One of my favorites….Bubble Gum Pink…..Paper Straws….!!! The perfect shade of pink. Oh so YUMMY..!!!

And you’re gonna  LOVE our new POLKA DOT PAPER STRAWS..!!!  Mix them with other colors and stripes. Perfect Party compliment…!!! FUN and CUTE…:)

I fell in LOVE with our YUMMY YELLOW Striped Paper Straw…It’s been a favorite with YOU too….!!!

And look at this Gorgeous Green…Perfect for the holidays…

Mix our Green Striped Paper Straws  with these pretty Red Striped Straws

And of course our RED POLKA DOT PAPER STRAWS…adorable…!!

Our pretty Blissful Blue Striped Paper Straws….In Stripes and Dots….

 Red White and Blue Striped Paper Straws….

Our Black Striped Paper Straws and Black Dots and Circles are great for weddings or other upscale events you may be planning.

Are you IN LOVE yet…!!! You’ll find these fun straws on our web site: www.thesugardiva.com
Be back soon to begin our Christmas Party Ideas…!!!
Your Creative Party Gal
Dianne

There is more to see of the King of the Jungle Party over at Angelena’s blog.

Have you checked out these other listed parties under the First Birthday Party category listings:

Airplane Birthday Party from Grassphoppers & Ladybugs

Whale of a Party from Stephanie

Backyard Carnival from Pink Peppermint Paper

Need more First Birthday Party Ideas?  Visit the First Birthday ideas page to see ALL the listed parties.

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The Cookies and Milk theme is one that I adore more and more every time I see it!  I love it as an idea for a first birthday!  And that  BIG ‘cookie cake’….how stinkin’ cute is that!  Scroll on down to have a look at all the details…..and I suggest you have some cookies and milk while you hang out here for awhile and check out all the great parties to see.

Enjoy……

Third child, first birthday…I almost skipped the party. I’m glad that some of my family urged me to get planning though as I loved how it turned out! And I found out that brainstorming with the 6-year-old can bring some amazing ideas to your theme! Our theme was Milk & Cookies/Bedtime Stories, because don’t those things just have to go together?

I found the perfect invitations from Tiny Prints. They were meant as a baby shower invitation suite, but I thought they worked perfectly for a one-year-old’s birthday (especially my one-year-old that refuses to stand up). So sweet right? There were pink & green options also, but given that I was sticking with a pastel color palette, these were the perfect fit!

The big kids usually collect donations at their friend parties and Jack thought it would be a great idea to collect books at Olivia’s party (even if she is little). So we collected board books for our local (and amazing) children’s hospital. I was so excited to see so many favorites!

The books actually served as party decor as we set them up along the sideboard as people arrived.

And hanging above the books were bright and cheery tissue paper poofs.

In fact we kept the decorations simple, with the tissue poofs and rows of gerbera daisies adding pops of color.

Well, I did do one batch of balloons for Olivia to go crazy flinging about. The face above is because she learned to close her eyes before the she sent them flying!

Wall decorations included a birthday banner and…

a photo time line from 0 months to 12 months, ceiling to floor.

And the food for the party was…A buffet of cookies & milk of course!

I used a circle design/logo throughout the party and couldn’t resist including a few more in these little frames on the table.

I baked six kinds of cookies for the party: Sugar Cookies, Snickerdoodles, Rainbow Swirl, Peanut Butter Kisses, M&M and amazing Chocolate Chip Cookies {recommended by southern daze}.

Strawberry, white & chocolate milk (because special occasions call for special milk).

My absolute favorite party suggestion from Jack was that all the kids come to the party in their pajamas! Soon after, EJ got these super cute milk & cookies jammies (in a batch of previously-loved clothes) and I set out to find equally cute jammies for the other two kids!

We emptied the toys out of our playroom, drew the shades, and set up a mini theater where the kids watched Bedtime Stories…

and ate lots of yummy movie snacks!

We created a keepsake book for Olivia out of a mini binder. I cut & hole-punched card stock to fit the binder and included a page with each invitation. Family & friends used the pages as a card, decorating them with stickers, drawings and notes to Olivia. The book came out better than I could have ever imagined.

The favor bags were these cute striped candy bags with a clear sticker on the front printed with one of five quotes from a favorite children’s book (4 star-themed & 1 Olivia bedtime quote thrown in for fun).

Each was filled with one of these yummy star cookies from a local baker {who you can shop with at her etsy shop}, sealed closed with a thank you logo seal, and partnered with a star cookie cutter. I have to give credit to Jack once again as the “star=nighttime” idea was all his!

This amazing chocolate chip cookie cake was made by our new friend Erin (thanks for the recommendation Auntie Sandy). You can check out more of Erin’s awesome creations here.

