Laken turns ONE – Party time!

September 1st, 2016 at 2:42 AM our world was forever changed when our girl Laken Lili made her way into the world! This past weekend we celebrated her 1st birthday with family. I was out of the country the week of her birthday and had to work the few days before her birthday so I wasn’t able to make the decor as elaborate as  I wanted but it still turned out pretty sweet! We went with a woodland theme…that really didn’t turn out to be much woodland haha. Instead we had a bunch of light pinks and creams, some sparkle, and a little bit of wood. I had so many ideas from Pinterest and figured with being on a time crunch buying everything would be easier, but I ended up DIY-ing everything that I wanted! All it took was a few super late nights and a couple of trips to Target and Hobby Lobby.

I really had to manipulate the space we had because we have big furniture in a small area so we ended up pushing our kitchen table into the corner and moving the chairs behind our loveseat for extra seating. Our walls are pretty blank because I’m so indecisive so I wasn’t too worried about hanging things on the wall for this. I was pretty happy with how our dessert table turned out because most of the things we used I already had around the house. The wooden tier was purchased at TJMaxx for our wedding and fit perfectly into the theme. I got the flowers at Michael’s for an incredible deal. I’m totally that impulse buyer when I see things on super clearance and just hope that someday in the future I’ll need it haha. The memo board and gold cloth, which is actually a video backdrop cloth, were both purchased on Amazon (linked down below).

My first DIY was the tissue paper puff balls(not really sure what they’re called haha) hanging from the ceiling. I debated on purchasing some but I had set colors in mind and couldn’t find them anywhere. I looked at Michael’s, Hobby Lobby, Target, Wal-Mart, Party America, and even The Dollar Tree and they were out everywhere!! After looking at the price I figured I could DIY it for cheaper and make more, rather than purchasing one for $2.99. Accordion fold 4 pieces of tissue paper together, pinch the center, tie a string or thread around the center, and gently pull apart the layers for fullness!

Now on to my absolute FAVORITE part of the whole party set up! If nothing turned out the way I wanted I was going to make sure her cake smash chair turned out..and it did!  I got all the tulle and the sparkly “one” letters from Hobby Lobby. This DIY was by far more time-consuming than the other but watching it all come together was so worth it. I took a long strand of elastic and cut the tulle into 6in wide strips, looping them around the elastic, and alternated cream-pink-sparkly cream. The back of the chair was 1.5 yards of an off-white shimmer fabric that I simply tied a knot in the back for easy washing.

We had an absolute BLAST!!! It’s crazy to think that we have a one year old and it’s been a whole year since she was born! It’s amazing seeing her develop and we love watching the person she’s becoming! Our home is currently covered in tissue paper and toys but she’s having a blast so I don’t mind!

xx-Kendra

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*** Gold Backdrop Cloth https://www.amazon.com/DODOING-Backdrop-Photography-Background-Birthday/dp/B01NCNVUQB/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1504573713&sr=8-6&keywords=gold+video+backdrop

*** Black Felt Memo Board https://www.amazon.com/Letter-Board-Changeable-Characters-Inspired/dp/B072MB1CQC/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1504650151&sr=8-3&keywords=black+felt+letter+board