{The Dress}
I found this adorable dress via Zulily (a fabulous kids designer sample sale site - invite here) and it set the tone for all of her "Butterfly Princess" wishes. It lasted a mere 10 minutes before it was whipped off and replaced by her yellow butterfly bikini though!
{The Decorations}
I scored these fun paper lanterns at Target, that I hung up with invisible wire to add a little color to the outdoor space... (Not pictured were matching napkins and plates. We hung these in her room after the party and she loves it!)
{The Activities}
I collected green and pink sand buckets that I labeled for each mini guest in permanent marker. It was so fun to watch them search out their names.
I also managed to find butterfly fairy wings at Target for around $2 each, a much better option than trying to make them myself. The munchkins were encouraged to put on some wings and join in on an obstacle course in the sand!
I could not get over how adorable the kiddos looked fluttering around by the water. Even the little guys played along.
Snacks and refreshments included mini butterfly sandwiches (a simple cookie cutter will do) and pirate's booty butterfly snack bags (pictured in this post here.)
{The Cake}
I had originally planned to bake the cake, but decided to give my (pregnant) self a break, and buy a sheet cake that would feed the crowd. (For the record, the guest list was bigger than our wedding. Yes, we had a tiny destination venue of 40 people, but still.)
I decided to order the cake with plain icing so I could paint the butterfly design on myself. I found a super simple tip (online here) to keep it from becoming a free-hand disaster!
- Search online for the clip art that you want.
- Enlarge it into a Word document for the sizing you need, depending on the cake. Print it out.
- Get decorative black gel icing (found in most supermarkets) and trace the image on the actual sheet of paper.
- Once the outline is complete, turn the paper over onto the cake and press down lightly.
- When you remove the paper, the image will appear in black icing on the cake.
- Fill in the lines with colored icing and decorate with candy goodies! All done!
The party was such a whirlwind, that I didn't get a chance to photograph it all! But it was a lovely day with lovely people, celebrating the little love of my life, and I simply could not have accomplished everything without the help of my beautiful sis, Lisa, Stella's wonderful Godmother, Annabel, good ol' gramps and my amazing hubs. You know what they say... "it takes a village" and I'm lucky to have you guys.
Happy birthday, baby girl. xx
See Stella's 1st birthday party
&
Stella's 2nd birthday party
