Memory Lane: Winter ONEderland (Decor)

Hey Luvs!

As I mentioned in my previous post Tabby, Zion, Baby O, and I left the venue not only loving it but chatting it up about how to decorate the space. Of course being the planner that I am, I already spotted various elements I wanted to have at the party. My muse became a great source of inspiration by the way she transformed her lovely home into an amazingly elegant winter onderland affair but, I wanted to make Baby O's party a little more fun. Keeping the focus on the kiddies I had planned an all-white affair with pops of color like...fuchsia, turquoise, and purple.  I had seen a winter onederland themed party in these colors and although it didn't translate as well as my muse the color combo was simply beautiful.

Color inspiration

One day while out shopping at Wal-Mart I decided to venture over to the Christmas section for snowflake inspiration. OMG!!! They had so many I loved in all the right colors. How in the world was I going to contain myself? Thankfully I had a budget that I wanted/needed to stay under and decorating restrictions from my venue. This ultimately left me with the decision to choose the elements that provided with the best bang for my buck. While at the venue the night I booked it, Tabby and I had taken measurements of the classroom boards so I'd know exactly how much space there was to cover and the amount of supplies we needed.  I carefully selected each item based on its place in the room. Using the photos of the venue Tabby and I took with our phones...I was able to see the dream and plan for proper execution. Although, I didn't buy anything that day I did leave Wal-Mart with a few key photos. Yet, had a plan in place to do a little more research and confirm with the Hubs that the funds were available.

Here are some of the items I considered

Over the next few days I did a ton of research on the cost of the products I had seen. When I look back on it I spent a lot of time focusing on the decor but it was worth it. After determining Wal-Mart was the best place to purchase most of my décor. I went back to the store, politely sat on their floor in the Christmas aisle, and designed a mock up. Once I could see my vision coming to fruition I decided to purchase with the intent to return. I see the side eyes, so let me go ahead and explain the purchase with the intent to return comment. Since these items were seasonal I knew the day after Christmas they'd go on sale, and being the bargain shopper I am, my plan was to buy now and take them back later. That way I’d have what I wanted and also get the 50% off. Oh honey believe I didn't when I did (I don't care if I'm the richest person in the world. I won't ever be above a good deal lol), I actually wish I could have waited until after Christmas to purchase my items but they were a hot commodity. In any case I could check those Wal-Mart purchases off my list and spend the rest of my time focusing on the small but significant details that would make up the spaces below...

My in store mock up

The Entry Way/Photo Op

Looking back through the photos of the venue I realized that the entry way would be the first thing Baby O’s guest seen when they entered the reception area.  I then noticed that it had sort of a dramatic flare to it since everyone had to turn the corner to actually get in the room where the food and everything was. Oh! I had to play this up, I found a picture and tutorial on pinterest of some beautiful paper snowflakes that I knew would work perfect in this area.  Once I described them to my planning partner in crime Tabby she explained that she had done them before for a work shindig and agreed to take on the task of putting them to together for the party.   She is beyond a crafty mama so I not only trusted that she’d get them done, but I also knew she’d ensure they were perfect.  I picked up a ream of colorful paper from staples and handed it over to her without a care in the world :).

Entry

My inspirtaion

Progress photo from Tabby

Entry way anchor (I got these beautiful sparkaly trees from Home Goods and plan to use them in my Christmas decor this year)

Kiddie Table

Keeping the focus of this party on Baby O and her tiny tot friends I wanted to ensure that they not only had a play area that catered to them but, an area to enjoy their food at in which they felt comfortable.  I always get a kick of walking up to Baby O’s classroom at snack time, and seeing her and the other kiddies sitting at their little table munching on their snacks. It’s seriously one the cutest thing I’ve ever seen and I’m sure they totally feel all grown up lol. So I decided to create a similar set up at her party using a few portable tables (the table I used has adjustable height and I just set it at the lowest) that we have at the house and I rented chairs from local vendor. Of course, the event planner in me says no table is complete without the proper tablescape, so linen (borrowed from Tabby stash) and centerpieces were definitely in order. While out shopping for the day after Christmas I found the perfect snowman centerpieces for the table. I was already stalking my local target for these adorable snowman sippy cups I had seen to go on sale. But when they did I almost had a heart attack, because I made it to my target to late, I called Tabby and alerted her about this state of emergency as I rushed over to the other target by my home only to find they were out of stock too. I drove back home feeling defeated that the cups I had envisioned holding the kiddies drinks this entire time was sold out. Only for my boo Tabby to call saying her target had them and she picked up every last one they had...YES. With that out the way the kiddie table was almost complete, and the only thing left to do was stop by party city and grab their tiny plates.

Wrapping paper

Snowman

Layout on Table

The infamous sippy cups

My redesign and added personalization

Centerpieces

Looking at my muse photos I fell in love with the manzanite branch centerpieces she put together.  But, I also knew they cost more than I wanted to pay for centerpieces (based on my previous wedding planning experience and the vendor list she posted). So I was in the market for alternatives that we not only just as beautiful but also made a statement. Tabby had some a couple 20in vases leftover vases from our wedding planning days that she was more than happy to let me borrow (I secretly think she wanted them out of her beautiful new home), so she built the centerpieces based on using those jars. While, out and about at Michael’s she noticed they had some of their beautiful branches on sale and suggested I go check them out to see if I could use then for the party. Needless to say I headed there the same day and some metallic silver and oh so glittery ones. I handed them over to Tabby sho had found the perfect purple vase filler while thrifting and she created a masterpiece. Unfortunately, the supplies we had only yielded one centerpiece so I needed to find something else for the other two adult tables. Well during my after Christmas shopping spree I found two amazing white wire Christmas trees at pier one that, complimented the branch piece perfectly. Along the way Tabby picked up a few other items that she knew would complete the vision but for the most part the tables were done. 

Top view of centerpiece

Bottom of branch centerpiece

Full view (these progress photos doesn't do this justice)

Pier One wire trees

Amongst, these areas there were other signature pieces that brought the party to life such as; the overall wall décor, an awesome back drop for the kids table, great food, desert table, mini glitter top hats, a hot chocolate bar, and a candy apple filled favor table (all to be discussed in my future post).  

Wall decor

Snowflake menu cards

Table accents

Favors

Candy apples

Signage

Overall nothing was missed and the all-white winter onederland was executed flawlessly. I just knew that with some many décor elements purchased I had to ensure that the month of January was spent pulling everything together. I set out with a goal for myself to complete one project each night; however it was imperative that all my crafting was completed before the first guest arrived at my home. As, I could almost guarantee that Baby O’s birthday weekend was going to be busy, my house was going to be filled with house guest (which I wanted to enjoy), plus she had her cake smash session, and the party.