Lauren said this about planning the party- “This was my daughter’s 1st birthday party! Deciding on a theme for her 1st birthday was harder than I expected. Oh my are there so many cute ideas out there! She has such a happy demeanor and brings us so much joy every day. I knew I wanted her 1st birthday party to be bright and cheerful like her and when I stumbled on a Pink Lemonade theme I saw online I knew that was it. What could be more cheerful than bursts of yellow and pink and everything lemonade reminding us of warm summer days!
I had so much fun looking for ideas online. In the end I made most of the DIY elements on my own and I’m so glad I did because it made it that more special.
My dear friend Alise Davis with Sweet Marie Designs helped me create and manage a Pinterest board to help organize my ideas and ultimately she did all the amazing flowers for the big party!”
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Crepe Paper Streamers Baker’s Twine Tissue Pom Poms Burlap Cupcake Liners Paper Bags Polka Dot Balloons Jute Twine Paper Straws
This charming BUNNY THEMED FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Alex Vardakis of Avie & Lulu in Australia.
I love so many things about this bunny party! It would obviously not only be great for a birthday but would work for a Easter party or a baby shower as well. A few highlights to look for are:
The mason jars painted opaque white and used as vases
The gorgeous glass apothecary style drink dispensers
The bunny shaped cookies tied to the sides of milk bottles
The stunning cake complete with cascading sugar flowers and topped with a three dimensional fondant bunny
Alex said this about the party- “My third little girl celebrated her first birthday in April and being around Easter we thought what better than to have a gorgeous pastel themed Easter party! It was a garden party with lots of prettiness and lots of fun!
A special appearance by the Easter Bunny himself was a highlight for the kids, as was the real white fluffy bunny which spent the afternoon hoping around.
A beautiful 2 tier Cake was the show stopper of the dessert table. Made by the talented Sweet Tiers it featured a beautiful Bunny figurine topper. All of the guests were amazed it was fondant and many thought it was a real porcelain figurine. Other treats included buttercream ruffled cupcakes in pastel shades of lemon, pink, mint and blue. And the most amazing and detailed Cookies by the super amazing cookie artist Kookie Krumbs by Kirstie. They were like tiny portraits, delicately detailed and definitely too good beautiful to eat!
The children’s setting featured rattan chairs which suited the garden feel to a tea.
Each guest received a keepsake hankie designed by Ham&Pea Paperie which featured the Winnie the Pooh quote ‘You are braver then you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think’.”
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Striped Paper Straws Milk Bottles Ribbon Cupcake Liners Balloons Apothecary Jars
This lovely FAIRY GARDEN THEMED FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Astir and Alessandra of Pra Você Festas Especiais.
A few of the highlights to look for in this sweet fairy garden party are:
The desserts wrapped in paper and served in pots to resemble flowers
The layers of ribbon tied around the table
The lovely 2-tiered cake wrapped with a fondant bow
and MORE!
This is what Astir and Alessandra said about the party- “To celebrate the 1st birthday of Maria Antonia mama wanted something delicate and magical, with many flowers! Working with the colors pink, lilac, green and white, we create an enchanted world where fairies roam between flowers and candy! It was a delicate feast full of charm and lots of flowers!”
This is what Natalie said about planning the party- ”I’m sending you the latest table I styled for a little girl’s 1st birthday and Christening. My client approached me seeking something soft and delicate for her daughters christening. When I suggested Pinwheels, my client was hesitant at first as she pictured the really colourful pinwheels we come across in carnivals. I assured her that we can make these pinwheels soft and delicate. I love it when a client puts their faith in me, which is exactly what she did.
We chose pastels for the colour scheme with an emphasis on feminine pastel colours.
I made 4 pinwheels which sat towards the back of the table and bought the concept to life. I tried to incorporate as many pinwheels as possible though out the entire table. Desserts on the table included pinwheel cupcakes, pinwheel cookies, pinwheel cake pops, pinwheel marshmallows and candy in the chosen colour scheme.
Overall, the dessert table was so delicate and sweet, fit for any little princess.”
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Pinwheel toppers Apothecary Jars Cupcake wrappers Lollipop / Treat Sticks Ribbon Fondant Fondant Press used to make designs Sugar Pearls Honeycomb Tissue Balls
This incredible COUNTY FAIR DONALD DUCK PARTY was submitted by Patty Smith of Sweet Treat Stands.
I’ll tell ya, this is one ADORABLE party with SO many darling party ideas that could be utilized in so many celebrations! Some of my favorite party elements are:
The Donald Duck party invitation
The Donald Duck party table backdrop
The ferris wheel cupcake stand
The award ribbons
The vintage county fair touches
The ruffle tablecloth
The popcorn cupcakes
The Donald Duck cupcakes
And MORE!
