My sister-in-law was in town for her birthday this year and asked for a birthday dinner of her favorite recipes from childhood. She also asked that the table be decorated in purple. So I set of designing a party inspired by the color purple, thoughts of childhood, my adorable sister-in-law and the Pinwheels & Pearls party from The City Cradle.

Ribbons in shades of purple made up the bulk of the decorations from the striped ribbon table cloth all the way to the moving chandelier piece that we attached to the ceiling fan. (By the by… if your looking to purchase ribbon in bulk may I suggest PaperMart.com for their amazing selection and prices.)

Paper pin wheels, self-made cake stands, a birthday banner and childhood recipes helped top off the evening. Below are some photos of the fun.

The table looking all fancy.

Purple ribbons, pinwheels and flowers covered the center of the table.

The salad course repeating the pinwheel theme with a wheel of cucumbers surrounding the salad greens.

Found a great pinwheel tutorial at Ohdeedoh and made a ton of pinwheels from paper, pins and pencils!

Check back with the blog for future posts explaining DIY cake stands, pinwheels and more!

All in all it was a fun and whimsical night. So, here is to my sis-in-law—”Happy, Happy Birthday. To you! To you!”

I really like kids. I really like KID PARTIES even more… when done right.

My mom always threw my siblings and I pretty swank shindigs growing up. I remember one birthday that I got to hand deliver awesome invitations to all of my classmates (don’t want to leave anyone out!) And, then I got to have them arrive at a blast of a bowling birthday complete with a HUGE Barbie cake.

Birthdays really weren’t about the gifts (although, I do like those) but, about the celebration. The excitement that went into birthdays then has definitely stayed with me as I have aged. I hope to someday help my future kiddos celebrate their big days with great parties so that they can hopefully continue to look forward to each and every year of their lives.

Birthdays celebrating the first year of life are probably more for the adults than for the kiddo (they probably won’t remember… but, don’t you think that parents deserve a little party after getting the kid to that first year mark!) While I don’t have any kiddos I certainly have been working on ideas for my future little one’s BIG #!.

BOY, OH BOY

The “Little Man” Party

Now, I can’t take full credit for this party because the idea came about after falling in love with ThePartyDress.Com’s Celebration: Little Men inspiration board. So, here is my version of the “Little Men” party.

When I think of this party I think STRIPES! and TIES! and MUSTACHES! So, the “Little Man” party has those three things in spades. It can look great in any color scheme (browns or blues would look especially great) but, I went with a multi-colored, bright look for this inspiration board.

Decorate the party with striped table cloths such as the one pictured from Cost Plus World Market.  Don’t forget to use one as the backdrop for a fantastically fun photo booth that parents can use to pose with their kiddos. Oh, and while they are posing give them some hats and mustaches to use as props. While Etsy has many, many mustaches for sell I am particularly partial to these cardstock ‘staches. Dress the birthday boy in the finest of duds for the party but strip him down into this adorable Little Gentleman Onesie for the big birthday cake cutting. Let guests clean their mouths with these adorable (reusable!) mustache embroidered napkins. Give the little ones (and their parents) some items to remember the party by with these mustache stickers and crayons. Invite guests with a simple clean lined invitation hinting the fun of the celebration. The pictured invitation is from Tiny Prints a great, affordable invitation site. Let the adults have some fun at the party with the “Man Tub Mustache Party Set.” When I said dress your man in all his finery, well, I meant dress your man in this ADORABLE sweater vest and tie set from the Left-Handed Lady over at Etsy (T-shirts are also available just in-case the party is in the summer heat).

Don’t want to forget the cake! I’m a little obsessed with this beauty of a cake from Birthday Girl– there is also a how-to! I’d say make this cake for the guests and make a small cake with a bow-tie for the guest of honor!