I loved creating this party- not only was it for my daughter but "we" chose a woodland theme and although I don't exactly love animals a lot (or at all), I LOVE woodland critter anything... And Birdie just loves animals... Did I really give birth to an animal lover?! Seriously though, is there anything cuter than little woodland baby animals? NO... Hence it being the perfect theme for both the birthday girl and her party planning momma who still has "theme say" until the 5th birthday party. (Yes, it's a new rule I've come up with since my kids are growing up and getting crazy opinionated...) Birdie's "Whimsy Woodland Chic" 3rd Birthday! Two happy gals.
{Side note: I've been collecting ceramic deer for like 5 years now- I have a nice little display on my living room shelf... These deer bring me pure joy. I used to love owls before deer and then they went all top-of-the-trend-charts on me and I had to shift my love to deer, squirrels and foxes. Now foxes are all, "Hey I wanna be trendy like the owl!" and I'm all, "WTH, why can't you cute little animals be happy outside the mainstream?!" Everyone wants their prime time in Urban Outfitters these days I swear...}
Back to the party... I knew I had to work with Elena from World Wide Party for my graphics. We've been working together for 2 years now and she does such an amazing job on my kid's birthday parties- I was so incredibly pleased with the adorable graphics she came up with... It was like she read my mind completely.
My friend Shauna from Poor Pitiful Pearl custom made patchwork dresses for Birdie and I to wear- these were some of the first things I purchased to get the party "feel" kicked off... I was so happy with the way they turned out and the vintage vibe they brought, I decided to add a lot of my vintage home decor to the party to compliment our dresses! The dessert table's backdrop turned out to have quite a few of my bedroom's wall hangings!
The party favors were some of my favorites that I’ve created yet. Each child got to choose a handmade felt critter ears or a felt crown & they looked adorable running around in their custom headpieces! Another favorite were the mini spray painted woodland animals — each was set on top of a mini wooden stump, and then placed inside a clear plastic “souvenir” box. As a take home for the parents we had “Birdie’s Homemade Trail Mix” which I put inside mason jars and topped with different colorful fabrics. All of these custom favors are now in my Miss Party Mom Etsy shop!
For the kid's seating area I set up a woodland-esque food table in our back neighbors side yard. The week of the party, a friend asked me if the kids would want a her children's old metal chair set... I took one look at it and gave a resounding YES! I spray painted all four pieces gold and was so happy to add them to my children's woodland seating area- they really added the "chic" look I was going for. For the table in this area I used a huge sheet of wood and draped it with a vintage daisy afghan I've had forever. The sweet fawn center piece (borrowed from Ace Hardware) lay right in the middle looking just adorable. I used wood palettes underneath the wood sheet and wooden stumps for the kids to sit on. I covered some of the stumps with vintage pillowcases to add in some floral and vintage prints to this area to keep that cohesive feel going between the two decorated spaces. Even though the lighting was pretty terrible at the kid's food table, somehow we managed to get a few really great photos of Birdie chatting with her party guests!
Even though food isn't totally in my wheel house, I tried to keep our "Critter Snacks" as "woodland-y" as possible with mini turkey sandwiches, pretzels, dried fruit, strawberry walnut salad, etc. The food table was kept in doors and I loved that is was something other than pizza or hot dogs (our two usuals!). My friends Jennifer and Lauren came down to help make sure the food wasn't touched by me (a sure party disaster!). I am always so thankful I have friends that are "foodies" and Hannah who can bake my lovely custom cookies... I think I'll stick to designing!
Another element I had to add in were small woodland stuffed animals because Birdie loves her stuffed animals. The month before the party we must have picked up 5 or 6 of them for the dessert table- from Ikea, the Santa Barbara Zoo, a camping store... It seemed like everywhere we went someone was selling a sweet little woodland plush!
In terms of set up- I have such fond memories of setting it all up and crafting like a mad women all week... Which is rare for me because I'm usually behind schedule and let's be honest, STRESSED! But this was actually pretty mellow because the party was in our backyard and I was able to get my "practice runs" the few days leading up which is vital to a smooth set up. I've bragged before that during "Party Week" for both of my kids, I have a pretty sweet deal worked out with my mother-in-law who takes the kids for a few days so I can finish everything up without loosing my mind with/on the child I'm actually throwing the party for.
During the party we had a woodland scavenger hunt where 30 kids ran around like crazy people trying to find a leaf, twig, snail, etc... It was great. I love a good scavenger hunt, always have.
Although this party was almost 6 months ago- it was such a sweet day. The birthday girl was feeling a little shy to start out- probably nap-deprived... But I am so glad she was because my photographer, Santa Barbara based Nicole Williams Photography got some of the sweetest photos out of her... I am still really needing to put one on canvas to add to our gallery wall.
I'll always think back on this day with a smile... I can't believe how much Birdie has grown and matured in less than 6 months... My baby isn't a baby anymore!
For "day of" pics you can search the hashtag: #birdieturnsthree on Instagram!
xo Party or Die xo
kenna
Vendor Credits:
– Party Stylist: Miss Party Mom Event Planning
– Photographer: Nicole Williams Photography
– Graphics/Printables: World Wide Party by Elena
– Cake & Cupcakes: Tasty Treats by Toto
– Felt Deer Cake Topper: Lovely Friend
– Pink Roses on Cake: Sweet Estelle’s Baking Shop
– Cookies: Hannah’s Cookies and Treats
– Matching Boys Critter Tees: Gnome Enterprises
– Felt Fox Mask: Opposite of Far
– Tassel Garland: Studio Mucci
– TeePee: Land of Nod
So colorful and fun - I love it!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your sweet comments!
DeleteGreat party! A lot of detail! I want to do woodland creature theme for my baby's first.
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