Surf’s Up! 1st Birthday

Seriously, did 4 months really fly by! So, so sorry we have been living life, making memories, and blogging just got away from us.
What better time to resurface then to share this Little Dude’s 1st Birthday.

With a June Birthday and a pool it’s a no brainer but to throw him a Surf’s Up Pool Party.

So we hit the internet and came up with some cute idea’s that we twisted a bit.

We knew we wanted to use my son’s surfboard. We liked how this looked from My Sweet and Saucy. Our board wasn’t old like that one but we like how it turned out. I used a piece of cardboard cut uneven, spread a bunch of glue all over it and added sand from our beach. Once in place I added more loose sand making it look natural. I filled 2 candy dishes with sand and sat the  board on those. Since I used the board upside down, the foot grips worked perfect to hold it in place.
                  
            
We also included cakes for the Birthday Boy’s uncles.
The main cake was made by Yuma Couture Cakes and the airbrushed ones were done by Goldsboro Bakery here in Yuma. In case you didn’t know, my boy’s are identical twins, one is a fireman and the other a policeman, thus the surfin’ dudes hangin’ 10.
What Surf’s Up Party wouldn’t be complete with surf boards. Of course it would have been awesome to use all real surfboards everywhere…

But we had some big boxes from our business that worked out great. Ok, so they weren’t the perfect shape but we were able to make different sizes so to use them in a number of ways. Plus the kids got to help paint them too.

I used foam board for a few of the smaller ones that also got an antiquing done making them more retro. We used these on the Snow Cone station and on the adults table.

We used a shade structure by Pacific Suntents  for the beach or park…

…well, I turned it into a Food Shack.
.










I added some old weathered rattan fencing I had using some thin gauge wire (another staple in my tool box). A skirt around the table, a chalk board for the menu, adding some tropical  plants and the food area was complete.
It worked great to protect our food and it fit perfectly on the table. The tabs that would be used to stake it down worked great to secure it in place so that any wind we might have wouldn’t make it fly away.
The little kids table was made from an old wooden spool. Each beach bucket had a painted surfboard with their name, suntan lotion, beach ball, sunglasses, and other miscellaneous treats.












The adults table was  put together using 2 table clothes (60 x 84) from Target to fit my 72” round table. Another one of my tricks to having multiple table toppers for such a large table. An 85” square works perfect but can cost up to, if not over $40 and there is a limit to what colors and patterns are available. Two this size can come close to that price but the variety makes up for it to me. When I splurge like I did for these it’s usually because I know I will have a use for them after the event.  The colors were perfect, not just for the party but they coordinate well with my pallet of other linen too. The small surfboards along with frames painted to match looked really nice with the woody, some sand, and shells. To get the surf boards to stand up I made a square from the foam board and cut a slit in the middle the size of the bottom edge of the board. A bead of glue and wahlaw. I then covered the flat stand with the sand and shells.









The older kids table was out on the lawn where they had easy access to the water games and pool. I love using coordinating gift wrap for place settings. Usually I use double stick tape but ran out and used dabs of glue instead…not a good idea. I should have known it would be noticeable but one must do what they can at the last hour. There are certain staple a party planner must never run out of and double stick tape is one of them!

We pulled out the water games from last years Thomas party for the kids.

Hubby made the frame for the photo op stand out of PVC.  (Which will now be used as a backdrop frame for future candy bars and/or treat tables.) The photo vinyl was bought at Party City and after taping it to the PVC on top, I secured it with a noodle. For the bottom I used a wooden dole, added the noodle and that kept it weighed down yet moveable. Cutting a noodle is easy with a razor knife in case you wondered. Plus the size of the dole was the same size as the middle hole of the noodle. Win, Win!

The Sunset Bar was fully equipped…

Nothing better then Ice Tea and Lemonade on a summer day! We also had an ice chest below for the ice and Gatorades. Beer was around the corner for those who would like to enjoy a cold one.

Next to the beverage table was the Snow Cone Station. Boy was this a BIG hit! Good thing I over 2 dozen molds. Each mold will give you 2 small cones, or for the older kids and us adults 1 LARGE cone.

                            

We had a lot of fun putting this party together. Perfect weather, good food and awesome family and friends made it a splash!

Very Adorable Baby Shower

This Saturday afternoon I attended a baby shower for a friend at church.  The ladies that put the shower together did a GREAT job putting together a “Very Hungry Caterpillar” baby shower for the mom to be.  I don’t have any pictures from the actual party, so I decided to put together an inspiration board based on the ideas the ladies used at the event and some extras I thought would be fun to incorporate.
 
sources:
Food Display Signs
Table Decorations/Centerpieces
Lollipop Favor
caterpillar quilt
Fruit and Cheese Snack
Spinach Dip
Mini Cherry Cheesecake Tarts
Cake
Lantern Caterpillar
Diaper Cake

Parties from the Past: Pirate Party

For my son's 6th birthday he was at the height of his pirate phase. When it was time to pick a theme for his birthday it was no surprise that it was a pirate themed birthday he chose. My first step as usual was to create the invitation. I had a lot of fun finding the wording and changing it to fit our party and activities.

I will admit that my cake didn't turn out exactly how I planned. The cake was just too moist to carve the treasure chest. Luckily candy can hide a multitude of mistake's., and still tastes great.

The morning of the party my two swashbuckling pirates got all dressed up and posed with the decorations for grandma.

 

Everything was set up for the pirate invasion. The table in the middle of the yard is where lunch would be served. It also doubled as a tattoo shop for our pirate guests.

 

Once everyone arrived it was time for the first activity.   The search for gold coins that the pirates lost on the beach.  Even the littlest guest was able to participate in this game.

 

Then it was time to walk the plank.  We set up a balance beam over a blue tablecloth so that the kids had to walk over the water without falling in.  It is much harder than it looks when you have an eye patch on!

 

Then they needed to swab the deck.  We purchased cheap string mops at the dollar store and painted Styrofoam balls black to look like cannon balls.  We divided all the pirates into two teams and had relay races.

Then our Captain was delivered a special message from Grandpa the Pirate.  His treasure had been taken and hidden!  They unrolled the map and began their treasure hunt.

 

 

After their treasure had been found (and a mess of gold foil littered the beach) it was time for the piñata.  I am not sure where this HUGE wooden stick came from that the birthday pirate used, but it was quickly swapped out for a regular bat for the rest of the pirates.

 

The pirates then sat down for some lunch and cake before we opened presents and said goodbye.  All the kids went hope with their treasure bags full of gold coins, pirate bandanas, eye patches, tatoos and LOTS of candy!