Hello Kitty and Star Wars Mashup Birthday Party

When my daughter couldn’t decide if she wanted a Hello Kitty or a Star Wars theme for her birthday we decided to have a Hello Kitty and Star Wars mashup party. After last years Ursula from the Little Mermaid party with handmade decorations and extravagant Ursula costumes we made I thought we would make it easy and have a party at Pump it Up! That way we could focus on the cake, my daughters outfit and finding nice HK and Star Wars swag for our guests.

Having a party at Pump it Up was so easy and fun. The children enjoyed jumping and the staff at Pump it Up helped with everything from taking pictures, supervising children, setting up our decorations, providing pizza and helping with opening presents (e.g., handing us the gifts and throwing all the trash away). It was so great we might do it again for her 5th birthday.

When I was little I remember having a doll cake and I liked it so much I still think about it fondly. I decided to make one for my daughter. To make the cake I used PAMPERED CHEF BATTER BOWL , a Barbie with her legs removed, frosting and HK decorations.

To make the cake batter I used the 1234 cake recipe on the back of a Swans Down Cake Flour, 32 oz.  It was tasty and I received complements. It was moist, a little dense and buttery but not overly sweet. After making the batter I poured it into the batter bowl and baked it.

After baking and cooling the cake we flipped it upside down onto a glass plate. We then placed the Barbie with Princess Leia buns in the center of the cake. Then we frosted the cake and the top of the doll to look like a gown. Lastly we added Hello Kitty decorations. We also decorated cupcakes.

To make my daughter’s outfit I sewed Star Wars fabric in the shape of Mickey Mouse’s head with a number 4 onto a pink tank top. Then I made a Hello Kitty peplum skirt and sewed it to the top. I also made a T-shirt version for back up.

Most of our Hello Kitty and Star Wars swag came from one of our favorite stores Le Creatif Creation in Costa Mesa. When we bought our party supplies they even gave us some adorable Hello Kitty tiaras. If you love Hello Kitty and Kawaii you have to go to Le Creatif  Creation.

Thanks to Pump it Up, a little DIY mom action, Le Creatif and a fun time with family and friends my daughter’s 4th birthday Hello Kitty and Star Wars mash up party was a success. What mash up themes would you like to try? You could also share your favorite birthday venue.

5 Tips for an Ursula Little Mermaid Party

My daughter’s favorite Disney character is Ursula from The Little Mermaid, so it was no surprise when she asked for an Ursula themed birthday party. It would have been easier to find decorations and outfits if she wanted the theme to focus on Ariel, but she had every confidence that her DIY (Do It Yourself) mom could just make her costume and decorations. In her words, “You can make it, mommy!”. I did make our outfits and some decorations and found a few treasures on Etsy as well. If you love Ursula like my daughter her are 5 tips and tricks to help you throw a villainous Ursula themed party.

Photo Credit: Shoshana Lee Photography

Tip #1 make sure to get a Ursula outfit. If you get it early you can take photos and use one for the invite. I made several outfits for my daughter that are available in my etsy shop tulleandthedragon. The first outfit was an extra fluffy, Ursula from the Little Mermaid inspired purple and black, high low, bustle tutu skirt with gold sequin crown and trident. It is available in size 2t to child size 12 or up to plus adult sizes by custom order. I also made an adult sized tutu for some mother and daughter photos.

Photo Credit: Shoshana Lee Photography

The party was going to be a pool party, so I found a fun Ursula Hello Kitty patch  from FabricCrafts on Etsy to put on a swimsuit for my daughter. For the party I made us both matching Ursula costumes with poly filled tentacles they are also available at tulleandthedragon.

Tip #2 use a photograph taken in your Ursula costume for your invitation. You can use it for an evite, facebook event or printed invitation. We did a facebook event and a printed invitation for family and friends not on facebook. Here is what ours looked like. I used picmonkey to edit it.

Tip #3 make or find Ursula inspired decorations. We did a combination of handmade decorations as well as a digital download from etsy. I made purple Ursula lanterns by drawing faces on purple lanterns, collaging black  and white tissue paper with glue and water for Ursula’s hair and dress. Then I glued tentacles made of tulle to the bottom with a glue gun. You can make your own or buy the one that I made from my ebay shop. They are still in great condition and because they are used are being sold for less than they cost to make.

My sister in law made some really cute center pieces with photographs, sticks, rocks, soil and blue containers. She rocks not only did she make awesome center pieces she let us have the party at her house with the pool. She also threw an amazing Mario Brothers party for her 13 year old daughter. We are blessed with a great family.

On Etsy I found a villains birthday banner from Kawaiikidesigns that was purple and black, that included Ursula. I bought it for $2.50 and printed the banner and extra of the Ursula picture, leaving out the other villains. I even used one of the print outs to decorate the Ursula Brew. The Ursula Brew was a purple Mio electrolyte water.

