Ashley said this about planning the party- ”My daughter’s first birthday was my very first party to plan — and I have a new respect for party planners! Wow, they’re a lot of work! I have known since my daughter was born that I wanted her to have a vintage, ‘shabby chic’ themed first birthday party. I know this may be the only birthday where I have free reign (I’m sure it will be Minnie or Rapunzel in years to come) so I wanted something sweet, girly and simple.
I started out with a light pink, peach and mint green color scheme. I couldn’t get ANY of the green things to match that I ordered online, so I just did away with the green and replaced it with ivory. I made everything myself except for the cake and the catered BBQ. I made the fabric banner out of prints that I’ve been collecting here and there for the past few months. I made the ‘LILY KATE’ and ‘ONE’ banners from burlap, white craft paint and stencils made on my home printer. The antique scale, blue Mason jars, crocheted things and produce boxes were either borrowed from family or things I already owned.
My husband made the mason jar ‘sippy cups’. The guests loved these! I used ivory paper straws and attached pretty tags made from kraft cardstock and paper roses. Turns out, the guests wrote their names on the back of the tags, so I may just include a blank ‘name tag’ next time instead of something decorative. Also, many guests asked to take these home, so this would be a GREAT party favor!
We set tables up on our back porch with catered BBQ for lunch. (Sorry, I didn’t catch any decent pics.) We had the “dessert” table inside as well as the drink bar. The cake was made by a local bakery and my mom and I dipped strawberries, pretzel sticks, and marshmallows in pink and peach tinted chocolate. We used pretty pearl sprinkles as garnish. I also served fun pink candies and included a few things for the babies to snack on.
I loved making the favors for the guests. For the kids, I used small kraft paper bags and filled them with little goodies and candy. My husband has a friend in the carnival business and he provided us with 50 bags of pretty pink cotton candy. (How cool?!) We had enough for each guest and I attached a tag that said, “It was so SWEET of you to come!”
The custom invitations, wrap around mailing labels, birthday “chalkboard” poster, favor tags and framed birthday print were also designed and assembled myself. The digital files will be available soon for purchase in my Etsy shop.”
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Pom Poms Rock Candy Swizzle Sticks Kraft Paper Bags Candy Sticks Striped Paper Straws Jute Twine Burlap Balloons Clear Cellophane Bags
This lovely SHABBY CHIC TEA PARTY THEMED BABY SHOWER was submitted by Andressa Hara of Twinkle Twinkle Little Party. I just love the soft colors and delicate decorations! What a fun theme for a baby shower! Look at all the lace & various floral prints….everything is so darling.
Andressa said- “This was a super cute Shabby Chic Baby Shower I styled a week ago for my friend photographer, Bianca Schaefer to welcome her baby girl, Alice. When Bianca invited me to take care of the details of this special event, I was thrilled because I am big fan of Bianca’s work, so I knew she would capture all the details beautifully.
Bianca was looking for something shabby chic, tea party, girly and simple. She knew exactly what she had in mind, so it was easy to collect super cute ideas to inspire her. It was a bit challenging to coordinate everything as we live in different cities and that makes a such big difference. For that reason, Bianca had a lot of homework to do, but I tried to communicate with her daily to make sure we were on the same page.
The simple dessert table consisted of a fabulous Rosette cake, decorated cookies, strawberry parfaits, vanilla cupcakes which were neatly placed in tea cups, and chocolate covered oreos.
Bianca wanted to see lots of elements from Baby Alice’s nursery, so she asked me to incorporate the rag dolls which spell out ALICE (too cute), a pink frame I designed a simple sign with an ‘A’ using a shabby chic pattern, a little bird and little Alice (from Alice in Wonderland). I thought Bianca’s ideas were so sweet. It absolutely turned the decor a lot more personal.
The whole family was involved and helped so much! Grandma took care of many of the tea party goodies, husband made a delicious Romeo & Juliet cake, sister-in-law happily helped me by putting the flowers together for the dessert table. Oh, have I mentioned that sweet husband picked out the flowers himself? I thought it was the sweetest thing! Bianca shared the day with her special friends, whom I was honored to meet.”
Vendors and Credits-
Photography: Bianca Schaefer Designer
Event Styling & Printables: Twinkle Twinkle Little Party
Pink Rosette Cake and Decorated Tea Bag Cookies: Dream Cakes Fl
Floral chocolate covered cookies: Le Bonbon
Decorated heart-shaped cookies: Lisa Childers
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Striped Paper Straws Milk Bottles White Paper Doilies Lollipop Sticks Cupcake Liners Apothecary Jars Baker’s Twine
You are going to fall in love with this SHABBY CHIC BRIDAL SHOWER submitted by Justine Clarke of Sensationally Sweet Events! All the details are just fantastic! So many beautiful ideas here!
Justine said this about planning the party- “My business is based on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia and I was asked to put together a pretty & shabby chic Spring bridal shower for my client which included lollies, desserts and a champagne bar. The colours for this party were a pale aqua; influenced by the shade of some gorgeous little photo frames I found as well as pale pink and peach which were the predominant colours in some fabric remnants I had leftover from another event that I had planned to use. I crafted for a while for this party with some old vintage cake and biscuit carriers glued down onto painted candle sticks and given a new lease of life and turned into cake stands with pretty ribbon and fabric tied around the bases. I also found a simple wicker basket at a garage sale that I painted aqua and tied fabric to the handles. Treats on the table included chocolate brownies, caramel fudge, cake pops, cupcakes and ombre marshmallow pops plus a selection of lollies in jars. Cake and marshmallow pops were stuck in a vintage bread baking tray that I wrapped with pretty fabric and ribbons and favour bags were simply decorated with aqua ric-rac glued to the top. Glass jars were simply decorated with craft roses glued onto the sides and filled with pink grapefruit and champagne jelly and I served pink champagne in glittered glasses (followed the tutorial I found on-line from Something Turquoise with ‘Zoe loves Sam’ tags stuck to sugar swizzle sticks in each glass.”
