Mixed Prints Life

Pink & Grey Striped Birthday!

Welcome to Week 8 of Party Planning Showcase! 


Feel free to grab the button and play along! If you or someone you know has attended or planned a fabulous party, shoot me an email and I’d love to feature you in an upcoming Monday!

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You may remember my friend, Mindy, from our family photo shoot last fall. I met Mindy through our mutual friend, Christine. Mindy throws some of the CUTEST parties and comes up with the best ideas! Thanks for playing along, friend!
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What type of event did you plan/attend and for who?

I planned a pink & grey striped birthday party for my daughter Mia’s 2nd birthday. We invited ~30 adults and a dozen kids to a play café in the city.  

How far in advance did you begin planning and how did you decide on a theme?

I’m a planner and creative at heart, soooo the brainstorming started right after Mia’s first birthday ha! Just kidding, you can’t plan a theme too far in advance for kids because you never know what they might be in to by the time their birthdays come around. The actual shopping and crafting started about 2 months in advance. My design was inspired by paper goods from Social Butterfly Ink’s Spa Party. The theme was set by Mia’s love for her stuffed animals, most importantly Daisy!

Where did you get some of your ideas for the decor/food?

My go to party sites are Hostess with the Mostess, the Tomkat Studio, Kara’s Party Ideas and Amy Atlas. I bank my ideas on various pinterest boards and mix and match concepts to keep the styling fresh. I kept the décor very simple by incorporating the same elements throughout (pink, grey, stripes, and balloons).

I also kept the food simple {all home-made except for the cake} since the party was in-between meals (3-5pm) and I wanted the kids to enjoy the play area {where no food was allowed}.  Keeping both food and décor simple also keep costs down!

What was your favorite part of the party and/or party-planning process?

I loved how the invitation and cake designers did an amazing job re-creating Mia’s stuffed animal friends in paper and fondant forms! Mia knew right away who they were which made for a truly one of a kind party.

I also loved how Mia helped me with the decorations leading up to her party. She’s going to be a crafty little one like me and she talked about it for a while afterwards too J

What was your least favorite part?

I’m a party planner, so there wasn’t one! I love love love details and seeing it all come together.

With regards to a budget, did you set one and if so, do you think you stayed within it or went over?

Being a CPA, you’d think I’d have a budget to stay within. Rather than trying to stay under a target number, I recommend being smart about purchases, thinking outside the box, shopping early for deals and making very conscious decisions.

Decide where you want your money to go (extravagant décor, good food, elaborate giveaways, or expensive venue, etc). Last year I spent a lot on decor and food, but saved with a free venue {my sister in law’s house}. This year I splurged on the venue, but kept food and décor basic. I decorated this party for under $60 {balloons, wrapping paper, ribbon, washi tape, striped straws, and baker’s twine} – no joke!

Check out my full blog post here for full DIY decorating details and a listing of vendors. Thanks for having me Samantha!

Comments

  2. It’s all gorgeous, but I esp. love the balloons–they look so classy like that! Thanks for sharing–am planning my daughter’s 1 yr. and may have to steal some of these ideas!

    Reply

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