Party Time – Decor to Adore

I went all out with the decorations at Jax’s party…and I started early. I personally do not care for character themes and there will be plenty of Disney, Hello Kitty and Monster High (ugh!) themed parties to come as she gets older so picking a theme was tough at first. It came to me as I browsed Michael’s after Easter.

All their spring merchandise was on clearance…and there it was, my inspiration for a pink and green butterfly extravaganza. I bought pink polka dot plastic tablecloths, pink and green striped napkins and matching paper plates and adorable butterfly adorned place cards –  it snowballed from there. Michael’s, Hobby Lobby and the Dollar Tree became second homes as I looked for anything in those happy hues.

Every room that guests would see was decked out festively, even the bathroom (which unfortunately was not photographed – booo!).

This is our front entry way. I purchased the wall decals around the arches at Dollar Tree and went crazy plastering the walls with stick-on flowers, polka dots and butterflies. I wrapped all of our framed photos and artwork with pink or green wrapping paper to add to the party feel. Jax was at Grandma G’s house when I did this and when she saw it she clapped and pointed excitedly.

Of course, there is the awesome custom-made chalkboard sign  from The Fancy Type Company I had made for the occasion greeting guests with details of Jax’s first year (don’t forget Yay Baby readers get 10% off through July, use the promo code Jax10FT).

A simple plastic table cloth covers the gift table which is in turn topped with a framed photo from Jax’s first-year photo shoot.

I purchased costume fairy wings from Dollar Tree and Jax’s grandma Joyce added felt bodies, googly eyes and pipe cleaner antennae to transform them in to butterflies. Easy, peasey and super cute!

Simple handmade centerpieces sit atop tables covered with white cloths and satiny green overlays.

I created the table centerpieces with mini-watering cans with a balloon flower, both purchased at Dollar Tree. I simply hot glued a piece of floral foam to the bottom and pressed the stick of the balloon in to the foam. I covered the foam with pink paper shreds and voila you have an inexpensive, simple and adorable centerpiece that took all of 45 seconds to make.

I decked out the mantle with another piece of gift wrapped artwork and white wood letters spelling out the birthday girl’s name. Grandma Joyce made the party banner with color-coordinated scrapbook paper and pink yarn.

The pink glass bottles, bird pillars and butterfly canvas were purchased at Hobby Lobby during their spring/summer closeout sale at 80% off! What luck finding perfectly matching decor at such a great price (Pssst…some of that stuff is now marked at 90% off, or at least it was over the weekend).

A pleather, quilted memo board, another perfectly matched find scored on super-sale at Hobby Lobby (now available for 80% off, I got it when it was 66% off). I used it to showcase Jax’s newborn photos.

The favor table was set up with more of Jax’s first year photos.

And if you do any entertaining in your home I suggest obtaining a small chalkboard. It can be used as the menu, to greet guests, to explain activities, to point the way to the potty or to send guests off with a note of thanks like I did with this one.

Tune in tomorrow for more cuteness from Jax’s party!