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Sunshine Party!

Description

We celebrated my daughter's 1st birthday with this orange and yellow sunshine party!  I incorporated several easy DIY decor (including the paper medallion backdrop) and  Etsy party dec0r pieces.

Design Inspiration

My Hazel really is a little sunshine so I thought that the theme was a perfect fit for my happy girl!  Also, her older sister had a rainbow party for her first birthday, so I must have a thing for throwing weather-related parties. ;)

Decorating Style

A mix of fun, fresh, and sophisticated, with lots of inexpensive, easy-to-do DIY elements incorporated.

Check out my blog at www.designimprovised.com for all the step-by-step tutorials on the party decor!

Project Details

We threw this sunshine party to celebrate my daughter Hazel's first birthday.  The party theme was just right for a warm summer afternoon, and Hazel really is a little sunshine so the theme was the perfect fit!  I wanted a party with lots of DIY and Etsy elements and I love the bright pops of orange and yellow throughout.  The DIY sunshine medallion wall was a big hit with the guests and really provided a stunning backdrop for the party table.   I think a sunshine party theme would work equally well for a baby shower or really any summertime gathering.  Here are the details on the different elements in case you want to throw your own:


The Party Dress:
Hazel was shining bright from head to toe, thanks to Etsy.  I got her cute batik sunshine onesie from Peace Baby! Batiks, and her yellow and white polka dot bow from Sweet & Chic Bowtique. I paired them with an orange tutu she already had.

The Cake:
I decorated a lemon angel food cake with these great midcentury sunshine party sticks scattered in varying heights (from Etsy seller Peppermint Party).  I also covered the party table in a bunch of the orange and yellow midcentury sun confetti.

The Medallion Wall:
Bye bye tissue poms, hello medallions! I love this chic new arrival to the party scene.  I think this would make a "wow" backdrop for all types of parties, a wedding photo booth, you name it.  It was a fun DIY project to make the medallions using a mix of craft papers.  In a nutshell, I made them by cutting a band of paper 5-10 inches wide and folding it accordion style (the size of the fold can vary between 1/4" - 1"). I repeated this 3 times (using the same width of paper and same size of accordion folds). I then used double-sided tape to connect the 3 folded bands of paper and make a big tube.  Then voila! - I laid the tube flat so it fanned out into a medallion and secured with some staples and covered it with a center circle of pretty paper.  I then mixed in a few store-bought yellow and orange tissue paper fans to add further variety to the textures and colors on the wall.

DIY Canvas Art:
I wanted to add a little graphic touch to the party table and made these canvases inexpensively and easily using just stencils and craft paint.  You could put any saying on them you would like.  It's a nice alternative to a birthday banner.

Food and Favors:
For a new twist on the fruit skewer I stood a piece of pineapple and cantaloupe upright with the sun party sticks.  I purchased some yellow striped favor bags from TomKat Studio, filled them with candy, and then affixed a little sun confetti (also from Peppermint Party) with a little double-sided tape.  In addition, I made some quick 'faux macaroons' by sandwiching some lemon buttercream between two vanilla wafers and rolling them in yellow sprinkles.

This party was really so bright and cheerful.  I kept the medallions up on our dining room wall for a week because they were too pretty to take down! 

The Vendor List:
Sunshine onesie: Peace Baby! Batiks (Etsy)
Yellow hairbow: Chic & Sweet Bowtique (Etsy)
Midcentury sun confetti and party sticks: Peppermint Party (Etsy)
Medallion polka dot paper: Paper Source
Medallion floral paper: Snow and Graham
Orange and yellow tissue paper medallions: Amazon.com
Canvases, stencils and craft paint: Joann
Favor bags: TomKat Studio

Favorite Items

The medallions / pinwheels that made for an eye-catching backdrop to the party table

Advice

Check out my blog at www.designimprovised.com for all the step-by-step tutorials on the party decor!

Vote: August Party Finalists

Friday 2nd of January 2015

[…] Sunshine Party! by haeley Beth, of Project Nursery, says, “This party makes a big impact with a simple dessert table. It’s such a lovely setup with paper medallions on the wall and suns scattered on the table. I love the color scheme too!” Click Here for More Photos and Details […]

Zen

Saturday 18th of August 2012

The colors are so cheery and sunshiny bright, they just put a smile to my face. And your little pumpkin looks so adorable!

Patti60622

Wednesday 15th of August 2012

I love the colors, creativity and the the way it all was put together! Good job!

paisley8

Wednesday 15th of August 2012

This party is so cute! I love the color palette and theme. This has inspired me to have an end of summer party and I'll be using all these great ideas!!!!! The birthday cake and fruit with the little decorative sticks are awesome!