All good event design starts with a little inspiration board to get things going. :)
I created this during my initial detective work in exploring the Dr. Seuss theme:
Lots of fun things I wanted to incorporate: red, aqua blue with yellow accents for color, green deviled eggs, paper poms for decoration, loved the fun polka dot napkins from Paper Source, maybe a candy bar, a wall of photos from every month of the first year, a killer cake, maybe make him a handmade party hat (with a 1 of course, not a 2)....
...but then there's reality. One mama such as myself cannot do it all like the inspiration board hoped for, no matter how big her dreams are. And at the end of the day, all you really care about is "how can I get him to smear the frosting for the classic 1st birthday photo when the cake is made of fondant?" Enter Daddy to the rescue : flip the cake upside down. :)
Speaking of cakes, check out the work of my dear friend Jay Qualls of Maples Wedding Cakes. Jay was in Martha Stewart Weddings magazine this Fall, y'all...I'm going to be reminding C at his birthday every year that Mama made sure his first birthday cake was from a celebrity cake designer! Trust me, this will impress his girlfriends one day. :)
Isn't this topsy-turvy cake so fun? The curve/lean to it was very Dr. Seuss! And I love how Jay matched the colors perfectly!
I had this etsy dealer custom make this fabric bunting to match the party.
Lots of cute little Dr. Seuss character stuffed animals were everywhere (ebay purchase). I intended to give these for guests to take home but in all the fun I forgot!
Green eggs and ham of course!
And of course, Goldfish crackers are always a hit with toddlers. :)
I intended to make custom labels with Colin's hat pictures for the Jones soda bottles, but waited till the last minute and had to skip the detail.
Cat in the Hat watching over the gifts.
And now for the best part....
My good friend Sara of Sara E Rose Photography, was there to capture every moment. I ran around taking the photos above like a crazy woman before everyone got there, but once the doorbell rang (Sara was first to arrive), it was so nice to just sit back and enjoy it all. She offers birthday packages, and I *highly* recommend this to local friends. Here are some collages of the special moments she captured:
Thanks for all the great feedback on our party! Already dreaming up ideas for next year! :)
Side Note: I do not have any of the decor available anymore, it has been sold. Check out eBay and etsy.com for Dr. Seuss party goodies!
Toddler Hat available here: http://www.seussland.com/toddlercathat.html
Requests for invitation wording:
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
You could not, would not want
to miss a celebration such as this!
<NAME> is ONE!
today is his day,
he makes his first wish
on his first BIRTHDAY!!
<Month> is the month,
and the <day>th is the day
from 2 to 4 is when we will play.
Another wording example I found along the way:
"We're having a party! It's plain as can be! I want you to celebrate with me! The Cat will be there along with the Fish, Horton & Sam, the 2 Things and we wish that you would come too! We'll have much more fun! We'll play in the rain....we'll play in the sun! So get in your Who-train: DATE Start making tracks: TIME Meet us all at the Prairie of Prax: PLACE
I received many inquiries for this party/invitation. The invitation wording and hat links can be found on a later blog post featuring the party details. If you are interested in me recreating these invitations for your party, they are available for $5.50 each plus shipping. There is a 3 week lead time, so please plan accordingly for your mail date. You may email me with your order. Thanks!
