Colorful Bunting Birthday Invitations

Here's a super cute (and super simple) birthday party invitation idea...that just happens to be what I sent out for Ollie's first birthday party...

Here's what you need:
heavy white card stock (I like 110 lb for cards)
colored card stock, I used one color per letter in his name
sewing machine and thread
ink
letter rubber stamps

1. Cut your white card stock to measure 4.25 x 5.5 inches.  Fold in half.  Cut out strips of colored card stock to be 1 x 1.5 inches, cut out a notch from the bottom to form the flag. {be sure to make enough for all the invitations you plan on sending out}.  I printed out party info in a cute font onto the white card stock before cutting and folding. Play with your margins to get it right (and print out a proof just to make sure)


 2. Arrange your flags & adhere them with a little glue or double sided tape.  Make sure you only use the adhesive near the BOTTOM of each flag...you don't want to gum up your sewing machine with the stickiness :)  I had my end flags hang over the edge just a bit, then trimmed them even with the side of the card.




3. Stamp a single letter on each flag to spell out the name.  And then below the bunting stamp: "Turns 1"...or any message that you like really :)

4. Carefully (and slowly) stitch along the top of the flags to finish the bunting look.  Be sure to back-stitch to secure your stitching.  I cut the ends to about 1/3 inch or so, to look like ties for the bunting.  Using a contrasting thread (I used blue) helps it to stand out.

It's as simple as that :)

Ball Birthday

My youngest son loved balls (it was his first word, it was all he played with) so it was easy to come up with a ball birthday party for his 1st. This was a large party (all our family & friends were invited, as with all our 1st birthday parties).

The Decorations:

I found every ball I could... I bought a bag of play balls (the ones that go in ball pits) at Toys R Us and filled a clear bucket for the centerpiece. Then basically put balls wherever I could. I got kick ball- size playground balls at the dollar store that doubled as decorations and favors (this was a huge party...my husband's family is very large...there were a lot of balls around).

I found the "paper lanterns" at a party store, they actually had graduation caps hanging off of them (which I cut off) and no colorful ribbons to hang them from (which I added), don't be afraid to alter something to make it work for you. His banner was just letters I printed out on the computer, cut out, matted with colorful paper, and strung together with paper ribbon.

The Cake:

This cake I actually didn't bake, just decorated. I ordered a pre-made cake from Sam's Club, and had them just frost it white, smooth, with no borders (I think they thought I was a little crazy). This made it really easy to just add the bouncing balls and dash marks (thanks to Martha Stewart for this design) and it tasted great.

The Menu:

We don't do meals for big parties, so we plan it for mid-afternoon and serve snacks. This party was very laid back.

Veggies & Dip

Cowboy Caviar & Tortilla Chips

Lil' Smokies in a blanket & Barbecue Sauce

Fruit & Cream Cheese Dip

Ice Cream & Cake