paint cut paste

over the weekend, we had the absolute pleasure of celebrating N’s fifth birthday with a bunch of woodland creatures! our little fox/owl/deer/bunny/bear-lover requested a “forest animal” birthday party this year, so i did my best to interpret N’s request and had an awesomely artful time doing so!

you know how we’re big on birthday themes over here. first we decided to ask my friend, meredyth hite, the one-woman show behind the amazing vegan bakery in the bay area, bliss bakery, to create nut-free, gluten-free, vegan cupcakes (to accommodate all of the dietary restrictions among N’s friends and ourselves!) after i perused pinterest for ideas, i asked meredyth to create fly agaric mushroom cupcakes, displayed in a rustic wood setting — and WOW! she sooo beautifully and deliciously delivered!

mushrooms are foresty, sure. but now i had to figure out how to incorporate the forest animals into the party, since that’s what N had specifically requested. i asked my talented friend, chris willow, of the mamaroots shop on etsy and of the inspiring mamaroots blog, to create five candle holders for my five year old — each a different woodland creature. i order her sweet candle holders as birthday gifts all the time for friends, so it was time that N got her own.

forest friends enjoying the party

our custom set of cute candle holders by mamaroots

and for some more forest animal action, i decided to make 36 (yes, thirty-six) felt animal masks to give to the children at the party. instead of sewing them all, like my mom and i did for N’s halloween owl costume, i used craft glue to afix the features onto the felt, and just sewed the elastic bands onto each one. muuuch easier for a bulk order like this. (reminder: you can click any of the photos on my blog to see them enlarged.)

the bday girl selected these for momma to make: bear, owl, deer, fox, raccoon, bunny

mask basket at the party

the masks were a hit — what a fun party favor!

in addition to the mask party favor, i decided to create some magical acorn necklaces with allll of these acorn caps N collected at the park one day. i just hot glued felted wool balls (here’s a nice video tutorial on how to make them) into the caps. next, i hot glued baker’s twine to the tip of each cap to make them into necklaces. in hindsight, i should have drilled a hole into each cap before putting the wool ball into it so i could thread the string through, but this worked out just fine and was (i imagine) easier to execute.

they looked so cute pinned to a giant redwood tree for the kids to see and select.

there's even a creek babbling by this woodsy park - perfect setting!

for decor, i wanted to keep it earthy, and decided to sew some fabric scrap garland to string between the trees. i used scraps of fabric i had leftover from my bean bag project, and cut them into circles. then i just fed them through the machine, double-sided (right sides facing out.)

strung between the redwoods

the party was basically a playdate in the park from 2-4pm, so being so brief and in between meals, we just served hot apple cider, water, popcorn, fruit, and of course, those adorable cupcakes. to keep things simple and eco-chic, i used compostable hot beverage cups, cloth napkins from my fav cloth napkin etsy seller – love for earth, and no plates. (who needs plates with this light fare?)

i even used our rustic rock picture holders for display signs around the party.

despite the chilly day and the muddy park, the birthday girl and her friends had a blast! N barely stopped chasing her friends around the playground for a sip of apple cider – but she did brake for cupcakes! also, can you tell i had a good time pulling this one off?

we created such beautiful memories of N’s fifth birthday — and now we get to celebrate again on january 26th, when she actually turns FIVE! i know people always say, “where does the time go?” but i feel lucky (and friggin’ tired!) because it seems like i’ve been there for every minute of it all. happiest of birthdays to the sweetest and most energetic woodland creature i know!

i adore january because it has my favorite holiday in it: my daughter’s birthday on the 26th! all month long we indulge in party planning fun. maybe i’m just cheesy, but we always roll party-theme style for her birthday parties.

when N turned one, it was just a pink & green cupcake theme – from the birthday girl’s outfit and bib to, well, the cupcakes:

one

N’s second birthday fell on the chinese new year. it worked out great because she was OBSESSED with only reading the grace lin books at that time. (our copy of fortune cookie fortunes got completely ripped apart from overuse.) so, naturally, we did a chinese new year theme that year — with origami cranes tied the the end of each balloon string, fortune cookies, take-out boxes full of party favors, lanterns, etc. fun stuff!

two

when N turned three, her birthday party was all about fairies: every child (and some grown ups!) wore wings, enjoyed fairy cake, played in a fairy tent, and were given homemade magical fairy wands.

three

last year on N’s fourth birthday, she requested a “rainbow art party” so we went all out. i created this juicy, hefty blog post showing the execution of all the party details.

four

so far this year, we’ve engaged in our annual tradition of bringing out and decorating her birthday ring with little fairy friends. N chose the color of beeswax for her five birthday candles from our assortment.

she then got busy rolling five beeswax candles for the ring.

she was so excited to place them in the ring and begin the countdown to her fifth birthday!

this year, i’m doing my best to fulfill N’s fifth birthday theme request, and it’s proving to be lots of fun! stay tuned for all the fun party details – i’ll dish here at the month’s end!

do your children have themes for their birthday parties?

one of my closest friends has a daughter who is turning two this weekend… but she lives states and time zones away from us. so, unfortunately we can’t attend her fabulous birthday party. the toddler’s momma told me that the party theme, per her kiddo’s request, is ORANGE! orange EVERYTHING! they’re going to have orange decorations, the guests all have to wear orange, and they’ll dine on orange sherbet & vanilla ice cream cake, mac & cheese, and other orange goodies. they’ll be bobbing for oranges and throwing orange and white water balloons. what an awesome birthday theme idea, right?!

N and i decided that if we couldn’t attend the party, we’d get into the orange spirit from afar… so i initiated a scavenger hunt whereby N had to find (and mommy could photograph) everything orange she could spy. we looked all over the house: in cabinets, pantries, drawers, toy bins, etc. we walked around our yard and our neighborhood. we walked to a local farmer’s produce stand and went to our grocery store. i snapped away with my nikon d40. (older kids can perhaps do the photography part themselves.)

after my little color-hunter was sound asleep and (undoubtedly) dreaming orange dreams, i photoshopped the images together into a zesty grid with a dorky little message on top for the birthday girl. here are the citrus fruits of our labor:

this grid will go to the birthday girl, but if you’re just doing this for fun, you could create a grid to print and frame for your child’s bedroom, playroom, or bathroom. you could print the photos to make a collage or photo book. you could just keep them in your computer and let the photos cycle as your screensaver that your child will see and remember each time they’re sitting on your lap at your desk. there are so many creative things you can do with the finished product. i should mention that it gave my daughter a huuuge smile to see the grid when it was complete, so that sense of accomplishment and things coming full circle can be important for a little one to witness.

for those of you with toddlers, i should remark that this kept me and my 2.5-year-old daughter busy for about two or three hours (including our walk and trip to the grocery store) and she remained focused and into it. sweet! you don’t have to hunt for colors, as anything goes in a scavenger hunt, but colors are a fun and eye-catching i-spy sort of thing to do with a very young child. go forth, hunt it, and shoot it! (but only with your camera!)