Tip 4 instead of buying an expensive cake customized with Ursula you could get a edible cake topper and put it on any cake. We bought simple cakes from the market and added a custom cake topper from my party helpers on etsy. We put one on a small cake for a small celebration with out of town family and a large sheet cake for the party. It worked best on the whipped frosting cake. You could see the edges on the large sheet cake with butter frosting, but that is my fault not the topper’s. I did not follow the  directions and mist it with water. Next time I will follow the  directions.

Tip 5 plan activities we kept it simple with swimming, pinata and a bounce house. We ended up getting an Ariel pinata to save money, but if you can afford it there is an amazing Ursula pinata on Etsy from PinataDesignStudio. It can also be purchased in Anaheim or Long Beach at Geeky Momas .

Mickey and Minnie Mouse Birthday Party Games and Activities

During my daughter’s second birthday that had a Mickey and Minnie Mouse theme we had fun games and activities for children of all ages. The activities included traditional party games like a Pinata and more DIY (Do it Yourself) creative activities like Mouseka Paint. For resources on how to make or purchase the activities for an economical price click on the links in the article.

A more traditional game we had was a Hallmark – Mickey’s Clubhouse Pull String Pinata.  This more modern and safer version of the pinata was a pull string pinata. Instead of hitting it with a bat you pull a strings at the bottom. A random string will release all the candy. This is a Hallmark brand pinata that is available on Amazon for $17.93. You can also get Disney’s Mickey Mouse & Friends “Candy Mix/Pinata Filler”
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A more creative activity we had at the party was a painting station called Mouseka Paint. To set it up we used clothespins to hang up poster board and large, colorful pieces of construction paper. In the middle of the colorful collage of paper was a homemade sign with a silhouette of Mickey that said Mouseka Paint.

On top of a rectangular party table we put the art supplies. The art supplies included Crayola Washable Sidewalk Neon Paint Tray , 9 piece kit, paint rollers, paint brushes and even circle shaped sponges that could be used to make Mickey Mouse’s head and ears. This was a great activity that my two year old enjoyed as well as some of her older pre-teen cousins.

My daughter’s favorite activity was the bounce house. Instead of renting one, we spent a little bit more and bought a bounce house. We picked the Blast Zone Magic Castle Inflatable Bouncer It holds up to 300 pounds, comes with a blower and is really easy to set up. It is also small enough to fit in our living room making it a good way to get exercise on a rainy day.

A fun game that is a Minnie Mouse themed version of the classic game Pin the Tail on the Donkey is Pin the Bow on Minnie. My daughter and I had a good time making it together. We took a piece of poster board and glued a silhouette of Minnie’s head by tracing a large paper plate onto black construction paper for her head. We then traced and cut ears by using smaller paper plates to trace. We decorated it by painting a mixture of glitter, glue and water over colorful tissue paper squares.

To make the bows we printed out some pink and blue polka dot bow print outs from disneyjunior.com. Just click on the link and it will take you to the bows you can print out. We also used a blindfold and spinned older children around to make it more challenging.

Lastly, an activity that captured the attention of even the youngest party goers was bubbles. There was a  Bubble Blitz Bubble Blowout Party Machine and bubbles at all of the tables. Guests took part in the fun by blowing bubbles, popping and dancing in the bubbles. The bubble machine was strong enough to blow a good amount of bubbles during the whole party and the next day. We also had Minnie Mouse Music to help keep things lively. Feel free to share your favorite party game and follow Tulle and the Dragon so, you don’t miss out on the next blog in the series about Mickey and Minnie Mouse party decorations.

Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse Birthday Outfits

This year for my daughter’s 2nd birthday we decided to throw her a Mickey and Minnie Mouse themed birthday party in honor of taking her to Disneyland for the first time. We like most people could not afford to take all of our close family and friends to the magical kingdom. Instead we decided to bring a little of the happiest place on earth to our backyard.

Since Minnie Mouse is such a fashionable mouse we decided to design our wardrobe first. For my daughter I made her a red, tulle circle skirt with gold hologram polka dots. Underneath the skirt she wore an extra fluffy white tutu skirt to achieve the maximum fullness of her circle skirt. For her top I ironed on a personalized decal from girlymommadesigns.com on to a plain white bodysuit. The design had a silhouette of Minnie’s head with a red and white polka dot bow and a number 2 in the middle. She also had a pair of glitter Minnie Mouse ears that she refused to wear. We did not make her since it was her party and she can wear or not wear the ears if she wants to, right?

For mom and dad we wore shirts that said “Mom of the birthday girl” and “Dad of the birthday girl.” The decals were from GMD Decals (Girly Mama Designs Decals). My husband wore jeans and I wore a custom made black, tulle circle skirt and a big red and white bow. We also had shirts available for guests that wanted to wear personalized Minnie shirt at the party. The shirts for guests said “Happy Birthday, 2, Zyanya 2015” with a silhouette of Minnie Mouse with a red and white polkadot bow.

