Saturday, August 8, 2009

Inspiration Realized

The "red balloon" birthday party has come and gone, thank goodness. A great time was had by all, and I was able to translate most of what I wanted into decor and fun. Most importantly, it didn't rain. Clouds threatened, but we enjoyed a semi-balmy lunch outdoors with plenty of room for active toddlers to run.

The all important "red balloons" and homemade banner in the living room:


Gorgeous red dahlias from our local farmer's market:


I started creating pinwheels a few days ago to add to the red balloon decor. After prepping two dozen large and small sheets of paper, I realized that I would never be successful (in this life) in getting the pinwheels put together correctly. So a quick change in plan was required and we ended up hanging the pinwheels (minus stick) from the trellis and picnic table umbrella:

I fondly remember as a child my mom would place a small basket overflowing with M&Ms next to each place setting at our birthday parties. This group gathered today was certainly not in need of more sweets since we dug into a Cold Stone Creamery ice cream cake and already sugared-up children didn't need to miss their afternoon naps from an "excellent sugar rush".

But, I do like favors, so we created magnets out of the photo we took of GT (used on the Evite) and wrapped them up in simple kraft boxes. They were a hit!

Here is a shot of my new, very useful potting bench that we served drinks from - keeping things simple, we provided Pellegrino, Sangria and Pink Lemonade. This is a tad messy as it's near the end of the celebration.

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