Colorfully Healthy Birthday Party

Yes, I had yet another party. That makes three in a row, one each week of February! And, I love it.

But, because of all the sweets I have made this month, I decided to focus this party on healthier food items and less desserts! My cousin Kirsten turned 27 this week and we were already planning on having a girl’s night, so I decided to make it a real party with dinner and décor. I chose the colors based on the ‘Happy Birthday’ banner that I already made a few months ago. I had almost everything for this color scheme already, so that made for super easy setup.

As you can see, I looked up the health benefits of each food item served and added that to the label.

I made turkey sandwiches with bread I bought at Kneader’s Bakery. I tried Asiago Cheese and 100% Whole Wheat this time and they were both really yummy and fresh. It was much cheaper to assemble them myself than to buy premade sandwiches and they tasted delicious!

I made oil-popped Popcorn throughout the night and added some Agave Nectar & salt for a Kettle Corn taste. Yummm.

Of course, I had to have some sweets, since it was a birthday party with all women! I made Kirsten’s favorite mint Oreo cake pops and then had some colorful candy that I found in the bulk section of Winco (why yes, I do shop there a lot…).

I still can’t believe they had individual bins of gummy bears in the exact colors I needed! Can you say meant to be?? At least that’s what I told myself & Scott when I came home with them…

We had about 8 of our female cousins there and it was lots of fun. We watched some major chick flicks (any other “She’s The Man” fans out there?!), played some games, ate and talked. It was great to get together with everyone and we need to do it more often!

Happy Birthday Kirsten!

Sweet 16 Birthday Party: Part two!

I had so much fun planning my sister’s Sweet 16 Birthday Party. And it all started with some cute invitations. We used my mom’s Cricut & Samantha helped me create them a few weeks ago for all the guests.

I made my sister a custom party hat that sparkled as much as absolutely possible.

We held the party at my mom’s home & everything looked beautiful. It was great to have my mom & sisters help out to bring all the little details together.

We had a Nacho Bar complete with Queso cheese and Chili, as well as all the desserts. Probably not the best idea since everyone was too stuffed after nachos to eat the dozens of desserts! :)

 

For my birthday present to my sister, I got her custom Jones Sodas! They were such a fun little detail for the party. I put her photo on the front with a poem on the back. Plus, who doesn’t love Jones Soda? So good!

 

For details on the Dessert Table, go here.

My sister Tiffany was in charge of setting up the photo booth and she found and made some great props! The kids had fun with it and we got some great photos.

And here I am with the birthday girl. I am glad I got to plan your party, Mandy & I hope you had a great birthday! I am excited to see how *SWEET* your 16th year is! Love your big sis.

Part 1: Dessert Table found here.

Sweet 16 Pink & Black Birthday Party: Dessert Table

Last night I created a Dessert Table for my sister’s 16th Birthday. I loved it and had a fun time designing everything around the black and pink theme. I made chocolate cupcakes, mint chocolate cake bites, and dipped Oreos. My mom made some delicious sugar cookies with cream cheese frosting and a strawberry glaze.

I used scrapbook paper and my mom’s Cricut to create the banner, labels and crowns. And of course added lots of glitter and gems (They really does make everything better, let’s be honest!). I found the black dress, pink crown and ‘S’ Napkins (ok, they are actually tissues) at Hobby Lobby (all 50% off!).

Part 2 found here.

Tiffany & Company Birthday Party

Last Saturday I threw my older sister a Birthday Party. Her name is Tiffany & she was feeling bummed about getting older, so I knew that a 'Tiffany & Company’ themed party would be exactly what she needed to embrace and celebrate her birthday!




I’ve had so much fun planning her party over the last month and a half. I gave myself plenty of time to slowly work on everything since I work full time and wanted it to be perfect!

All parties begin with invitations! I handmade these with card-stock, ribbon and little bit of glue. I invited all the women in our family (from my mother’s side) and we had about 15 guests attend.

Here are some photos of the décor and deliciousness:




My Aunt Cindi is a fabulous baker and brought her famous Almond Sugar Cookies that not only look amazing but have a delicious crunch and then melt in your mouth! I also made some Mint Oreo & Cream Cheese Cake Bites/Pops that were the first things to go.





I gathered Tiffany & Co bags and boxes from family members that already had them and we used them to decorate or wrap any small gifts that guests brought. We also surprised my sister by getting her two items from T&Co (This & this). She was beyond thrilled!




We had simple hors d’oeuvres to balance out all the sweet treats; Veggie Tray, Meatballs, and Mini Quiches. The mini quiches were a hit and gone within minutes! And of course, you can never go wrong with chocolate dipped strawberries!

As a party favor, I made individually wrapped cupcakes for everyone. I made mint dark chocolate cupcakes, inspired by this recipe. I bought the cupcake liners/wrappers here and will definitely buy more from them. They added so much and kept things grease-free. I placed the cupcakes in clear plastic cups, wrapped them in cellophane and tied them closed with pretty ribbons.



To go with the Tiffany & Co theme, I just knew we needed to have something Audrey Hepburn related. After I saw this photo, I had my inspiration! Luckily I already had this large canvas (50% off @ Hobby Lobby) and I borrowed a projector from my office to trace the outline. Add some acrylic paint and in a few hours you have this! It was so fun to paint and a great addition to the party. My sister loved it and took it home afterwards to decorate her Tiffany Blue bedroom.



The chocolate cake with buttercream frosting was made by my beautiful mother. She flattened out white gumdrops for the polka dots! It was delicious!



To go with our jewelry inspired theme, I asked a friend from Paparazzi Accessories to bring her merchandize to the party. They had a great variety of affordable jewelry and almost everyone bought something. It was a big hit for the middle of our party. Shopping, jewelry and partying all at once…a girly girl’s dream fulfilled? :)




We played a ‘How well do you know the Birthday Girl’ game (which I won!), did ‘glitter nails’ and ended the night playing ‘Dance Central’ on the XBOX Kinect.

Overall I thought the party was a great success! I hope it was an event that everyone who attended will always remember with happy thoughts. Plus, my sister loved it and that is what made all of my work worth it!



A special thanks to my family members that helped bake and decorate! See more photos here.