Boston's 1st Birthday Party: The Invitations

Not totally finished with the back side of the invitations, but here's the front all finished:

Boston's 1st Birthday Party: The To Do List

This post is more or less just for me. I have things written all over the place right now and need to consolidate! Here is my to do/to get list:



OUTFIT:
-shirt
-pants (still undecided what I want)
-suspenders & bow tie (ORDERED)
-shoes (Jordans!)


CAKE:
-fondant
-cupcake papers
-food coloring
-banner letters (handmade to make)
-skewers


WISH TREE:
-branches
-vase
-moss
-card tags (need to make them, have the stuff)
-owls (need to make)

PARTY HATS:
-hats (need to paper mache')
-misc hat decorations


MISC DECORATIONS/THINGS
-bunting banner (paper mache')
-fabric for owl hoops
-large branches
-cake pedestal wood and logs (need to construct)
-Christmas lights and jars
-photobooth props (foam and paper mache; need to make)
-photobooth backdrops
-photobooth name sign (need to make)
-streamers (I have ivory, need blues and orange)
-fabric for draping
-balloons (got some need more)


PRODUCTS TO PRINT:
-1, 8X10 Boston picture
-1, 5X7 Boston picture
-2, 4X6 Boston pictures
-invites

Still not sure about food.

Boston's 1st Birthday Party: The Master Plan

This post is going to be jumbled and all over the place. I'm still figuring out every little detail, so bare with me!

Here are a few ideas. There are quite a few things I want to make and do myself:


~His OUTFIT: I want him to wear a light blue button up shirt and slacks (not sure their color yet). We ordered him a custom made newsprint bow tie and suspenders to go with it. The bow tie is names of cities. I absolutely LOVE it!


~CAKE: I've only made a few event cakes in my time. I plan to make a small one tier owl themed fondant cake and about 30 cupcakes. And of course a little smash cake for him. Above is a picture of my very first fondant cake I made for my sisters baby shower.

~ WISH TREE: I want to make a little tree with cards hanging from it that guests can write a little birthday wish on. These will go in his keepsake box. I got some branches and stuff for it already. I don't think it will be too hard to put together.

~PHOTOBOOTH: I want him to be able to see those who attended, so I'm going to be setting up a little photobooth with little props for the guests to have a bit of fun with.

~PARTY HATS AND OTHER: I'm going to be doing quite a bit of paper mache' (at least that's the plan right now). I also want to make little photo booth props with paper mache.


~YARN BALLS: I want to make a yarn ball decoration to hang from above the cake table.


~PRINT PRODUCTS: I'm going to order a few of my favorite pictures of his first year to fill a few frames. I'm also going to design and print a few other things.

~RANDOM OTHER IDEAS AND THINGS:
-Bunting banner
-Fabric hoop owls
-Branches for decor
-White Christmas lights and mason jars
-Streamers
-Balloons
- Pinwheels?
-Lots of paper mache' things!

I'm still not sure about food (other than the cake and cupcakes). This is an area I can REALLY go overboard in. Namely in the desert category! I'm sure I'll get it figured out and posted soon.

More ideas and projects coming soon. I'm still trying to get it all sorted in my head!

Boston's 1st Birthday Party: Planning and Supplies

It's already that time of year. I know it's very cliche' when you hear people say "they grow up so fast", but they really do. This last year FLEW by faster than any other year of my life. Maybe because it's been the best year? The love I have for that little man just can't be measured. I find myself excited (though usually exhausted) every morning to get up, go into his room and see that beautiful smiling face beaming up at me. No gift could be better than an average day with him.



And so starts the party planning. I know, I know, he won't actually REMEMBER his first birthday. But he will be able to look back on it in the pictures taken. I wanted to do something fun, yet not go too crazy in the cost department so I combined a few of my favorite things...thrift shopping and vintage things. There really is a LOT that goes into planning a party. I joke that I have planning ADHD when it comes to the ideas. Everything looks cute, or fun, or neat. The hardest part for me is picking a theme and then trying to stick to it with all the details.



Here's a rundown of the theme and my process so far:

1. The first thing I did before I did any shopping or too much planning even was to go on Pinterest. I started a birthday ideas board. I spent quite a bit of time perusing the world wide web to get an idea of some of the things I could do. I already had a vintage owl theme in mind so I did a lot of googling. The color scheme is Dark blue, baby blue, orange, dark gray, light gray, tan, brown, and other neutrals.

2. Once I had the theme nailed down and some ideas under my belt I "shopped my house". I went around looking for things that fit the theme or that could be used as party decor. Boston already had a few vintage owls in his room (his theme in there was vintage meets modern and lots of animals). I actually already had quite a bit of what's seen here.

3. I went on a few thrift shopping excursions. I always love having a good excuse to go thrift shopping. I really detest shopping for other things, but I LOVE thrift shopping. You just never know what you'll find!

4. I took a trip to Joanne's Fabric and got the card stock paper. I'm going to make a few owls out of it.

I still need to figure out every little thing I'm doing and all the supplies and time that go into each thing. That's the hard part for me. I want to do EVERYTHING. I need to edit down the ideas and make a few good ones shine.

Blogger of the Year...NOT

I really do deserve slack of the year award for 2011 (and 2012 so far). I've had all sorts of things to blog that just kind of fell through the cracks. Getting my business up and running has taken every ounce of my free time (not that I'm complaining) hence, the blog neglect. I'm making a conscious effort to blog more than just the Week in Pictures posts. I'm in the process of planning Boston's 1st birthday (already!) and have way too many ideas. I really do have ADHD when it comes to planning things. I go off on tangents and realize I've wasted hours. Pinterest is awesome for getting my ideas in order, but bad for my tangent browsing. I start out looking for birthday party ideas and find a hairstyle I want to try--pin that, then find a neat book shelf idea, pin that. Yeah, I need to FOCUS! Follow me on Pinterest if you want to get lost for hours one end pinning pretty things! :)

Crochet Corner: End 2011 - January 2012

Quick little blog post just to showcase some of my recent crocheted creations.









My friend Hilary modeling a few scarves

Old File Cabinet

I've always loved card catalogs and old filing cabinets. I don't know why, I just do. Am I the only one that gets card catalog envy when The Big Bang Theory is on?



When I saw this baby sitting all by its lonesome at a thrift store in Libby--with a $3.00 price tag mind you, I had to snag it up! I've been looking for something like this for years and when I saw it I knew I had to have it.







I know what I'd put in a large card catalog with many many draws. I'd put all my little craft things and office goodies. I'm having a hard time deciding what to put in this guy--if I should use if for business or pleasure. Hmmm. I'm not even sure what room I want it to go in? I thought office at first, but that's so expected. Right now it's on the kitchen counter where our mail usually gets piled up till it's flowing onto the floor.





I think it might eventually end up in my bedroom after we redo it. It will probably set on a refinished dresser I have yet to find and refinish. Not sure what I'll put in it, but I'll have awhile to figure it out since it's already been 3 years since we started the bedroom remodel and not finished it haha! I'm still debating whether or not I'm going to paint it. I do love the gun metal gray color (I'm really on a gray kick lately) and I do love the imperfections and scratches on the surface. It's not brand new and perfect, it's used. Loved.

If anyone ever finds an old card catalog, you can buy it for me!

Our Forty-Sixth Week: In Pictures