Wednesday, March 17, 2010

How to Throw a Ladybug Party

I've been anxiously waiting for the day that we had enough friends in Utah that we could throw a party. When we lived in Denver, I'd have themed dinner parties all the time and loved the planning and executing of my plans.

There's that little Martha Stewart part of me that loves to put all kinds of fabulous touches on things but of course I don't have her budget so I have to do things the Connie Way which is also...A Good Thing. 

And as if that pressure isn't enough, I have Miss Tori Spelling throwing fabulous parties for her kids that will soon be on the pages of People Magazine.  I have a little friendly competition going with her since her son's birthday is always the same weekend as Mallory's.   This year Liam had a Superhero Theme.....Lucky Kid! (OH MY HECK...Tori & Dean is coming back on April 5th!)

It was a last minute decision to make the wreath for the front door.  I had seen the roses on The House of Smith's blog and I had this extra foam wreath form laying around from my failed attempt to make a Marshmallow Wreath at Christmas.  I had a ton of crepe paper and too much to do so I went for it.   On Thursday, I was sitting watching my favorite show...Studio 5 and Shelly from the House of Smith was on the show making the roses!  I couldn't believe it!  I discovered from watching her on the show...that I was doing it wrong but I was almost done so I kept making them my way.

I also made a bunch of ladybugs in different sizes out of construction paper and had them crawling up the front door.  These are now climbing up the french doors in our dining room that I just turned into a playroom.



I bought the little red buckets that served as our gift bags for our guests at the dollar spot at Target around Valentine's Day.  I used my Martha Stewart Ladybug punch to make a bunch of little black ladybugs to mod podge to the buckets.  They contained jewelry, bubbles, a top, a ball, sunglasses, candy and handmade bracelet's from Bobbi.  The boys got slinky's, bubbles, a ball, paddle balls and candy.

The cake came from The Parson's Bakery in Bountiful Utah and it was fabulous!  It was so much more than the picture can show.  I loved it and Mallory thought it was the coolest thing ever.  She kept asking us to lift her up so she could smell it.


When I started planning this party and figuring out who all we wanted to invite (everyone) I started to panic because I didn't know where the children would sit. I wanted to get a new table and little stools from IKEA....but I checked my budget and knew I was going to have to figure something else out.  I decided that the kids' train table would work perfectly as a table but I didn't have any chairs.  I came up with the idea to use 3 gallon paint buckets from Sears ($2.99 each) and make covers for them from my felt stash.

Then I realized the the table was too short so I bought small clay pots from Michael's, painted them red, embellished them with some black and white ribbon and hot glued them to the table legs.  It worked perfectly!


This would be a good time for me to talk about my other chair remodel. On Wednesday, while I was in the middle of several unfinished projects, I decided that my chairs needed help.  I received a lot of comments from friends on facebook that said they have these same chairs and that they are in the same condition as mine because they have kids too.  They are so easy to re-cover!  They are just attached with 4 screws that come off really easily.  I had this cute dark blue fabric with little cream colored stars in my stash and it was very easy to cover, staple them (tried hot glue...it no work) and attach them back on the chair frame.  Each chair only took about 20 minutes and I completed this during nap time.




I needed a game appropriate for 2-5 year olds and I thought pin tape the dot on the ladybug would be perfect.  I made this little guy from construction paper and poster board.  Mallory informed me that he needed teeth and she was right!  I put each child's name on the dots so we'd know who won by getting the closest to the drawn on dot.  Alex won this game and I DID NOT coach him.  :)




Do you believe in fate?  I do!  Back in January when Mallory decided on a theme, I had some Gymbucks to use and this adorable little dress was available in her size!  It was on sale and I basically got it for free because I had $25 in free Gymboree money to use.  Then I got the barely used shoes on ebay for $7 and they have little silver ladybugs on them!  I tried to talk her into the black tights but my little fashionista wanted red....