Olivia didn’t quite know what was going on, but she did seem to enjoy picking off the chips.

And apparently, unlike her mother, Olivia is not a huge fan of cake! We had to beg her to get a little dirty (I think her hair got the worst of it)!

Thank to everyone who helped make Olivia’s first birthday bash a huge success and for everyone who celebrated with us!

The gorgeous photography in this post is courtesy of {tsj} photography (thanks Auntie Tracie), and the less than stellar shots are from my trusty point & shoot!

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It’s perfectly pinkalicious!  Soft, subtle, but elegant and fun!

Enjoy the party……

As promised, here are the photo’s from my daughter Zoe’s Pinkalicious 1st Birthday Party. Alot of work went into her party, (lucky girl had not one, but two parties!) & she enjoyed herself so much playing & laughing with all her friends. It was not a huge party, a simple afternoon tea with some family. Next year, I am planning on hiring a small local hall room so that I can have everyone there at the same time. My home was way too small to fit everyone in it & the weather was cold & dark so we could not have it outside. I’m already thinking of her 2nd birthday & what theme I will choose. I will wait & see what she is into at the time. Enjoy!

Enjoy this Frog Prince Birthday…..

I read somewhere not too long ago in some brilliant woman’s blog that when you throw a party, you just have to have a single element that is really a “WOW” factor that you spend time making perfect. Just one impressive feature – I think anyone can do that!

Candy buffets are hot hot hot right now for parties and weddings, probably because of the visual display that is a treat for the eyes (and later the tummy!)

The detail that was probably the most difficult about putting the buffet together was the glassware. Dropping $200 on jars was not in the birthday budget, so i bought one really spectacular jar and got creative with the rest! Here are my sources:

• Urn shaped large footed apothecary jar – Hobby Lobby
• Tall cylander footed apothecary jar – antique store
• Squat apothecary jar – Micheals
• Hurricane lamp – Pier1 (had it already)
• Square vase – Pottery Barn, maybe? (had it already)
• Trio of small apothecary jars – thrift stores
• Lollipop holders – painted flower pots

I just loved the way lollipops looked standing up on a tablescape. I didn’t have anything handy to put them in, and didn’t have the time to build something elaborate. So, I took a few terra cotta pots, painted them white, and stuffed a wax paper covered piece of floral foam down inside. After cutting holes in the wax paper, I pushed in the suckers and covered the wax paper with jelly beans. The lollipops were personalized for each guest attending the party.

In addition to the candy, I did make some monogram sugar cookies, dipped some marshmallows in candy melt and rolled them in sprinkles, and dipped a few oreo cookies as well (man, were those good!) Kids seem to love everything on a stick, so the marshmallows were really a hit! Those that weren’t coated in candy were rolled in sugar. You can see how to make sparkly marshmallows over here.

Each one of the candy jars got a label showing what it was. I forgot to get scoops for the candy, and bought a melamine ladle instead. This actually worked out better, as it was much easier to get in the tall jars with the ladle.

The big question I keep getting asked is, “Where’d you get all that candy?” Where I get everything. Online! There was a really good selection of green candy at the Candy Warehouse; I scored big lollipops, gummy frogs, old fashioned candy sticks and mojito flavored salt water taffy. The green M&Ms were around during Valentines Day, and I just stocked up then from the stores in town.

The smash cake was made by a good friend of mine who lives three hours away. I was happy someone was able to transport it to the party for me! It turned out so neat!

The candy buffet was more a party favor at our event…guests were given a box to fill up with candy before they left as a thank you for coming. Next time I would definitely get bigger boxes, as there was still a lot left over even with 20 kids at the party. It was a nice memory for the kids, as they were all pretty excited about picking out all that candy!

Read more about the frog prince birthday invitations, big boy frog prince birthday crown, the cupcake tower, the rest of the frog prince party decorations, and the photo booth we had as part of the entertainment for the frog prince birthday party!

Today I’m going to share a baby shower I designed to introduce a new baby boy.  Best described as a Sip and See (or “Sea” in this case) this gives everyone a chance to meet the new baby and is a great way to celebrate a second or third child. 

The nautical theme and colors were chosen to reflect the nursery.  I used clear glass plates and cut out oceanic maps from scrapbook paper, to place underneath.   The centerpiece highlighted a ships wheel, and sailor’s compass, along with small flower arrangements with bath-toy fish inserted into them.   A different nautical flag was inserted into each water glass, and the favors were a fun take on the “message in a bottle” idea.  The ‘napkins’ were rolled dish towels. On the drinks table we served an “Ocean Breeze” cocktail and blue Jones sodas.  I used a ‘fish’ craft punch to make confetti to sprinkle on some of the serving trays, and made drink charms from nautical themed buttons.  More maps were used to create a collage display board with pictures of the new baby and family. 

