Mickey Mouse Clubhouse 2nd Birthday Party

For my son's second birthday party, I wanted to keep it super simple and small- just a little friend's party.  He LOVES Mickey Mouse Clubhouse so the theme was easy to come up with and with just a few simple craft projects, it turned out super cute!

Simple Paper Plate Mickey Mouse Decorations

DIY Centerpieces

Sometimes a Party City banner is easier and cheaper than ordering a custom banner on Etsy!

Made these instead of goodie bags.  Just bought a Mickey Mouse cookie cutter and sprinkles on Amazon and made the favor tags.  Very easy, cute, festive, and delicious!

Hot Dog Station for the Kids

Masquerade Sweet 16

When the client explained that her daughter wanted a black and white themed masquerade for her daughter's Sweet 16 birthday party, I was immediately excited.  Such a cool theme and there was so much we could do in terms of decorations.  

This one took lots of creating & crafting, which I love!  We decided to use black and white ostrich feather centerpieces in black eiffel tower vases which looked really elegant and really transformed the room.  Not your typical sweet 16 centerpiece but totally in keeping with the theme.  The tables were accented with black lace votives that I made and these really turned out fabulous as well.  We also added in a cool memorabilia table with black and white pictures of the birthday girl through the years which was a nice personal touch.

The guest of honor wanted cupcakes instead of a cake and so I used the crystal cupcake tower I had made for my wedding and transformed it in keeping with the masquerade theme.  Cupcake picks shaped like masks and lots of confetti on the table, as well as a mask topper made this piece really fun.  

Probably the most aesthetically challenging aspect of this event was the candy bar.  The guest of honor wanted the candy bar to feature only popular candies that she had chosen, rather than black and white items that would have kept with the theme.  I wanted her to have what she wanted but also have the candy display flow with the room and not be a colorful visual that would stand out among all the black and white.  The banner I ordered on Etsy, as well as some crystals, confetti, and mask adornments all helped keep the candy bar right on track with the theme.  I also used some black and white feathers and a chalkboard sign to tie in more black and white.  It came out great and still fit in with the room as a whole.

Originally, the idea of  hiring a photo booth company was thrown around.  However, we decided that a photo wall backdrop would be fun and different and also less expensive.  I enlisted my dad's help to create this and it turned out very cool.  We chose a silvery fabric since all guests would be dressed in black or white and used PVC pipes as the structure.  Add in a basket full of fun props, a scrapbook for guests to sign messages for the birthday girl, and the only thing missing was the traditional photo strips a photo booth rental company would typically provide.  But with social media today we realized that guests could take pictures on their phones and cameras and use a special hashtag to share pictures.  Then the birthday girl could print pictures later on to fill up her scrapbook.  The client said this worked well and was a big hit.

I was incredibly pleased with how this event turned out: a sophisticated and elegant Sweet 16 that was also super fun.

Setting up the room 

Memorabilia Table

Cupcake Display

Cupcake Display Top

Photo Booth Backdrop

Guests Using the Photo Wall

Ostrich Feather Centerpiece

Lace Votives

Candy Buffet

Candy Labels

Candy Table Decoration using leftover centerpiece vases

Candy Table Decoration

Purple & Crystal Wedding

My very first large event that I planned was my own wedding!  I quickly fell in love with planning and organizing all the little details that are involved in planning a wedding.  I knew what I wanted and how to make it happen!  

Although my family assured me that nobody would notice all my hard work and effort I didn't care!  I wanted special cocktail napkins and a signature drink anyway!  Personalized photos of my future hubby and I in a digital frame on the bar?  Check!  Wedding shoes dyed to match the exact color of my purple flower girl dresses?  Check! Customized cookies shaped like wedding cakes in a special basket at the church as a favor for my third grade students attending the ceremony?  Check!  To me, these little details mattered. And people did notice!  My students were beyond thrilled with the cookies, which made them feel special even though they could't attend the reception. My flower girls were thrilled with their special gift of American Girl Doll dresses to match their flower girl dresses!  And that signature drink?  A pineapple mojito perfect for summer that had my guests raving!  

And I wanted everything to flow and be part of my purple and crystal theme.  I quickly realized that while you can buy many things to make your special day amazing, not everything you envision is for sale... or at a reasonable price!  Here's where my crafty side came into play and where I learned that I could MAKE anything I couldn't buy.  Case in point:  my cupcake stand.  I wanted a gorgeous crystal cupcake tower that would go perfectly with my theme and really make a statement.  These did exist but cost a fortune!  I began brainstorming and was able to make my own cupcake tower by tying crystals purchased on a wholesale craft website onto an acrylic cupcake tower.  The result was stunning!  

I also created baskets to put my ceremony programs & those special cookies in at the church because I wanted them to have purple flowers.  I quickly learned it truly IS all about the little details to make up the bigger picture:  a beautiful wedding and reception! 

Also, let me add that I learned the DIY lesson when planning my bridal shower favors as well.  I loved those chocolate covered strawberries that look like a wedding gown and tuxedo but when I priced them they were ridiculously expensive.  I found a YouTube video for DIY versions and the result was awesome and so much more affordable.  I bagged and bowed them and included a cute thank you tag and people thought we had ordered them.

And although I got extremely sick right as the reception was starting and missed most of my own wedding party, I will always have the planning and the gorgeous pictures taken from that day.  And to hear people talking about what a stunning day it was takes the sting out of missing most of it.

Take a look at the pictures below to see some of the special details from my wedding.

Basket I embellished to hold the cookies for my students at the church 

Basked I embellished to hold my wedding programs

My gorgeous bouquet done by Sharon Elizabeth's

With some of my third grade students

A close up of the cupcake stand I made

Wedding Favors:  Alternating bookmarks & fridge magnets to put photo booth pictures in.  I wanted useful!

Escort Cards 

Ring Bearer Pillow:  This was my idea & it turned out amazing! 

Tall Centerpiece

Yes, I even bought a purple umbrella to match in case of rain & it did rain!

Table Number Cards... I wanted them to be pretty because ugly table cards can be an eye sore on a gorgeous table!

Cake Servers in keeping with the crystal theme

My Sottero & Midgley Gown and dyed to match the flower girl dress shoes :)

Custom tanks made getting ready fun!