Ella's Minnie Mouse 1st Birthday Party!

 

Seems only fitting that my first blog be about my daughter.

I love crafty things, hence the point behind this blog,

and knew that I wanted my daughter to have a one-of-a-kind birthday

with everything handmade. Figured I better do it before there are other siblings (hopefully) and can't devote this much attention. My daughter took to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse very early in life, responding to the theme music almost as quickly as she recognized mommy & daddy. So obvious choice when planning...
was a Minnie Mouse party!
Most parties I looked at for inspiration was zebra print- not for a 1 yr old party in my opinion, so I opted for pink and yellow. I researched for 5 months, trying to get every last detail perfect. So hopefully now you can find some inspiration from me! 

 



 

Invitations:

 black and yellow card stock, pink polka dot scrapbook paper, yellow ribbon,

thin pink polka dot ribbon, glue stick and printer

The dimensions I used came from believe it or not... the envelope I was going to use. We had left overs from our Christmas cards (knew I was keeping them for a reason) so didn't have to buy any :) On the yellow insert part you can't see was just the basic where and when. The font is Disney font that I downloaded for free (google it). I couldn't get the Cricuit cartridge with Minnie Mouse (MM from here out)- parties are expensive enough & they discontinued the same week I was searching for them so price tripled! Eek! So searched for MM silhouette, traced it on the black card stock & cut it out- simple enough & much cheaper!!!

Inspiration from: http://atsecondstreet.blogspot.com/2009/03/handmade-minnie-party.html

 

 

Cupcake toppers:

Regular toothpicks, black and pink card stock paper, glue stick

I did find a Mickey Mouse cutter from Hobby Lobby http://shop.hobbylobby.com/products/disney-mickey-icon-craft-punch-652974/ (with 40% off coupon) and stamped out the MM & glued 1 on each side. For the bow, I again searched on google (seeing a pattern) for MM bow & traced onto pink card stock & cut it out. I then took a pencil & added in the bow creases & glued to the silhouette. Inspiration used the Cricuit cartridge, I think, which makes them probably alot easier, but I think mine came out just as nice!

Inspiration from: http://www.etsy.com/listing/74864197/minnie-mouse-cupcake-topper-minnie-mouse

 

 

Cupcake Stand:

cupcake stand ($2.50 @ Walmart), pink and yellow tissue paper ($1 each @ Walmart), pink polka dot wired ribbon, yellow ribbon & a wood #1 (99cents at Michael's), glue stick

The cupcake stand I considered making out of cardboard like you see a lot of people do, but when I was at Walmart, I saw these cupcake stands in the clearance for $2.50 so figured I would save me some time. But who wants a plain white stand? So first I glued the yellow ribbon along the sides & added pink polka dot wired ribbon bows. Why wired? It held the bow shape better in my opinion. But, the stand still looked so plain... so I added the tissue paper on each level. Much better I think. The wooden #1 I painted with pink paint & added white polka dots with white puff paint (both things I had on hand). It was original going to be hot glued to the middle tier in front of bow, but didn't stand out so took some cardboard, cover in tissue paper, and glued the #1 to that.

Inspiration from: http://www.heavenlybloomsblog.com/2010/01/kates-minnie-mouse-birthday-party.html

(FYI- I loved this ladies Minnie Mouse party! A lot of my inspiration came from her so go check her blog out too!)

 

 

Cupcake stand looked pretty good with the cupcakes on it huh?! Pink lemonade flavored cupcakes btw! I added a white boa I had lying around for extra flare. What's funny is I had the ONE letters lying around the house too. We didn't want to know the sex of our baby so we had gotten both names for the baby room. So... had the letters from the boys name still. But, you can buy the letters for $2.99 @ Hobby Lobby if you don't have any lying around :)

 

 

Other decorations included Minnie Mouse flower bouquets (close up below). I lucked out & in the clearance section of our Hobby Lobby was lettered pails & wouldn't you know it... I found 3 E buckets for 79 cents each! Filled bottom with rocks for weight & green Styrofoam in middle that I poked the Minnie Mouse into and surrounded with flowers (50% off @ Michael's- all about the deals when I do crafts!) The Minnie Mouse head was 2 small Styrofoam balls (came in a 6 pack I believe @ Michael's) and bought some medium size balls (think they are 5"). Spray painted them black. Added the 2 small ones with tooth picks to the large one & took some of the pink polka dot ribbon & hot glued a bow on! I read problems people were having with spray painting Styrofoam, but I maintained 6-8 inch distance & had no problems with Styrofoam melting. I placed 1 on each side of the cake & 1 on the food table.

Inspiration from: http://www.etsy.com/listing/80098750/minnie-mouse-birthday-centerpieces-hot

 

Gift Bags:

pink and red favor bags (Walmart 5/$1), Minnie Mouse & Mickey Mouse favors

Traced a Mickey Mouse head (google image) onto black card stock & a Minnie Mouse bow (google image) onto pink polka dot paper & glued onto the bags. Filled the bags, folded the top down, hole punched & tied white ribbon in the top.

