the party a success.
For the theme, we decided on a book party. We have a ton of toys and Mairin loves books, so it seemed like an obvious choice. I tweaked Martha Stewart's book baby shower clip art for a first birthday. You can download the shower clip art here.
The girls wore pink and green BabyGap to match the rest of the pink and green decor.
I settled on pink and green tissue pompons to mimic live carnations mixed with faux boxwood wreaths and topiaries. (I had purchased the boxwood from Ballard Designs several months ago for my Christmas decorations). I ordered three hundred carnations from Fabulous Florals and they were delivered the wednesday before the party.
See some additional pinspiration for the party here.
Kristine Borzych of Darling Baker prepared the color and theme-coordinated sweets: Cookies, cupcakes, marshmallow pops, krispie paddles, lemon puffballs, chocolate brownies and milk and cookies.
Kristine also made the amazing smash cake that we all sampled after Mairin had her way with it. The sisters shared cake with one another and eventually with mom and dad too.
Leighton's third birthday is coming up in five weeks and I'm not sure I have the energy to try to top this party. Little Lei has already declared a rainbow theme.
A very special thanks to:
Carol Deanda of Bella Photography and Deanda Photography for taking amazing pictures.
Kristine of Darling Baker Chicago for the gorgeous sweet table and desserts. (847) 322-3610
shopsweetlulu.com for festive party accoutrements and lightning-fast shipping.
fabulousflorals.com for selling beautiful wholesale carnations in small lots.
Potbelly Sandwich Shop for catering.
Mary Poppins and Grandma Freeman for wrapping books and pomping.
Have you ever gone overboard on a kids party? Did you have a special theme or exploit your DIY capabilities? Please post a comment and share your fuss with us.
Hi Jenissa! I threw "pomping" in there for posterity. I'm glad you caught it. I cut the Happy Birthday Mairin" sign out of adhsive vinyl on my Silhouette SD machine - a little fussy but the effect is worth it.
Posted by: Jen | Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 07:23 PM
This party looks amazing Jen, GREAT JOB! Oh and pomping, takes me back to homecoming days and late nights! Where did you find the "Happy Birthday Mairin" sign for the mantel. You have two very lucky little girls and a beautiful family. Thanks for sharing with all of us...
~Jenissa
Posted by: Jenissa | Sunday, February 19, 2012 at 06:57 PM