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
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 fabulous VINTAGE RACE CAR 3RD BIRTHDAY PARTY was submitted by Keren Precel of Keren Precel Events! I love the muted colors and the large party table backdrop! Keren has so many cute ideas for us here!
Keren said this about planning the party- “We were in charge of planning, catering and designing this one of a kind vintage race car party for a cute little 3 year old boy: from designing the invitations right down to creating the giveaway favors for the guests. We only used eco friendly materials in the design.
The party venue was divided into 4 sections:
1. “The pit stop” – was the area where the kids got to decorate their own “Melissa and Doug” race cars.
2. “The race track” – we created a “wishing race track” for the little guests to write happy birthday wishes to the birthday boy. We laid down a wooden track, along with custom designed wish notes attached to small metal cars.
3. “The gas station” was the main table where the food was laid out. decor items on the table included a vintage like gas station, vintage plates and cars.
4. “The trophy section” – the favors. The adults got to take home a custom wrapped mason jar with home made delicious strawberry jam, and the kids got a 100% cotton bag, stamped with the party logo.
Custom design items included: invitations (shown in the vintage mailbox!), backdrop, vintage style signs and posters across the room.”
Design, styling, concept, backdrop design and printables: KEREN PRECEL for Keren Precel Events
Food: HADAS SMIRNOFF for Keren Precel Events
Cake: I Love Your Cake
Photography: Samantha Goh
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Striped Paper Straws Lollipop Sticks Linen Bags Forks, Plates, Cups Ribbon Jute Twine
Jason said this about planning the party- “Our party is full of DIY projects, some fabulous recipes including one for Cheddar, Beer & Bacon Cupcakes (we call it The Cupcake for Men), and a great source for giant balloons and balloon tassels.
PRINTABLES:
This party is chock full of Vintage Football Party goodness, including the FOOTBALL PRINTABLE PARTY DECORATIONS. We were inspired by a vintage early 20th century era of football for this design, incorporating aged paper textures and simple stripes along with a collegiate font look and vintage football art. The scoreboard is also reminiscent of a by-gone era, where actual number cards were placed for each point in the game. Pennant banners were big back then and still are to an extent today, so we included a vintage felt texture on our large pennant banner and small pennant flags to give it a true to life feel.
FOOD:
Be sure to include the CUPCAKES FOR MEN on your party table, a moist delicious treat that will please everyone. Ingredients include: BEER, CHEESE & BACON. What more could you want in a cupcake really? If you feel bit nervous about a cupcake that includes beer and cheddar cheese (I was at first) let me put your mind at ease. These are still sweet just like any other cake, and the beer in the buttercream is the perfect touch. Use your favorite beer and get creative with specialty cheeses too, you could make these cupcakes something simple or super gourmet.
Recipes pictured include: Kickin’ Hot BUFFALO CHICKEN Cups and Off-Sides HAM & SWISS SLIDERS. These are both mouth-watering delicious recipes, and we were very pleased with the results! A big thank you to GIMME SOME OVEN and THE GIRL WHO ATE EVERYTHING for providing the perfect recipes.
Store bought treats include: French Fries , Bottle Water (Our Referees), Pork Rinds (Pig Skins), Yogurt Covered Pretzels (Laces), Licorice (Black Eye Paint). You can of course add your favorite party treats to the mix, but these were the ones we felt best represented our creative football themed names!
PROPS:
We created a few props for this party that really pulled everything together including a football field table cover, goal posts and bleachers. This really made the look of a football field complete. Step-by-step DIY projects linked: FOOTBALL FIELD TABLE COVER & FOOTBALL PARTY BLEACHERS DISPLAY.
The balloons and tassels were the final addition to our look, representing the cheering crowd waving their poms in a abstract sort of way. The tassels were spot on perfect for this theme and the large balloons were so fun and really stood out nicely against the brick wall background.”
Photography, Food, Design, Printables: Hello My Sweet
Balloons & Tassels: The Flair Exchange
Vintage Football: Happy Blue Moon
Items used in this party available in Kara’s Party Ideas Shop: Balloons Cupcake Liners Clear Cellophane Bags White 2-Sided Frame
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.
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