Ladybug Party Playlist

It's Your Birthday.......Justin Roberts
Lucky Lady Bug........Mikey's Band
You Are My Flower........Elizabeth Michell
Butterfly's Day Out....Edgar Meyer
Ladybug Picnic.................Elizabeth Mitchell
3 is the Magic Number.......Elizabeth Mitchell 
Who's My Pretty Baby.......Elizabeth Mitchell
My Girl..........................The Temptations


I hope you enjoyed our party and got some ideas for your own Ladybug Party!  Its a great theme and one that I'll remember with fondness for many years to come. 



The Invitaitons
The Party

All songs available on iTunes

24 comments:

  1. Whoa! Nice job! So so cute! (Love her dress the most)

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  2. That party turned out darling! You really made it cute! I am sure she had a special time and that cake... adorable!

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  3. PERFECT!!
    And I LOVE the bucket/chair idea!

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  4. Um, WOW. You went all out, girl! Those bucket chairs are adorable, and that cake... Too cute!

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  5. Connie - you have been busy!!! Wow - I am amazed at everything that you got accomplished. It's all so cute! Are you exhausted? I bet you are!!!

    I love the wreath! SO cute!!!

    XOOX
    Jen

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  6. Im very jealous we had a ladybug birthday for my daughters 2nd and I drew a black when it came to ideas!

    Everything looked great!! Such good ideas!

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  7. Thank you!

    Jen...I'd had two glasses of wine by then and I didn't eat anything during the party....

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  8. You have more creativity and crafting ability in your fingernail than I do in my whole body.


    Wow. That is all I can say. Wow!

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  9. Great job on everything Connie!! Everything is so cute, esp Ms. Mallory! Glad you all had a fun day!

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  10. I think you did a great job. Bud's birthday is April 17th and we are going with a cowboy theme. Now fly on down and help me out. You can bring the kids.

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  11. all of it is just to darn cute! way to go! LOVE THAT CAKE and the wreath and invites best!

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  12. Connie...YOU ROCK!!!!!!

    Now my 7 year old wants a Transformers party in a few weeks...When can you be here? It's only Illinois...not that far away!

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  13. I think you can give Tori Spelling a run for her party planning! And the after party - genius!

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  14. Thanks everyone!

    I'd be happy to help anyone come with ideas. (except Tori Spelling...she's on her own)

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  15. OMG...how amazing are you??!?!?! I can't believe in the middle of all that amazing party planning, you covered your chairs! What a wonderful party, there was no detail left undone...I mean you made a wreath :) I loved the cake, her outfit (she is just the cutest) and the table. YOu are great! Oh and the Elizabeth Mitchell CD is one of my favorites. I love the Ladybug picnic song especially...I sing that to Lil' Connie all the time :)

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  16. Thank you....I'm incapable of doing anything half assed. It's actually an affliction!

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  17. That was divine! You are so clever.

    And by the way, I have an unhealthy Tori & Dean obsession...LOVE IT. :)

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  18. I was wondering what you did with the cute ribboned pots you had made... who knew they'd end up being table raisers??!

    So smart!

    What a great party!

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  19. That party turned out darling! You really made it cute! I am sure she had a special time and that cake... adorable!
    home jobs without registration

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  20. You are the BEST mom!!
    I wish I had a party like that! And I don't mean as a kid, I mean NOW... I'd love to have a ladybug party. That is adorable!!
    You ROCK, Connie. Can you plan my next party??
    You SO should win that HGTV house AND have your own TV show. :-)

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  21. I don't know if you'll see this since it's on an old post, but thank you for the advice on how to throw a ladybug party! I had one for Cassidy's 3rd birthday. It was no where near as cool as yours, but we had a ladybug cake and a few decorations. (Photos on FB) Thanks!

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  22. My daughter turns 1 in less than a month and I just decided to go with a lady bug theme. Your ideas will come in handy! I just love the internet and other mommy bloggers. THANKS!!! If you get a chance, please visit Chaton's World at http://chatonsworld.blogspot.com.

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I love you. You are my best friend! Your hair looks fantastic today!