Most photos are by Wendhy Jeffers photography
Vendors:
Concept and Styling: Sweet Treat Stands
Handcrafted décor and props: Sweet Treat Stands
Photography: Wendhy Jeffers Photography
Nut-free Bakery (cake and cupcakes): Fairy Tale Cakes
Custom Cookies (letter “C” and “3” prize ribbons): Sweet Goosie Girl
Custom Cookies (name, popcorn box, kernels, farm animal “cookie” cupcake toppers): Batches
Fresh Cotton Candy: Sweetopia Cotton Candy
Mini Pie Pops (apple with sugar crust and raspberry with powder sugar crust): Sweet Piefection
Custom Birthday Poster/Chalkboard Poster: Moulage Collection
Custom Pageant Sashes: Jenna Schaal
Custom County Fair Raffle Tickets: Risa Rocks It
Retro Paper Straws, Retro Popcorn Bags, Wooden Forks: DK DeleKtables
Burlap Tablecloth and Burlap Sacks: Miss Hettie
Vintage Clothes (striped dresses): Vintage Frocks Of Fancy
Tim Thomas (singer/songwriter/guitarist/bassist, Full band and Classical string quartet available upon request: Email trthomas1@interact.ccsd.net
Party Venue: Legends Ranch
Custom Invitations and Accessories: The Blue Egg Events
Custom Lil’ Boy Shirts: The Baer Essentials
Custom piñata: You Buy It You Break It
Vintage 1950′s/60′s Child’s Donald Duck and Daisy Duck Handkerchief: Bex Vintage
Vintage Child’s Donald Duck Illustrated Handkerchief: Planet Alissa
Old Vintage 1970′s Wall Hanging with Donald and Huey, Dewy, and Lewey: Lisa’s Old Stuff
Vintage 1978 Donald Duck and the One Bear Book and Vintage 1979 Donald Duck and the Super-Sticky Secret Book: Country Expressions
Disney Steampunk Handmade Donald and Daisy Duck Romantic Silhouette Charm Bracelet: Gears Jewelry
Bouncer: Fun House Jumpers
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Ferris Wheel Cupcake Holder Ribbon Burlap Tickets Circus Party Supplies Paper Straws Popcorn Bags Wooden Forks Ribbon Balloons Twine Mason Jars Bunting Banner Rainbow Swirl Lollipops Cupcake Liners
“I’m so excited to share this party with you! Months before our lil’ guy’s 3rd birthday I had an idea of wanting to go with some sort of a carnival theme. Since our son loves watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse I had started going in that direction of maybe a Mickey and Friends Carnival theme. I really wanted to try to do something different though. I also had some other ideas that were non-character themed as well. I kept running ideas past him to see which seemed more fun and exciting to him. Donald Duck kept coming up. Bottom line is that he’s a little boy (my baby bear) and it’s HIS birthday party and we want it to be a theme that HE loves and that HE’s excited about. Now that he’s getting older he can choose his party theme. I don’t mind going with a character themed party because I can always put my own creative spin on it.
“Who’s got the sweetest disposition? One guess, guess who…No one but Donald Duck!” That’s one of Donald Duck’s theme songs that debuted in 1947. This is a well-known song in our household since we love watching old classic Donald Duck cartoons (late 1930′s – 1950′s). Our lil’ guy refers to Mickey Mouse cartoons as Donald Duck cartoons, he loves Donald Duck the best and it’s Donald Duck this and Donald Duck that. He even won a photo contest this past October dressed as guess who…Donald Duck! :)
So one day while watching one of the old Donald Duck cartoons I was really inspired. At the beginning of the cartoon, while playing the credits, there was a white wooden fence with a Donald Duck face drawn in white paint. I knew that I wanted an old wooden fence as the backdrop to the dessert table. I didn’t have any other ideas at that point except that I knew I wanted an old fence backdrop. That’s what sparked the start of a Vintage Donald Duck County Fair birthday party! We checked with our son to make sure what theme he wanted and the vote went to Donald Duck!
One of the challenges was finding just the right venue. I researched and researched and finally found the perfect place for our party, Legends Ranch. It’s a private ranch that is used for weddings, birthdays and other events. This location transports you from the city and desert to a different place with green grass, big trees, beautiful backdrops and lots of vintage props. Beautiful!
Planning took months especially with the holidays and two lil’ ones at home. But it was so much fun! Most of the details were all handmade by me. A labor of love, is that what they call it? Yep, definitely a labor of love!
County fairs have so many features from rides, food, games to farm animals, baked goods, arts and crafts, etc. I was set on trying to include all or most of these features at our party and transport our guests to an old-fashioned charming county fair with cotton candy, hot dogs, cream sodas, classic games, quilts and of course Donald Duck. I had to keep all of these factors in mind when planning.
