. . . for Lauren and Lauren: Polka Dot Birthday Party

July 23, 2014

Polka Dot Birthday Party

polka dot birthday party

I really enjoyed planning Addilyn's party and had so much fun making things for it.  I did so much of it slowly the last two months, which made it not stressful.  By far my favorite part of her party was the little dessert table and backdrop that I did.  

polka dot birthday party

I made the tablecloth using this tutorial.  It was pretty easy and I love that I can use it again.  I found the white tablecloth on sale at Target for $8.  I bought five different paint colors, but you of course could use however many you wanted.  

For the background I had planned on cutting out a million circles, which would have been so dumb.  I thankfully found one of those huge hand punch things at Micheals, that was only $7 thanks to a 50% off coupon and SO worth it.  I just sewed them together and it really didn't take too long.  I think I cut out all the circles in less than an hour, and it didn't take more than a half hour to sew them.  I bought two packages of card stock for less than $10 and used that for all the things I made.  It was great because it was cheap and everything matched.  

I printed out Addilyn's monthly pictures, used the cardstock for backing and glued them to a ribbon to make a little banner.  Details about Addilyn's cute chalkboard print can be found here and was done by Erica at Inspired by Above.

birthday photo banner

I loved the cupcake toppers.  Chris helped me edit the picture using photoshop.  I printed them on cardstock and cut them out using little scissors, then taped them onto candy sticks.  I made the cupcakes using a box mix, but did make the frosting myself.  It was my first time using those pastry decorating bags and it really wasn't that hard.  

cupcake toppers
 face cupcake toppers

I'll have to do a post sharing more pictures about this, because I love it.  I had guests write in the board book "Guess How Much I Love You," just like we had them do when Addilyn was first born using the book "On the Night you were Born."  It will be so sweet to have that to read over and over.  


Dessert popcorn.  So good and easy.  I wanted polka dot cups but couldn't find any so I bought a package of little white circle stickers for a dollar, plus cute sticker/tags that I wrote on for the center of the cups.

birthday popcorn

 Most of our party was outside and thankfully it was a beautiful day.  I'm not sure what we would've done if it rained.  I had a few decorations for our outside.  I bought two sets of these pinwheel and puff balls on clearance for a $1 at JCPenney a long time ago and they worked perfect.  I had a little bit of the polka dot banner left to hang from the deck, plus a few balloons we had filled.  (Don't mind the crying, pantless baby.)

birthday chalkboard
Addilyn's outfit details here

A friend made that chalkboard for me for one of my baby showers and it was perfect for her party.  I don't have a good picture once the food got here but I found these little chalkboard clips for cheap at Michaels that I wrote what each dish was.  (Thankfully Chris' aunts all brought a side, and we bought Italian beef and there was plenty of food!)  

I did not want to be responsible for making Addilyn's cake and happily found a perfect one at Jewel for $7.  They had a polka design and I just picked the frosting colors and it matched perfectly.  I made her little banner by cutting out triangles, writing letters with a Sharpie and sewing it together with my sewing machine. I loved it! 

The little banner on her high chair was made with cardstock.  I cut out the letters and glued them on with a glue gun because the paper was so thick.  I used a glue gun to glue the ribbon on too.  


I was really happy with how everything turned out and how the party went.  It was fun, but I'm pretty sure we won't be doing another big birthday party for many, many years!!  I still have so many pictures to go through, so expect another blog post of party pictures!


Image Map




31 comments:

Simply LKJ said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

What a sweet party! You did such a fabulous job with all the decorations. My girls always preferred homemade rather than store bought themed decorations. Love the idea of everyone signing a book for her.

Sarah said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Awww, such a fantastic job! Love the circle theme. Good for you for doing stuff over the last couple of months, I always find myself the week before staying up super late! I always tell myself I won't, but always do anyway...oh well!

Allison said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Oh my gosh Katie...so cute!!! You did such a fantastic job with all your projects!!! I love the cupcake toppers...too cute for words. I can't believe she's ONE!

Sybil@PeaceitallTogether said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

So many great pictures! And, I love the theme, of course...polka dots are a favorite of mine :) It is so hard to believe that she is one already!!

Susannah said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Awwwwww.... What an adorably cute party!!! :-)

Cori @ Everyday Enchanted said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

She's so cute! Looks like the party was a success. You did great!

Rebecca @ Mommy in Heels said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Oh my gosh this is perfect!! Every little detail is so great! She is one lucky little girl :) (and that popcorn looks delicious!)

Erica Diaz said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Everything turned out so beautiful!!!! I love the theme you went with and the colors!!!! I especially love your patio furniture!!!! Congrats and great job!!!!

Lindsay @ Pursuit of Pink said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

The party looked great!!! I love all of your decor. Happy Birthday to your sweet girl. XOXO

Kristin said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

I love your outdoor decorations! Her cake looks reallllly good. Did you steal a bite from her? :)

Kelly said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

This is absolutely adorable!

xx Kelly
Sparkles and Shoes

eliz said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

hahaha I LOOVE the picture cupcake sticks of her...oh man toooo cute!! Birthday planning is so fun and overwhelming but you did a wonderful job!!

Jennifer @ Delightfully Noted said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

So cute! The table cloth and cupcake toppers are my favorite, plus that was so clever what you did with the polka dot cups. I would have never thought of just putting stickers on! Duh! Glad she had a wonderful party (in other news...I love your patio furniture, where is it from?!)

two birds said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

You are putting all other moms to shame! I love how it all turned out!

Erin LFF said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Too cute! Love all the polka dots-- we incorporated those into our wedding so I have soft spot for 'em ;)

Niki {Glossy Blonde} said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

You did such a great job with the party!! I love all the decor and Addilyn looks so cute!

Sarah said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

So cute! I love the polka dots!

Liz said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

LOVE it all!! You've got talent my friend!!

Mrs Gray said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

So cute! Those cupcake toppers--I die. Polka dots are so fun! Great job!

#mommylife said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Her party turned out so cute! Love all the decorations!!

Leslie Germain said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Adorable!!! Love the cupcake toppers and the monthly banner!! Happy birthday to your little girl! great pictures!!!

J and A said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

I love it all. I can't even!! Those cupcake toppers!!?? Awe! Love. Great job Katie!!

Angie said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Amazing job lady. Everything looked precious, especially those cupcake toppers :)

Laura said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

What a cute party! Your decorations are adorable!! You really went all out for her 1st birthday - Addilyn will love looking back at these pictures one day :)

Chelsea Olivia said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

You did such a great job on the party! It looks so cute. And the cupcake toppers, hilarious! I love them! She is just adorable.

Anonymous said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Looks like it was a great party!
Love the colors & decorations!

She is just too precious!

Jessica said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Found some of your pins on Pinterest. This was such a cute birthday celebration! What a blessed little girl! What program did you use to edit the photos of your daughter for her monthly pictures?

Katie said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

@Jessica
Thank you so much Jessica!! I used picasa and just cropped them and added text!

Jessica said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Hi Katie...did you receive my question I asked you earlier this week?

Jessica said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

Maybe I didn't hit publish. Would you be willing to create a pdf of my son's face like you did for your sweet pea? I would love to compensate you for your time and effort!

Katie said... Best Blogger TipsBest Blogger Templates

@Jessica
Hi Jessica!! I tried to reply to your comment via email but you must have your profile sent to noreply so I'm not sure if you'll get it! I'd be happy to! Can you send me an email at katiejvale@yahoo.com? Thanks :)