My great friend Amy got married to her best friend Josh on the beach in beautiful Santa Barbara. It was such a joy to be a part of this wonderful event. I had the privilege to design their wedding invitations as well as help plan and coordinate the event. Amy and Josh have such unique personalities that it was only fitting to design such a unique invitation!
What’s a more perfect way to welcome summer than to throw an outdoor bash? I wanted to put together a festive BBQ, inspired by the amazing farmer’s markets that are so well known to California summers. This was a very DIY heavy party, as I needed it to stay low-budge, as always. :)
Some of my favorite details from this party are the paper goods and the cartons. Finding real, true vintage cans is not-so-easy. So I decided instead to create my own. All of the can labels I found online, printed and glued on myself. I’ve been saving large, extra large, medium and small cans for months. :) The vintage egg cartons and the turquoise berry baskets I found online from Bake it Pretty, and I couldn’t imagine the party without them. And you can’t have a party without paper straws, so the striped red and blue straws I found online from Can do Chefs.
I went to my local Joann’s fabric store and bought a yard of tiny red and white gingham fabric, which I cut into squares and folded into napkins. I also bought several yards of burlap and a large scale red and white checked fabric to use as tablecloths, much cheaper than buying a finished tablecloth. The loose cut of the fabric added to the rustic feel, so I didn’t mind the edges being unfinished.
All the wire baskets and galvanized tubs were a slow collection from thrift and garage sale shopping. The flowers are wild flowers from friends gardens. No time to bake a cake from scratch this time around, but funfetti mini cupcakes fit the theme, lol. Overall the party was a wonderful summer gathering to celebrate our little one’s first birthday. We were overjoyed to share to occasion with all of our close friends and family :)
For a behind the scenes look at some of the DIY projects, go here.
Credits:
Party planning + decor: eyeheartprettythings
Flower arrangements: eyeheartprettythings
Photography: C.M.Elle Studios
Paper goods + Invitations: eyeheartprettythings
Craft supplies: Joann’s Fabrics and Michael’s
Extra Large Balloons: Bargain Balloons
Food + Cupcakes: eyeheartprettythings + Pillsbury :)
It was the middle of August and it was hot! I wanted a refreshingly fun and bright birthday party, and what is more refreshing than fresh pineapple? I focused on pineapples and bright, hyper-colors for decoration. I folded neon yellow poster paper into a geometric triangle pattern and wrapped it around my sansevieria plants to look like giant pineapples on the dessert table. I collected walnuts and sprayed them neon yellow and hot-glued green spikes to the top as mini-pineapples to line the table with. And I wrapped the dinner table with white butcher paper and plunked neon sharpees into mason jars so the kids could color all over the table and make a bright, fun mess. :)
I served a hawaiian inspired meal to all our friends, using pineapple as a main ingredient. For dessert, I had a candy bar with neon candy dots and lemon heads. I made tie-dye cupcakes, bright krispy treats made out of fruity pebbles, and I scooped fresh pineapple with a melon baller and dipped them like cake-pops into melted candy coating.
I found a ton of neon goodies at the dollar store. Neon play-doh, neon water balloons… So I set up a play-doh station for the kids and we had a giant water balloon battle between the grown-ups and the kids at the end of the party. Keeping cool with a water balloon fight in the August heat will definitely become a birthday tradition!!
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This party was a bit of a last minute idea born out of a can of chalkboard paint and a large piece of wood. My son’s birthday was quickly approaching, and I knew that I wanted to do a southern style bbq, but since it was mostly our adult friends, I wasn’t sure what style I should go with. I wanted something classic, simple but dramatic, with a lot of personal details and photos of my son’s first two years.
I went with black and white, it’s the two colors that always go well together. I painted a large piece of wood with black chalkboard paint as the table backdrop, and I printed a garland of black and white photos as a timeline of my little guy’s life from birth through 2 years. Instead of tablecloths, I lined the tables with brown builder’s paper, and used a sliced potato to stamp a triangle pattern on it. Check out the DIY here. As table runners, I glued paint sticks together and painted them with the same chalkboard paint. I wrote fun little messages along the table runners, drawings of balloons, stars, birthday cake.
This was a quick and easy party concept to execute. It would work for an anniversary party, adult birthday, or even just a classic barbecue. Enjoy!
Photos by Amy Stone
I’m super excited that Judah’s 1st birthday party is being featured today by Hostess with the Mostess! Check it out here, and check my blog for some of the affordable DIY decorations I created to make this party extra special :)
XO
Kiira
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