The Blue Egg Events did a gorgeous job of designing the custom invitation and accessories. The invitations really had the wow factor. I was super impressed!
I especially wanted the dessert table to resemble a mini county fair. I started out with a really old wooden fence backdrop. Hanging on the backdrop was a beautifully designed county fair birthday sign. The centerpiece was one of my custom cupcake stands that’s simple and rustic looking. It displayed gorgeous fondant themed cupcakes and a super cute Donald Duck themed cake from the very talented Juliette of Fairy Tale Cakes. The cake had the cutest lil’ fondant Donald Duck hats, bowtie and carnival marquee letter “C” as the topper. To the right of the cupcake stand was the ferris wheel, a miniature popcorn booth and swirly lollipops. To the left of the stand was a vintage looking pickup truck with homemade mini fruit pies and barn with farm animal sugar “cookie” cupcake toppers. The table was rounded out by rice krispy treats on a stick, a variety of cupcakes and custom designed sugar cookies up front. The tablecloth tied in beautifully with its matching colored ruffles. I love ruffles and was determined to make the tablecloth along with a really cute bunting tablecloth that was displayed on one of the food tables.
Another big display that I loved was the custom wooden popcorn/cotton candy booth. It was a great size for the kids. Not only was it a perfect prop but it folds for compact storage! The homemade cotton candy was beautifully displayed at the booth alongside yummy kettle corn popcorn, bottled cream sodas, retro paper straws and gorgeous custom designed county fair tickets, wow! Have you had strawberry lemonade flavored cotton candy? It is sooo good! Here’s a little trivia: Did you know that one of Donald Duck’s favorite drinks is strawberry soda? Yep, we had strawberry soda :)
I really like dressing up to match party themes. The Baer Essentials custom designed our lil’ guy’s birthday shirt to resemble Donald Duck’s suit. The suspenders on the shirt added to the vintage flair of the party along with the paper boy hat he wore. She also designed the cutest shirt for our baby boy with a bowtie and vest to coordinate. I wore a 1950’s striped full pleated dress from Vintage Frocks of Fancy. It was lots of fun!
I loved the custom birthday chalkboard poster by Moulage Collection! It’s a great item to hang on the wall and cherish for years. We love it!
Now I can’t stress enough how grateful and impressed I have been with all of the vendors I worked with in preparing for the party. Every single vendor provided not only great products/services, delicious one too, but outstanding customer service. Plus an extra huge thank you to all the very generous vendors. There were so many details that played a part in the party’s charm. Seriously, I could not have had all the details complete without you.
Thanks Wendhy for your beautiful photos! You captured the details wonderfully. It was a pleasure working with you again.
We had two great county fair helpers too! They were a great help. They passed out party favors such as the custom handcrafted prize ribbons for the boys and custom designed pageant sashes for the girls. They helped with the games, cotton candy/popcorn booth, etc. Plus they were excited to wear the bowties I made them. That was cool! Thanks!
My favorite part of the party was singing “Happy Birthday” and our lil’ guy blowing out his candles (cool #3 sparkler alongside the candles)! My 2nd favorite part of the party was our friend Tim the singer/songwriter/guitarist’s performance. He’s awesome and so much fun! He sang a customized birthday song (super cool), two of Donald Duck’s themed songs, “Hokey Pokey”, a rendition of Zac Brown Band’s “Chicken Fried” with some funny lyrics we sing at home with the kids and “Happy Birthday”. Loved it!
I do have to say our son was just head over heels in love with his custom Donald Duck themed piñata. It was exactly what our son wanted. He wanted a star piñata but he also wanted a Donald Duck piñata. Voila! His piñata was a star shaped piñata that was Donald Duck themed. About a week or two before the party he kept wanting to check on it, hold it, take a peek at the candy inside and show it off when Papa came to visit! LOL!
The best moments while planning the party were when our lil’ guy, the birthday boy would check in on the different items I had made and would say “That’s for my birthday? That’s pretty Mama” and “Thank you!”. That was from a 2 almost 3 year-old. Aaaahhh, that just melted my heart and put a huge smile on my face. How cute! Also seeing him have such a fun time along with our lil’ guests was wonderful. All in all the party was a success. Definitely worth it!
A super special thank you to my husband, my Dad and our friend Don who is the best woodworker ever!”
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Ferris Wheel Cupcake Holder Ribbon Burlap Tickets Circus Party Supplies Paper Straws Popcorn Bags Wooden Forks Ribbon Balloons Twine Mason Jars Bunting Banner Rainbow Swirl Lollipops Cupcake Liners
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