Making it work

So i am actually pretty damn proud of myself. I guesstimate that I have been able to create many of the "things" i wanted to have for A2's 1st birthday for under $20.00.

Using a few online tutorials, materials i already had or those i could get for a small price, and my own imagination i do believe i've finally completed the prepping stage of her party.

I am going with the typical girly theme- Pink, frilly, princesses and ponies. No, she won't remember a daggone thing but like i stated in a previous post... i believe i'm making up for a lack of these things in my childhood through her. I've never really been a girly girl yet i am somehow obsessed with making sure my little girl has a sweet 1st birthdday party.


For decoration:
Tissue paper hanging pom poms, via Martha Stewart's tutorial HERE- cost: 2.00 for tissue paper for the pompoms and thin yellow ribbon i already had in my craft supplies.

My Little Pony wall decorations, via printable coloring pages i googled, printed out and colored myself. Simply type in the keyword you may be searching for (spiderman? Dora or Diego? The Backyardigans? you can find *almost* everything through google!)

Happy Birthday Banner, using a roll of craft paper commonly used for children's art easels. Thanks to John's BIL we have a huge roll of this paper that we use for coloring on when we have a rainy day inside. crayons, markers, paints, decoupage, stickers... just get creative. It doesn't have to be perfect! I did the same thing for Asher's 2nd and 3rd birthdays.

Party favors:
Miniature fascinators, using a tutorial I found few months ago on Burda Style, HERE. For the little girls who are attending (three of them ranging in age from almost 3 to almost 6). In order to make them a little easier to wear I will be hot gluing them to slim headbands- perfect for the party and a great dress-up accessory after

Masks for the boys in attendance... 3, not including Asher. Using Asher as a reference since the boys are for the most part within the same range of head size, i came up with an eye mask. He was more than happy to let me use his head and face to create a template for the masks...haha! I used red felt I also already had in my craft stash; I have yards of it but if i had to guess i would say i could make 4 masks from 2.5 "sheets" of felt you can purchase from your local craft store for at most .79c a sheet. I decorated the masks Using glittery puff paints I had on hand from writing names on the christmas stockings i crocheted last year.

Tulle treat bags- using scrap pieces of tulle i had leftover from the tutu i will mention later in this post i made very small treat bags... and i didn't even have to buy the candy. Bags of unopened halloween candy served as the treats- place on a small square of tulle and tie it all up with ribbon already on hand and voila! treat bags!

Homemade Playdoh- i whipped up a quick batch of purple playdoh about a week ago to include in the favor tins. My favorite recipe is HERE. After cooling the playdoh and making sure it wasn't too tacky i portioned it into small balls and sealed them up in sandwich baggies.

I also found miniature tin "lunchpails" on clearance at Michaels last year for .39 cents each. I'd originally purchased them to use for Asher's 3d birthday but ended up with more kids attending than i had tins for so I set them aside for another time. Luckily the number i have on hand works perfectly for Annabelle's party.

And for the birthday girl I made a cute little tutu using the tutorial found HERE using tulle purchased at a fabric store totaling no more than $12 dollars including the elastic. She will be wearing tights i was graciously gifted when she was born and a pink onesie i found for $3 at walmart. (not my favorite place to shop but i was unable to find ONE single plain white or pink onesie anywhere else, long or short sleeved.)

I will of course have pictures once we have the party (2 weeks to go!)

throwing a party does not have to cost an arm and a leg, and honestly- even if you aren't the most creative or crafty person these small projects can be accomplished with a little time and effort by anyone willing to try!