Saturday, November 10, 2012

mermaid birthday!

yea, guess i should get on posting about her 3rd birthday party! it only happened almost 2 months ago. quicker than last year!

over the summer i asked her what kind of party she wanted. i listed off some ideas that i thought

1. she would like.
2. wouldn't be a commercial theme.
3. i could handle.

of course she shot down all of them...hot air balloons? rainbows? flowers? ballerinas? birds? bunnies? tea party? and so on.

randomly i said mermaids and she exclaimed "yes!"

funny since her only encounter with mermaids at that time was me clipping a fitted crib sheet around her waist and telling her she was a mermaid. this was when there was only one tutu and enola was over, and wearing it.

thus began her love of mermaids though. and just this last week her favorite librarian said "think you can get her interested in something else? we are running out of mermaid books!"

she also loves watching jake, and since there would be a few boys there i decided to incorporate a bit of a pirate theme too.

her first birthday was spent in korea, so it was on the small scale. i did a few things, but most of the party was over webcam, and her party at night had 3 guests!

her second birthday was just a few weeks after we lost delia. there were a lot of things i did get to do for her, but a lot i missed out on doing because i just couldn't pull it together that soon. we had a lot of help setting up for the party by all the guests! we also weren't in our home yet so it was just a little scattered. fun, but scattered.

so this year i wanted to do it right!

it was filled with a treasure hunt, many treasures, a build your own kabob dinner, saltwater taffy, seaweed, and of course mermaids and pirates!

her invites. i stamped on watercolor paper, then used watercolor pencils. a labor of love, but once i spaced it out over the span of a few weeks, it wasn't so bad. nice sit in front of the tv project!

another fun project was this treasure map. i wrote down landmarks in our yard and my super artsy sister-in-law drew it out for me, then i traced over it and tea stained it.

eliza just so happened to be getting a sandbox from my parents so it was the perfect spot for some buried treasure!
the kids had a lot of fun. it was a little bit of an obstacle course (hopping over, circling around, crawling under) thankfully we had some older kids that helped out with reading the map. we lost a few of the younger ones that got distracted crawling under the table, but it was fun to watch!
the favors were another thing that i spent a lot of time on. i blamed it on the fact that we only have one kid, and i have way too much time on my hands. crazy mama crafts! i just love homemade gifts and toys, and wanted to share a bit with her friends!

the treasure chest before being picked over! found the golden chocolate coins on sale at walgreens, and ma picked up the saltwater taffy from a local candy shop. 
favors for the little pirates.
 and for the mermaids.
 peg people line up!
 all the crazy mama made pieces. felt eye patch, pearl bracelet, felt starfish hair barrette, peg people, and pixie dust necklaces.
the buckets for the favors were from the dollar spot at target.

and of course, i had to put together some decorations. i said i started paper lullaby after making garland for her 1st birthday and yet, she's never had a mama made banner!

once again, no banner, but she did get some other fun things!

cake topper and cracked cake with graham cracker sand.
a blanket i found in an antique shop years ago fit the theme (and table!) perfectly!

the book in front is her 20 questions. one for each year until she's 18. thanks aunt alyssa! her answers were pretty funny this year!
also found these directions on pinterest for seaweed. loved the simplicity of it!
 i added some sequins and had just those hanging in her doorway when she woke up. she loves sparkles!
and the last mama made thing, to go with her peg people was this felt play mat.
flip side.
 her family.
and a few random shots.

love the one of the twins chowing down on the kabobs!

wearing my shirt from when i was three!
"all my friends!" in front of her new daddy built clubhouse.
it was such a great time. beautiful, relaxing night with good company!

so thankful to be in our home and making new memories! not sure how extravagant her next birthday will be. the joy of being the only child! :) hope you enjoyed it eliza!

4 comments:

ashley said...

the peg people... oh my! they're so cute!!!

momv <>< + said...

one very blessed little girl:) you did and awesome job shel!

Sarah said...

I love the sand box!! Do you know where they got it from? Or did someone make it?

james and michele said...

thanks! my dad made it, pretty sure he found the plans on the home depot website!

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