Vera Turns Two!

Vera turned two this month and we celebrated with a circus themed party. So blessed to have spent the last two years as her parents!

Vera in her birthday dress

The "concession stand" was decorated with a ticket and burlap garland. I wasn't able to find turquoise tickets anywhere so I bought white ones and painted them.

I made a chocolate cake with buttercream frosting, using the same cake recipe as last year.

The cake was decorated with circus peanuts, red striped paper straws, and a bit of wired pom pom trim, as well as a little ceramic monkey that belonged to Vera's grandfather.

Ready to cut the cake!

Popcorn, mini corn dog muffins, and pretzels!

Paper fans for the table centerpieces

We tied bags of cotton candy to a vintage ladder using strips of shredded paper. This made the bags easy for guests to tear off.

Party favors included clown noses and goldfish soap.

What's a good circus without a sideshow act?

I made felt beards using some of the free templates found here and here.

DIY Link Roundup

Cake recipe
Wired pom pom trim
Mini corn dog muffins recipe
Paper fans
Clown noses
Goldfish soap
Beard templates

Vera's First Birthday Party

Vera turned one year old last week and we celebrated with family and friends at our home. I chose flowers for the theme and a turquoise, peach, and gold color scheme.

I made tissue paper tassels and hung them over the table along with a paper star I picked up on clearance at my local craft store

Vera's monthly photos were displayed inside the panes of two old windows and decorated with felt flowers.

I made felt flower hair clips for the kids and a bee finger puppet for Vera's only "boy friend" at the party (poor guy was way outnumbered).

I also made my first fondant covered cake using this cake recipe and homemade marshmallow fondant. It's pretty tricky to get the fondant to look smooth and I ended up with quite a few imperfections. I hide most of the flaws with a few strategically placed flowers and think it turned out pretty cute. I also made cupcakes and decorated them with fondant flowers.

I couldn't find a large package of gold polka dot balloons anywhere so I cut circles out of label paper (using my circle cutter) and stuck them onto the balloons.

Vera's #1 corsage...I didn't get any close-up photos of her actually wearing it.

Time for cake!

The best part of the party...

We adapted these plans for the Deluxe Kid Wash and made Vera her very own walk through sprinkler out of PVC pipe! We also had a sprinkle mat out. Both were a big hit with the kids.

Vera's great grandparents (far right) traveled all the way from Kansas to celebrate with her!