Sissy's Semi-Homemade Birthday Party - A GIRLY Painting Party!

Y'all.  I have a SIX year old!  Unbelievable...

What's even MORE unbelievable is that she declared, less than one week before this party, that she wanted everything to be "zebra" and "cupcake."  And I was able to indulge her, because - except for the location - I had done NOTHING for the party.  Nothing.  And I thought when that happened last year, it would be a fluke.....sigh.  But isn't that why Our Semi-Homemade Life even exists?  ;)

Theme:  pink.  zebra.  it could have only been more girly if there was some Justin Bieber or Selena Gomez.  (Oh, wait... she got both those cd's as gifts.)  ;)

The fun:  Painting!!!  When Sissy came up with this idea, I thought it was genius!  I did this a couple of summers ago with a girlfriend of mine and we couldn't have had more fun (of course, there was wine involved, but...)   We had Sissy's party at the same type of place (they do kiddo parties AND girls' night outs, etc!)  Basically, you bring the kids and the cake - they do the rest.  That even includes a couple of super fun instructors!

They even customized a current painting in their gallery.... they zebra-fied their cupcake painting!

Here is Sissy, hard at work... :)  (See?  They even include the smocks - everything!!)

A look at the final products..... aren't these kids amazing artists?  And each one is so unique!

We only had one (lucky!!) guy invited.  And the instructors let him pick out ANYTHING he wanted to paint.  He picked this super cool guitar painting, they sketched it up, and away he went!  LOVE IT!

The decor:  Oh, THANK YOU, Michaels and Hobby Lobby!  For making my last second party planning super easy, by having an abundance of hot pink and zebra on almost every aisle!  I started scheming/shopping/crafting on Thursday... the party was Sat.  But look at all this fun stuff:

I HATE throwing parties at locations other than my home.... because it's such a rush to set up!  I knew I'd only have about 20 min for set up before guests would start arriving.  So I mocked it up at home. :)

Oddly enough, this place had some of its OWN zebra decor!  Like this table runner and the seats in the background.  I love the modern look of the invite Sissy picked out, too!  It's by Katherine at Etsy shop Hopscotch Ink - check out all her other cute (modern!) items in her stationary boutique!

The cake:  I tried a friend of a friend of a FRIEND who does cakes - she's the Queen of Cakes, in fact!  And she was just a doll to work with!  (If your local to me and want her info - let me know!)  She whipped up this cuter than cute cake, and it was sooo good... that a self-proclaimed Cake Snob Mom said it was delish!

The sweets:  In my mad dash down the aisles of Michaels, I grabbed some molds for these "pop princess pretzals."  I did chocolate and pink vanilla and the moms couldn't stay out of 'em.  ;)  And look at that picture of Sissy (another masterpiece from Kristie Clark!)  She's just growing up so fast!

Ahhh...... Pinterest.  Because I had such short time to plan this party, I FINALLY GAVE IN.... and activated my Pinterest account.  And thanks to all those creative people, I made these darling marshmallow pops, and these wild pink zebra cookies. 

First off, these marshmallow pops are the easiest thing in the world to do and were snatched up by those kiddos faster than you can say, "sugar high."  You will probably see them at all our parties for the rest of the year.  (And Sissy took them to her Valentine party at school this week!)  I got my directions from The Hostess with the Mostess HERE.

And I had to turn the cookie recipe into something more semi-homemade-approved.... Semi-Homemade Wild Pink Zebra cookies!  So I basically took a sugar cookie mix, added in some bright pink food coloring, baked them, and threw some Hershey Rasberry Hugs on top as they were cooling.  Easy!

Y'all know how much I love printables (they're a lifesaver for moms like me who are perpetually RUNNING BEHIND!)  All You Need Designs on Etsy did these cute custom zebra water bottle wraps - with such a quick turnaround!  The little tents pictured above are from CupcakeCutieesParty on Etsy, too - even MORE cute party stuff!

