This darling VINTAGE LEMON & LIME BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Mariah Rainier Miller of Mariah Rainier Style. With Utah in the midst of a freezing, snowy winter, this party is especially intriguing! I can’t tell you how amazing relaxing in the sun with a delicious glass of lemonade sounds!
This summer citrus party has so many enticing elements & ideas. Here are a few of my favorites:
The vintage lemonade stand
The glass drink dispenser with a galvanized steel stand
Here’s what Mariah had to say about planning this party- “I love the color yellow, it’s so light, bright and cheery that just the thought of it puts a smile on my face. The inspiration for this party came from all the freshness and vibrancy of the summer season. We wanted to create a beautifully refreshing landscape that can be translated from a children’s birthday party to a baby shower, wedding, bridal shower or engagement party.
We worked with a bright color palette of yellows, bright green and mint green. The vibrant hues really helped to set the tone of the party and capture the crisp & zestful nature of a perfect summer day. To complete the outdoor feel, unique mason jars were used as drinking glasses with each jar numbered for an easy find. We included fun backyard children’s games to create a vintage feel.”
Cake pops and ombre cake- Jenny Cookies
Party rentals, props and decorations- Mariah Rainier Style
Photography- Heather Lynn Photographie
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Daisy Cut Lids for Mason Jars Striped Paper Straws Ribbon Cupcake Liners Cake Decorating Tips
I’m so excited to feature my CIRCUS TRAIN BIG TOP CARNIVAL BIRTHDAY PARTY with you today! This party is one of my favorite parties from my book!
The moment I found a lovely carousel outside of City Hall in St. George, Utah my mind just couldn’t stop dreaming of all the fun things this Circus Train Birthday Party could include. I set the stage with three circus train cars, which I made out of baby cribs. I transformed the regular white cribs into a real life circus train by adding painted wooden scroll pieces and paper bunting for decoration, and fanned flowers to serve as wheels! I then connected the train cars using red and blue crepe paper. Each train car provided the perfect space to display much of the party food, treats and decor.
The beautiful photos were taken by Valerie Hart Photography.
All of the party items/decor used in this party are available in the Kara’s Party Shop.
{Full product list can be found at the bottom of this post}
Circus Tent Sugar Cookies—All Things Exquisite
Cake & Cupcakes— Dippidee
Clown Cake Pops—Autumn Lynn’s Chocolate Sin’s Online Shop
As the children moved through the various party activities, they collected tickets. Once they had enough tickets they were able to pick a prize off the prize wall. I made the prize wall using a wooden free-standing chalkboard that I covered in fabric and topped with a “prizes” sign. To make the prizes I filled clear cello bags with plastic balls, games, noise makers and yoyo’s. The bags were then sealed with striped wrapping paper and blue crepe paper streamers and pasted to the wall.
The guests also played the infamous carnival game “Ring Toss” using rope rings and some old “Pop Shop” glass bottles that I found at an antique shop.
The middle circus train car held a large faux cake that I made out of hat boxes and tickets. Next to the cake were cute three-ring circus train boxes and ceramic circus letters. I placed fun cups shaped like circus tents at the front of the table, and next to them, put a darling cupcake tower made with a kit from my shop. The cupcake tower was accented with fun silver cording, yellow pom ribbon, blue crepe paper, and a cute mini bunting banner. It was finished with a clown nose at the top! The circus clown cupcakes couldn’t have been cuter sitting there amongst ceramic circus figurines. The circus tent-shaped sugar cookies were a hit, as were the “peanut” cups filled with orange candy circus peanuts. Peeking out from the back of the train car was a darling vintage “Tiddlywinks” clown game and a “Circus Parade” book.
A drink station was situated in an old galvanized bucket. I used two long wooden dowels to hang the “Drinks” banner I made using an ornate circus font for the lettering. Inside the bucket were old fashioned-style soda bottles. There were also water bottles labeled “Circus Water”.
Paper tickets are so versatile and cute that I couldn’t resist using them a lot throughout this party! The first train car featured vintage suitcases covered in white tickets. The focal point of the middle train car was the ticket “cake” I made. On the food train car, I used them as napkin rings to secure forks to red and yellow polka dot napkins. Plus, I wrapped tickets around the ketchup and mustard bottles. As guests arrived at the party, they were greeted with a happy ceramic clown on top of stacked ticket rolls. I made a fun wreath out of clown noses and tickets to place on the table next to the clown. Guests also walked past a bright ticket booth. I made the booth with a wooden puppet stand, painted and decorated to match the circus theme and colors. To add to the ambiance, I strung a red, white, and yellow felt “celebrate” banner between the ticket booth and the “Welcome to the Carnival” sign.
The third circus train car held the majority of the food. I love the miniature electric hot dog warmer that I used to heat the hot dogs! I also had a matching popcorn machine full of the buttery yummy stuff on the opposite side of the table. In the center of the train car was a white metal tub with rubber duckies inside. There were also several sizes of apothecary jars that I filled with suckers, miniature rainbow candies, and red gumballs. I ordered the darling clown cake pops from an online Etsy Shop and they couldn’t have been cuter in the stacked silver milk bottles! I made “lion tamer whips” out of chocolate licorice and placed them in a clear shallow glass bowl. I also filled cute carnival treat boxes with cupcakes for the guests, just in case they didn’t get enough sweets!
