And I decide we should host the party at our house....We usually don't host at our house. I tend to find it not more cost effective (at least the way I do them ;) and A LOT more work. However, this year Addi didn't really know where she wanted to go and about the start of the planning time, I got inspired. After following a few links from a messageboard, I stumbled across this Olivia themed party...
Fantastic, totally inspiring Olivia party And since Addison loves Olivia, it all just made sense.
I actually started in February (trying hard not to procrastinate and therefore stress out). I stalked Etsy- place of all homemade goodness looking for Olivia ideas. There, I saw an idea that led me to this sign:
I made this using Jen's cricut (which cuts bigger than mine) and lots of ribbon. Using the basic red, black & white colors made it pretty easy to buy decor.
A close up...this was kinda fun to make.
Then I saw my first activity, name necklaces...I could have bought the kits for $4.50/each from the seller, but decided I could do them more cost effective at home. I had to order the wooden beads to be finished & got hosed in shipping costs from the seller, otherwise these would have been really cheap to do.
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| These are in process...a little white spray paint goes a long way. Jason actually painted these...he got roped into quite a few projects for this party! |
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| And this is how they turned out....not too bad! After they dried I used the Sharpie paint pens (which were AWESOME!) and wrote the letters on the blocks. I alternated red & black lettering & each was a different font (or the best I could do). I then put all the letters in a bag for each of the girls, which made it really easy at party time to pass out each kit. I also painted round beads black to use a spacers, some girls used them, some didn't. They only thing I wish I would have done is use a different string. I used the plastic lace & had a hard time knotting them to stay together. |
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| This was the integral part of the Olivia party- the huge cut out! I took some of Addi's books to Kinkos & had them blow it up to 36X48 (the color version was way too much). I then used a spray glue to adhere it to foam core board. After some trial & error (and 4 Xacto blades) I had a cut out Olivia! When Addi saw it she said, "It's like she's really here!" That made all the hand cramps worth it! :) |
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| The finished project. I used red glitter glue to jazz her up a bit. I used sliver & red glitter glue to highlight her crown. Then Jason used a stand I use for photo backgrounds to attach it to her & stand her up. Addi is very excited to move this into her room! I colored copied other pictures & mounted them to black foam core board, so they had a "framed" look. |
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| Addi showing off her party dress that I bought off of etsy. If only you could see the red & white striped leg warmers...too cute! |
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| View of the kitchen from the entry way. I used a muslin to make the tablecloth. When I was buying the muslin, I spotted the black & white polka dot fabric & decided we needed that too. I made a runner with that (just don't look too closely at it!) |
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| Being cheesy while enjoying lunch with her friends. |
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| Addison's cake. I ordered this from a local bakery in downtown Plainfield. I thought it turned out really good! |
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| I made a few bouquets using fake roses & some jars & vases I had. I had also ordered a digital round image of Olivia with different sayings that I used on her invite envelopes. I used these again for the bouquets. |
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| I wasn't in the mood to deal with taking the labels off the jars, so I used a wide ribbon to cover it. The ribbon was on Valentine clearance at Joann's - so even better! |
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| I hung some tulle streamers & then used large buttons & ribbon to accent the corners. Me & the hot glue gun were best friends by the time this party was over! |
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| I found some fun hang-y things for the ceilings at Party City. I also bought some Valentine ornaments from Joanns (also on clearance & begs the question, who needs valentine ornaments?!?) but it worked for my purpose! |
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| And what party isn't complete without a feather boa?!? |
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| The table & chairs. We had to use the dining room table in the kitchen so we could fit all the girls. I really didn't want 8 girls, food, and crafts on carpet. So we switched the tables around & it worked great! |
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| view from the sunroom |
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| For the front door. Also used Jen's cricut for this one...wonder if I should pay her a rental fee!?? :) |
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| These were the goody bags. I ordered them from etsy as well. They are black canvas totes with the girls names embroidered on them. In the goody bags were glitter playdough that I made (and I have the hot pink fingers to prove it), crayons and a folder with Olivia coloring pages. We also slipped their frames & necklaces in there, which made it easy when pick up time came. I made the 2 red hair bows on the outside of the bag, because Olivia likes her red hair bows! |
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| Being sung to..... |
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| Enjoying her cake...very sassy... |
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| Reading her birthday card |
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| Another shot of the table....you can even see the crumbs from the party! :) |
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| playing pin the bows on Olivia. We also played dress up relay, but I don't think that one was too big of a hit! I am sure there is more I am forgetting, but you get the idea. I have a few ideas for Ella's party, so this should get interesting! |
