Sunday, March 1, 2015

Tea Party First Birthday

So, my sweet baby girl had her first birthday a few months back and I decided to throw her a Tea Party themed first birthday party.

I loved how her baptism party turned out and wanted to have another little tea party party (does that make sense?).
 

I found these adorable invites on Etsy and based the colors and theme off the invite. I love the mint, pink, and gold combination and I especially love the use of the roses (Rose is her middle name, after all). The colors and the theme are just perfect for a little girl's first birthday party!



On the day of the party, we had a little sign welcoming guests to Lorelei's Tea Party and put up a paper lantern decorated with streamers of lace and ribbon in the party's colors to brighten up the front door.


We set up the food in our eat-in kitchen and I made the backdrop using plastic tablecloths of different shades of pink.


It was a super simple backdrop and very quick to make (not to mention cheap--I used tablecloths from the Dollar Store). I simply pinned up the tablecloths, one behind the other, so all three colors were pinned up together. Then I cut long strips through all the colors. After that, I braided them together at the top, so all the colors were visible. It came out so cute and I love how it transformed the space for only $3!!

I also found some tea party themed streamers at a party supply store and couldn't pass them up.They were perfect for the party. Then I hung up some more paper lanterns with the lace and ribbon streamers to complete the backdrop. Much better than our blinds, wouldn't you agree?

In the living room, I put up more of the tea party streamers, along with a name banner. Under the mantle, I strung some twine to hang up pictures of Lorelei.

I printed off my favorite photos of her over the past year (one photo a month) and glued them onto doilies, then used clothes pins to clip the onto the twine. 

It turned out so sweet and it was really fun (and a bit tear-inducing) to look back through the year and how much my sweet girl had changed and grown.

We also decorated her high chair, which was the scene of the much anticipated cake smash. I made a quick rag tie banner and taped it onto her chair to make it more festive. {By the way, isn't this high chair just fantastic?! My dad made this for us as a gift and I just love it! His woodworking skills are unparallelled.}



And, of course, I had to make the guest of honor a little outfit! I decided to whip up a fabric scrap tutu (using the same fabric that adorns the high chair) and I LOVED how it looked on her. 


 I used pink, gold, and mint colored fabrics, along with some strips of lace to give it a bit of vintage flair. {By the way, Jamie has a great tutorial on how to make your own fabric scrap tutu, so be sure to check it out!}


Look at those chunky baby legs!! I just want to eat them up!




Speaking of eating, what would a tea party be without yummy treats to snack on? These tea party plates were a perfect match (found at the same party supply store as the streamers) and I also pulled out some "fancy" plastic plates for the adults. {Because we are nothing if not high class around here.}



We served two different types of quiches and I used a tea cup as a vase for some beautiful pink roses.



We had mini PB&J sandwiches for the kids {cut into triangles and with all the crusts cut off because we aren't heathens.}.


For the adults, I made the official Downton Abbey cucumber sandwiches. I will admit, I was very skeptical about making these sandwiches but I felt I had to because hello, it's a tea party. But these little sandwiches are AMAZING. I am not even lying. I love them so much.


We also made bacon gorgonzola chicken salad with croissants and this chicken salad is so delicious. Gorgonzola and bacon? Yes, please, two scoops.


We had a fruit salad as well and just stuck with berries since my little girl loves those the best.



And what would a tea party be without desserts? I arranged some of the scrumptious treats on a three-tired stand and used a tea pot at the top as another vase for more roses.


We had assorted truffles in several different flavors (lemon, red velvet, and chocolate).


Then I made mini cupcakes in two flavors: vanilla and pink velvet. It was my first time making a pink velvet cake and they are soooo good. Maybe even better than red velvet. {I said, maybe.}


We also offered meringues (which the kids absolutely loved)....


...and some tea pot and tea cup shaped cookies, which were also the favors. I love the cute gold handles and the sweet little roses!



Then we had some scones and blueberry muffins, which went well with the coffee we offered at the end of the party. {I know, I know! Coffee at a tea party?!}


For my daughter's smash cake, I made a pink velvet cake using 6 inch round cake pans and then decorated it with my star-shaped icing tip, making swirls that ended up looking like roses.

 

Super simple but very pretty. I made three batches of icing to create the ombre effect and I love how it matches the three shades of pink in the backdrop. 


For a drink station, we had pink lemonade and tea (of course!) and decorated with some more roses.


When the party was over, we had the favor station set up by the front door.





We gave everyone a cookie wrapped in plastic and sealed with a little thank you sticker. It was the perfect little favor for our sweet girl's tea party birthday!


 

 She was such a lady with the cake smash and refused to dive into the cake at all. So I didn't get any pictures of her stuffing her face but that's just fine. I think it's adorable how upset she got when she had icing on her hands. She is definitely a girl who likes to stay clean.


I really loved the tea party theme and how girly everything was for Lorelei's first birthday party! It was the perfect party for my loving, adorable, and sweet-as-can-be little girl.





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