 The dessert table provided monogramed cookies, berry parfaits served in baby food jars, and mini cupcakes with more nautical flags. 

More details included custom invitations, a welcome life saver on the front door, an ‘islander cheeseball’ served in a boat, and more bath toys and plush toys as part of the decor. 

I hope you enjoyed seeing this and will be inspired to host your own nautical themed party, or a sip and see shower!  Cheers!

Here are the invitations I created. In addition to brown and yellow, I added blue and green into the color theme. I also absolutely love polkadots so you will see them everywhere

This is the birthday banner that I hung so all the gust could see when they walked in the house.I loved the little monkey hanging from the corner!

This was the front door sign as well as the silverware. check out www.platesandnapkins.com they have everything you need for utensils etc. with great selections and prices!

We had an adorable MOD monkey pinata for the kids to hit, the brown paper bags I made for them to put all of their candy in to take home. I had “monkey” themed food and made food tags for our guests.

I tried to get a picture of the party crown I made for Gavin but we all know how much one year olds just love party hats! I decorated the cake table with the invitation as well as pictures of him through out the year. We had such a good time and I can not believe he is already 18 months! Here is a link to a great slideshow if you want to see more party pics! http://secure.smilebox.com/ecom/openTheBox?sendevent=4d5449774e5451354d7a453d0d0a&blogview=true&campaign=blog_instructions_directurl_makeyourown

Thank you again to Shannon for asking my to be a guest poster, I am honored!

]]> http://www.creativepartyplace.com/first-birthday/lets-go-bananas/feed/ 535 http://www.creativepartyplace.com/cake/bears-blocks-first-birthday-party/ http://www.creativepartyplace.com/cake/bears-blocks-first-birthday-party/#comments Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:06:54 +0000 Creative Party Girl http://creativepartyplace.com/?p=1085 This Bears & Blocks First Birthday Party was originally hosted by Izreen from Fluff & Stuff. —— Great combo with the Bears and the Blocks! I have to say that I really love the cake. Such a fun idea with the blocks going in a circle. Lots of great touches all throughout this party! Thanks [...]]]> This Bears & Blocks First Birthday Party was originally hosted by Izreen from Fluff & Stuff.
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Great combo with the Bears and the Blocks! I have to say that I really love the cake. Such a fun idea with the blocks going in a circle. Lots of great touches all throughout this party! Thanks for listing your party Izreen.

Enjoy this First Birthday party…..

…and then the party planner in me went wild the colour theme was brown & pink and the overall decor was based on bears & blocks. i’ll let the pictures tell the story…

looking at the pics now, i guess i did go a little overboard with the whole setup up and guest list of 70 adults & 30 kids but oh well, she’s only one once!

just a few things to remember for the next party i organise:

• design invites early, especially if it’s a complicated block that takes forever to construct & put together…so say, 2 months is a good headstart, to avoid going to bed at 4am for a few weeks before the invites are due!
  
• have a trial run for the birthday cake, especially if it’s the first time playing with a type of decor…in this case fondant. also avoid baking & decorating at 4pm the night before the party. much better to start at least a couple of days ahead…
  
• coax family & friends to come early & help with decor!
• a one year old is just happy to have familiar toys around her which kinda defeats the whole party anyways but at least when she grows up & looks at the pics, she’ll think she had a fab first birthday!

Enjoy Tamara’s Ladybug Party…..

We sometimes call Lily ‘Lilybug’ so it was fitting that we would have a ladybug party for her first birthday, but not just any kind of ladybugs.
Why of course they had to be pink & green little ladies! The invite, handmade by the Crew as we all helped a little bit with it.
Chepe got the design ready for me in Photoshop, I cut and assembled, Eden punched out & glued on the green spots, and Lily tried to help cut the ribbon with her teeth ;o)

Thank you to Uncle Chris & Aunt Lisa for letting us crash their place!

Pink & Green Ladybugs leading the way to the FUN!
Chepe helped me make a custom birthday banner with his “cutter machine” as like to call it, but really it is a QuicKutz Silhouette and it puts the Cricut Expression to shame! Funny how in our house Papa Bear is the crafty one. Notice I was over tired while assembling the banner and messed up on the name part. Oh well, it was too late to do anything about it since I noticed about 10 minutes before the party was set to start.
For refreshments we served raspberry lemonade with green sugar for the cup rims. Again, the sugar creation was due to a very creative Papa Bear & yet another one of his gadgets…the Magic Bullet.Thank you to PartyPops for these custom stickers. They were too cute and perfect for the water & favor labels.
Leaf signs above the refreshment table.
Happy 1st Birthday Lily! ~ Party Time. Lily is one! ~ Thank you for celebrating with us!

