Girly 2nd Birthday!

We celebrated Keylee’s birthday on Saturday.  This momma has been working for a couple months (during naps, after Key bedtime and other spare time here and there) on goodies for the party. Everything turned out which was very exciting!!! As planning the party came together a little at a time my ideas for what I wanted to do and how I wanted it to look evolved a bit.  When I put the invitation together I had a bit of an idea what I wanted to do but inspiration didn’t actually hit till about a week later and then it all started coming together. I knew I wanted to have a girly/dressy party but not a dress-up party. And since we have so many boy cousins we had to throw in a little man version for the boys. I loved the idea of using tulle because it is so easy to work with and looks awesome. So off I went and here is what we landed with:

Our backdrop ended up quite well with the pics I had blown up (on the cheap) and the big #2 I made. I made a few tulle poms to hang with the other tulle and topped it off with a couple ribbon bows. The little black iron girls my mom had and they fit in just right. The party was at 1 so we didn’t have a lot of food or snacks but veggies are always good especially when there are so many sweets around. So we did a veggie tray along with our cake, cupcakes, ice cream, and juice boxes. The ice cream was scooped up ahead of time into cupcake liners so it stayed in the freezer until the cake was cut.

I also set up a little drink station with the covered juice boxes for the kiddos and sweet tea and lemon water for the adults.

 

I went searching online for a dress pattern to use as a template for some of the projects and came across a very simple little black dress that really ended up being used for everything. I also had some little tuxedo favor boxes I had purchased a very long time ago and ended up being my template for all the little tux decorations and then used as favor boxes.

 



My family!



This probably looks familiar. Last year we have a similar pic!

I could just squeeze the stuffing out of her.

 

 

Of course she was totally loaded down with goodies.

 Here are some of the DiY projects I took on for this party:

~Covered juice boxes - dresses for the ladies and tuxedos for the gentlemen   - Purchased regular juice boxes. Covered them with black paper using hot glue (I used card stock because I feel like it is easier to work with and looks nicer but you could easily use construction paper).   -Added a dress with a sweet little tulle skirt for the ladies and a tuxedo with box tie for the fellas.  -TIP: Make sure you pull off the straws before you wrap the boxes!

 

~ Big Cardboard 2

  - I printed a 2 that I liked off the computer and then blew it up using and old school projector, but you could easily measure and cut one out.
  - Cut out two of the two shape and then decided the width I wanted for the depth of the 2 and cut cardboard strips in that size that I then just wrapped and taped on one side. After one side was complete I added the other side.
- Covered with wrapping paper, sides first with an overlap. Then the front and back.

 

 

 

~ Happy Day Banner

  - I decided to go with square this year. So I cut 6 1/2 inch squares and 4 1/2 inch circles to go inside them. And then the letters were about 3 1/2 inch letters, printed off the computer, traced and cut with my X-Acto knock-off.

  - I also used that same dress pattern with tulle skirts and added the dresses in between the letters.

 

 

 

~ Party Favors

  - I found an awesome pattern for high heel favor boxes online while I was searching around and these little treat boxes ended up so fun. I threw in a couple fun hair elastics, a plastic ring, and candy bracelet-ring-and lipstick.

  - Of course I had the tuxedo boxes on hand already so those were easy. The boys got superhero candy, a badge, and a glow bracelet.

 

 

 

~And finally cake and cupcakes with homemade fondant!

  - I used a box cake mixes for the both the cake (strawberry) and cupcakes (chocolate).

  - For the cupcakes I added a little buttercream icing and then a layer of fondant. I cut out the cirlces with a glass and the little men with a small cookie cutter. Gel icing made up our buttons and bowties!

 

 

  - The cake which looked like two layers was actually 3. The bottom layer was made of two 8 inch rounds and the top of 1 deeper 6 inch. 

  - I covered it in the same buttercream, but for the cake it went all over.

  - I rolled out the fondant and then used a large glass bowl to cut what I thought would be the right size. It wasn't exactly so I pulled it off and spread it some more. Even with the buttercream on it I could still spread it pretty easily. I just put the icing side down on the mat.

  - I rolled out some black to make the bands around the bottom. I made the big bow by cutting a long strip and folding it over to the center. I cut two small strips for the ribbon ends and wrapped another small piece around the middle. I added a few rolled pearls in blue  all the way around and then used a set of cookie cutters to make the purse and the shoe and added a few embellishments.

  - The dress I cut from that same dress pattern I used around the party for constancy.

 

 

 

 

I have to say I was pretty proud of this cake. My first attempt at fondant (homemade or otherwise) and it tasted pretty good too. I didn't see a lot of plates with fondant peeled off and thrown in the trash. It was actually good enough to eat!

 

A couple tips for working with homemade fondant:

TIP1: Shortening is your friend. Grease everything that will come in contact with your fondant. Your bowls, spoons, cookie cutters, mats, and even your hands. Trust me this will help A TON!

TIP2: Don't always trust the measurements. I found the basic recipe I used to work pretty well but I did have to add more confectioners sugar.

TIP3: Add the food coloring after you melt the marshmallows and before you add the conf sugar. This makes mixing in the color soooo much easier. Add a little extra to the color cause it will lighten up with the addition of the conf sugar.

TIP 4: Use a plastic, well greased, mat for all your rolling and cutting.

TIP5: Invest in a fondant roller. I tried to use a wooden roller with a lot of grease on it...no go. It really makes all the difference in how smooth your fondant will look once rolled out.

TIP6: Don't eat to much while you make it b/c it really is pretty tasty!

 

I love birthdays. I love getting to share milestones with family and friends and I love celebrating people. I hope these ideas inspired you.

Daspri

 

 





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