I am going to warn you right away…this is one L*O*N*G post!! I have decided I better first of all just share with you some pictures of our house on Saturday…without the birthday diva! I am sure it comes as no surprise to most of you, but we have hundreds of photos and I came up with FIFTEEN to share of just the decor…minus the birthday girl! So for today, you get a sneak peek into what our house was like just a few days ago! It is hard to believe we had a houseful of pint sized party goers and family who stayed with us…the only remnants left showing any kind of a celebration at all are the three mylar balloons floating weightlessly – tied to the back of a kitchen chair…
Okay…first of all are the treat sacks. You may remember me babbling on and on about making up these little “May Day” type cones tied with cute ribbon for the handles. Well, yes, I did that. However, late Friday night I nixed the idea of using them and went with the cello bags I bought at Target with the rest of the goodies!! Despite the fact that my hours of work went unused, I am so glad I opted for the cupcake ones…they tied the whole thing together!!
And here are the lollies I made…this is what I stuck them in for the bash!!
And these little cuties?! I wish I could take the credit for their darling design, but I first saw them in a Parents magazine in April or May. I of course bought the magazine and pulled it back out for reference on Thursday as I started preparing! This is just a plastic cup with the top cut off (as much as you want to get the desired height…I think shorter looks better). You then fill a plastic baggie with candy and tie the bottom off. The magazine recommended Jelly Beans. I used both Jelly Beans and Skittles and prefer the Skittles. Then you simply glue a pom pom on top and tie a ribbon around the cup and you are set!! It takes some practice and playing around to get the cups the right size and to get the bags to work out! I ended up stuffing a paper towel in the bottom of each cup to help support the baggie!! And the ribbon made a HUGE difference! They were really “blah” before, but the ribbon jazzed ‘em up and also hid some of the unevenness (that looks really weird but the spellcheck let it go!!) of the cup!!
And here they all are on my cupcake tree! These were the prizes for the Cupcake Bingo game! As each child won, they were able to pick out the specific one they wanted!!
Here are some of the balloons in our entryway! We so do NOT love the mustard yellow we painted the cutout, but we haven’t gotten back to repaint it yet!! Anyway, I LOVE LOVE LOVE lots of balloons at our kids’ parties! We rent a helium tank and go to town!! It is so fun to walk through the front door and have all sorts of colored ribbon greeting you!!
And this bit of handy work is all my dad for ya!! He and I hung all the streamers and then he went to town with the balloons on the light fixture and also on the cupcakes below! I made the cupcakes and had the idea to hang them (with some inspiration from Lyndsay and Lisa), but he added the fun ribbon! My creativity definitely was passed down! My parents are unbelievable!
The two things I did not manage to get done for the party were a cloth version of “Pin the Sprinkle on the Cupcake” or a Happy Birthday pennant banner…both of which Lisa did!! By the way…we are great friends and get inspiration from each other! She knows I was going to copy her and was okay with it!!
However, at the last (and I do mean LAST) minute I whipped up this paper version that suited the purpose just fine!! There were balloons on all the corners hiding the blue painter’s tape, but they got ripped down first thing!!
And this picture is really just to show you my hair cut! I am in lots of the pics with Gentry and her cake and presents, but I thought I would give you a little sneak peek!!
Ahh….the biggest cupcake ever! Well, maybe not “ever,” but the biggest one I h
ave ever seen!! This one was made especially for the birthday girl by the lovely Elizabeth!! However, we still haven’t cut into it! We just gave her a little one at the party!! The ONLY complaint I have…and I hate to even use that word…but the only thing is there was NO pink to speak of. We must have just had a little miscommunication because I distinctly remember telling her that Gentry’s favorite color is pink!! So, I was bummed when there wasn’t a speck of pink anywhere to be seen…but that is minor and I am trying to not sweat the small stuff these days!!
ave ever seen!! This one was made especially for the birthday girl by the lovely Elizabeth!! However, we still haven’t cut into it! We just gave her a little one at the party!! The ONLY complaint I have…and I hate to even use that word…but the only thing is there was NO pink to speak of. We must have just had a little miscommunication because I distinctly remember telling her that Gentry’s favorite color is pink!! So, I was bummed when there wasn’t a speck of pink anywhere to be seen…but that is minor and I am trying to not sweat the small stuff these days!!
