A Ballerina Ball!

Recently, we arrived at that wonderful time of year again when I must figure out how to throw a fun party for Miss A while trying to stay within a budget.  Actually, it was much easier this year than I thought it would be!

The theme of choice?  A Royal Ballerina Ball.

Knowing how time is a precious commodity for many of us mothers who are the event planners, caterers, bakers, etc. for our families, I thought I would post what I did with some links.  Hopefully, this will provide a shortcut of sorts for like-minded moms on a budget who don't have a lot of time for online searches!  :)  

For starters - we did not have to buy our invitations this year!  We found them FREE along with piles of coordinating party items (also FREE for download) here.

They are cute on their own, but can be embellished as well (which is what we did).  

This wreath is made of feather boa and more tulle (check for sales on spools of it at craft or sewing stores).  

The ballerina hanging in the center is a Christmas ornament (often craft stores like Hobby Lobby will start putting these up halfway through the year AND start having early sales like 40% off)!  :)

Instead of serving a full meal with fourteen little girls - we served cake (homemade and decorated) and ice cream.  The figurine at the top is a miniature doll that I hot glued to a skewer.  

Bonus - if you are careful (try running under hot water), you can remove the figurine from the skewer and it becomes a little extra gift at the end of the party!  This can also be done with Christmas ornaments and it becomes a yearly keepsake - something for her to hang on a Christmas tree each year to remember that year's birthday!

I cut some shiny pink paper and tulle to wrap around water bottles for each girl.  I also used some pink vases I found on clearance and wove long pieces of remaining tulle along the center of the table.   The faux flower petals were another clearance find (I think I found them right after Valentine's).

For our craft, we made ballerina boxes.  What is a ballerina box, you may ask?  Why, a box for putting your ballerina items in, of course (ballet slippers, fancy hair clips, etc)!

I found these pink and purple sparkly boxes at Michaels for only $1 each (I think they are actually school supply boxes)!  I also bought a package of "jewels" for the girls to use when decorating their boxes.  A silver permanent marker worked perfectly for writing the name of each little girl on her chosen box. 

What's a party without a game, right?  I searched and searched for a ready-made Pin the Tutu on the Ballerina pattern or game but failed to find one.  Soooo, I made my own ballerina pattern, and long story short, she is also now available in my TPT store for only $1.50!

The pattern is pieces of the above ballerina which can be cut out and put together on posterboard OR cut out and used to trace around on posterboard or another surface.  The pieces are black and white so each family or birthday girl can decide how she would like to color her ballerina (I also included a blank face template in case someone wanted to make the face differently than the one I drew above).  

If you are interested in purchasing the pattern, click here.

The girls also watched some ballet AND practiced ballet moves.  I LOVED the video we bought for this - just the right fun mix!  See link below the post).  

Once the crafts and activities were completed (and food eaten) - the girls settled in to watch a Barbie ballerina movie (we checked with moms beforehand to make sure this one was okay with everyone) and munch on pink-coated popcorn.  

After presents and the movie, it was time for our ballerinas to head home.  We sent them off in royal ballerina style with gifts of "jewels".  Each bag was made to look like a ballerina leotard complete with tulle tutu.

Our parting sign:  

"Thank you for sharing this special day with our prima ballerina.  You are "tutu" kind!

(P.S. - speaking of tutus, one thing we did NOT do but ALMOST did, was to provide tutus for all of the guests.  I found a place on Amazon that sells a dozen for around $16 total!   That is only about $1.33 each!  I posted the link below as well if you are interested.)

A Royal Masquerade Picnic!

Here are some snippets from Miss A's birthday a while ago (one of those posts I never got around to sending)!  The theme was a "Royal Masquerade Picnic".

The invitations were custom designed by the very talented Andrea at  "Where the Green Grass Grows" - she is wonderful to work with!  

I added the glitter and gold/pink ribbon embellishments.  We included a glittery pink mask for each guest to wear to the picnic (I downloaded the pattern online and cut it out of paper) .  

I made an extra special mask for the birthday girl, of course!  ;)

For entertainment before the picnic lunch, I set up stations for the girls to visit as they chose.  The one above is the "Reading Atrium" with blankets and books.

The"Creativity Garden" was another station and contained items for coloring, pink sparkly playdough and cutters, as well as a place where they could make their own handprint castle (I modeled mine after this one by Posh Little Pixies).  

This was the "Outdoor Ballroom" complete with ribbon wands for each young princess (and a special one for the birthday girl).  We had music playing so the girls could dance and twirl to heart's content.  They each were allowed to take their wand home as a party keepsake.