The favors:  Just a mix of girly stuff!  Cupcake lipgloss, zebra bandaids (for those stylishly injured, ha!), chocolate from Dylan's Candy Bar, Hello Kitty stamps, and an assortment of bracelets, rings, and funky colored hair extension clips! 

The crew:  Here they are!  All but one kiddo was able to make it, and you can tell here how much fun they had!  Starting kindergarten was such a big change this year.... We'd always had relatively the same invitee list - the kids she'd gone to school with since she was a baby.  Only one of these kids was at her party last year... but she's so blessed to have a great, core group of girl friends!

Like this one... her best friend... Giggling together while everyone sings Happy Birthday to her.  (Love this pic!)

See how good the cake was?!  Almost GONE!  2 layers!  lol

And here's the birthday girl with the biggest party favor they got - her final masterpiece!

What a sweet party for such a sweet girl.  I can't believe she's already six... and so smart, independent, confident, friendly, outgoing... 

This is from her actual birthday, back in December.  (We didn't throw her party until January, because of her crazy basketball schedule!!  See what I mean?  Grown up!)  After a day with mom (pedis, lunch, shopping, the merry.go.round at the mall!).... she came home to just ONE birthday gift.  But it was a good one!  I'll never get tired of looking at this picture and remembering that happy day!

xoxo,

Life's a Beach

I'm about to head to my last dr. appt before we meet our last new baby... but just wanted to share this totally cool giveaway with y'all first.  You win the entire.party.  Everything you see here (talk about the ultimate in semi-homemade entertaining)!  It's unbelievable!  Go here to enter (and if you win, I want to be invited to your fab beachy party!)

More from me later today before I'm off to the hospital tomorrow!
xoxo,

G-man just keeps on TRUCKIN': A Semi-Homemade "TRUCKER" party!

Keep on truckin'. 

The theme:  To say G-man is obsessed with trucks is like saying that - last year at this time - I kinda liked pirates.  In other words... that boy is all about trucks!  He seems to love all trucks, so I settled on Vintage Trucks (because I was considering it for G-man's Big Boy room - can't wait for you to see it!)

The invite:  Right after I started contemplating vintage trucks... we spent a weekend at Mr. Fix-it's parents' house.  Just so happens his dad owns this old truck that was perfect for the front of G-man's invite:

And it just so happens that I was throwing a Surprise Party for my mom's 60th the weekend before G's birthday.  In Oklahoma, near all our family.  So... because the Summer House just doesn't have much capacity.. ;)  ...and because 2nd birthdays in the Semi-Homemade house are family-only affairs...we held the party at my parents' house - aka The Truck Stop! 

The back of the invite:

(I'll have to share my mom's party with you later. But imagine attending a surprise party in your honor... and then being told another party is being thrown at your very own house. Later that day. But I had taken care of every detail, so nothing for her to worry about!)

The decor:  trucks - everywhere!  While brainstorming bedroom ideas, I had seen so many amazing vintage truck finds that I just couldn't pass up!  Some of them did double-duty to set the stage for G's trucker party!
 

There's only 2 challenges to throwing a party at my parents' house.  Long distance parties are complicated (so much to pack, grocery shopping to do once you get there, etc.).  And the lighting isn't the greatest.  Meaning there is exactly zero natural light.  But imagine this without the harshness of the flash - it was so fun!

This is my grandmother's sideboard.  That clock is older than anyone I know.  Perfect for our vintage truck theme.  I ditched the original color scheme of light blue and lime green as soon as I ran across so many great things at Hobby Lobby in red and light blue.  Such a happy color combo!

There's so many fun finds on this table.  First of all... those super fun trucks on the tablecloth are from one of my favorite Etsy sellers, that isn't actually a party shop.  Debbie from Paper Quick can make anything, I'm convinced.  She did the toy soldier's for Sissy's Nutcracker Sweet party last year.  And she created these trucks for me (I ordered them in red and light blue and I'll use the small ones in G's birthday book!)

