party planner

it's official. i'm planning parties now! after given only ONE week to plan, here is my first party.

my first wedding cake

congratulations to joe and misty byrd!

back in the game

i hadn't been taking very many orders for the past 3 or 4 months, as i was trying to focus more on family. however, i've found myself back in the kitchen, and i've been able to find a better balance between work and babies. here is the most recent cake that i've made.

cash's rooster party

as cash's birthday approached, i couldn't decide what kind of party i wanted to have for him. i brought several ideas to my husband, and he didn't like a single one of them. he wanted to have a rooster themed party, b/c that is his nickname for cash - rooster.

i immediately turned my nose up. i didn't want my baby's birthday party to look like i shopped for everything at bed bath and beyond! however, it didn't take long, and i was already trying to tackle this challenge in my head. the first week, i couldn't get my head past kitchen roosters, maroon and navy plaid, and rustic woods. i wanted a more kid friendly look, but contemporary, and i wanted to stay true to the barnyard animal. please enjoy this labor of love for our little rooster...

up the drive and sidewalks


cash's banner


as you may already know, i love balloons. so much so that i got in trouble with the amount of balloons i purchased for this party. it took two car loads to get them home. i bundled them up and put them everywhere!

i did purchase the mandatory number 1 balloons, but one got away from my husband when he went to pick them up, and the other popped the moment he got home. :(


i was reminded of these paper chains and had to make them. i absolutely love them, and i may be keeping them up for a few weeks.


my mother-in-law had these wonderful "rooster" feeders. at first we were going to put candy corn or corn nuts in them, but the holes were too small. flower holders they became!


and the corn nuts were moved to mason jars, along with other flower arrangements. i also collected cans to decorate and use as vases.


i had to figure out how to make these roosters look cool, not country kitchen... spray paint! every time i don't like the way something looks, i spray paint it and instant upgrade! i love the way these turned out.


the food table


like my cousin said, it may be irreverent to have chicken at a rooster party, but i thought it was a cute detail.


for some reason, when i think of roosters, i think of corn. do they eat corn? regardless, or should i say luckily, i have been wanting to do these popcorn flavor shakers.


don't these apples look cute in the (sealed) galvanized buckets? the color of them could not have been more perfect.


dessert table


i had done some ice cream cone cupcakes about two years ago and had been waiting to do them again. i was reminded of them b/c the design on the cone reminds me of chicken coop fencing. are you rolling your eyes at how detail obsessed i get?


i love this cake pan. it is so easy to make it fit your party's theme. i think that first birthdays are huge and what other way to celebrate than with a huge number 1!


my mom made all my cakes growing up, so i thought it fitting to have her make one for cash. being a buttercream artist, she had to make the smash cake!


here is the cutest baby taking a dive head first in his cake. notice the last minute high chair decorations.


too cute not to post!


another spray painted rooster and the victim of a sugar driven one year old.


a cute idea i snagged. i love anything that makes the mundane personal.


cash's birthday book. we try to get the boys a book that fits the theme of their birthday party.


of course my mom's sugar cookies as a thank you to all the guests!

robbie's 2nd birthday!

last year when i was planning my oldest son, robbie's 1st birthday, i found out that i am not a fan of parties in a box - not that there is anything wrong with that. i just like creating things. it's how my mom showed me love, and it's how i let my kids know i love them. whether it's baking, scrapbooking, making homemade baby food, or just making dinner, i like making it myself.

now, robbie's first birthday was a pretty simple idea. everything was either red, blue, or yellow and anywhere i could put a number 1, i did. i never even thought about getting online for ideas.

this year, robbie is obsessed with airplanes - theme chosen. i decided i would need a little more help with this idea. luckily, there are tons of party planning blogs. who knew? (i'm now addicted.) i found some great inspiration. one of my favorite things would set the entire mood for the party - boarding pass invites! my aunt personalized these invites with a special logo that we used everywhere we could.

next to cake, i think balloons are my most favorite birthday party staple. i knew i wanted airplane shaped balloons, but surprisingly, i had a very hard time finding some. that is, until i came across pamela standen. she has an ebay shop and has every kind of balloon a balloon loving girl could want!

i really wanted to make coordinating shirts for the family. robbie's said, "today is my high flyin' 2nd birthday!" my husband, ryan's shirt had four airplanes on it - one for each member of our family. my youngest son, cash's shirt said, "fly lil' brotha." my shirt said, "i'm so fly!" everyone's shirt had matching airplanes.

i know that you party planning people will not believe this, but i just discovered amy atlas. where have y'all been keeping her? i love her! this was my first attempt at an amy atlas inspired table.

robbie can eat his weight in strawberries or bananas, so of course his cake was strawberry and the cupcakes were "virgin" bananas foster!

i was very excited about this find from hobby lobby. i easily turned these boxes into luggage with a little scrapbook paper!

i was most excited about making these. i saw them on another blog and fell in love. marshmallow pops are so easy to make and can't help but be cute. i got the most compliments on these.

the kids first stop on their "trip" was to the cookie decorating table. my mom baked her famous sugar cookies in the shape of airplanes. we set out all types candy and sweet decorations to brighten up the cookies. i thought that the kids would put them aside and take them home in their goodie bags. what was i thinking? of course they'd gobble them right up. my mom's sugar cookies never last.

my mom is amazing. she made this plane that the kids sat in or strapped on in front of this backdrop to which i added the vinyl airplanes. as you can see some of the adults even enjoyed it.

we bought balsa wood airplanes thinking that the kids could have an airplane flying contest - if we had time. well one kid found them early, and that was it. planes were flying everywhere for the rest of the day. they were a huge hit!

i loved these cloud balloons. these pictures don't do them justice - at all. i really wish i got a better picture.

more balloons and the sabas airways runway

a cute little addition at the front door.

my mom painted these planes that she found at michael's. they are bird feeders!

i had these signs all over. there was this luggage drop off, a sign for the lavatory, baggage claim, where the goodie bags were found, and a departure sign above the door to the garage.

and of course, the cake! this was my first attempt at making a figure.