Up next on KPI is this absolutely adorable COOKIES & MILK FIRST BIRTHDAY PARTY for twins, submitted by Kimberly of Designs by Kimberly Francom. I just love the vintage colors and rustic feel to this darling celebration! What a fun party theme for twins! Such a great theme for a baby shower, too!
Kimberly said this about planning the party- “Having boy/girl twins, I wanted to create a party that had touches of masculine and feminine to represent them both. I did this by adding small touches of ruffles, lace, fresh florals and coral and balanced them with burlap, neutral tones, and distressed crates. I sent out postcard invitations to the guests with custom stamps featuring the birthday twins of course. The feel of the party was a vintage and rustic chic spin on a Cookies and Milk Party. Most of the details of the party were done DIY. For my back drop I used a queen size sheet which we then sewed muslin ruffles to. I used a stencil, paint, and burlap to create the Happy Birthday and “One” banner and rag banner adorned the front of the burlap table cloth. I used crates and old books to add height and texture to the dessert display and decor. I created printable coral chevron and chocolate stripe flags for my retro striped straws. My milk bottles were actually the Target brand frappuccino. I stamped the number “1″ on little wood tags that I attached to my milk bottles with bakers twine. The cookies I chose were: Home-made Oreo pies, Coconut Macaroons, Sugar Cookie Pops, Chocolate Dipped Shortbread, Chocolate Chip and Peanut Butter Kiss. Milk Bottles filled with Jelly Bellies served as vases for the sugar cookie pops. Guests filled cookies and candy in milk carton favor boxes with printable labels saying “So Sweet of You to Join Us”. Guests also decorated their own sugar cookies with frosting and assorted sprinkles at the Cookie Decorating Station. On the tables, soft and casual florals were displayed in milk bottles and mason jars over burlap and lace runners. Pictures of the twins were displayed in mason jars filled with taffy as well as on a vintage washboard. Colorful bunting and ombre tissue poms with tassels set the tone for the party in our back yard. On the outdoor food table I included a vintage crate lined with burlap with a chalk board sign “Place empties here for milk man” for the home of used milk bottles. A bouquet of taffy skewers was displayed in an old creamer can. I also made vases out of paint sticks glued to formula cans and then painted… So inexpensive! An old barrel becomes a table to hold my beverage container with coral and aqua water bottles. Two happy one year olds equals a very successful party!”
Vendors and Credits:
Event Planner/Floral Designer: Designs by Kimberly Francom
Photography: Smith Vision Photography
Milk Bottle Cookies: My Cookie Couture
Coconut Macaroons: Cakes by Deanna
Milk bottles for florals: Save On Crafts
Custom Stamps and printing of postcard invitations: Zazzle
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Striped Paper Straws Milk Bottles Baker’s Twine Ribbon Clear Cellophane Bags Lollipop Sticks Sprinkles Taffy Rock Candy Swizzle Sticks Candy Sticks Tissue Pom Poms Eyelet Paper Lanterns
Here is what Aracely said about planning the celebration- “Since my little one just turned 2, I thought it would be a great opportunity to set up a tea table and other sweet stations under the trees while enjoying some quality mommy and me time over a nice cup of tea and sweets.
I used a variety of cake stands, teacups, teapots, dessert plates, milk glass vases and compotes, from my Minted and Vintage collection of rentals to display the yummy desserts.
Everything was kept child sized to make it easy for my 2 year old to enjoy. From the child sized teacups and white chiavari chairs, to the mini cakes and cupcakes, and cake pops she had a blast having everything at her reach and just her size!
We served pink tea with colored sugar hearts and old-fashioned rock candy sticks. The tea table, vintage tea cart, and wooden dollhouse, displayed a variety of buttercream iced mini cakes, individual rose cakes, mini pink cheesecakes and cupcakes topped with raspberries, coconut and chocolate brigadeiros, cake pops, chocolate dipped french macarons, heart shaped petit fours, meringues, and marshmallows.
This mommy and me tea party under the trees was such a sweet memory! I think it’s a great alternative for subsequent birthdays after having a big 1st birthday celebration as it allowed me to spend quality time with my girl (and her favorite dolls) and give her all of my undivided attention.”
Re-create this party:
Photography- Sienna Rose Photography
Cake stands, dessert plates, child teacups, teapots, vintage glassware, vintage milk glass vases, antique tea cart, styling, and florals – Minted and Vintage
Iron stair stand, dollhouse bookcase, vintage window panes, small white side table- This & That Vintage Rentals
Mini cupcakes, mini cheesecakes- The Sunday Sweet
French macarons- Le Pop Shop
Coconut delight, classic chocolate brigadeiros- Simply Brigadeiros
Iced cakes, meringues, mini rose cakes- Lucky Treats
Cake pops- Melrose Baking & Party Décor
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Fabric, Ribbon White Paper Doilies Polka Dot Favor Boxes Baking Cups / Nut Cups Cupcake Liners Rock Candy Swizzle Sticks Striped Paper Straws
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