Gabriella’s 1st Birthday Party

I planned and prepared for Gabriella’s 1st birthday party for a couple of months.  I always want to make sure that my kids feel celebrated on their special day, but I was extra invested in making Gabriella’s day special as I viewed it as not only a celebration of her first year, but also a day to thank God for the miracle of her life.

The theme of Gabriella’s party transformed as I worked on it.  Originally, I planned to do a polka dot party, but as I searched for the perfect fabric, I stumbled across the “Ruby” line by Bonnie and Camille and fell in love.  I used that fabric as the inspiration for color and then used ideas off Pinterest as the inspiration for the specific details.  The theme ended up as vintage, girly, burlap and lace…if you can call that a theme 😉

My sister hosted my niece’s 1st birthday at my mom’s house and the space worked out really well.  After Brynlee’s party, I asked my mom if I could have Gabriella’s party there, too.  I’m so glad we did!  I love my parents’ house and my mom had lots of decor that we could pull in that was just perfect for the theme.

And now for some details on the decor…

I received my inspiration for Gabriella’s invitation HERE and used my Cameo to make it happen.

I used THIS tutorial to make the brown paper bag stars and the ever faithful tissue paper pom poms are from none other than Martha. (I cut the tissue paper in half to make the smaller pom poms.)

The drink dispensers and metal bucket are both gifts I received from the annual Christmas Gathering at The Church at Battle Creek.

I used THIS tutorial to help me make Gabriella’s party hat.

I got the idea for the high chair mat HERE and used THIS tutorial to ruffle the crepe paper.

My mom found the shutters from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Tulsa, and while I was laying in bed one night, I had the idea to use them as a display for some favorite pictures from her first year.  I love the way it turned out!

The paper plates and white serving trays are from Hobby Lobby, the buckets are from the dollar spot at Target, and I just used a couple yards of muslin to make the table runner.

A closer view of the shutters.  I got some of the mini clothespins from the dollar spot at Target and some at Hobby Lobby.  I printed the Instagram pictures using the PostalPix app on my phone.

I made the birthday banner using my Cameo and hung it with baker’s twine.

I found this picture frame at a craft show and added chicken wire to the back using a staple gun and used it to display a picture from Gabriella’s 1st year photo shoot.  A little tip regarding chicken wire…it is pretty cheap, but comes in a large roll (for about $9).  I would recommend going in with some friends to buy some.  I have TONS left after this little project.

I used the Ruby fabric to make a pennant banner for the staircase railing.  I didn’t really follow a tutorial, but there are TONS on Pinterest.

I got the inspiration for this wreath that hung on the front door HERE; however, I didn’t use a wreath form, I used foam tubing to make my own.  I saw my friend Joleen do this one time at a craft night and it worked great so I decided to give it a try.  The tutorial is HERE.  Joleen had the idea to stuff it with newspaper to make it more sturdy.  I think I overstuffed mine so the shape was a little wonky, but it did the job.

I ordered iced sugar cookies from Barbee Cookies to give away as the party favor.  In our family, no celebration is really complete without some Barbee cookies.  They are DELICOUS.  I got the chalkboard from THIS shop on Etsy.

Our lunch menu included:  Ham and Swiss sliders (these were a huge hit), potato chips, carrots/dip, and grapes & strawberries with toffee dip (I use powdered sugar instead of granulated).

For drinks, I served juice boxes for the kids, strawberry lemon water, and punch.  Our punch is always a crowd pleaser.  I’m not sure where we got the recipe, but it is:

• 1 frozen can of apple juice, lemonade, orange juice, and white grape juice
• 1 large can of pineapple juice
• Combine all juices and add a generous portion of ice (we prefer Sonic ice).
• Pour ginger ale over the top (I usually use about 1 liter)

For dessert, I ordered cupcakes from Sams (30 cupcakes for $13 and they are AWESOME) and served ice cream using THIS idea.  I made cupcake toppers using my Cameo.

And now for some pictures from the actual party:

Getting the birthday girl all dressed and ready.  I think she’s excited!!

I have the most amazing family.  We really make a great team when it comes to hosting events.  We spent a couple hours Friday night decorating the house and when I arrived at my mom’s house at 8:00 Saturday morning, everyone was awake, half of them were already showered and ready, and my dad was out front planting flowers.  My family went non-stop until late Saturday afternoon to help me set up, prepare, host, and clean up Gabriella’s party.  I am TRULY blessed.

The sweetest big brother around.

Gabriella sat in her “throne” eating lunch and chatting with all her guests while they were getting food.

The present opening basically consisted of me opening everything and Gabriella being totally overwhelmed.  She was blessed with some wonderful gifts and she’s enjoying them very much.

Our family of four 🙂

Reuben found him a great spot hanging out with PaPa and Grandpa.

Some of our amazing guests.

A little cupcake eating action.  Gabriella really enjoyed her *almost* first taste of sugar.

Dad and his girls.  I’m so sad my mom isn’t in this picture!  I’m sure she was busy serving!!

And, finally, I edited this picture on PicMonkey and used it as her thank you cards.

*A special thanks to Uncle Chad and Kara for taking so many of these pictures!!*

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