Inspiration from:http://www.etsy.com/listing/79150312/mickey-mouse-favor-bags-red-white-and?ref=exp_listing

 

 

Cake:

Way to much to try to explain that so needless to say lots of trial and error, but I had to make her own cake too! The smash cake was more my speed, but it was fun making the cake. My added tip... the ears I made from rice krispies dipped in chocolate! They were a hit with the kids at the party!

Inspiration from... http://sliceatatime.wordpress.com/special-occasion-cakes/

 

 

The final product of the dessert table...

I covered the table in 2 pink & 1 yellow table clothes (Party City).

From the ceiling I hung tissue paper pom poms

Inspiration from: http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/226101/pom-poms-and-luminarias

 

Happy 1st Birthday Banner:

yellow ribbon, black and yellow card stock, pink polka dot paper, glue stick

Traced & cut out MM image (google image) on black card stock. Traced & cut out bow (google image) on pink polka dot paper and glued onto MM. I used my Cricuit and used a cartridge that came with it, Basic Font, and cut out the letters & glued them on MM. Of course, you can use any method for getting your letters... you can even buy them from craft stores already cut. Punched holes in each ear & strung them on yellow ribbon. I used some left over tulle & alternated strips of tulle between the MM. I did have to use some tape on the back of a few of them to keep them straight since I was hanging the banner across an open archway. If you can believe it, I also made a 12 month Minnie Mouse banner & placed a picture of my sweet girl from each month, but forgot to take a picture of it!

Inspiration from: http://www.etsy.com/listing/100781244/simple-minnie-mouse-birthday-banner-red?ref=sr_gallery_7&ga_search_query=minnie+mouse+birthday+banner&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_search_type=all)

 

 

Kitchen table all set up with food & ready for smash cake!

 

 

Front door entry table:

Card table covered in pink tablecloth. A sign that stated Boutique (like Minnie Mouse) and feel free to grab some ears & jewelry and join the party!

Inspiration from: http://www.heavenlybloomsblog.com/2010/01/kates-minnie-mouse-birthday-party.html

Minnie Mouse ears:

Black headbands (Hobby Lobby in the wedding section when 50% off), black ribbon, black felt, pink polka dot ribbon

Used a jar bottom & traced it on black felt. Cut out the circles & glued 2 together. I left a little tab on each circle & used that to hot glue it onto the headband. I then wrapped the headband with the black ribbon using hot glue on the underside to help keep it in place. Final touch was adding a ribbon bow! Placed them in a glass bowl found around the house & stuffed yellow tissue paper inside.

Inspiration from: http://www.heavenlybloomsblog.com/2010/01/kates-minnie-mouse-birthday-party.html

Sign In Mat:

Instead of going with a book or plate or something that would never be seen, I opted for a signature mat (5X7). Mostly seen for weddings, but I think it worked :) I took a few pictures days before of baby girl in her birthday outfit & put my favorite one inside. Added another MM for decoration. Placed pens for everyone to sign. By end of party, it was completely full. Haven't decided yet if want to frame for her room & place in her scrapbook...

 

 

Last, but not least... my favorite, the birthday girls outfit!

white 12 month onsie ($2.50 Walmart), yellow and black fat quarters (99 cents Walmart), white felt iron-on letters (Hobby Lobby)

Please, please don't judge me on my sewing skills :) I am by no way familiar with a needle, but just had to make my little girl an outfit. I cut a MM image (google again) out of the black fabric. I cut a #1 (yes google image too) out of the yellow fabric & sewed it onto MM. Then, I sewed MM onto the shirt. I ironed on the letters & sewed on a polka dot bow. Did the same for a diaper cover (see cute baby below)

Inspiration from: http://www.etsy.com/listing/89889420/minnie-inspired-tutu-outfit?ref=sr_gallery_38&ga_search_query=pink+minnie+mouse+tutu+outfit&ga_order=most_relevant&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_ship_to=US&ga_page=2&ga_search_type=handmade

 

 

How to make a Tutu:

pink and yellow tulle (Hobby Lobby 50% off), pink polka dot ribbon (Hobby Lobby), 1/2 inch elastic (Hancock Fabrics for $1)

Inspiration from: http://www.momdot.com/howtomakeatutu/

 

 

diaper cover:

Inspiration from: http://www.amazon.com/Minnie-Mouse-Bloomers-Diaper-Cover/dp/B0063OXH02

 

 

The wonderful birthday girl!!! One already!!!

 

 

I'm such a bargain shopper & always try to do research for the best prices before I start a project. I'll try to always tell you where I got it and how much. Feel free to copy me/pin me, best form of flattery I think, just please give credit where do. If I forget anything or you have a question- feel free to comment.
 

Till the next inspiration...