ok 90's music aside, lets get down to the last of the dirty deets!
i knew for party food i did not want to be stressed + running around coordinating the timing of a meal for everyone [we anticipated about 30 guests, a mix of adults + kiddos]. and i thought a mid-afternoon time slot would work well for attending church in the morning while giving some evening time for family relaxing as well. so naturally a snack concept was born.
let's peek at where more of that patterned hobster lobster paper ended up. on menu boards!
i really wanted the mix of cowboy + indian to be everywhere, so again i juxtaposed the 'painted' looking paper with the fun + funky, modern-western looking paper. and the cork squares were a couple of spares i had on hand....again from the back entry corkboard diy project we'd made last year.
i love all the variations of red + blue going on here....with a few itty bitty pops of teal....and white + grey to anchor everything, like the kitchen colors.
for the other menu board, i made a games menu.
again....more paper scraps, leftover cork, and junk drawer pins. and i bought a few bandanas for less than a dollar each to scatter about as decor, as well. while i had horseys from cracker barrel and hula 'lasso' hoops from canada to play with, illegal jarts for the arrow throwing + more hay hoops for the ring toss....by far the best game of the day was tumbleweed bowling. its amazing what you can do with six empty gerber snack containers + some 'tumbleweed' spheres from target!
POP!
i bought cherry + raspberry for two shades of red, and grape for blue. and stuck them floral-bouquet style into a leftover ball from the foyer filter foof i'd made. the vase + books i snagged from around the house.
speaking of pops....remember this teaser?
yep, those happened. and all the time spent taste-testing + pop-sticking + chocolate-dipping was oh so worth it for the final result.
that birthday cake be poppin'! i did rows of chocolate with chocolate frosting + yellow cake with vanilla frosting, all according to the instructions on bakerella's lovely blog.
much thanks to ms. bakerella for such an amazing idea....it made the whole food display, of that i am sure!
its hard to pick a favorite, but i think i love the red + white + blue ones best.
no, the smooth chocolate.
NO, THE RED SUGAR SPRINKLES!
ok i love them all.
for the base, i used a large styrofoam rectangle and for a modern pebble-bed effect, i used more navy beans that were sitting around in the pantry. and ribbon, pinned tight around the perimeter for a sleak, trim modern effect.
as for the rest of the food....i made a crunchy toffee chex mix [thanks dawn for the recipe!], and had apples + more candy to complete things.
cute cupcake liners for scooping smaller amounts of candy into....love the uneven striping....
another tumbleweed that must have blown in from the street....
i chose dishes with star motifs as another subtle western reference....
and blue striped dishes to play off the color scheme....
and lined up fun red cups + straws for milk. because every cake pop needs a milky companion!
now before you pop an eyeball straining to see those garlands in the background....allow me to explain. about the time my husband was ready to lock me in a closet to stop the decoration rampage, i managed to sweet talk him into helping me hang up a photo wall to commemorate the little man's big first year.
i used yarn + tape + push pins + some of the past year's favorite and most meaningful photos. and was teary + TIRED + ecstatic when i viewed the result. ....yes it was 11 pm the night before, y'all, and this mama was whipped!
but to see all the printed photos in a flickr-esque mix of streamer-y strands of color, in a perfectly imperfect arrangement, contrasted with our gallery-wall-for-a-day....well....i was really kinda verklempt.
it was so delightful to see how the colors worked + the garlands echoed the fireplace banner as well. and if you're wondering how the photos look so neatly strung along the line, it was the hubs who suggested using loops of tape to hang the photos....for minimal possibility of damage to each picture + also for a nice clean garland effect.
and since we used the spacing of the ikea wall art hangers [on the insistance of the hubs, naturally], all the push pin holes will be hidden and it was a minimally invasive project. if you squint your peepers again for a second, you can see how the top row showed the mini man's growth photographed from week one to month eleven. compared to a sock monkey. of course.
+ how to finish another long winded party post? why with the party favors, naturally!
some mod round cherry-sour candies with a little name flag on each. hopefully a little za-za-zing to finish the day on a memorable note. just for the kids VIPs, you know.
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