Valerie had this to say about the party- “Anyone who knows me well knows my affinity for Gingham. It’s kind of a running joke with my friends and family. We see a cute gingham shirt or an adorable gingham little girl dress and they immediately point to me. “That’s totally Val” they say. I can’t help it, though. I just love the simple, classic, and sweet nature of those little gingham checks.
A few months back I came across a gingham styled shoot by one of my event designer idols, Kate Landers. It was one of the sweetest parties I have ever seen and complete eye candy for this gingham-loving-girl. Ever since then, I have been itching to do something fun with gingham too.
For this party we decided to incorporate gingham in sweet girly hues, but the focal point is a super sweet and totally girly SWEETS BAR. When conceiving this party design, I thought back to what made my jaw drop when I was five years old. I, like most little girls, was obsessed with lace, rhinestones, beautiful fabric, lovely flowers and shiny ribbon. So, with that childhood recollection, my design started to take shape.
I stuck with pastels and worked hard to play up playful concepts that any little girl would swoon over. We have a fun gumball cake with adorable gingham fabric pom pom toppers, cupcakes topped with butterfly gingham accents, and cotton candy for every guest. Beautiful fresh flowers add such vitality and a punch of color to the sweets table. No little girl party is complete without a fun and coordinating dining table. I made sure to keep it simple and kid-friendly yet special for all the guests. Each place setting is adorned with a cute cup of strawberry salt water taffy and on each chair back is a fun favor bag, full of sweets (of course) to take home.
Many trends will come and go, but I’m pretty confident in saying that gingham will stick around for quite awhile. Let’s just say that this gingham-loving lady isn’t complaining.”
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Tissue Pom Poms Whirly Pops Homemade Twist Lollipops Mason Jars Cupcake Wrappers Plates Ice Cream Cups Gumballs Ribbon Striped Paper Straws Lollipop / Treat Sticks Tissue Honeycomb Flowers
This is what Audrey said about planning the party- “I was SO excited to plan my daughter’s 3rd birthday party. This was the first year where she really “got” the whole birthday thing and she was SO pumped. I was having a hard time coming up with a theme for this one…until I realized that our little girlie would be turning 3 on March 3rd!
Since it was going to be her {GOLDEN BIRTHDAY} I knew we had to make things SPARKLE and SHINE for her big day. I was thinking lots of GOLD and lots of GLITTER and STARS. When I asked Harper what kind of birthday party she wanted all she would say was, ‘Ummmm….PINK!’ So I figured we should work that color into our plans as well – lol. I also added aquamarine to our color scheme (the color of her birthstone) for extra fun.
The talented Gretchen, of Three Little Monkeys Studio, created the invitation and coordinating printables. I absolutely ADORE what she came up with!
I spent a LOT of time working on GOLDEN Cake Pop techniques for Harper’s party. Thanks to the help of some fellow poppers, Cake Pops by Jenny and Carmen’s Sweet Creations, I found metallic food paint that worked perfectly! To add even more sparkle to my Cake Pops, I used some fun BLING sticks from Maski Pops by Adri. They were definitely glam and gorgeous!
I really wanted something glitzy for the dessert table backdrop and found some gold sequined fabric that was perfect! It was shimmery and shiny, the pictures don’t even capture how lovely it really was. When the candles on Harper’s cake were lit the entire table glowed. So magical!
My go-to cookie gal, Emily of Emi’s Treats made the most AMAZING cookies I’ve ever seen! I sent her a few inspiration pics, a copy of the invitation and a photo the wreath I made and she took it from there. Her cookies are always a work of art and it’s almost hard to eat them…notice I said almost…but since they taste as good as they look I always manage to chomp right in!
I created the birthday cake. I’ve made the Rosette Cake several times, and the very FIRST time I made it was when Harper turned one. I thought it would be a sweet tradition to recreate that same cake, but add gold-sheen food coloring spray to tie it in to the GOLDEN theme. The cake topper was a simple banner created using paper straws and wired star garland, accented with a sweet filigree lollipop by Vintage Confections.