These are pictures of the picnic spread.  Each girl was given her own picnic basket (also a keepsake) filled with pink and gold embellished picnic food items.  

Side note:  I think I bought the baskets at Dollar Tree.

The cake!  :)  Pink and gold outside with pink and lavender-ish layers inside!  I wasn't so thrilled with some of layer colors I mixed - some ended up looking more gray but oh well.  It tasted good and the birthday girl seemed pleased which is what really counts.  :)

Before they went home, each young lady was given the opportunity to visit the jewels fountain.  I had made pink felt jewelry rolls for each girl which she could then fill with her jewels of choice as a final keepsake from the party.  I had a sign nearby that read:

Thank you for making this day a treasured memory!

Please accept a parting gift of jewels from our precious princess to yours!

Note: jewelry rolls have been provided for the safe transport of your new gems!

For those crafty mommas who want to do something similar but keep it low cost, if I remember correctly, I made the fountain with Dollar Tree candlesticks and plates.  :)

Now...on to plan our Back 2 Homeschool day!  ;)  I've had an idea simmering in my brain for a while now...

Birthday Invitations!

Hear ye!  Hear ye!  It's birthday time!

My daughter decided this year she would like to have a royal masquerade party, but because we are in transition mode (not in our new home yet) - we decided to have a royal masquerade picnic at a park.  It was so much fun to meet the challenge of an unusual birthday theme request and turn it into a special day for Miss A and her little friends.

I think these invitations set the tone quite nicely...

Andrea from Where the Green Grass Grows is wonderful to work with!  She came up with our Nutcracker Sweet invitations last year and our First "Bear"thday ones as well.  So when this year rolled around, I knew it was time to check in with her again.

She created the cutest custom design for us (the poor woman had to endure who knows how many of my little e-mails requesting date changes, wording changes, etc. and met each request with such amazing cheerfulness)!  I loved the little gasp of delight from my daughter when she saw them.  :)

We added some sparkle of our own to help fit in with the gold and pink theme - plus extra sparkle seems to come with the territory when a little princess is party of your family.

Then we made glittering masks for each young princess invited to attend and tucked them under the ribbon with the invitation.  The girls were sooo excited to receive these!  It was cute to listen to their comments.

Andrea also came up with the adorable invitations below for my son's party.  I decided to turn the invitations into a banner being flown by little wooden planes, so I attached some blue and white twine to both the plane and the invitation for a little different way of delivering our message.  :)

Now on to the parties....

Linking up to:

www.happyhourprojects.com

www.cleanandscentsible.blogspot.com

www.gingersnapcrafts.com

www.tatertotsandjello.com

A Nutcracker "Sweet" Birthday!

This was a really fun party to plan, and the birthday girl's excited cries and joyous exclamations were just icing on the cake!  :)  Although a bit early for what is often considered a Christmas season tale, the young lady of the hour latched onto the idea of having a party based on one of her favorite stories.  I was more than happy to oblige so without further ado, I give you A Nutcracker "Sweet" Birthday...

These are invitations and the book that we sent with the invitations so each girl would thoroughly understand the story and music behind this beloved tale before arriving at the party.  For pictures and more details regarding the beautiful invitations designed by Andrea of "The Green Grass Grows" (Etsy), see this post: http://thenatureofgrace.blogspot.com/2011/09/nutcracker-sweet-birthday-invitations.html

Instead of a wreath greeting the guests when they arrived, we hung a picture frame and candy canes.  We also posted a sign welcoming guests to the "Land of Sweets".

Once inside, the guests saw a sign asking: "Uh oh!  Where's the Land of Sweets?".  It then invited them to help the birthday girl find her way there.

We would of course need everyone's help so I had a temporary coloring station/activity set up while we waited for everyone to arrive.  Boxes of new crayons were hung on a bright pink Christmas tree (one box for each girl - these were also one of the favors the girls could take home at the end of the party), and pictures of characters from the story lay waiting for guests to embellish them.

Once all the guests had arrived, I led them to the mantle where glittery pink paper stockings were hung, one for each girl to take with her on the hunt for the "Land of Sweets". They were to fill up their stockings with fun prizes along the way as they followed clues leading them to the "Land of Sweets".



These are some ornaments which were tied to presents hidden for the girls to find. Each clue was related to a Nutcracker character. The girls had to then find a present with that character attached and open it. Inside was their next clue and some little treat or prize for each of them as well.

The hunt ended when the girls opened the final present, solved the last clue, and found their way to the "Land of Sweets" at last!

