Garden Party planning

I am working on getting ready for my daughter's 3rd birthday on Saturday.  I have chosen a garden theme.  I love doing different party themes, not based around characters.  Last year when my daughter turned two, I chose a bumble bee party.  My husband asked, "Do you have to always do a theme?  Don't you think it is over the top?"  I think it comes from when I went to design school, I was taught you need to have a concept to proceed with a design, and from there it just flows.  Yes, I need a theme, and Yes I am going to take it to the tenth degree.

I have been lucky to have a good friend Marlis whose daughter is 2 months older than my daughter.  The past two years, she has let me borrow decorations from her for my party themes.  She had decorated her nursery for her kids in a bumblee bee theme, so she had fabulous decorations that I utilized last year. 

This year her daughter had a Pinkalicious party. She always throws a great party that could be featured in Martha Stewart magazine.  She made darling pink pom poms, flower paper decorations and so much more.  I had already thought of my theme a couple months before.  (It is a sickness).  Right after the party she gave me stuff from the Pinkalicious party and from a butterfly party she threw for her daughter a previous year.  I am so grateful to have fabulous decorations for the party.  I took the paper flowers she made and put them in terra cotta pots with fun pink crinkle paper.  Here they are waiting for the party.  I am going to put orange centers - my colors for the party pink and orange.

Ideas for the party, I always like to do a craft to keep the kids busy.  I had seen where you can take cupcake liners and make them into flowers on paper.  I am going to try to do that but also provide green pipe cleaners to make freestanding flowers.  For the boys, I think I will try and do mini cupcake liners and string them together with the pipe cleaners to make a catepillar.  I found really cute colorful pots in the dollar spot at Target and cute kids garden shovels at Michael's so we are going to plant seeds in a pot for the kids to do and take home.  Still thinking of maybe doing a fun game.

Stay tuned, I will be sure to share photos from the party.