And Elizabeth also did all the squiggly little toppers!! I had mentioned to her that I was going to use wire and cut out little birds and such and she said that she could make edible squiggles in coordinating colors! And since I was running out of time, I of course agreed!! She thought it might be fun to let the kids decorate their own, but the controlling side of me came through and did it before the guests arrived!!
And this?! This is one of my favorite pictures of Gentry girl in the cutest little cupcake picture holder ever! I bought THREE of these cupcakes I loved them so much! I think I may leave one out in my craft area for some fun inspiration!!
And this is the island all decked out! You can see the cupcake tree on the far left with yet another cupcake frame in front there! The jars in the middle are the famous “Cupcakes in a Jar” I borrowed from Crystal! I could not for the life of me find small jars, so mine were a little bit bigger than I wanted, but the fabric on top and the ribbon really pulled them together! Had I thought ahead I probably would have typed out the “instructions” on how to make cupcakes in a jar and added a cute graphic and tied it on the lid. I didn’t get that done…but it is a great idea!!
This cupcake stuff is selling like CRAZY on E-bay! Check out this listing…and now this one. Forty and forty five dollars for plastic place mats??? Are you kidding me?!! WOWZA!! I LOVE mine, but for $45 I could probably part with them!! And speaking of parting with things…I had thought about putting my leftover plates, napkins and cello bags on E-bay myself, but I have decided to give my dear blog readers first chance at them if anyone is interested!! I have two packages of plates (10 each plus 6 extras) and 2 packages of napkins (20 each OR I already have some pre-wrapped silverware and could wrap some more for you) and 10 cello bags. Don’t forget about the Bingo game too…my Etsy shop isn’t up and running yet, but we can make more of those if you are interested!! Anyway, it is no biggie, but send me an e-mail if you are interested and we can go from there!
Well…I guess that about wraps it up for today! It has taken me FOREVER to get this post done so I think I’ll publish it and get back to sifting through photos while Gentry is napping and Huntler is snacking!! Hope you are all having a great week!!
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by Bethany
Bethany, everything looked SO gorgeous! I am in love with the little cupcakes. Gentry probably felt like a princess at her party. I too am a little bit of a control freak and I would have had to put those edible squigglies on the cupcakes too. LOL!
OH MY you throw an adorable party! I think you are a party planner by nature!
And…
Your haircut is quite sassy
Wow, Bethany…everything looked amazing! I love all the cupcakes everywhere and I can’t wait to see more!
Your haircut looks great!
Darn it..everyone said exactly what I was thinking…you are supposed to be a party planner! Seriously…and love your hair! So cute!!
Oh my gosh!! I am so jealous of your party planning skills. You are AMAZING!! Its so great to see another person who loves themes as much as I do!! I can’t wait to have kids so I can plan kids parties vs work parties…kids ones are so much more fun!!
Those cupcake cups (I would prefer skittles too) are so cute, and it is perfect how you placed them in the cupcake tower!!
I am a pink girl myself so I feel ya on there not being a speck of pink in the cake…I would have been sad too but it does look ADORABLE!!
And HOLY COW your house is huge!!
Happy Friday!!
WOW~ I feel like I was right there at the party! All that stuff looks so yummy, especially the FOOD, lol! And, most importantly the kids all looked happy!
That is CRAZY about the cupcake stuff going ton ebay for so much!! I have lots from that line, but I am not ready to part with it–no way, not just yet….
and CUTE haircut! I wish I have the you know what to do that…I would love to have shorter hair I think….easier and cooler during the summer months….happy day!
this looks like it was lots of fun to plan and execute.
i almost bought that cupcake photo holder.
i had it in my cart 2 different times!
now i wish i had gotten it.
it is adorable.
you did a great job!
Wowzers! I love everything about this post! The decorations, the polka dots, your new haircut . . . everything! Glad you had such a great time!