ivy's first birthday: invites, hats & birds

finally! the details of ivy's party are put to paper (or post). it was the most fun party and i am sad it's come and gone. but oh so thankful for the healthy, beautiful, sweetest baby of whom it was all about! and i get to be with her everyday, so how sad can i really be?

we decided to have a little bird themed party for ivy's first birthday.

once that idea was chosen, it was a lot of fun taking off with it. i think this was my first party to host and plan, and i enjoyed it so (with the help of my wondrous mom).

the invitations:

i worked with hayley hardcastle out of galveston, and she did a perfect job. i enjoyed the process of helping to create it, and love the way they turned out. thanks hayley!
{stamps i made at http://www.zazzle.com/}

the party hats:
remember how we've been at the ranch a lot lately? well, i turned the big ole dining table at the lodge into my personal craft workspace. i've always wanted an "office" and i probably liked it a little too much. (i was pretty territorial of it, took "lunch breaks" and answered my cell as if i were answering important business calls. i basically dreamed like i was in a cubicle. it was a blast.) so anyway, i really, really loved making these hats. it was probably my favorite thing i did for the party, and they were simple to do. it was time-consuming, but thankfully ivy takes really long naps. and seeing everyone wear one made it worth it.




the craft:
mom insisted we have some type of game or craft for guests to do. at first the idea seemed cheesy - egg toss? pin the feather on the bird? - but then we came up with a simple idea to have guests decorate a bird for ivy to keep and remember her first birthday by. a little note from everyone in the shape of a bird- sweet! we gathered supplies at michaels: colored pencils, ribbon, tiny buttons, scissors, multi-colored feathers, glue sticks etc. i printed out a bird template from the computer and cut out 40 birds from different colors of card stock. we spread it all out and deemed it the craft station. i was amazed by what people came up with! they turned out so pretty. we had everyone hang theirs up on the branches of our tree. it looked kinda magical.




{part 2 to follow.}