DIY

To be honest, I had been thinking about Bradford's first birthday party for a long time (not in the obsessing kind of way, just excited about what it would be like, theme etc.).  I wanted to stick with birds and when I found this cake I knew!

Owls it was!  So I started on the invites and got the play on words off the internet.

Best owl impression

It definitely stressed me out trying to figure out who to invite, family and friends?  Where do you draw the line?  Are people's feelings going to be hurt?  After Andrew and I talked we decided since we have a lot of family that they would be plenty to have a rocking awesome 1st birthday party!  I am glad this is what we decided.  So with 18 people invited (all adults) I planned away.  My mantra was "Keep it Simple".  I slowly was able to mark things off of my "to do" list.  I saw the circle hangers at hobby lobby and made my own to hang in the living room and kitchen out of scrapbook paper I have had since high school!

The banner was the hardest thing to make.  I cut triangles so many times and no matter I did, I could not get them even so I finally decided they would just have to be all different sizes.

Last for decorations I made these little owls to go on the goody bags and made oatmeal drop cookies for everyone.  They are easy and no bake!  I decided they sort of not really look like owl pellets, but it's the thought that counts right?

So glad I made this chalk board!  I loved how it looked with everything,.  Morning of the party Andrew ran out and got a few balloons that added to the look of the festivities!

I was very excited about his cake.  I made it from scratch, but it was pretty challenging in the beginning.  It is supposed to be made using 4 Pyrex bowels and  some dowels to make it stand up.  I was nervous about it not falling over, or baby knocking over before he even blew out the candle etc.  After realizing it took FOREVER for the first bowel set to cook I decided I could make it look exactly the same lying down.  

In the original picture the eyes are Oreos with Junior Mints on them and the beak and claws are banana Runts.  In all the hustle bustle of running errands I forgot to keep an eye out for runts in the quarter machines before leaving any stores all week and they do not have them at the store.  I found chewy Jolly Ranchers instead and cut them into pieces to bend them to shape and worked out great!  I am not a huge fan of Junior mints and did not want a whole box of leftover candy that we wouldn't be that excited to eat so M&M's were the choice.  They also made for much better leftovers!  Here is the final product, I was very pleased with how it turned out.  I am so glad I did all of it myself it was a fun, learning, party planning experience.