Leah's Sunshine 1st Birthday Party {Part 2}

the PLACE

the home seemed the ideal choice...
a. no rental needed
b. familiar surrounding for our 1 yr old
c. most part of the house is child proof

in terms of practicality, it provided me with lots of flexibility eg i could shift the couch the other end... set up a corner for crawlers.

we didn't had any extravagant activity. i just whipped out our play toy cooking stove, car, wagon, lots of toys, balls to keep the little ones occupied.

the only down side - when u try fitting 30 people or so plus babies & crawlers & active toddlers, you can expect a little chaos.

the CLEANING & PACKING UP was a LOT of work but it's just a once in a year affair so i can get by with that {wink!}

the SPREAD

we're fortunate to have the kids' godma prepare the creamy pasta, golden nuggets & warm bread pudding.
i only needed to prepare the finger sandwiches. the mini beef pies & humble nasi lemak were ordered nearby our place.

got my aunt to help me make "watermelon balls". 
she had made them for our parties ever since we were little!

oh, and we had fresh cool homemade honey lemonade for drinks :) 

 

 

the PHOTOBOOTH

one of those things i constantly remind myself to do is to photographed the guests.

we often get lost in our conversations with one another tt we normally forget to take photographs

so i set up a small corner ie photobooth with some fun DIY props that suited the day eg pacifiers, bug teeth & a few other random funny stuff.

up to your creativity & imagination. we had a few good laughs :D

leave sweet notes for the birthday girl

gem biscuits available in assorted colors.

i picked out those in the theme colors, packed them into individual packs 

& attach it with a matching craft paper.

 lollipops were wrapped in remnant fabrics i have in my stash & tied with ribbons.

DIY party hats which got me all panda-eyed trying to finish them off the night before!

ms sunshine having her very first bite at a cake

we LOVED the rainbow cake!! i mean LOVE LOVE LOVE!
BLESSED 1st BIRTHDAY LEAH!

i wanted to make a million of other things but reminded myself not to get so wrapped up in making things "pretty" that i forget to enjoy the important thing & HAVE FUN!

thanks Jean for capturing wonderful memories for us to recall long after the party has ended.
thanks Michelle for the awesome cake!

ps: if you like the DIY stuff you see featured here for your own party, you can get them here.
if you like some tutorials on the party props or diy hats, feel free to email me at babylicious.info@gmail.com

Leah's Sunshine 1st Birthday Party {Part 1}

i have a sweet spot for handmade birthday parties.

i grew up loving paper stationery & pretty things.

so i naturally gravitate making inexpensive decor from papers & ordinary craft materials.

most mommas would echo that first birthdays would hardly be remembered by your babe.

i don't know to what extent their memory bank can trace as far back, but heck, birthdays are an incredible excuse to CELEBRATE the people who mean the world to you!

here's a little SNEAK peak of the party.

where it all started...

the making of the invite

the THEME

i wanted something personal, a theme that reflected how her life has been such a blessing to us.
her cheerful disposition never fails to brighten our day.

we've been singing, you are my sunshine, my only sunshine, u make me happy when skies are gray..

we sing it so often that the tune has stuck onto luke's head that he naturally sings it to his baby sister every now & then.

how to illustrate & combine them all the elements together?

the color YELLOW has been popping up in my head quite a bit of late.

immediately i thought of sunshine + lemons & i knew i definitely wanted to incorporate this into the party.

i tried not to get into an overdose of yellow so i paired it up with PINK (and must say they made a great pair :)

leah's handmade party hat

(tutorial will be shared soon)

the DECOR

little details goes a long way

 milk milk (personalized name tags)

 we often get lost in our conversations with one another that 

we normally forget to take photographs

so i prepared a small corner ie photobooth + fun props 

(more of this in Part 2)

 got this precious moment birthday figurine from hubby for my birthday many moons ago 

& thought it would double up as a good cake topper

leave sweet notes or words of wisdom for the birthday girl

oh... and ms little sunshine made her debut on leah's birthday 
to shower us with some HAPPY VIBES =)
commissioned this from Crumbs & she happily obliged!

Babylicious' Party in a Box - the sunshine package

if you love small details like these but lack time or passion to put it together,

BABYLICIOUS PARTY IN A BOX 

would be just the thing for you :)

{launching in store soon}

ps: stay tuned for Part 2 of Leah's Sunshine Party...