Party Preparations

I know I haven't posted any new pieces this week and I am sorry! I could tell you I have a bunch of projects in the works,which is partly true. I could tell you I am just taking a little break, which I desperately need. I could even tell you that I will post some by the end of week, which I might TRY to do. But none of those are entirely honest! The truth is I am knee deep in rainbows, costumes, and yellow bricks!

Ella will be 5 on Saturday! My sweet precious girl often reaps the benefits of being the baby of the family, but in the case of birthday parties she has totally gotten the raw end of the deal! Both of my boys have had some grand stand birthdays, especially when they were younger. I am a planner to my core. I like to work out all the little details of a project. Add that to my major affinity for crafts and anything that requires creativity and you have a crazy combination that goes wild when it comes time for a party.

However, by the time Ella came along...I was tired! That third child just does something to TOTALLY wipe you out, mentally and physically! So her birthdays have been lack luster, to say the least! When she turned 1, we had a princess themed party for family and close friends. I did not go over the top! I DID make her cake, just like I did the for the boys' first birthdays. Her second birthday was spent in Colorado. It was just after we moved. We didn't know anyone...and thus had no one to invite to a party. So, no party that year! However, we did go to the circus to celebrate! When she turned 3, I took the lazy road and rented out one of those place with all the jumpy houses...I didn't plan a thing! This actually worked out really well because we ended up having to leave as soon as the party was over and drive 3 hours to arrive just in time for the birth of my only niece!

Last year we started giving the kids the option of a party or a present from mom and dad (it is just too expensive to do both). I loved that my sweet 4 year old girl picked a present. When I took her to store and told her she could pick out ANYTHING, she chose a $15 Barbie! Priceless! (I did feel a little guilty for getting out so cheap, so we invited 2 friends over for "Pinkalicious" Cupcakes!

That brings us to this year...5! It is the first year she has been in school and has friends of her own. It is the first year she has been able to actively participate in a birthday discussion. And so, it is the first year she is going to have an blowout birthday party! I have to admit that I am probably just as excited as she is...like I said, I can go a little crazy when planning an event!

Now that you have WAY more background then you probably wanted, I am telling you all this to share some of what we have been doing this week in preparation for the festivities!

I thought maybe I would walk you through my planning process in case you have a birthday party coming up soon!

Ella is absolutely in love with The Wizard of Oz, so there was really no discussion needed when it came time to choose a theme! The problem came in deciding on what details of the movie to focus on, there are sooooo many! I thought about different ideas for a few weeks and then finally made my decision...so here is some of the plan:

The invitations I made invited guests to celebrate Ella's fifth birthday in Munchkin Land, courtesy of the Lollipop Guild. (I promise to get a picture of the invitation to share with all of you.) From there I took off running.

The internet is such a wonderful tool, especially if you can get into the blogging community. The ideas out there are amazing! Since I don't have pictures yet of any of my projects for the party, I though I would show you some of the unbelievable ideas that I am planning on implementing on Saturday.

This is the cake we are attempting to make! Don't worry, I have a very talented friend doing most all the work:





Isn't it just ADORABLE! I found this over at Bubble and Sweet. Linda shared tons of pictures and ideas from a party she hosted, including these Precious Ruby Red Slipper Cookies:


I am going to use her idea, but not her recipe. I think I will take the easy road and buy pre-made cookie dough.

I also loved this idea:

We are going to have a jumpy house to entertain the kids and I am going to put the witch's legs under it!

Maganda & Tamis also had some great pictures and ideas. I am considering making "Glinda's wand-wiches" that they shared:


I also loved the little labels she used for all the food.

She also posted a handmade birthday banner, which I thought was a great idea. I took her version:

and put my own spin on it. (I will show you mine in a few days!)

And she had this fantastic balloon rainbow:

Again, I took her idea and tweaked it just a bit!

Hopefully, this has shown you a little bit of how I gather ideas. Since this post has gotten rather long wordy, I think I will call it quits for today. I will share with you some of the projects I have created tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by (and don't forget to go check out Crafting with the Stars! 13 days before they announce the finalist!)