Dessert Meets Design: Sweet Birdie Birthday Party and Dessert Table

You know I L-O-V-E a good party, but I was determined not to go overboard planning, decorating, and designing stuff for my girl's third birthday. So, instead of inviting over a million of her tiny friends or renting out a bounce house venue, I temporarily converted my office into the perfect party spot for her birthday party. Her only request was that her closest little friends and a cake be in attendance at her soiree, which photog Sydnee Bickett captured beautifully. 

After I designed the hexagon and faux bois invites and found a great cake recipe, I planned a bash that was full of bright, spring-y colors offset by lots of white and gold accents. I created DIY faux bois color block placemats to bring color and warmth to my white desk for the girls to dine in style. 

Along with sliders, powdered donuts, and popcorn, the girls devoured vanilla ice cream and my strawberry cake. I customized labels with each girl's name to decorate the paper ice cream cups from Sweet Party Shop. I also designed faux bois labels for the milk bottles to add a natural element to the all-white room. Land of Nod's birdie garland and cupcake kit added a bit of whimsy to the dessert table that really kicked up the color a notch. 

The birdie garland also added a fun touch to the faux bois backdrop I made for the photo booth. Lila smiled happily with her sister and friends as she wore the a DIY starburst birthday crown I made for her. Sydnee even managed to snap a picture of us all smiling, which is basically a small miracle.

Credits

party concept, styling, and dessert table: Shauna Younge

images: Sydnee Bickett

birdie garland and cupcake kit: Land of Nod

ice cream cups: Sweet Party Shop
my projects: DIY starburst birthday crown and DIY faux bois color block placemats

Kiddo's Retro Modern Birthday and Dessert Table

Whew! Kiddo's 6th birthday has come and gone. Now that I'm rested up from all that designing, planning, and crafting, it's the perfect time to share some pics and projects. You know me, I had to DIY some cute stuff and design a dessert table to customize her bash, but I didn't want to spend a lot of money. So, I created an inexpensive photo booth backdrop, a retro modern dessert table backdrop, some milk bottles, and a colorful dance floor for breakdancing.

The fab Sydnee Bickett captured all of the lovely details, and I'm sharing tutorials for the projects on Momtastic. I also give my 5 Tips to Makeover a Bland Birthday Venue, which helped us save some money. Check that out, and be sure to swing by to learn to make your own:

DIY Retro Diamond Paper Plate Backdrop
DIY Number Outline Birthday Photo Backdrop
DIY Retro Diamond Color Block Bottles

These little diamond color block milk bottles were another easy, inexpensive DIY. I wrote up the tutorial for Momtastic. Swing by for the how-to.

 

Last year, I made a little cake for her. This year, we had a million (read: 14) kids in attendance, so cupcakes seemed like a more manageable option.

This giant number 6 photo booth backdrop was easy and really inexpensive to make. You've got to check out my tutorial.

 

I danced as much as the kids, and this pic of my two girls dancing together makes me so happy!

DIY Kids Say... Birthday Cake Toppers

Kiddo's headed back to school, and that means birthday parties for classmates are going to fill up our calendar soon. You may remember her faceted 5th birthday party last year. This year, I think something silly and lighthearted might be a fun way to go. Enter these DIY Kids Say... cake toppers, which showcase all the things kiddo's friends like about her. I whipped them up for Momtastic, so you should definitely swing by and check out the post.

Try not to smile over these goofy toppers. Go ahead, I dare you!

Kiddo's Winter Wonderland Birthday and Dessert Table

Hey sugar addicts! I'm so jazzed to share kiddo's 5th birthday party with you. The ladies of 100 Layer Cakelet were kind enough to share some images with their readers, and I wanted to highlight the dessert table here. I designed this invite, and it inspired everything else, so I guess I should give you a glimpse of that first. And, before you zoom in all close, just know that this isn't my real address. It's not that I don't trust each and every one of you, but…

I wanted to keep the dessert table pretty simple. It is for children, after all. But, I still wanted to add enough custom details to delight my girl. Let's just say, this is probably the first time in history anyone has ever squealed about a milk bottle label. She was like, "That says, 'Averie! It's fabulous, dah-ling!'" She has flair. If you follow me on Instagram, you're well aware.

Check out this gold confetti plate and that little owl! So fab. Both of those beauties were contributed by Land of Nod. They're a perfect fit this white and gold, wintry theme.

Shop Sweet Lulu kindly let me pick some products from their shop. I designed wrappers for the white ice cream cups to match the back of the invite and labels for the milk bottles with each girl's name. I also put a faceted 5, like the one on the invite, on top of each milk bottle. 

Candy Warehouse hooked us up with plenty of candy to fill up the gold faceted piñata I made.

This is one of my favorite pics of me, Darren, and the kids. So cute!

Pop on over to Confetti Pop to see the rest of the party and the DIYs I designed to create my girl's modern, wintery bash.

dessert table, invite, custom labels & wrappers, piñata, cake topper: Shauna Younge for Confetti Pop
Photography: Angela Rose Photography
candy: courtesy of Candy Warehouse
gold confetti plates & animal ornaments: courtesy of Land of Nod
white ice cream cups, plastic milk bottles, biodegradable spoons: Shop Sweet Lulu