This was the small dining table which awaited the girls inside the "Land of Sweets".  Streamers and balloons in shades of pink added to the very festive look as well.

Behold the scrumptious desserts table!  Delicacies included:  sugar plums, peppermint hot chocolate sticks, white peppermint bark, white mice cookies, individual candy cane trifles, nut"stackers" (mini sandwiches made of layered bread, peanut butter, and nutella), and the birthday cake!

The cake topped with the Sugar Plum Fairy herself!

All in all, a simply delicious party!  :)
(For those interested, Nutcracker ornaments were purchased at Hobby Lobby).

Linking to:
www.houseofhepworths.com
http://www.somewhatsimple.com/
http://www.whipperberry.com/
www.mushkiloves.blogspot.com
www. cleanandscentsible.blogspot.com
http://www.lilluna.com/
www.733blog.blogspot.com
www.bearrabbitbear.blogspot.com
www.tatertotsandjello.com

A Nutcracker "Sweet" Birthday Invitation!

Why am I posting about an invitation?  Because I have the absolute joy of planning a Nutcracker "Sweet" Birthday for a beautiful young lady who will be turning FIVE soon!  

Her love of the Nutcracker began last year after reading the book and then attending a magical evening at the ballet performance with her parents.  Enchanted with the story, she was captivated by the idea of having a birthday with the same theme - and I was just as pleased to help plan and design it!  :)

I began searching the wonderful world of Etsy for the perfect invitation some months ago and found Andrea from The Green Grass Grows.  Her designs were just what I was looking for and after e-mailing back and forth about the invitation details and style - she came up with what you see above!  Perfect!!!  Just the right touch of magic and vintage Christmas!

We could have sent it just as it was, but after a quick consultation with the birthday-girl-to-be, decided to add just a bit of sparkle!  Here is the invitation getting her first coat of glam!

And here is the invitation complete with shimmer and shine (silver glitter around the edges and some candy cane pink glitter for the silhouette image)!

To enhance the enjoyment of all the young guests at the party, we wanted to be certain that they all were given the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the classic tale and music before the event so each invitation was given or sent with a copy of "The Nutcracker" book and cd.  To heighten the anticipation further, we carefully wrapped the books in crisp, white paper and tied each gift with lengths of decadent silver/gold and pink ribbons!

Stay tuned for pictures of the actual event sometime in the next two or three weeks!  :)

A "Fairy" Happy Birthday!

Ah the magic of pixie dust! What is it about fairies that make little girls swoon? Perhaps the shimmering frocks, the fanciful wings, or the endless possibilities for imaginative play? Whatever the case - it seems that fairies get a lot of credit for being the theme of many a young lady's birthday party and this instance was no different. Here are just a few images and details of one I had the pleasure of planning. Enjoy! :)

By the way - if you have not caught on by now, most of my parties are budget parties. I am a firm believer that one does not have to be rolling in money to throw a beautiful, fun party (although it sure helps if you are crunched for time). In fact, finding ways to be creative with what can be found in a person's house is sometimes a really fun challenge. What IS usually required for a budget party though is often time and one's own hard work. So sometimes I or someone else might make some of these items by hand - and if WE can do it - so can YOU! :)

Invitations:

The invitations were printed on pearlescent paper with indented patterns of butterflies. They were then rolled up and slipped into handmade sleeves of real bark sprinkled with super fine green glitter. A shimmering moss colored ribbon and pale butterflies adorned each sleeve as well.

Main Agenda/Activities:

A treasure hunt for the girls' costume pieces! I wrote a story (and bound it up into a book complete with a cover made of real bark) based on the girls who were coming to the party (naming the fairies in the story after them, of course). Each section or chapter in the book was about the fairies searching for appropriate party attire or items needed so they could have a birthday picnic. Following the reading of each section, the girls would then have to "travel" to that decorated part of the home/yard and complete the required task in order to receive a piece of their costume to wear. Here's an example: Fairies A,B,C,D,E need wings and remember that the most beautiful ones are grown on the Butterfly Tree. But the Butterfly Tree requires a gift in exchange so the girls each take it a special drink of water from Bubbling Pond (where they had just earned their frocks by way of another task). Then they are allowed to pluck their wings from the tree (the wings were laid or hanging on branches). Decor for this section of the yard consisted of large paper butterflies placed on the selected tree. The story culminated when all the costume pieces had been earned and the decorative picnic basket found with many delicious treats inside including the chocolate nests with berries you see pictured above.

We rounded out the day by also including a fairy hunt for tiny fairies hidden around the yard and a station for creating homes for the fairies that had just been found. Items provided for making fairy furniture - rocks, bark, flowers, etc.