The birthday girl’s special chair for the day.
I painted the ladybugs to match the labels and attached them to giant leaves from Cost Plus. A special thank you to the very nice cashier who gave me an awesome deal on the leaves!!!

Smash cake ladybug for Lily & flower cupcakes for the guests. Yes, I actually baked, with help from Chepe yet again, and made the smash cake. The cupcakes were jazzed up store bought green ones that I added a sugar flower to in order to make them cute, cute and fit the theme. I am all about the theme when it comes to a party…can you tell?
Lily’s favorite part was the hostess cupcake.

Kids table with a ladybug centerpiece

Special pink ladybug decoration that big sissy Eden made for the party.
Eden was so cute and thoughtful in wanting to contribute to the decor. I have to give it to her she stayed on theme. She drew the pink ladybug about four days before the party and made sure that it did not get erased or messed up all that time. She was so proud to help decorate for her little sissy’s birthday party.

Leaf banner for the mantel with some friendly ladybugs

Lots & lots of food.

Told you there was a lot of food.

To decorate the buffet I used ladybug beads that were custom made from another wonderful seller on Esty.

I plan to make each of the girls a necklace with the beads now that the party is over.

Silly string favors.
‘Thank you for coming to Silly Lily’s 1st Birthday Party’
Get it…silly string )

The Birthday Girl
A special thank you to Sweet Couture for custom making both Lily’s birthday onsie and Eden’s matching big sister shirt for the party. They matched everything perfectly! Honestly, without the wonderful sellers on Etsy I could never have pulled this party off.

Present opening time brought lots of wonderful things for Lily to enjoy. Lily especially loved Eden’s gift to her of a little Tiger wearing a t-shirt that she was able to design. Lily would not put ‘Tiger Bear’ down the rest of the time and he is still a favorite friend at home.
Thank you to everyone for your thoughtfulness!

Cake time!

Lily loved her cake, but did not like her messy hands much.

Thank you to everyone who sent birthday wishes to our Lilybug and to those of you who were able to share in her special day. We are blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives.

Birthday hugs!

Enjoy this Hungary Caterpillar Birthday…..

Our very dear friends, Michael and Meghan, recently moved back to Memphis after a 2-year stint in Boulder, Colorado. To say that we missed them is an understatement, but what we really missed was seeing their little guy, Grant, in his first year. When we got word that they were moving back into town last month, Meghan and I went into full-party-planning mode. Grant’s 1st birthday was just 2 weeks after they got back from Colorado, so Meghan asked if I would help her plan, since she, as you can imagine, had her hands full. And me being me, I took over (with her permission of course!). The party was inspired by this cake that I found online. I was sure that I could replicate it and save tons of money, so I decided to take it on.
Plus, who doesn’t love that book? Even my sister, who hates to read, told me that it was her favorite book in the library as a kid.
The party was held at her brother and sister-in-law’s house yesterday afternoon and I think it was a huge success!

I was inspired to use astroturf as the tablecloth by the lovely ladies at Southern Event Planners, they used it on a football themed table at a wedding and I just thought it was adorable and perfect for this theme, so I bought a 6×8 piece at Home Depot and we cut it to fit the tables that we used.

I had Mommy Meghan make those “caterpillar” fruit skewers out of green grapes and strawberries and they turned out adorable.

I scanned the food pictures directly from the book, blew them up, and them glued them to cardboard and used an Xacto knife to cut them out.

I had some leftover butcher paper from Greyson’s 1st Birthday, so I hand-painted this sign for Mr. Grant.

The favors were gummy worms of course! I used Publisher on my computer to print the tags out onto sticker paper and them closed the bags with those.

I actually tackled the smash cake as well. Meg wanted him to have an apple smash cake, since that it what the caterpillar eats in the book. The stem is pipe cleaner and the leaf is scrapbook paper.

I thought that the cupcake cake turned out awesome! The trick was decorator icing, which is firmer and stood up better. I think I used 30 cupcakes and then a 6 inch cake pan for the head. The base is cardboard cake boards taped together and covered in butcher paper that I painted with the legs, antenna, etc.

I had a genius idea one day to make one of those banners that are so expensive on Etsy, out of leftover paper plates that I had hanging out from the many, many parties that we have had over the years. I painted the backs of the plates with tempera paint and then printed out the letters on my printer and glued them to it. Then I punched holes for the antenna and legs and strung them together with ribbon.

Our lantern caterpillar..probably the easiest idea ever and it turned out so cute.

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to see more pictures of Grant’s Hungary Caterpillar party visit the original party post.