The focal point of the first circus train car was the darling Balancing Elephant Cake. The other fun circus items surrounding the cake included: toy animals that I “dressed up” with paint and ribbon; a miniature metal Ferris Wheel dispenser with bowls full of toys and treats; a sweet vintage Humpty Dumpty Lumps penny candy tin; a rotating wooden container filled with colored paper straws, candy mustaches, bright party blow outs, and candy peanuts; strongman dumbbells made with striped straws and round suckers; animal crackers and more!
I arranged Mason jar glasses on a small beverage table. Behind the glasses was a fun lollipop display. I made the display using an old Coca-Cola crate, some Styrofoam, and various fun and colorful lollipops and jawbreaker pops. I strung a delicate bunting flag banner {made with tickets and silver pipe cleaner} between two glittery batons nestled in the back of the crate. There were also two glass apothecary jars on the table, filled with yummy cookies.
All of the party guests had a chance to have their picture taken at a festive carnival-themed photo booth! I made the booth using pvc pipe, hot glue, and colorful polka dot fabric. I strung a homemade, fabric “happy birthday” banner across the back of the booth. To the side of the booth was a gumball machine and balloons tied to a yellow ducky balloon weight. I found a vintage suitcase online and filled it with photo booth props like silly glasses, hats, noses, bow ties, gloves, a xylophone, and even a rubber chicken! I think that it looked just like a traveling circus clown’s suitcase would have.
I am in love with this VINTAGE STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE THEMED BIRTHDAY PARTY submitted by Nazra Knutsen. So many adorable ideas here!
Nazra said- “My sister, Kennedi, & I wanted to throw a combined party for our daughters, Ella & Mia, whose birthdays are a month a part from each other. Both the girls love Strawberry Shortcake…so we started our party planning with a “Vintage Strawberry Shortcake” theme in mind. I was so excited when I found all the adorable vintage strawberry & Strawberry Shortcake trays, lunch boxes, & tins to include in the decor! We “DIY’d” the pretty garland, hanging strawberries, jam for favor’s, & flower arrangements. Everything came together so perfectly! The birthday girls loved all the strawberries everywhere & had so much fun celebrating their birthdays with all their little friends. One fun element that you can’t see in the photos is that we had strawberry candles lit so when the guests walked into the house, it smelled liked strawberries! Yum!
We want to say a special ‘thanks’ to our other sister, Naomi, & our mom, for helping run errands, picking up stuff for us, & for helping make the jam, garland, & the hanging strawberries! Also, special ‘thanks’ to Jenny from Jenny Cookies for all the ‘berry sweet’ & adorable treats & perfect cakes she made to compliment the theme of the party!”
Vendors and Credits-
Photography: Molly Vaden Photography
Invites, Labels, & Tags: Caskey Design
Cakes & other Desserts: Jenny Cookies
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Burlap, Jute Twine Fabric, Ribbon Nut / Candy Cups Wooden Spoons Striped Paper Bags Lollipop Sticks Striped Paper Straws Milk Bottles Paper Plates + Napkins
In honor of the GRAND OPENING of the shop, I’m going to be posting an exclusive Kara’s Party Ideas party {using products from the shop} every day this week!! Have you entered the $1000 GRAND PARTY PACKAGE GIVEAWAY yet? {This giveaway is HUGE. Everything you need to throw a fabulous party- a CANON CAMERA, $200 KPI shop credit, a $50 NORDSTROM gift card & a $50 VISA gift card! Be sure and ENTER HERE!}
So excited to finally share all the parties I’ve been planning lately!
I styled this BIRTHDAY PARADE PARTY as an introduction to Kara’s Party Ideas Shop! This party collection has got to be one of my most favorites to date. The second I saw these adorable party supplies I knew I just had to have them available for purchase. Are you in love with the artwork as much as I am?! This party just screams vintage, girly & dainty! Oh, I just love this party line so much. It could be used for so many occasions…a first birthday party, a girly tea party, a storybook party, a vintage toy party, etc!
I set up the party on a cream vintage hutch that I thought matched the party perfectly. The ric-rac banner hung behind the table and cute desserts and candy laid on top.
All the children playing on cute toys & hobby horses are just precious, don’t you think?
Instead of straws, I put yummy candy sticks inside each birthday parade paper cup as an extra treat for the little guests to eat as they sipped their punch…
There is a donkey cart/centerpiece in the collection that is to die for. I love how you can display anything you want inside!…
Oh, and the birthday parade invitations {that come in a set with thank you cards as well}… These darling invites definitely set the mood for the party… I want to mail one to myself just to open it and see how cute they are!
I absolutely love the color me in / dot to dot page included on the last fold of the invite! I could just eat it up…
I love the little girl playing the instrument and boy holding the happy birthday banner on the birthday parade paper plates…
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