Description
A simple, family party for Jeremy's 2nd birthday.
Design Inspiration
Elmo, the inexplicably enchanting furry red monster. I swore I'd never host a TV character themed birthday party, but Jeremy loves him. LOOOOOVES him. So I did my best to give Elmo a vintage, homemade feel.
Decorating Style
My style is ahhh....an artsy, thrift store chic, vintage-modern hybrid. And it's definitely evolving with motherhood. A couple years ago, I was ALL about the industrial, uuber modern, clean line, all-white type of look, and now I'm very much into picking up strange, unmatching pieces from thrift stores and I'd kill for a restored barnwood table.
Project Details
The party was held in my parent's kitchen, which has great natural lighting. We had grilled bratwursts with sauerkraut, burgers with bacon & grilled vidalia onions & gouda cheese, homegrown blue potato salad, arugula & spinach & homegrown chard salad, watermelon & canteloupe balls (side note: making melon balls is hard. consult youtube FIRST, not after you've made your 19th ugly watermeon glob) and finally, a cake for the guests and a cake all for Jeremy. Both were vanilla cakes with homemade buttercream & raspberry icing. (Elmo was raspberry flavored, of course.) The guests wore paper Elmos pinned to their shirts & sipped sparkling mint lemonade, which I made from a Williams Sonoma recipe, of all things!
-The case of Mason jars was unopened, collecting dust in my mother's kitchen, but they can be found at Walmart for like 8 bucks.
-White twine and small banner triangles on the glasses came from Hobby Lobby. For the monograms, I painted each one white, pressed letter stickers (from hobby lobby) on the white paint, painted over them with red, then peeled off the stickers. I free handed the Elmos, which is why some of them look like they're under the influence of LSD.
-Balloon sticks, orange painted 2, chalk board, the fabric I used for the tablecloth, and the red melanine plates all came from Hobby Lobby. That is my holy place.
-Birthday hat handmade by my sister
-Paper Elmos also handmade; I used scrapbooking scissors for the scruffy look of each red circle, a circle cutter for the eyes and noses, and I hand cut 24 tiny black pupils after consuming gratuitous amounts of coffee.
Favorite Items
The birthday hat, made by my sister. She's an art student at WU. I told her I wanted a white paper hat, black stripes, red 2, red puff, and she made a more perfect hat than I was even imagining. It was absolutely precious in person, and he kept it on ALL day.
Advice
Perusing Project Nursery's party gallery provided much inspiration. But I will say this: Just Go. To. Hobby Lobby. I walked in there with 1/8th of a plan and came out with the whole party in mind. Divine inspiration.
May Mosley
Tuesday 16th of July 2013
The Elmo cake is too cute!
jellenrose
Wednesday 28th of August 2013
thank you!! :)
Zen
Wednesday 17th of July 2013
Indeed! I also love the Elmo art... not exactly sure if they are just decor or masks.