DETAILS:

**Each fairy costume was custom designed for each little attendee based on her favorite color, AND we attempted to make them all coordinate roughly with each other too. The end result - a beautiful mixture of soft colors and flowers complete with shimmery, translucent wings (try a good opalescent cellophane wrap to achieve the look of our wings) which were also custom made to match each frock/fairy skirt. These doubled as some party favors that the girls could take home. The "frocks" were no sew skirts made of tulle and flowers. Check out this person's site for an idea - she made hers into full dresses for her little girls! http://askthepartyfairy.wordpress.com/fairy-dress-make-your-own-no-sew-fairy-costume/

**Book - the story was bound into a book and tied with ribbon. The cover of the book was made from cardboard and covered with real bark to give it more of a woodsy, enchanted look.

**Outside entry - guests were greeted with a shimmery sign letting them know they were entering an enchanted forest. "Fairy dust" (super fine glitter) led the way into the home of the birthday fairy. A word to the wise - sprinkle this on the sides of the path leading in or else you might be finding "fairy dust" all over the floor in your home for weeks afterwards.

**Treasure hunt areas - these were marked by different decor depending on the section of the story. For example: Toadstool Glen was an area set up with various sizes of paper toadstools (make these from good cardstock and then attach to dowels or other sticks - not ones that would be dangerous should a fairy happen to fall and land on one. Poke in the ground everywhere and voila - instant Toadstool Glen!). The meadow where the fairies collected flowers to make their individual crowns was actually a section in the yard where I sprinkled a plethora of fake flowers everywhere (make sure there are holes in the middle of the flowers so they are easily strung on a garland) for the joyous gathering. Letting the children make their own crowns doubled as an activity and creative outlet for each little girl. If you have time, you might also make paper flowers/garlands to hang from branches or hang large pieces of tulle to make canopied areas and/or glue silk or realistic flowers on trees surrounding the "meadow" to give it an even more magical effect. So there are at least a couple of ideas to get you started if you decide to follow the treasure hunt/story route....

**Birthday Picnic Basket - originally I wanted to find some smaller picnic baskets and decorate one for each young lady present so each girl would get her own basket (another party favor to take home as well). However, as the party planning progressed, it became apparent that this idea would not materialize in time - thus, an ordinary picnic basket was transformed for the occasion by adding shimmery ribbon and flowers matching some of the fairy outfits.

** Picnic Area - if you are on a REALLY tight budget, consider a plain green or brown tablecloth or plastic tablecloth (like the kind you find at Walmart for $1-2) for the fairies to sit on and just sprinkle with flowers (I would stay away from glitter - unless it is the edible kind - around your picnic area to avoid the guests accidentally eating the stuff). If you have more of a budget, consider getting large pieces of felt and cutting into squares (or circles and paint on white dots if you want them to look like the tops of large toadstools) and then adding felt or fabric letters spelling out each guest's name to create a giant placesetting for each fairy to picnic upon (these can also be taken home as party favors later on and used as activity/play mats for the guests at home).

**Chocolate bird nests - google these and you should find some good recipes out there - very simple to make but a bit messy! I believe we used shredded wheat for ours. Other food items you could add - Fairy creme (yogurt cups or parfaits), pixie sticks or wands (giant pretzels dipped in white chocolate and sprinkles), or just sticks (regular pretzels), Fairy nectar (any juice will do and can be jazzed up depending on the container by adding ribbon or felt sleeves, etc.), miniature sandwiches, granola, cotton candy (I see this labeled as "fairy floss" on at least a couple of sites), fruit kabobs or fruit flowers, etc. You get the picture - the possibilities go on and on...

**Fairies for the Fairy Hunt: Ours were made of tissue paper and paper and glued to clothespins so lots of them could be clipped to branches, etc. all over the yard. If you have a really great budget - consider checking for miniature fairies in stores and buy a bunch. Also a possibility, miniature butterfly nets decorated with ribbon and flowers for "catching" the little pixies. These can be made using dowel rods, netting, and hot glue! Add "doors" to the bases of trees in your yard as we did and place some fairies behind each one. Doors can be made of anything from scraps of wood you might find or have lying around to pieces of cardboard, painted or decorated with real bark.

Oh so many possibilities with a "Fairy" theme! It is my hope that a few of these ideas will help get you started on your way to creating your very own magical day! :)

BTW - the cake pictured above was homemade! Cute, eh?

A huge THANK YOU to the incredibly creative Kate Landers for posting a woodland party on her blog that inspired the beginnings of this one! :)