Monday, July 11, 2011

alonzo's 1st birthday

we celebrated our little guy's 1st birthday last february. i know that's 5 months ago and it's only now that i'm posting photos! talk about procrastination. anyway, before the actual planning hubby had conditions: a) to keep the party simple and stay within the budget, b) to invite only close friends and relatives and c) for me not the get "too crazy" with the DIY stuff.




fine.






we both decied to celebrate with the traditional cake and ice-cream birthday party. we had a cake and pie buffet and an ice-cream stand was also set up. different ice-cream flavors and toppings were available to allow guests to create their own concoction. the decor consisted of circle cut outs and twirling ribbon. i originally planned on making "little cardboard chandeliers" but later decided it would be more feasible to just tape one end of these "confetti streamers" onto the celiling. how easy it that?



there was this eye-sore of a bar at one end of the room which we weren't allowed to move. an idea struck and i figured to work my way around it by turning it into an ice-cream stand. too bad we don't have a decent photo of it to show.


for the backdrop, i framed a printed photo of the birthday guy with corrugated paper. i love how the pompom party hat added a whimsical effect.






i also cut corrugated paper to spell alonzo's name and hung them with gross grain ribbon across the table. we covered the table with bed sheets, by the way.






would you believe that these are made of paper??? no, we didn't feed our guests with paper cupcakes. these are actually party hats!






of course, the birthday guy had his own party hat, too!




the centerpieces also served as the party favors. we filled these paper cupcakes with little goodies (it opens at the bottom as you peel off the sticker). the cake stands are also made of corrugated paper.




all in all, i could say that the party was a hit. the guests were thrilled that they could satisfy their sweet tooth to their heart's content (we also had sugar-free cake and ice-cream for the sugar conscious) they loved the decors and apprecated the unique party favors. our little birthday boy, although he didn't seem to have clue, had a blast showing off his newest tricks to guests. hubby was also quite satisfied that we managed to have kept the party simple, intimate and within budget.




well, about not going overboard with the DIY stuff, i don't know what to say about that!

14 comments:

  1. oh irene! you are the craftiest mommy I know!
    super cute! pang ohdeedoh!

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  2. hey, maqui

    thanks! im flattered!

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  3. great ideas here! love it

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  4. all your DIY are so nice! youre so creative sis:)

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  5. abigail, thanks so much for the compliment! thanks too for dropping by.

    i'm having technical problems with this blog. i can't comment on my own blog!). its so frustrating.

    anyway, thanks again!

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  6. hi irene! cute talaga ng party ni alonzo! too bad i forgot to bring home my party hat! anyway, how did you do the lettering for alonzo's dessert table? i want to do a dessert buffet for sofia's 1st birthday too :)

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  7. katet, i experimented with different fonts and sizes (combining different fonts and sizes makes it more intersting i think). printed them out and used those as my templates. i traced them on corrugated paper (from office warehouse -- P15 lang) and used an exacto knife to cut.

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  8. loved this party! from theme, to decor to food! it's so old school but so whimsical! :) can i copy it for my baby's baptism....so help me God! hahaha! ;) just the centerpieces though!

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  9. sure, cathy! let me know if you need any help!

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  10. just discovered your page and really loved poring over it. :) love the cupcake hats!!! how did you make it?

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  11. hi, busy bee

    thank you for your comment. i used a paper cup to make a template for the "body" of the cupcake and used paper twine and/or japenesse paper for the "top" part. pasted it over a doily supported by cardboard underneath. i pasted plastic forks as accent and attached metalic garter on the sides to hold the hat in place over the head.

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  12. hi ms. irene, i'm planning to decorate a party, just like what you did on your son's 1st birthday, May I ask, where did u buy your colored papers for the circle cut outs, i can't find a teal colored paper in bookstores. since the motif of the party is tiffany blue & brown.

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  13. hello, mary

    thanks for dropping by my blog. the colored cardboard are from national bookstore (they are just cartolina, actually.) for P5-6 each while the others are from office warehouse (the darker colored ones, for P22). they are usually found at the back or somewhere at the corner of the stores, the same area where they keep the illustration boards. hope i was able to help.

    Good luck on your birthday planning and i hope you have fun!

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  14. Hi i really love the party hats & the centerpieces, do you have a step by step procedure on how to make these cuties?

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