Horse & Cat 7th Birthday Party (A Purrfect Party, of C-horse!)

Hey everyone! Just a few days ago we celebrated my cousin Riley's 7th birthday with a unique theme she chose herself: cats and horses! She also wanted an orange party. For this theme, I decided to do a boho-vintage style with subtle oranges and browns as the main colors. The cake was from Ingles. The dishes and books displayed were items I had on hand, with most of the ceramics handmade. I also handmade the giant, wooden box and wooden, hollow rectangle used as stands. The lollipops and candies were super easy: I made them by melting some chocolate chips, mixing in a little water, pouring them into a succulent silicone mold (from Walmart) (that I sprayed with baking spray first to be safe), adding the lollipop sticks, and freezing them. The bouquet consisted of wildflowers and plants from my yard and my grandparents' yard. The little plants on display were mine and my mother's that we had on hand. I made the prize ribbon by cutting and hot-gluing a combination of burlap ribbon and scrapbook papers. I painted a tiger figurine and all of the other cats and horses came from my grandmother. All of my cat statues decided to go missing and I could find nothing to use when my grandmother came to the rescue with perfect small kittens and a horse. I painted the banner with acrylic paint. My mother tied yarn onto the embroidery hoop and I tied on ribbon, then painted the yarn with watered-down acrylic paint to create the bohemian dream-catcher decor. Riley and I agreed on hot chocolate for party favors (which might seem weird for a summer party, but we agreed every day is a great hot chocolate day) and I packaged them in brown paper bags. I decorated those bags with hot-glued or stapled scrapbook paper and doilies, on which I wrote "Thank you for making Riley's party 'purrfect'!" I displayed hanging photos by taping them on yarn that I tied to a wooden dowel. The party did not include half of what I hoped to include, such as the subtle-orange-dyed photo backdrop I started on or a balloon arch. I started putting out a few dishes when I ran by the day before to teach an art lesson, but I basically made everything the morning of (since I accidentally overslept until 3 or 4 a.m. and had to go around 7:00 a.m.) and had like thirty minutes to decorate, so it was super duper last minute despite my best intentions. However, I think my cousin was happy, so I guess it was mission accomplished.

I hope that you enjoyed and can use this theme for future inspiration! My second-session summer class starts in two days, so I hope to get back to posting weekly but if I don't, that's why and I will get back soon. Thank you for visiting! 

-Lauryn

2019 Bedroom Tour

Hello everyone! Today I'm sharing a quick little room tour. Last year my bedroom was decorated in a Scandanavian-Bohemian style with an astronomy theme. I painted a chalk-baord wall, and although I am happy with it, I suggest not doing one on a bumpy wall and over a bed. It came out really bumpy and the chalk dust falls on my bed. Also, when I'm in bed I accidentally wipe off whatever chalk drawings or writings are on the bottom. Anyway, for decor I drew constellations, used rocks and my salt lamp, and used a calligraphic print of a watercolor I made a few years ago of one of my very favorite quotes: "Though my soul may set in darkness, it will rise in perfect light; I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night." The woven blanket was a gift from Rahab's ropes. I also used some of my nerdy book-themed decor like music boxes, a Narnia candle, and an Alice display (also gifts) just because. I went for an indigo, purple, black, and white theme overall. I went for a very minimalist look, so there's not much to show. The shelf I found at a thrift store and repainted white with chalk paint. I hope you enjoy:

Thanks for visiting!

-Lauryn

"Reach for the Stars" Graduation Party

Hello, everyone! Today I am excited to share my cousin's graduation party. I wanted to do something original, like others on Pinterest have, such as the ones I found online, including "The World is Your Market" (Farmer's Market theme), "Donut Forget Me" (Donut theme), and "Down the Rabbit Hole" (my favorite!). For mine last year, I created a book-themed graduation party (see here). After a lot of brainstorming, I came up with a "Reach for the Stars" theme. The color scheme was pale purple, light pink, navy or sapphire blue, gold, and silver. I've always wanted to do an astronomy party, so I had fun with it. Every banner, sign, placecard, and hanging decoration was handmade. I watercolored everything with purple and pink hues. The stars were just recycled cardboard painted gold. The star balloons were from Amazon. I made the round wreath by wrapping a hula hoop with blue fabric shreds and gluing on a hand-painted poster cut into a banner. I embellished it with branches that I partly painted with gold or silver paint and a white rose. The moon was made with stick-on vinyl I had bought a long time back for $0.50 on cardboard. I used my tye-dyed fabric as a photo backdrop. My grandparents made the cake. If you're wondering, the cake was also celebrating her 18th birthday which was the same week she graduated. I made up the poem that goes with what I called her "Dream Jar", and it says: "We wish upon our star / as she prepares to shoot afar / Placed in the jar, each written line / is a wish that will help her shine." The guest would write wishes/advice and leave it in her jar. I painted constellations on the mini globe, and for the party favors I invented "Star Dust Sugar Scrub" which I will share in more detail in a future post. The flowers were beautiful and fresh on Saturday, but I left them out Sunday morning until late afternoon, so they sadly wilted. They were really pretty before though, and I bought them at the Clarkesville Farmer's Market from my favorite florist. The business is called Currahee Gardens, so if you ever need flowers, check it out. Since I had almost all of the supplies on hand, the total cost was maybe $2 plus the bouquet. 

I took as many photos as I could, but unfortunately I did not capture the main meal and side dishes. Anyway, I think the graduate enjoyed it and the weather was fair, so I would call it a success. I hope you enjoyed and look forward to sharing more with you soon!

-Lauryn