Enchantment Under the Sea: Halle's 7th Birthday Party, Mermaid Style

This past Saturday we celebrated Halle's 7th birthday...mermaid style! I've been putting bits and pieces of this little shindig together since before her night owl party last year. Yeah, she picked this year's theme even before we celebrated last year's birthday..she's a little overzealous when it comes to her birthday, lol! If I remember correctly I didn't plan her owl party until like the week before so this time I made sure to give myself more time to get things together. With the help of a little Pinterest inspiration mixed with some ideas of my own I was able to create an enchanting tablescape perfect for my Ariel loving princess. I wanted this party to give a nod to the famous under-the-sea princess (hence the "dinglehopper"and spoon detail) without screaming ARIEL everywhere (no themed cups and plates here). I chose a soft color palette in varying shades of aqua and coral to help tie everything together. The pale ruffled backdrop (really a shower curtain :) ) and the neutral fabric table topper was a nod to the sand and sea that completed the look :) I'm pretty sure Halle loved everything about her day!! It was so much fun to create and definitely one of my favorite parties so far!

 

I cannot believe she is 7!! Looking back at her newborn photos it almost feels like yesterday when I held her for the first time...staring at her...so unbelievably smitten!! Today I am still in love and utterly amazed with the beautiful young lady she is becoming, inside and out. God is sooo good, I am sooo blessed :)

 

 

Here's a full shot of the table..notice the photo timeline. I threw that together at the last minute b/c I totally forgot to make it. Good thing it was an easy project!

The incredibly beautiful cake was created by my friend Rachel. Isn't it lovely?! She always does such an amazing job with the cakes I ask her to create. I give her some ideas or an inspiration photo and she nails it every time! You can see more cakes she has made for me here, here and here. She doesn't have a baking business but I bet she would do well if she ever did!

 

These incredibly beautiful ruffle cake pops were made by another talented girl named Frances of Peace Love Flour. I actually found Frances via craigslist of all places! She had placed an ad for her new business and I figured I'd give her a chance. Funny story was that when she hand delivered them she looked so familiar and it turned out we graduated high school together! We just didn't recognize our married names...what a small world we live in :) The cake pops were absolutely delicious!!

 

These beautiful starfish sugar cookies were also made by Frances of Peace Love Flour. They were moist, sweet and delicious! She got the cake pops and cookies spot-on to what I requested. I will definitely go back :) If you are local and need a special treat you should definitely check out all she has to offer!!

Picked up these adorable sequin crowns for $1 each in the novelty bins at JoAnns. They were perfect favors for each party guest!

Any beach goer will recognize these sweet little treats! They are sugar versions of sea glass that I made using a mold and a recipe I found here.

And of course I had to have some sea star krispy treats...one of my fave sweets!

 

I found these little Ariel rings at Target about a year ago and knew they'd be perfect party tokens. I set them up in a compote filled with sugar crystals to mimic the appearance of sand.

Each guest got to grab some pearl gumballs and make their own "pearl" necklace :) I made sure to pre-drill the holes using a skewer and pre-cut the ribbon lengths to make things easier. I also attached a toothpick to one end of each ribbon strand to make it easy to thread the ribbon through the "pearls".

Halle blowing out her candles :) This is always one of my must-have shots at each of my children's parties! I love the light and airy (enchanted) feeling of this one. It makes me smile :)

She allowed to me to get one picture of her in the wig...thanks sweetie!

We hired a face artist to come and paint whimsical designs on the girls' faces. It was a huge hit :)

Halfway thru the party Halle got a surprise phone call from a very special mermaid!! Ariel called and sang songs to her and chatted with her about her party...Halle could not believe it!! We had planned to have Ariel come to the party but there were unforeseen circumstances that kept her away. The phone call made up for it though :)

Ella getting her turn at the face painting :)

  

 

A group photo of all the special mermaid princesses in attendance :) I'm pretty sure they all had a great time!

  

Ariel sent 3 signed photos for Halle as well as a special tiara which I presented to her at the party! It was magical indeed!! (notice the dinglehopper stand...a $2 antique store find!)

Holiday for Her 2011

Every year my church, LCC, does a holiday event for women called Holiday for Her. It is one of our largest events of the year involving amazing inspirational speakers, catered dinners and beautiful decor! Every table is individually hosted and decorated by the women of our church so no two tables are alike. Each one is different and unique. I have been attending this event for 10 years but this was the first year I hosted and decorated my own table. I've been wanting to do one for years but it takes planning and I never got everything together until now. If you decorate a table you are responsible for supplying everything needed...from linens to dishes, silverware to centerpieces and everything in between. You may decorate your table in any theme of your choosing. Most choose a holiday...Christmas, Thanksgiving , Easter etc...some choose a decor theme. The only requirement is that you have a bible verse to go along with your theme. I wanted to do something involving birds, nests, moss etc. Not sure what I would call it...something between enchanted woodland & feather your nest. I filled different size apothecary jars with moss, lights, eggs, nests, feathers and birds and set them up on stacks of vintage books and then surrounded everything with lots of candles, tall and small. It was beautiful all lit up! The verse that went along with my table comes from Psalms 84:1-4. It reads:

How lovely is your dwelling place, LORD Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, LORD Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.

It was a fabulous night and I cannot wait to do a table again next year!