colorful party

MAX’S 1ST BIRTHDAY – ROUND PARTY!

When people asked what theme Max’s first birthday was going to be, and I said “round”… they were like… ummm cool. Okay so Max is round, he loves balloons and balls- those are round, and honestly I couldn’t think of anything that hadn’t been done a million times before! Plus it’s so simple- just my style. 
The party was supposed to be in our backyard with lanterns strung from the trees, circular picnic blankets, ring toss, bubbles, etc. Guess what? It poured every. single. day. that week including the day of the party. Super dark outside too for pictures. Fantastic. We’re still in our rental (egg yolk and old lady sage walls), so basically my plan was to camouflage the grossness with tons and tons of balloons. I think it turned out really well, and most importantly, everyone had a great time! And let’s be honest, when you’re dealing with one to four-year-olds really all they need are toys and cake. Cake is clutch. 
FOOD:
See what I mean? Cake is clutch.
I baked two batches of white cake in sheet pans so the layers would be thin, froze the layers, cut with a 2.5″ biscuit cutter, then just piped colorful frosting in between. 
 All round food!
 Complete with Aunt Ellie’s Campfire Crispies! They are SO. GOOD. Do yourself a favor and order these babies.

DECOR:

Had to cover the nasty chandelier 🙂
Monthly photos of Maxie cut out into circles, naturally.
I made this little picnic blanket out of a drop cloth. Draw two concentric circles in pencil and paint in the lines. Make sure to paint the circle before you cut. That way it’ll look nice and neat! 
FAVORS:
Party crowns, tattoos, hula hoops, bouncy balls
Custom temporary tattoos with each kid’s name from our Etsy shop!
ACTIVITIES:
RING TOSS
I ordered the rings on Amazon and got bottles from the dollar section at Target. Since the party was supposed to be outside, I had painted wooden dowels to hammer into the grass. Sigh. Still a fun activity for the kids though! 
DIY GIANT SURPRISE BALL
Getting a surprise ball was a tradition at my sister and my birthday parties growing up. I decided to supersize it by using a container from Party City as the center to make this huge!
Each kid got to unwrap a color, once that streamer color ended, they got the prize and gave the ball to the next kid. It ACTUALLY worked! Couldn’t believe how patient the kids were waiting for their turn! So fun!
INVITATIONS:
I got the beach balls from Oriental Trading Company and wrote on them with neon Sharpies. Here’s the thing… they can’t fold totally flat, so they were considered a parcel… which means they were $3 each to mail! I took them to the post office and got 5 different stamps, which actually looked pretty cool. Thankfully I only invited a handful of people, and I hand-delivered most!
 On the back of the ball it said:
ROLL on over to Max’s
(address)
It was a sweet day for my sweet, round little Maxie!
-L
And the winner of the Freshly Picked Giveaway is….
Kelly Vance!
Woohoo!! Please email us at loveandlion@gmail.com!
Thank you all for entering! Many more giveaways to come!

CAKE DECORATING PARTY

Today, we are “flashing back” to an absolutely perfect cake decorating party! My dear friend, Sally, threw her daughter, Kate, a sweet (pun very much intended) soiree for her birthday. Sally is so creative, thoughtful and just plain fun! She thought of all of the little details without over doing it, which we can TOTALLY appreciate. As a matter of fact, Leah and I were just talking about how inspirational a photo of a simple banner, cute cake topper, and a beautifully wrapped gift are to us. We definitely love a big party with details that most people may not even notice, but it really is about the few simple touches that can really make a party. That is how we feel about this party…… simplicity makes it stunning.
Sally’s garage is party play area…. part garage. She decided to decorate a small space in there to accommodate a few party guests. Icing + Kids can equal a bit of a mess, so it made sense. We just adore Sally’s love of color and pattern.
 Something about this tray of icing tubes makes us smile!

Sally embroidered the name of each guest onto their own personal apron.

Don’t you want to just lick eat every. single. cupcake?

Milk glasses with colorful striped straws never get old.

Thanks for sharing this with us Sally!! I know you had just as much fun as those kids. 
Happy Friday everyone…. we sure are ready for the weekend!

ARI’S ANIMAL THEMED PARTY: PART 1

Today’s #TBT party series features Ari’s 2nd birthday. At two, Ari was obsessed with going to the zoo, so I went with a “Party Animal” theme and made it modern with solid, bright colors. Everything I did was DIY– you can totally pull this off if you have the time and plan ahead!
My talented twin sister, Ellie, of Aunt Ellie’s Sweet Treats, made her famous gourmet rice krispie treats Campfire Crispies and cut them out in animal shapes. These. Are. Amazing. If you’ve never tried, you’re missin’ out on life, my friend. Order HERE. You deserve it.
DIY chalkboard trays tutorial HERE / Spoons by Shop Sweet Lulu
DIY fringy toppers tutorial HERE / Baking cups by Shop Sweet Lulu
Remember those yummy frosted animal cookies you ate as a kid? I made them out of sugar cookies, tinted frosting, and sprinkles. 
Not gonna lie… these bad boys took me a loooong time. But worth it right? Tutorial HERE.
’cause it’s a camel.. get it?
Nana Lou’s famous punch (for adults!). This zookeeper needed three one after all this DIY-ing!
Yep, that’s me enjoying zookeeper punch. 
I made teeny little party hats for these fellas.
Animal canister DIY – fill with animal food: goldfish, teddy grahams, and animal crackers
I took a picture of Ari every month – well worth torture! See all three years HERE.
PHOTO BOOTH
Photo booth backdrop and party hat tutorial HERE
I absolutely adore this picture! Lauren and Piper, Ari and me, Amara and Jenni. Obviously our kids are super photogenic.
Homemade funfetti cake! Mmmm… Topped with spray-painted animals of course.
Part 2 of Ari’s Animal Theme Birthday Party click HERE: DIY’s
Part 3 click HERE: Party favors, games for the kiddos, details
-L