Ok, isn’t she the cutest?!

For Part II of my Circus Birthday Party I wanted to share some of the details. As a backdrop for the party space, I created a flag banner which read “Taylor” and was accented by animals and the number “1″. Each piece was trimmed to a triangle shape and then strung together with coordinating ribbon. The rest of the decorations included cupcake toppers and small food signs.

At the “kids” table, there were party hats for them to wear and favor bags for each to take home. Initially I tried to make my own cone hats, but it turned out to be more challenging than expected… As a quick solution I purchased colored hats at my local party supply store, then attached paper circles with animals to the fronts. HUGE time saver! I kept the favor bags simple by filling clear acetate bags with animal crackers and attaching a custom label with ribbon.

It was so much fun creating all of these pieces! I am looking forward to next year’s birthday party!

Hello Twig & Thistle readers! I am SO excited to be guest blogging this week! It is truly an honor to be here. Thank you to Kathleen for this opportunity to share (what I hope will be!) some interesting and inspirational projects. I will try hard not to disappoint!

The first project I wanted to share is Part I of a birthday party I recently designed. My niece turned the 1 this past July 4th, and I was lucky enough to design everything for the big day! She LOVES animals, so I thought it would be fun to create a circus theme for the party.

I printed the invites myself, saving a little bit of money by printing part of the invite (the blue) on my home inkjet printer and then letterpressing over the top (the purple). It was bit tricky lining everything up, but it all came together perfectly! I paired the invite with a simple purple envelope which I lined with coordinating striped paper.

Along with the invites I created decorations, party favors and even party hats! Be sure to check back tomorrow; I’ll be sharing more photos and even one of the birthday girl!

I’m back today with a few more photos from my husband’s 3oth Birthday Surprise. Sadly I was so busy the day of the event that I wasn’t able to snap any pictures of the party but I was able to shoot some of the details afterwards. I really went all out with the decorations too so I’m bummed that I don’t have any pics to share.

To coordinate with the “meat tooth” theme, I made meat inspired buttons that people could wear as they saw fit. It was a nice ice breaker for people that didn’t know each other and a fun token from the party. We can all use a little flare now and then!

I knew that people would be dressing up, so I wanted to make sure Tula was properly accessorized . I’d seen this tutorial in Martha Stewart Weddings on how to make flowers from silk and tulle so I sewed one and attached it to a matching homemade dog collar. Tula was quite the trooper and looked perfectly adorable in her oversized corsage!

(*Note: all addresses have been modified)

I am so excited to finally be able to share a project that I recently finished! My husband just celebrated his 30th birthday and I’ve been busy planning a surprise party for the last few months in honor of his special day. He has what I like to call a “meat tooth” so I ran with it and created the invitations with a subtle carnivorous theme.

I’ve been wanting to use the faux bois paper from the GMUND Savanna line for some time and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. I letterpressed the invitations with white ink and printed the RSVP’s digitally. The RSVP arrows were also printed digitally and then run through a Xyron to make into stickers, I then post applied each one by hand for a layered effect. The envelopes were made from folded craft paper that was cut down to size. I wanted the addresses to look like a stamp so each recipient’s address was printed individually. I then folded the envelopes to resemble meat packaged from the market and sealed shut with meat stickers which were generously given to my by my local grocery store.

The invites proved to be a ton of work but I’m thrilled with how they turned out and it was definitely worth it for my amazing husband. I was quite the sneak letterpressing while he was gone on business and “staying late at work” to put together each of the invites. We had over 50 guests for the event and he was completely surprised. I’ve got more details to share, including favors, so be sure to check back tomorrow!

If you follow me on twitter you may have already seen me rave over today’s post but this party is just too sweet not to share! Sofia, of Brancoprata, had the sweetest birthday ever and every last detail is to die for! I just love the unusual color combination along with the perfectly sweet arrangement and stationary designed by the birthday girl herself. And there are no words for how fabulous that cake by Bolos por Gosto is! Happy, HAPPY belated birthday to my blog friend Sophia!

If you’re looking for that little detail to make your 4th of July event perfect, Martha Stewart obviously has you covered. The magazine has generated a ton of ideas over the years and here are a few of my favorites. All of them are just impeccably done and would make a fine addition to any party.

1.4th of July Invitations 2.Berry Cupcakes 3.American Flag Tart 4.Patriotic Ice Cream Wrapper 5.Stars & Stripes Paper Cones

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend, holiday or not! I’ll be taking an extra few days to enjoy the long weekend with friends and family and I’ll see you back here next week. xoxo

I did these last year but I really wanted to share them with my newer readers. I love how the project turned out and they would make the perfect compliment to yesterday’s DIY. For full instructions, check out the original post. You’ll find everything you need to make your own sparkler cards, matchbook wrappers and straw tags, including printable templates!

Hello Hanna has managed to develop yet another completely adorable product! These mini paper cake stands would be a wonderful accessory to a cupcake party and I can imagine could make some pretty clever centerpieces.

Perfect right out of the box or ready for pretty embellishments; either way, I love the idea and can’t wait to incorporate them into an event. Sold in sets of six and available for purchase on the Hello Hanna site.

To complete the week of all things baby I thought I’d share this baby shower I recently came across on Imprintables. I literally had to pick my jaw up from the floor when I saw these photographs. Every last detail was thought out and executed beautifully. I adore how even the food coordinates perfectly with the pale pink, apricot and dusty green color palette.

Romi, the creator of Bo Peep Productions, created this entire gorgeous shower. From the cookie mix favors, to the baby quiz and the delicious looking food, I’m sure this was a memorable event. What a very lucky mom-to-be! See all the amazing images and the rest of the details on Imprintables here.

We went down to Portland last weekend to celebrate our nephew Cole’s second birthday. The party was a cowboy theme and Cole’s parents, Mark-o and Johanna, put a ton of work into the details. From the food (mmmm corn bread!) to decorations it was an adorable event. They really went all out and above are just a few of my favorite details from the day. Happy Birthday to Cole and have a great weekend everyone, see you Monday!