I found a cute, simple glittered star hair clip for Harper to wear at the party from Twiggenberry Bows. I thought they would make sweet favors, so we got enough for all of her girlfriends. I also found some fun golden wand charms that I thought would be perfect as favors too! I liked that we were able to send our guests home with something they could wear to remember Harper’s special day.
One thing I did a lot of for this party was repurposing! I had several items that had been used for other parties, but after a coat of Mod Podge and a sprinkling of glitter they looked brand new! I glittered several picture frames, cake stands, bowls, even a wreath to add to the party décor. I also repurposed some Kandy Kones left over from a styling challenge I recently participated in. I covered them in glitter to start. Then added ribbon to some and a printable party circle to finish them off. They were filled with pink wrapped kisses and glittered pink chocolate star pops (created by me!).
I made Star Wand Chocolate lollipops for the dessert table that turned out super sweet. I added some metallic food paint and edible glitter to give them a little extra sparkle.
The GORGEOUS banner above the dessert table was created by Jaclyn of Peckled. It was one of my absolute favorite decorations! We’re going to use it to decorate Harper’s room now too. I love when you can incorporate party pretties into room décor after the party! Another fun GLITTERED decoration was the large number 3 on the favor table! Tara of One Stylish Party makes the sweetest glittered numbers and letters….we just HAD to have one! I added a bit of the wired star garland to tie it in with our other decorations and it was perfect. This will be fun in Harper’s room post-party too!
My sweet friend Kimberley, of Kimberley’s Kitchen, makes the most amazing marshmallows you’ll EVER experience. She was kind enough to send some to us for the party…but an ice storm the week before put them off schedule and they didn’t make it in time. Since they couldn’t be enjoyed at the party I decided to include them with our thank-you cards and hand deliver them to the party guests.
I don’t know if any of you get especially sentimental…or believe in signs…but I just HAVE to share this little side story! After I started the party planning I thought it would be fun to give Harper a golden locket as one of her birthday gifts. I love all things vintage, so immediately started looking for an antique locket to give to her. I wasn’t having much luck finding just the right locket. I’m picky, I know. Then I suddenly remembered a locket I had purchased at an estate sale, probably 10 years ago, and thought that it would be perfect (if I could even find it!) Well, I found it tucked safely away in my jewelry box…flipped it over to open it…and noticed an inscription on the back. Just one word. Golden. Seriously, meant to be!”
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Striped Paper Straws Lollipop / Treat Sticks Balloons Clear Cellophane Bags Baker’s Twine Candles Ribbon
This glamorous SPARKLE AND SHINE THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Sarah Cross of Icing on the Paper.
A few of my favorite elements & party ideas in this sparkle and shine themed celebration are:
The confetti system tassel banner backdrop
The gold fringe heart and handfuls of glitter for the photobooth
The gold sequin fabric tablecloth
and MORE!
Here’s what Sarah said about planning the party- “Little Miss Lily wanted to celebrate her fourth birthday in style with a Sparkle & Shine party so we glammed it up with LOTS of glitter, gold washi tape and metallic markers. At the party, Lily’s guests could pose in the photo booth with a gold fringe heart, glitter wands or blow handfuls of glitter at the camera for some sparkly pictures. And just to make sure their houses were covered in glitter too, we sent them home with glitter play doh :).”
Sparkle & Shine Poster – Icing on the Paper
Tassel Garland Materials – paper mart
Cake Decorations – Signe Sugar
Cupcake Sparklers – Tops Mailbu
Markers, Glitter, Sequin Fabric & Wands – Amazon
Invitations: Icing on the Paper
Photo Booth Backdrop – Snap Drop StudiosItems used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Chevron Wooden Spoons White Ice Cream Containers / Cups Gold Cupcake Liners Sprinkles Washi Tape Milk Bottles
This bright and colorful LALALOOPSY DOLL THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Alessandra of Sua Festinha.
A few of the things I like best about this festive Lalaloopsy doll themed party are:
The ornate wooden frames in various sizes, shapes and colors hung on the wall
The fondant button shaped cupcake toppers
The embroidery hoops used as frames and hung from ribbon as a backdrop for the favor table