*I decided to do two birthday posts so that one post doesn't contain 200 pictures. Ha! This one will just have pictures of the party decorations, and the next one will be pictures from the actual party.*
Jude's first birthday party on Saturday was such a success! I decided a while back to go with a barnyard animals theme for the party just to give me a jumping off point. I didn't go crazy with the "theme", but it was helpful in deciding on the menu and the decorations. Two of the main reasons that I chose to go with the theme I did was because Jude already had a cow costume that he could wear for the picture on the invitation, and because I thought going with a barnyard theme would give me a really good excuse to keep things ultra casual. Ha! So, first of all, here is Jude's invitation (with our address erased, of course):
I was SO happy with the way it turned out. I thought it was super cute! I ordered it off Etsy from Dimple Prints. They were great to work with, and I would definitely use them again. We printed the invitations at Fed Ex so that they would be on a thicker, post card type material.
I also ordered cupcake toppers from the same Etsy seller. They were super cute, too, and there were TONS of choices. The seller literally emailed me 23 pages of customized cupcake toppers, so I had a hard time choosing which ones to print out to use! :) They were easy to put together, and I think they really made plain ole cupcakes a little more special.
And speaking of the cupcakes, I made them myself. I have kind of gotten duds as far as cake and cupcakes go for both of Aubrey's parties, so I decided to attempt to make Jude's myself. I figured they would be edible at the least, and we'd save a lot of money. I made chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, and I bought frosting already made. I used the Wilton brand that is just white, and I used food coloring to get the frosting the colors I wanted. I then just piped the frosting on, and even though I have no clue what I'm doing when it comes to piping frosting, I was satisfied with the way they turned out. They didn't look professional by any means, but I think they were just as cute as the ones I paid for last time! :)
I really wanted to make a birthday banner for Jude just like I did for Aubrey's first birthday. I picked scrapbook paper that would coordinate with this party, but that was neutral enough to use for Jude's future parties too. I think making these banners is so fun and easy, and they're kind of sentimental since I make them for their first birthdays. I use bulletin board letters to spell out Happy Birthday.
As far as decorations for the party, I kept it pretty simple. I really wanted balloons and sunflowers to go with the barnyard theme, but we ran out of time to go get them. (Plus, I have no clue if sunflowers are even in season? We are NOT plant people around here. Ha!) I used mason jars for the utensils:
And I used some checked fabric for the table. 
I really wanted to have card tables set up outside on the deck with gingham table clothes and mason jars with sunflowers, but it was just TOO hot.
We printed out Jude's monthly pictures (minus the two month picture that we never took and the twelve month picture that we took that day and didn't have time to print). I thought they were super cute displayed on the mirror in the dining room.
We had BBQ for dinner. I thought that was appropriate with our theme. My dad made some awesome pulled pork, and I made potato salad and a watermelon salad and we had some veggies and dip. Super simple and casual! :)
I thought it made it so fun to have a little theme to work with. Typically, I'm not a very "theme-y" person. (No themed nurseries, etc.) However, I thought it was fun and cute for a young child's birthday. Like I said, I kept it pretty simple and didn't go all out with the theme. I read online about some people who had barnyard birthday parties and hired petting zoos to come out to their houses. Whoa. That's hardcore. Haha!
The party was small and low-key, but it was just what I wanted for Jude's first birthday party. He was surrounded by the people who love him the most, and I was just overwhelmed with gratitude that we were given such a blessing in our little Jude.
Next, I'll post pictures from the actual party!
Jude's first birthday party on Saturday was such a success! I decided a while back to go with a barnyard animals theme for the party just to give me a jumping off point. I didn't go crazy with the "theme", but it was helpful in deciding on the menu and the decorations. Two of the main reasons that I chose to go with the theme I did was because Jude already had a cow costume that he could wear for the picture on the invitation, and because I thought going with a barnyard theme would give me a really good excuse to keep things ultra casual. Ha! So, first of all, here is Jude's invitation (with our address erased, of course):
I also ordered cupcake toppers from the same Etsy seller. They were super cute, too, and there were TONS of choices. The seller literally emailed me 23 pages of customized cupcake toppers, so I had a hard time choosing which ones to print out to use! :) They were easy to put together, and I think they really made plain ole cupcakes a little more special.
And speaking of the cupcakes, I made them myself. I have kind of gotten duds as far as cake and cupcakes go for both of Aubrey's parties, so I decided to attempt to make Jude's myself. I figured they would be edible at the least, and we'd save a lot of money. I made chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, and I bought frosting already made. I used the Wilton brand that is just white, and I used food coloring to get the frosting the colors I wanted. I then just piped the frosting on, and even though I have no clue what I'm doing when it comes to piping frosting, I was satisfied with the way they turned out. They didn't look professional by any means, but I think they were just as cute as the ones I paid for last time! :)
I really wanted to make a birthday banner for Jude just like I did for Aubrey's first birthday. I picked scrapbook paper that would coordinate with this party, but that was neutral enough to use for Jude's future parties too. I think making these banners is so fun and easy, and they're kind of sentimental since I make them for their first birthdays. I use bulletin board letters to spell out Happy Birthday.
As far as decorations for the party, I kept it pretty simple. I really wanted balloons and sunflowers to go with the barnyard theme, but we ran out of time to go get them. (Plus, I have no clue if sunflowers are even in season? We are NOT plant people around here. Ha!) I used mason jars for the utensils:
And I used some checked fabric for the table. 
I really wanted to have card tables set up outside on the deck with gingham table clothes and mason jars with sunflowers, but it was just TOO hot.We printed out Jude's monthly pictures (minus the two month picture that we never took and the twelve month picture that we took that day and didn't have time to print). I thought they were super cute displayed on the mirror in the dining room.
We had BBQ for dinner. I thought that was appropriate with our theme. My dad made some awesome pulled pork, and I made potato salad and a watermelon salad and we had some veggies and dip. Super simple and casual! :)I thought it made it so fun to have a little theme to work with. Typically, I'm not a very "theme-y" person. (No themed nurseries, etc.) However, I thought it was fun and cute for a young child's birthday. Like I said, I kept it pretty simple and didn't go all out with the theme. I read online about some people who had barnyard birthday parties and hired petting zoos to come out to their houses. Whoa. That's hardcore. Haha!
The party was small and low-key, but it was just what I wanted for Jude's first birthday party. He was surrounded by the people who love him the most, and I was just overwhelmed with gratitude that we were given such a blessing in our little Jude.
Next, I'll post pictures from the actual party!
3 comments:
So, so cute!!! Also, your pictures look awesome!! :)
I used Dimple Prints for Avery's party on Saturday. What a great idea to print them on thicker paper. I noticed their barnyard theme...it's so cute! Your cupcakes look fantastic.
The party decorations look so cute. I love the party invitation.
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