Lilly's 2nd Birthday Bash!

We now have a 2 year old child. What the what? A 2 year old! I'm confused as to how on Earth that happened, but it did, and here we are. I found it pretty depressing that she was turning 2, for the simple fact that our not-so-little baby isn't a baby any longer, but instead a human being that talks, gives dirty looks to strangers who invade her personal space, gives a bit of an attitude, gives hugs and kisses, loves her friends (read: sock monkeys and cousins), actually shares and takes care of her toys, poops on my hardwood floors and denies it (potty training), and asks to be tucked in like a burrito at night. How sweet!

The theme for her party and decorations was inspired by a local park/playground that has beautiful equipment for the kids to play on, beautiful setting and scenery, recycled tire wood chips, and a pavilion. That's all wood. RUSTIC WOOD. I drool every time I go there. Once we nailed down the location of the party, I knew instantly I wanted to do a rustic-country vibe party, complete with vintage fabrics I found at Happy Notions, and this invitation I found from Paper+Pip, both on Etsy.

I opted for an Aqua, Peach & Pink theme and found aqua and white stripe cupcake liners, polka dot baking cups, peach and teal stripe paper straws and juice bottles in place of overpriced milk bottles, and berry baskets for the kids' party favors. 99% of my supplies, I purchased through Etsy, so I'll leave the shop links at the end of this post for you! 

Going into this party I knew I wanted to reuse as many decorations as I could in a newly designed bedroom for Lil. For the record, I did an awful job of taking photos of the set up - I was too busy hanging out and enjoying the party.

Can I also mention that this party was so affordable?

This ribbon bunting had a nice home on this gigantic wooden wall, and was the main backdrop for the food and cake tables. The paper lanterns are from Martha Stewart, but I reused these from a friends' bridal shower. They now have a (semi smooshed) home in her bedroom, above her bed.

Make This:

• Get long ribbon.
• Tie between two things, far enough apart (I used my kitchen cabinets & fridge) to make the ribbon taught.
• Cut strips of fabric, ribbon and/or lace. 
• Tie them on ribbon, fill it up.
• Admire.

The bunting now is looking sweet over her window...

With the majority of the fabric I ordered, I made Lilly a new big-kid quilt, pillow sham & floor pillow for her reading/toy area in her room. How awesome are these fabrics. And how awesome is my quilt making (read: I'm surprised this actually turned out because I am actually horrible at quilts.)!?

The scraps made perfect frayed flowers which I used in the canning jar centerpieces and cupcake toppers. The berry basket was originally used as the "goodie bag" container for her friends' party favors, and the canning jars were the centerpieces on the tables. Thrifted lace (also in the bunting) aded the perfect finishing touch on the jars and this berry basket, not to mention the table runners are now runners on her bookcase, shelf and dresser. More on the pom-poms later...

These cupcake and dessert plates really deserve a post and tutorial all their own, so I'll work on one! I hunted my thrift store for candle sticks, plates, vases and pie & tarts pans, and found all the pieces I needed to make these cuties. Epoxy and spray paint! The two-tiered stand is a pie pan, tart pan and 2 candlesticks, the white stand on the right began as a clear hobnail plate and vase, but I glued them together and painted them white, and the single cupcake display was a candlestick holder and a metal plate with lots of cute detail work.  The "L" bunting topper was made from bamboo skewers and DMC floss (leftover from friendship bracelets I gave as party favors), washi tape and a piece of cardboard with fabric glued on it.

In case you're wondering, I made the cupcakes from scratch - vanilla cake with maple-vanilla buttercream. Mmmm.

Now for the pom-poms. I LOVE these, and they're so easy to do. There are many ways that you can make these, but I prefer to do them on my fingers, which you can learn how to do in this Creature Comforts video tutorial. Not only were these pom-poms in the centerpieces and toppers, but one of my favorites - strung on monofilament and hung as a garland for a makeshift photo-booth backdrop.

We also made props. Obviously... what's a photo op without a prop. There were mustaches and glasses. With jewels. Oooh, la la. Each guest took a picture in the 'booth' and I'm turning them into Thank You cards!

Lilly & my mom. The greatest. Ever. 

Loving her glasses, with oodles of jewels. Heavy.

One of my best girlfriends and her husband, who is also amazing. Love!

My brother and sister in law - another pair of best friends! 

This photo sums up my niece and nephew perfectly. Their parents are above. See the resemblance now?

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The garland is now on display among some photos of Andrew at the beach that were taken years ago. I just love them.

Oh, that lamp? That was originally a piece of junk ugly white plastic lamp from Ikea.
Hot glue + 200 coffee filters + pink spray paint = adorable.  

Here are the links to the Etsy shops I purchased from:

Screen shot from my shop favorites list, which you can find here.

Just Packaging - washi tape (similar item shown above)
Bake Me A Party - aqua paper straws, berry baskets
Cupcake Social - polka dot baking cups, aqua & white stripe cupcake papers, peach paper straws

Paper+Pip - invitations (original item pictured above)

Happy Notions - vintage sheet fat quarter bundle - you pick 30

Enjoy!

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