Pink Princess Party

In June, I got the opportunity to plan my first real event- a princess party for a sweet little girl I know! My budget was up to $100 (I ended up spending just $50!) and it was a fun challenge to try to stretch the allowance I'd been given. I can't wait to share what I learned through this experience. The party was so fun!

Invitations:

I used Bazzill Dotted Swiss paper, which I love because of its beautiful quality and the fact that the dots on the paper are raised for an embossed look.


Using my Cricut, I cut 1.5" crowns from DCVW textured cardstock, then embellished them with a clear gel pen and mini jewels. I adhered brown ribbon the the cards, then used 3D adhesive dots to attach the crowns.


Decorations:

I took this great party garland idea from Project Nursery and turned it into hanging decorations for the chandelier!

I also created several paper garlands with circles cut from my Cricut and a flower punch. I strung the circles together with hemp. I figured out a very easy way for me to make the garland, which is illustrated in the picture below. I strung the hemp through the circles with an embroidery needle, then stuck another circle of the same size on top with my K & Company tape runner.

Another thing I made was a garland sign for the "Princess Boutique." I used my Printing Press Cricut cartridge for the letters and cut them in a variety of pink papers. I adhered the letters to card stock, then tied the white circles together with ribbon scraps.

Activities:

While guests arrived, they were invited to decorate the Princess' castle- a cardboard playhouse we got at Hobby Lobby for about $12 with a coupon! The birthday girl said she wanted to keep it until she was a teenager. =)


As soon as all the princesses were ready, we head off to the "Princess Boutique" where the girls got to decorate their own princess crown, try on some jewelry, and get their nails and makeup done.


Princess Amnesia was the next game on the schedule. The girls took turns getting a popular princess' picture taped on their back. Then, they would walk around the circle so all the girls could see. They asked questions about themselves (e.g. "What color is my hair?") until they could guess who they were.


After the girls were filled with sugar and needed to work off some of their energy, we moved on to the active games. First came "Pass the Slipper." The girls all got to try on Cinderella's slipper before we began. This game is played just like hot potato. I played classical music in the background. If the music stopped when you were holding the slipper, you would be banished the the palace dungeon!
Next we went to the "Ball" where we played freeze dance. This got very silly!


The girls were still full of energy after a quick break at the Princess Design Studio. I printed a dress template from the internet, then gathered a bunch of art supplies- bits of fabric and paper, ribbon, sequins, markers, stamps, etc. We had some very...creative designs by the girls. I never thought that decorating a piece of paper could be as fun as this activity turned out to be.


Our final activity was a treasure hunt. Oh my! The girls just loved this. I could tell because they just swarmed from place to place. To make it easy for those who couldn't read, I just printed images from Microsoft Clipart for the different locations. To make the paper look aged, I used a Distress Ink stamp pad. I also sealed the clues with stickers for a sweet touch. I hid the treasure in a whimsical little nook in between two bushes outside. I hadn't planned it this way, but the birthday girl was the one to discover the treasure. It was such a Kodak moment- too bad I didn't have my camera! Inside the treasure chest, the girls found their favor bags, which was the best way to do it since we didn't have to worry about dividing everything evenly- it was already done!


Refreshments:
To keep it simple, we just served cupcakes, ice cream, and pink lemonade. If you are planning a birthday on a budget this is the best way to go!

It was my first time making cupcakes, and I used the Wilton buttercream recipe, which was perfect for what I needed. However, I didn't use Crisco because I try not to eat or bake with transfats, so I substituted it with butter. It wasn't quite as creamy as it would be with Crisco, but a little bit of extra mixing fixed that and it tasted so delicious and homemade!


Favors:

Favor bags posed a bit of a problem for me. I wanted something really sweet. I had seen little purse bags, but they were too expensive for the budget I was working with. So, instead I just got some little pink paper bags at Michael's. But, I dressed them up! I cut the girls' names with the Printing Press Cricut cartridge. Then, I tied a pink ribbon above it. They turned out very cute, although it took some work to find out the best way to keep the ribbons attached. I filled the bags with a ring and mini wand (from Hobby Lobby) and some old fashioned candy sticks. The girls also got to keep their crowns.
It was such a fabulous opportunity to plan this as my first event and I had a blast. Happy Birthday Princess!