Tag Archives: circus party

two!!!

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laura's birthday

Today my baby is two years old! I can hardly believe it. Lulu is still such a peanut that she still seems like a little baby to me, and as my last she probably will always seem that way.

We had her party on Sunday afternoon and I think it went well. Although it was quite hot, the deck was comfortable with the umbrellas and the breeze from the woods. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and honestly prep was super easy. Here are a few photos of the way everything turned out.

laura's birthday

We have a tremendous amount of Cub Scout popcorn that we need to eat before sales start again in the fall (argh!), so I decided to give bags away as favors. Why not, right? I made tags that said “Thanks for popping in!” which Drew thought was cheesy, but I didn’t care.

laura's birthday

I kept the favors for the kids really simple. I wanted to avoid giving candy, and didn’t want to unload more junk on the other kids’ parents, so I put a silly straw, a clown nose, and a box of animal crackers inside a plastic popcorn box. Even though it didn’t seem like much, the kids all thought they were great.

laura's birthday

I ended up hanging my banner on the hutch so there was some kind of decoration around the food table. I found a red and white checkered table cloth at Christmas Tree Shops (it was a steal!), so I used that and then I actually had an old light blue valance that I added toward the front of the table because it had a pretty scalloped edge.

Cooking the hot dogs in the Crock Pot was the perfect solution. They tasted great, I didn’t have to turn on the grill, and they were all ready at the same time. We ended up grilling an extra London Broil the night before, just to have a “grown up” option on the table. The popcorn looked adorable in the vintage-style bags I’d purchased and I arranged them all in a vintage picnic basket Drew’s aunt gave me years ago. Most people took a bag for the ride home instead of eating it with their meal.

I never did make the antipasto skewers for appetizers. I just served chips and salsa and bruschetta with baguette slices I toasted myself.

laura's birthday

I was so pleased with the cake bunting! I’d seen several variations on Pinterest and was afraid that just one row wouldn’t be enough. But I think it was perfect. This was easy to do with ribbon. I know I promised a tutorial and I have not forgotten!

The red, white, and blue fit in well with Memorial Day weekend, too — an added bonus!

red and blue vintage circus bunting tutorial (sort of)

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fabric bunting

Yesterday I completed the one project I wasn’t sure I’d complete in time for Laura’s birthday party — a fabric pennant/bunting/whatever you want to call it. These have been all over the web for a while now, and on my “to do” list since spring. I kind of made up the instructions as I went along. All I knew was it had to meet these requirements:

  • Easy to do. I do not have the time right now to be all fussy with things like this.
  • Look old and vintage-y. Fraying? No problem. Uneven lines? Hey, that’s okay! It just makes it look more handmade.
  • Be multi-purpose. I need to use this for more than just one event.

So, the color scheme I’m using, as you know, is turquoise and red. Well, it’s lapsed into various shades of blue and red which is perfect since the party is also Memorial Day weekend. I will be able to use this bunting for years on the 4th of July as well, so I will definitely get a lot of use out of it.

First, I chose my fabrics. I just bought a bunch of fat quarters in patterns that I liked. Then I ironed them flat, then folded each in half the long way (with right sides facing each other) and ironed it again. I used this template from Cicada Daydream to trace triangles on the wrong side of the fabric. Because I wasn’t going to be turning my triangles inside-out, I cut out my triangle pattern on the dotted (sew) line. I used pinking shears because I like that look. It looks old. It also makes me think of my grandmother 🙂 Then, I sewed a straight stitch around the two long sides of each triangle. I didn’t go across the top.

fabric bunting

Then I took some navy blue bias tape that I had in my stash, snugged a triangle up inside, and sewed it. Repeat until you run out of triangles or the bunting is as long as you want it. And let me warn you: if you decide to have a little glass of Tia Maria and milk while you sew up your second bunting, chances are you will mess up a few triangles and then your husband will ask why you’re cursing so much. 😉

