Nolan's Big Bad Monster Truck Bash

I am still trying to come to terms with the fact that my little man turned three last week.  I honestly have NO idea how it happened so fast.  One day my water was breaking and the next I am planning his 3rd birthday.  But lets keep it real, the kid is still in diapers and sleeps in a crib {we did order a big boy bed this weekend} the diaper thing we are working on, so I guess he is still a baby in some ways...

He is a boys boy, in that he is WAY into trucks, car, trains, and pretty much anything that moves.  When we asked him what kind of party he wanted his first and only response was "monster trucks".

And if you know me from parties past, I am always teaming up with my girlfriend Kori. Paper and Pigtails to make party magic. After choosing colors and a concept, Kori went to work and I starting gathering, buying, and spray painting , the things I do best.

For his backdrop I wanted something that made me think of a winners circle at a Monster Truck Rally. I took him to a local car parts store that always has a "monster truck" outside, and after getting permission to take a few photos, I took the winning image to Staples and had them print an engineer print.  They were able to scale it just almost fit perfectly on a piece of foam board I had purchased, total cost for the board and print was $10.  

Then I took spray adhesive and worked from the top down in sections.  Once it was on, I took tissue paper and hole punch it to make confetti and then glue sticked it down.  

Right after we chose Monster Trucks, I was at Target and they had these trophies in the dollar bin {they were really $2} for Halloween costumes.  The water bottle labels Kori made fit perfectly on the base.

Then I took pans I got at the Dollar Tree and spray pained them, finally I Gorilla Glued them together to create a CHEAP but fun cupcake stand!

I love the idea of bite size cookies as cupcake toppers, like I did here, and Renee from Bee's Knees Creative made that happen yet again with these little tires.  She also made an amazing "BIG" cookie for Nolan.

Other treats included "Mud Buddies" in my oh so favorite snack cups from Kori.

Chocolate Doughnut Spare Tires

LARGE Marshmallow Bolts {Take marshmallows on paper straws, quickly dunk in water, then roll in sugar sprinkles.}

Oreo Pop Rocks, because I can NEVER have a party without them, people will not come. 

Brownie Dirt Ramps aka boxed brownie mix made from the directions but added crushed peanut butter Oreos on top before baking.

And for good measure we bagged up some popcorn to add a little bit of salt after so much sweet.

And just to finish things off I got paper fans and streamers from Party City for the backdrop.

And of course add some Monster Trucks and their tracks to the table.  I scored the tire track tape here.

And lastly was the favor table. Being the week after Halloween I was not about to give candy. So I found these monster truck tire cups, mini trophies, and monster truck tattoos, on Birthday Express.

I also purchased some checker duck tape from Micheals, I wanted to buy fabric but the tape was SOOO much cheaper after my 40% off coupon.  I added it to my mirror then hung photos of Nolan on it.  It was easy to just add throughout the tables.

The cups came with a monster truck sticker on the front and back, but I decided to cover it.  I took the party circles Kori made, printed them on sticky paper and punched them out. I also used them on the blue and yellow traffic cones I scored at the Dollar Tree.

For the "Winners Circle" sign I used this DIY from Smile and Wave. 

I hope you are all still with me after such a long post.

And if you are then you will her me say, it was a success.

From my friend Kori's partnership in creating fun paper goods, to the DIY's, to the weather, to the food, to my sweet little three year old boy!

Please free to ask any questions!

PS:

I made his shirt, using a freezer paper stencil and some black fabric paint.

Buggie turns 6. {Pretty Garden Party}

This past weekend my little Buggie turned 6. 

She kept telling me leading up to it "Momma, do not cry." 

She knows me so well.

But I held my own and did not shed a tear.

But what I did do was put together a sweet girlie party just like she asked for.

Of course I teamed up with my girlie Kori from Paper and Pigtails.

 Who just came out with a beautiful line made from her hand drawn illustrations.

Her take on a girlie garden theme was a beautiful inspiration. 

As I shared, I made some crepe flowers large and small for the table.

I also made a few cake stands with a couple old candle sticks I had and sprayed painted gold.

One thing that is ALWAYS a request for parties in our family are Oreo Pops.

And to make them have just a little sparkle I took some Wiltons gold dust and brushed them.

 

Another request Avery had was for powdered doughnuts.

I bought two bags of sweet sixteen one powder and on cinnamon sugar.

Then I took the bag of cinnamon ones added more gold dust and shook them to cover...

I would say in total it was around $80 for the whole table and food, not bad especially since it was all gone at the end.

And we decided for favors to give flower pots with some soil and seeds. Which the pots I got in the Target dollar bin, seeds were .99 each and the soil was $3.99 for a HUGE bag. So just $2 for each.

And EVERY kid was so excited to take them home.

One other thing we have done for the past three birthdays for Buggie is have a face painter.

And we have been lucky to have Carolina the Doodler for the last two of them.

She is AMAZING.

I highly recommend her for parties and other events.

The birthday girl was so happy which made us happy.

Good day for all.