Back in August our little lady turned one. I can't believe how quickly time goes after you have a child. I get choked up just thinking about it! I wanted to do something special for her and since she was born in the nice, warm summer time, I thought it would be perfect to take advantage of the outdoors and make the party a "camp" theme.
We had some scrap pieces of wood laying around that I used to paint "Camp Clark" and "Pow Wow" on. These were easy DIY decorations that helped emphasize our theme and show our guests where to go.
I bought some generic white feathers from a craft store, then painted the tips of each of them gold. I hung the strand of feathers on our chalkboard wall where I hand drew the words "Happy first birthday Vada." This is where we had her sit to enjoy her very first birthday cupcake!
I cut long strips of paper for the kids (or adults) to color then make into their own headband. Markers, feathers and glue were all set out on the table for them do decorate and construct at their leisure.
I took a picture of Vada once a month after her birth and wrote down the milestones she was reaching at each stage. I had these photos printed then displayed on the living room wall for the party goers to read and admire:)
If you know me at all, you know that mint chocolate chip ice cream is my absolute favorite. I request this ice cream cake for my birthday each year. I wanted to have the same for Vada (and me), but I knew it wasn't practical to have an ice cream cake sit out in the August heat - so I compromised. I made a delicious chocolate cake with mint chocolate chip frosting, which I found on Pinterest. Her party was my first time making it, so I am VERY happy it turned out! Luckily my mom made some yummy cupcakes for back-up;) For the banner on top of her cake, I just cut some triangles out of kraft paper, wrote the word "one" on them, then glued them to a piece of string supported by cute paper straws.
Our present to Vada was this amazing hand made teepee from HouseinHabit. We have since moved it indoors to our living room where we spend each day going in and out of it reading books or playing hide-and-go-seek. It was a wonderful party that I hope she'll enjoy looking back on when she's older:)