In hindsight, a smarter thing to do would have been to take fabric glue (personally, I like Fabri-Tac) and glue each triangle into place on the bias tape, and then sew one single line across. It would look a lot neater and save some time. But I’m still happy with the way this came out. I’ll be sure to take a photo of it “in action” at the party on Sunday!

circus party prep (with resources)

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balloon wreath

Lulu’s 2nd birthday is quickly approaching and I am frantically trying to finish up all the prep for decorations and planning. I thought I’d share some of the things I’ve gathered so far. First, as shown above, I couldn’t resist making a balloon wreath. They were all over Pinterest and are so easy to make. You can find tutorials at How Does She and Two More Seconds. I’d like to add my two cents: this is a fun, inexpensive, and quick project. I completed in in under an hour. However, I would highly recommend using a thimble to push those floral picks into the wreath form. I did not and my finger was still hurting the next day. Total cost was under $7. I purchased the balloons at Dollar Tree (three packages) and the wreath form and picks at Hobby Lobby. They were much cheaper than Walmart or Michael’s.

On to lunch! I’ve finalized the menu and I’m keeping it super-simple and kid-friendly: hot dogs (I’ll use my large slow cooker to steam them since I have to make a few packages), mac & cheese, fruit salad, popcorn, and oriental cole slaw. For appetizers I’m planning on making antipasto skewers (not circusy, I know, but I can only have so much junky food) and a veggie tray. Beverages will be water, soda, lemonade, and double-berry sangria (obviously for the grown-ups, and a recipe I have yet to put together). I found these great popcorn bags to use! You can find them all over Etsy (overpriced, honestly). After extensive searching, the best price I could find for a reasonable number was from eBay member “frozendrinks.” It cost $5.65 (free shipping) for 50 bags.

circus party prep

circus party prep

As for the cake… yikes, I’m still deciding what flavor! I will probably do a white layer cake with strawberry filling and white icing. If I can’t find blue and white sprinkles, I’ll use blue and white M&Ms around the outer edge of the cake. Maybe (maybe) I’ll use some licorice whips to make a scalloped pattern along the sides. We’ll see about that. And since I am not a great cake decorator by any means, I’m not trying to make a design on the top of the cake, or even write “Happy Birthday.” Instead, I made a bunting that I will attach to skewers. This was another quick and easy project (also no-sew!). I used ribbon from my stash, fabric glue, and baker’s twine. I’m putting together a tutorial, but I’m sure you can easily figure it out yourself.

circus party prep

Finally… favors. As most people who plan a circus party do, I’m using popcorn containers from Target’s Dollar Spot to hold the goodies. I also have clown noses (purchased from eBay member lookwhatabargain for $5.99/dozen (free shipping)) and animal crackers ($1/box at Walmart). I need to figure out one or two more items.

circus party prep

circus party prep

circus party prep

I still hope to sew a fabric bunting to decorate the food table, but if I don’t get to it… I won’t beat myself up about it. Red and light blue streamers will suffice. I think things are coming together well, and I just hope that it doesn’t rain on the party day!

step right up!

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I’ve always loved circus imagery. There’s something magical about the acrobats, the big top, even the creepy clowns. So as I was trying to plan Lulu’s 2nd birthday party, somehow I came upon some circus party ideas and decided that this was the theme for the day!

Luckily, my little peanut prefers that I hold and rock her while she naps, so that leaves me with a solid hour and a half of surfing time when I can research ideas. Already my inspiration file is full! I think this just might be both the prettiest and the easiest party I’ve ever pulled off (aside from our wedding). The food will be simple and reminiscent of the circus of course: hot dogs, peanuts, popcorn. I’ll add fruit salad and a nice veggie tray so there’s something at least a little healthy. The color scheme will be red and light blue (I prefer the vintage look to the crazy bright colors). And this gives me the opportunity to finally sewing some pennants! I’ll use them as party decorations and then I can hang them in Lulu’s room (as I’d originally planned to do).

I’m early in the planning stages, so you can come along for the ride. I’ll be sharing photos, links, and ideas as I come up with them. Circus and carnival parties seems to be quite popular now, and why wouldn’t they be? It’s such a fun, happy way to celebrate!