Category — 1st Birthdays

We’ve been getting so many beautiful photos of parties in our mailbox these days, and we truly thank all of our creative friends for allowing us to post some of your most incredible work!  Ok, so this particular birthday party immediately caught our eyes, as I personally have never thought a monkey themed party could be this adorable.  But for the super talented Esther from My Bride Story anything is possible!  For her son Grant’s first birthday, Esther created the most charming Curious George-inspired party in only TWO WEEKS!!  The party was not only filled with delightful decorations and details, but was also budget-friendly and had all gifts donating to a charity called “Giving Children Hope.”  Taken place at Olive Studio, a photo studio in Fullerton, CA, Esther thought it would be fun for her guests to take family shots at the studio while celebrating.  For decor, she incorporated bright reds, yellows & blues, and used creative & brilliant ways to save and make it a budget-friendly party whenever possible. Here are some great ideas directly from Esther:

It really wasn’t until 2 weeks before the party that I started renting items and picking things up from here and there. I found a lot of great things on the clearance racks and at Michaels. The studio already had a lot of cute props and furniture so we just re-arranged it a bit and created a casual outdoor party atmosphere under the tree with picnic blankets & throw pillows. We also brought in some of our own furniture as well.

Things I borrowed:
-The lanterns that were hung from the tree were borrowed from my sister.
-Party trays & plates for the dessert bar and the red wagon where we placed our drinks were borrowed from Kristine.
-Kayla’s Kakes, kindly provided the cookie lollipops with mini cupcakes.
-All floral arrangements & wheat grass box were also kindly provided by Jina from T.H.E flower.

Simply, the cutest cupcakes and cupcake toppers ever!

Milk shooters with chocolate chip cookies on top:

I’m so excited to start this week off with today’s post, mainly because this party is the work of the extraordinary Beth of Beth Helmstetter Events – the queen of subtle details & vintage chic elegance!  I’m crazy about Beth’s work and have always been. She’s the mastermind behind so many weddings and the occassional baby shower, so I jump at the chance of posting anything Beth-inspired and baby-related on Ultimately Plush.  So here it is, Beth’s Vintage Cowboy Baby Shower that she put together for a backyard of a home in Kansas City where Beth is originally from. Enjoy!

Beautifully placed pillows over hay bales for seating:

Mason jars for lemonades with “howdy” straws:

Party favors and pashminas to keep the guests warm:

Western style bbq feast with potato salad, cole slaw and baked beans… and for dessert?  Mini homemade pies!  Yum!!

What little boy doesn’t love trains?  Take a look at this fun, train themed dessert table created by the incredibly talented Sweets Indeed.  The stationary pieces they used to create this navy and orange dessert table show how carefully they gave attention to every little detail.  Sweets Indeed says that they ”decided to center it around some vintage paper and use the wooden fence as a natural backdrop. The majority of the kids were younger so we wanted to add in some healthier snacks and non-edible items. The mini train whistles, Chugga Chews and beautiful fruit display were among (her) personal favorites.  (They) made chocolate chip cake pops (a huge favorite), vanilla cupcakes, and puffed rice treats on sticks. Inspired by Pizzazzerie’s cupcake skewers, (they) added baking cups under our puffed rice treats and LOVED the functionality of it. It’s the perfect crumb catcher!”