{lemonade & sunshine party} party day

when i began dreaming up a combined birthday party for my two oldest daughters...

the biggest hurdle was trying to come up with a theme...

a theme that would be appropriate for both of their ages.

i knew I wanted something different...

something that would bridge the gap between "little girl" and "young woman".

it needed to be "fun" but it couldn't be too childish.

i needed to make sure it felt more "grown up" without it being TOO grown up.

with it being summer, i couldn't help but think of two things...

from there a color palette of pinks & yellows was born -

which led me to the creation of the invite...

(invite available here)

i wanted the party "pretty" and "soft" to honor the young women my daughter's are becoming...

but i knew there had to be a little "magic" thrown in there too to keep it young and fresh.

although i'm continuously inspired by my go-to sources for amazing ideas...amy atlas & martha...

my BIGGEST source of inspiration for this party came directly from this post from design*sponge...

remember the pancake breakfast i posted about awhile back?

well, as i continued to gather creative ideas i put them together in an inspiration board & kept referring to it throughout the party planning process.

(see this original post for links & photo sources).

i knew almost immediately...

this party HAD to be outside under some trees.

it needed to be rustic & charming...

pretty & organic.

i wanted to avoid having the party feel completely "put-to-gether".

i felt it should convey the feeling that we live in an old farmhouse...

that we decided to have an afternoon celebration with family & friends...

and that we quickly gathered up some things to take outside for decorating.

like tin cans & fresh cut flowers from the garden...

a well-worn tablecloth, dishes & crates...

& that we had neighbors and friends

meet us in the backyard...under the shade...

to enjoy some cold lemonade...

& a cupboard full of old fashioned desserts.

i LOVE how everything came together...

flowers hanging from the backs of old wrought iron chairs...

flowers hanging from fence posts...

empty bottles dangling from tree branches...

the use of wooden crates, galvanized buckets & old milk bottles...

the use of lemons randomly placed throughout the scene for added pops of yellow...

fabric pieces were wrapped around just about everything...

vintage glass jars & milk glass serving pieces

mason jars used for sipping on lemonade...

& mason jars used for displaying fresh cut flowers...

an old bird bath used to display frozen treats...

(lemon sugar cookie ice cream & strawberry/lemon swirled italian ice)

speaking of treats...

mini lemon cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting anyone?

they are as tasty as they are adorable...

how about a slice of pink lemonade cake?

i LOVE that it's actually "pink" inside when you cut it...

(and EVERYONE said it was the best cake they've EVER eaten...it was seriously that.good.)

and then there were lemonade sugar cookie sandwiches

along with homemade lemonade lollipops nestled in a vintage drawer.

the lollipops were later used to fill these favor buckets

the favor buckets contained yellow and pink gumballs...

a cute custom packet of lemonade...

a personalized monogramed glass drinking bottle with a white paper straw - (etched glass tutorial coming soon)

and these fabric covered repurposed jars filled with lemon drops...

the tin can banner i created using an old window was the perfect way to bring recognition to the birthday girls...without breaking the ambiance of the party...

the day couldn't have been more perfect...

i skipped the usual food labels for this party to avoid the "put-together" vibe...

by having each of my daughter's invite only ONE of their closest friends...

i was able to keep the cost of the party down & keep it "intimate" & "meaningful".

since the party was at 4 o'clock we were able to avoid a little bit of the heat & it was actually quite pleasant under the shade of the trees.

the girls spent their time on a make-shift water slide to keep cool until it was time for celebrating.

all-in-all, i was able to pull off hosting a party with a soft, charming feel...

a party fit for the ages of both of my daughter's...

a party theme that could be turned into a bridal shower, baby shower or other special event...

and one that offered a little magic to keep things fresh & young.

for those of you planning your own party using this color scheme...i hope you feel inspired!

and i hope you love the results as much i adore them!

a special thanks to:

Design*Sponge - for the ultimate inspiration

My Baking Addiction - for the AWESOME lemon cupcakes & lemon cream cheese frosting

Southern Lady Magazine - for the DELICIOUS pink lemonade cake recipe (instead of the buttercream frosting they recommended, i used the lemon cream cheese frosting from my baking addiction - one batch was enough to ice an entire 3 layer cake and almost all of the mini cupcakes). nice.

Bake It Pretty - for the mini cupcake liners, white paper straws, lollipop molds & cupcake sprinkles

Michael's - for the adorable glass jars used for the frozen treats...

Keeping It Real

the cookies weren't all that spectacular - they looked much better than they tasted.

all of the food was brought out at the very last minute because of the heat.

hauling the furniture and props outside was a lot of work - BUT SO WORTH IT!

there was also a lemon cheesecake but i forgot to take pictures of that...*wink*

i kept having to rethink things because i started to get too matchy-match...

my youngest daughter was MUCH more appreciative of the theme than my oldest...

...my oldest scrapped the many ideas i had for different crafts/activities...reminding me she's getting older and that themed parties are NOT all that cool for her...*grumbling because i guess i don't want to accept that she's actually growing up*

and though they are both getting older...they still know how to have fun...*wink*