Fun sippys for the kids (another cheap find at HL!)  And I loved the popcorn napkins... perfect with the menu of Truck Stop fare.

Remember how much I love the nearby nostalgic candy & popcorn store, Mom & POPcorn?  I had them do a custom mix in the birthday colors... blue rasberry & cherry... YUM!

The party hat on the right (and the tag in the background) is part of a printable party set I won earlier this year from Esty seller Parties by Hardie.  Their parties are such an amazing value and include everything you'd need for a custom party.  Everything had G-man's name and age on it, and the whole thing was easy! 

You'll see more of the trucker hat later.  I ordered them on Amazon.  To get a reasonable price, I ordered adult size hats, but they adjusted small enough to fit.  This seller had tons of colors for under $4 per hat!

The food:  I snapped this shot before the food was ready.  Just cupcakes and mnm's (we just didn't have parties at my house growing up without 'em!)

The napkin rings and placecards are both from my Parties by Hardie set - love the way it came together.  And that matchbox vintage truck (from Target) was perfect, too!

I picked out these chalkboard canisters for my birthday last year and I just love 'em!  Add a paper vintage truck from Paper Quick and done.  Perfect!

Dinner was a hot dog bar (because after all, we were at a truck stop!)  We had it all - ketchup, mustard, relish, onions, chili, cheese... then we also grilled brats, had Truck Stop Nachos, Mr. Fix-It's Famous Guacamole... and various sides. 

The cake:  Cupcakes and toppers have become my M.O.  So... I'm thinking I'll switch that up for Sissy's next birthday.  But they were perfect for G-man's low key 2nd.  Cheap cupcakes from Sam's (their colors are always right on!), printable toppers in my party pack from Parties by Hardie.  Doesn't get easier (or cheaper!)

The guests:  Big Sis and her cousin Ainsley, cheesin' with their dogs!

G-man does low carbs.  And guac.  ;)

G-man with his Magaw (Sissy came up with that name... and we're still not sure where it came from, but it's not going anywhere!)

G-man loves trucks.  And tents.  This was G-man heaven.

The games:  I'm not really one for games.  Maybe because Sissy and I prefer to just eat and mingle. ;)  But... the 'trucker' theme wouldn't be complete without trucker hats.  And since custom hats for tots cost $25+... We decided to DIY.  Like I said... $4 hats, a set of markers, and we were set!

Daddy helps G-man pull his trucker hat together...

Sissy was concentrating.  G-man looks like he's inspired. ;)

G-man's trucker hat wouldn't be complete without... a TRUCK!

My sister and I try on the girls' handiwork.  (There's a glimpse of the banner that read: Happy Birthday G-man!  I just don't have the time right now to blog-ify it and take G's name out.  But trust that it was all truck and looked great!)

Seriously, these kiddos spent more time on these hats, than the 4yos spent on THREE activities combined at Sissy's last party!

Cousins!

Time for gifts!

Some of my fav gifts!  My sister got G-man the Vintage Truck pillowcases for his new room (from Etsy seller Branch handmade.)

He also got his own tool set - you should see that little man in nothing but a diaper and a toolbelt!

Good ole fashion fun:  Growing up, it wasn't a party without homemade ice cream.  We did it one better by making it an ice cream bar.  Fudge, caramel and candy toppings... mmm!  Perfect for a hot July day!

Happy Birthday, G-man!

To my sweet little man... It's been amazing to watch you grow and change this year.  Daddy and I love that you are 'all boy!'  And Sissy adores you (to a fault, sometimes!)  It's so fun to be your momma.  Can't wait to see what this year has in store!  You are loved. 

On a side note... I've been trying to finish this post for what feels like ages!  But kinda fun that I FINALLY finished it on Aug 7... the day we had picked for him to be born.  :)
xoxo,