Presley is 2!

I was determined to approach Presley's 2nd birthday with more organization and less stress, I did better than last year but I still have some work to do in that department. I get so many ideas in my head, I have the hardest time narrowing them down to a reasonable amount that I can work with. I did decide early on in the planning process that she was having a Sesame Street party.That eventually evolved into a pink, red & orange polka dot strictly Elmo party. One of these days I might get burned out and turn into one of these moms that goes into Party City and grabs some character plates and balloons and calls it good, but this birthday, was not that day. I think at some point I even made an attempt to be that mom, because somehow I managed to spend several hundred dollars in Party City, for items that I either didn't use at all, or modified so far from their orginial state I should have just crafted them myself from the beginning. Ok, enough with my rambling, Happy 2nd Birthday to the light of my life, I hope you celebrate every birthday as much as you did this one!

The birthday girl with her sign her Dad made. I found her perfect birthday dress (along wih matching ballet flats and hair bow) at my favorite children's clothing store Janie and Jack. The happy birthday banner was part of the party pack I got from Dazzle Expressions. Balloons are from  Sweet Shop Lulu.

My blog post about her 1st Birthday party probably isn't as detailed as this one, but my blog was technically created after that birthday party and I went back and did that post later on. So with her 2nd birthday, I will start from the beginning.

The Invitations

I think the invites really set the tone for a party, so they have always been one of the most important details to me. This year I used Pinterest for inspiration and ended up going to Etsy to have them designed exactly as I pictured them. Renee with Dazzle Expressions was a dream to work with. She handled all my changes and specifications so well. The turnaround time is a little slower than I like, but I think she does clearly state that she has a 24 hour turnaround, plus I am the most impatient person on Earth. After getting my designs back from Renee, I just had to find a place to print my invites and that place just had to have pearl shimmer cardstock. Luckily while searching endlessly for a print shop with no minimums and the specific type of paper and finishing options I wanted, I found CatPrint. They have NO MINIMUMS and their prices are cheaper than I could have printed a pre-made invite on a site such as Tiny Prints! Don't get me wrong, I love Tiny Prints (see my November 2013 blog post) but when you already have a jpeg or adobe file, it's nearly impossible to find a printer!

Front

 

Back

 

The finished invite

I used UniqueScrapDesigns for the "peeking Elmo" address labels (which I had customized to match my colors) and I thought they turned out so cute and saved me a ton of time on addressing each envelope. I chose to add envelopes at CatPrint and the white shimmer envelopes went perfect with the paper I had chosen. I realize most people don't put the thought into invitations that I do, but this is a keepsake that will forever remain in her scrapbook, so it is very important to me.

The Party Details

Saw this idea on Pinterest and decided it would make a quick easy centerpiece.

 

I purchased these adorable Elmo cups from Signature Avenue on Etsy.

Red Kool-Aid made a great drink for my Elmo face drink container!

 

Personalized water bottle labels designed by Chickabug. 

The party pack I had customized from Dazzle Expressions included food tent cards.

Saw the Elmo face pom poms on Pinterest and decided to give them a try for some added decoration.

I picked up the hanging Elmo decorations from Party City before I decided to go with the polka dot Elmo theme, so this was just my effort to put those to some use.

More of my Party City purchase, the balloons entertained the toddlers, if nothing else.

I was so worried about the 3D Elmo looking like an actual Elmo, that I forgot to put dowel rods in top tier so Elmo didn't collapse my cake, it was too late at this point so the sticks are just holding him up long enough to get a pic.

I wouldn't get anything accomplished without my Mom helping me put all of my ideas together!

Edd & I with the Presley Street sign. We used the tutorial from My Simple Obsession for the sign. My outift details, Paige Manhattan baby boot (similar), Michael Kors Carla platform sandals, Michael Kors belt, Premier Designs bracelet, blouse from TJ Maxx.

Elmo's goldfish (with a number 2 candle for decoration)

Thank goodness Auntie Kim & Uncle Jason decided to go with a conventional gift this year, a pretend grill, which was by far her favortie gift!

Picks her nose when she gets tired of photos

Yep, photo cooperation is over!

Since we live in a rural area there aren't many party rental companies so I ended up purchased the Elmo costume on ebay. He was a little pricey but comparable with the cost of renting that I saw online.

The Birthday girl was not as thrilled that Elmo came to her party as I thought she would be.

 

For favors I put goldfish crackers in baggies and used a topper designed by Chickabug that I printed on card stock. A quick, inexpensive favor for guests to take home!

 

She enjoyed her cake and I guess that's all that matters!

 

Wedding weekend

They say it's good luck if it rains on your wedding day, right? Well either way, we had Edd's cousin Brad's wedding this weekend and it was a cold rainy weekend. The weather definitely put a damper on the outfit I had originially picked out so I made a quick change and ended up wearing a dress that I had bought a Ross over a year ago for around $20. Sometimes those last minute changes made the best outfits!

The Rehearsal Dinner

At the rehearsal dinner with the happy couple!

I was so happy to find this gorgeous Steve Madden infinity scarf at TJ Maxx, I thoought this made the perfect fall transition outfit! My leaf bracelet is a favorite Lia Sophia piece I wear all the time. The ring  was Erica Lyons, I picked this up on clearance at Belk! Jeans are Paige skyline straight that I rolled up and cuffed to go with sandals. Tank top is a boyfriend tank from AE.

We had so much fun!

The Wedding

My necklace was just something I picked up at Belk and I can't remember the brand. Presley's outfit came from my go to children's clothing store Janie and Jack.

 My twinsie at the wedding. Lace dresses are so in right now! My shoes are Nine West and I've had them for years.

 

How cute is she in the pillbox hat headband!

Picking her nose, picture time is officially over!

 

Congrats to Brad & Leia Truman!

 

 

Courtney's Baby Shower

I co-hosted a baby shower for my friend Courtney at the Historic Bank Lobby in downtown Bluefield, WV. It was a perfect summer day to celebrate the upcoming arrival of Baby River Thomas! Myself and my co-host Shonnie did the food ourselves since it was a small gathering. Take a look and email if you have any questions about the details. Hobby Lobby was my go to store for the decorations and as always, I wouldn't have been able to pull off any of this without my Mom's help! She helps bring all of my ideas together!
 


I got this idea from Pinterest and thought it added a nice touch! I got the elephant box and the white frame at Hobby Lobby. The invites and the sign were designed and printed by a local business and my co-host Shonnie was in charge of the invites. I'll have to see if I can find a photo, they turned out so nice!

 


I purchased the white chair covers and the light blue chair sashes from eFavorMart.com.
 

 

 

Renee McMillion of Renee's Cakes and Things did a wonderful job on the 3 tier cake!

 

 Me with Courtney & my co-host Shonnie.

We did lemonade and sweet tea, in addition to a champagne punch. 

I picked up these adorable little wooden elephants at Hobby Lobby. 

We used tulle and glass jars with a pretty decorative ribbon as centerpieces, with bags of circus peanuts surrounding them. I got adorable elephants cupcake toothpicks at Hobby Lobby and my Mom trimmed off the toothpick and glued the elephants to white treat bags. We scalloped the edges of the bags with a pair of scrap booking scissors. 

 

I made a homemade chicken salad and put it on Hawaiian sweet rolls, it was delicious! 

 

How cute is the elephant cheese ball our local Food City made?! 

Veggie tray 

A closeup of the cake. 

I put animal crackers in clear treat bags and tied with a decorative ribbon from Hobby Lobby. I used Avery tags printed on my home printer to personalize the favors.