birdie’s first birthday
We celebrated Birdie’s first birthday last October with our family and close friends. My friend Cyn Kain came by to take these pretty pictures. Birdie is such a happy, happy little girl, but she erupts into absolute joy at the sight of a balloon, so we had many of those in all shades of pink tied off with pretty pink satin ribbons, as well as this girly #1 balloon, which was, obviously, the highlight of the party!
I labored over her smash cake, and out of fear I’d totally bomb the icing, made a trial-run cake the week before. The cake recipe I used is from The Back in the Day Bakery cookbook. It’s the classic vanilla cupcake Back in the Day Bakery is known for — a cupcake Jon and I enjoyed on a trip to Savannah a few years ago! I used two 5″ pans and stacked the cakes. The recipe yielded just enough batter to make both cakes and nearly a dozen more cupcakes. You can find the frosting tutorial I used here.
The cake pedestal is from Sweet Shop Lulu (I ordered the 6″ round stand), and the topper (a celebration candle kid) is from The Small Object; Sarah was kind enough to paint the hair color to match Birdie’s!
We were busy birthday elves crafting lots of pretty to surprise Birdie on her big day! My husband, Jon, made party hats for pumpkins (since Birdie’s birthday is in October).
Meanwhile I made a birthday hat for Birdie, mini pom pom garlands and big pom poms to hang from the ceiling. To make the pom pom garlands, I used this tutorial for napkin pom-poms and attached them to satin ribbon. I found along the way that the tissue paper from Paper Source is the best weight for pom pom crafting. I used the colors red, strawberry, blossom and poppy, which corresponded with the colors in Birdie’s invitation designed by Jennifer Wick at Minted.
My mom and I baked “1″ sugar cookies, dusted in glittery, pink sprinkles. We used this cookie cutter.
Inspired by Jon and Sherry, we made a first birthday time capsule, filling it with all sorts of things we collected and our guests gifted, from magazines, to a grocery receipt, to a newspaper. We’re looking forward to opening it when Birdie turns 18!
And that is how we celebrated Miss Birdie’s first birthday!
All photographs except the instagram photos by Cyn Kain
Southern Weddings Volume 5
We had such a great time working with Southern Weddings Magazine again, this time on a concept set at Tuckahoe Plantation in Richmond, using a classic palette of green and white accented by the palest blue. I can’t wait to show you more behind the scenes of this shoot (photographed by Katie Stoops), but for now, you can get your copy on newsstands or by ordering here.
brass ornament d.i.y.
Hi everyone! Happy to be back to share a quick and super easy project I did over the weekend. This project came to me in a flash when I saw some brass ornaments that I loved, but at $20+ per ornament the real things weren’t happening, so I created these ornaments as an alternative.
I found the plastic figurines and spray paint at Michael’s. The figurines range from $2 to $6. The gold spray paint is made by Design Master, and although $7-$8 a can for for spray paint seemed steep initially, it was absolutely worth it. I love the color gold it produces.
What you’ll need:
*plastic animals (I used this brand) that you can find at most craft stores
*screw eyes (I used these)
*primer (like kilz)
*gold spray paint (I used this brand — color 231 Gold Medal– found at Michael’s)
*electric drill and drill bit (I used a spade drill bit to start the hole because I had one on hand from carving pumpkins!)
To make the ornaments…
1. Drill hole for screw eye, then screw the screw eye into figurine.
2. Prime figurine with kilz. I tried the project first without priming, and found that the spray paint adheres much, much better with primer.
3. When primer coat is dry, spray with gold paint. Thread with ribbon, and you’re done!
These little animals will be decorating our tree this year, but they would also be so pretty tied on packages, as gifts or as wedding favors for a winter wedding. They’re so easy and lots of fun to make! Happy holidays!
The Hook’s Summer 2012 Wedding Special
Thanks so much to The Hook in Charlottesville (and especially to editor Stephanie Marie) for including me in the summer 2012 wedding special. You can flip to page 26 to read the full story. I’m honored to be included with such remarkable women! Thank you so much again, Stephanie!
father’s day d.i.y.
I had so much fun concepting and producing this project for Oh Joy, fun for father’s day and any summer party, really. Please go check it out! Thanks to Kaycee Deen Hopper for the pretty pictures! And thanks, of course, to Joy for having me again!
some recent work…
“Spring is nature’s way of saying, ‘Let’s party!’” ~Robin Williams
{bouquets by me!; photos by katie stoops)
happy mother’s day
I had fun creating this quick + easy Mother’s Day D.I.Y. for Oh Joy! Hope you’ll pop over and have a look!
Happy Mother’s Day Mamas! xo
{photography by katie stoops}
Sorry for the silence…I’m having so much fun with this girl, I just can’t help it! I hope to be back later in the year with some fun new projects. Please do check back! xo
a fete in blue and white!
Just a few instagrams as we prep for this weekend’s classic wedding in blue and white at Main Street Station…
framed signage in first image and certificate in last image designed by Miss Pickles Press
Neon Dip Dyed Easter Eggs
I had so much fun working on this Easter story for Oh Joy! I hope you’ll click over to read the story and make some neon dip dyed eggs of your own!
