It's All in the Details

Today's birthday celebration for Carly will be "all in the details." We decided since we are taking a Summer vacation this year, we won't be having all of the kids' really big parties with friends. Instead, we'll try to make them each feel unique at home with a smaller family celebration. So for Carly turning 9 this year, I wanted to make it big in an elegant, homemade kind of way. Does that even go together? Elegant and homemade??? Well, I tried to pull it off, and for the most part I think I did. For starters, I found this tutorial here: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/08/blog-post.html a couple of weeks ago and began making some flowers. I already had EVERYTHING on hand and didn't have to purchase a thing. Score! These I laid in the center of the table, kind of random, like a table runner. (The tablecloth I borrowed from a kind friend willing to share for Carly's celebration. Score!) I also altered an old tin watch box for Carly's gift from me -- a glass heart pendant and necklace. I think everything I used came from Hobby Lobby on that...except the purple gems were from Target, and the scalloped circle and #9 I cut with my Cricut using the Simply Sweet cartridge. But again...I already had all of that on hand...except for the necklace! That's new for Carly! :) So score there on keeping it cheap! To make the large tissue paper flowers (pom poms) hanging from the ceiling I used this YouTube tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDAgjtScFpU. I think they add a nice touch to the room! And the tissue paper was cheap...I think I spent maybe $5 to make those. Score! To add a little detail to the dining chairs, I tied bows in netted tulle around the back tops and it did dress them up. The picture doesn't quite show it! But cheap...cause I have some left over and the chairs were dressy! Score! For the crown, my daughter loves purple so I used purple fabrics; purple felt; and Star Dust Stickles glitter glue. The lace came from Hobby Lobby. And I made those rosettes -- tutorials are on lots of different craft blogs for that. Anyway, all of it was really fun to make (ESPECIALLY THE CROWN)...spending nights while the kids were in bed, and I was watching my favorite t.v. shows. Carly will be home in a matter of minutes, and I can't wait to see her reaction to the way the dining room is set up...just for her!!! And a lot of it she can recycle and use to decorate her bedroom for an updated look. (PS - I am linking up to Lil Luna this week to share! I hope someone likes some of the ideas and can use them for baby showers, birthdays, parties, etc.)

***I'd like to add (after our homemade steak dinner with vegetables; Sprite with gummy worms in the glass [hey, my kids love that!]; and homemade strawberry cake with vanilla icing, that the family party turned out great. Carly even wore her crown all evening!