Stay tuned for my next Mickey and Minnie Mouse birthday party post. The next post will be about fun party games that are easy to make and play at a Minnie and Mickey Mouse themed birthday party. Feel free to share in a comment your favorite party outfits and accessories. Until then toodles.

How to Make a First Birthday DIY Alice In Wonderland Tutu Outfit

Spring is coming along with warmer weather and outdoor birthday parties. A fun theme for first birthdays or tea party birthdays is Alice in Wonderland. In this article you will find four simple steps to follow to make the tutu outfit with embellished bodysuit and miniature top hat.Watch the following instructional videos to learn how to make an adorable Alice in Wonderland themed tutu outfit.

Step One

Watch this first video to see how to decorate the bodysuit.

Step Two

This video will show you how to make a cute Mad Hatter miniature top hat. You can also make extra hats for  decorations or for guests of all ages to wear.

Step Three

Now that you have learned how to make the miniature top hat, you are ready to see how to decorate it.

Step Four

Lastly, watch how to make your blue and white tulle tutu skirt.

Alice in Wonderland Inspired Tea Party

Throwing a tea party can be a fun way to celebrate a big occasion like a birthday or an unforgettable intimate gathering of friends and family. With preparation, vintage and handmade touches you can have a nostalgic yet unique tea party. Here are seven steps to help you plan your own Alice in Wonderland inspired tea party.

Step one choose a theme. Some popular themes include traditional English high noon tea party, Mid-century, Princess, Fairy and Mad Hatter tea party. I threw a “Onederland” (Alice in Wonderland inspired) tea party to celebrate my daughter’s first birthday.

Next you will need to decide on a location. If you are having a small tea party you could choose to have your gathering indoors in your dining or living room. Having an indoor tea party for a small group can make it easier to decorate and keep your teapot filled to the brim with hot water and fresh tea. If you are having a larger party of twenty or more guests you might consider having an outdoor tea party in a garden, back yard or park. For my daughter’s Onederland tea party we used the backyard with tables and pop up tents for shade.

Step three you need to create a guest list and invite guests. Write down a list of guests you would like to invite or if you are organized and handy with excel you can create an excel spread sheet to keep track of guests, RSVP, food needed etc. There are many ways to invite guests: an informal phone call or text for everyday tea time or e-vites and classic paper invitations for more formal events such as birthdays and showers. For my little one I created a personal invitation with our own pretend tea party photo shoot. Just another excuse to dress up and play. You can create your own or download an invitation to print from home at various sites. Below is the one I created.

Now you can think about how you will decorate for your vintage inspired tea party. If you are having an Alice in Wonderland or Mad Hatter tea party you might look for or create Victorian or characters from Alice in Wonderland such as Alice, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat etc. For our Onederland party we had handmade miniature top hats inspired by the Mad Hatter, bunting banners decorated with photographs of my daughter’s first year, vintage inspired fabric bunting banners, hand painted posters, vintage tea pots, silk flowers with eyes, balloons, paper lanterns, “this way” and “that way” signs and giant playing cards to recreate the croquet in Alice in Wonderland.

Step five you will need to decide on what you will eat and drink at the party. A traditional tea party might include a menu of black tea with milk, cucumber sandwiches, cake, cookies, scones and other small finger foods. We decided combined traditional tea party fare with Mexican food. Our traditional tea party food included cookies labeled eat me in colorful frosting, cake, cucumber sandwiches and tea. To make the tea child friendly we served herbal, decaffeinated apple tea served room temperature. We also had traditional Mexican American food such as carnitas, pollo asada, beans, rice and nopales. If you are having guests over for more than afternoon tea it is wise to have more than traditional tea snacks.

For the sixth step you might consider activities for your tea party such as music and party games. We created an eclectic playlist that included retro music, children’s music, the music from the Tea Cup ride at Disneyland and some of my daughter’s favorites like “Free as a Bee” from Hillsong kids. We also had a Mad Hatter bean bag toss game, croquet, and a piñata.

 

Lastly, you could plan your attire. For high noon tea it is proper for women to wear elegant dresses or pants, jewelry and most importantly hats.

Men and boys can wear a suit without a tie, neat trousers, button up or polo shirts. Young girls can wear fancy dresses with ribbons in their hair or a hat.

                          

If it is a children’s tea party, attire can include costumes to match the theme such as tutu’s and aprons. Below are two of the party guests dressed as a very handsome and adorable pair of Tweedle’s.

The birthday girl wore a handmade Alice in Wonderland inspired tutu, embossed bodysuit and top hat headband.

As the host of the party I wore a lovely 1970’s prairie style Gunne Sax dress with a handmade miniature top hat. You could also get an adult size tutu or tulle lined skirt. To encourage guests to join in the dress up fun you might consider having a few tutu skirts in a variety of colors and sizes available for guests at the party.

You will need to do more than plan for your vintage inspired tea party. However, with these seven step’s choose a theme, choose a location, invite guests, plan decorations, decide on what to serve guests and what to you will wear; you will soon be on your way to throwing a vintage inspired tea party that you and your guests will remember for a long time.