Happy 60th Birthday Grandpa!

While planning my dad's surprise 60th birthday, my boys wanted to know if they got to go to Grandpa's party too.  Ummm...NO!  Five grandsons (ages 8, 4, 4, 2, and 1) running around casino tables and expensive antique and modern cars....yeah right!  They were totally bummed and wanted to know if they got to celebrate Grandpa's birthday.  Well what the heck, might as well add another party to the weekend and we celebrated with a barbeque at Grandpa Cliff's house the day after the surprise party (pictures to come soon!). 

My sister and I sat down with the boys and they had to come up with the menu and desserts.  They also hand-made a special critter to make our BBQ a little more authentic.

Hot dogs were the kids choice and we added hamburgers for Grandpa and the dads.

 All 5 kids agreed that Grandpa would really want watermelon...I don't even think he got one bite!

My oldest, Ray, asked, "What's that white dip that Grandpa really likes with chips?"  Good choice!  French Onion Dip IS my dad's favorite.

Knowing I would have candy left over from the Dessert Table the night before, I steered the kids in that direction.  Then of course my youngest, Clarke, who doesn't like candy says, "I think Grandpa really wants pretzels."  (See Clarke's Cars Celebration!)

Home made brownies and chocolate chip cookies were a must!  Our family has had this chocolate chip cookie recipe since the 1930's and it's THE best!  I made the brownies into bite-sized pops and covered half of them with chocolate.  Yummy!

Super cute printables by Pink Pickle Studios (completely overlooked by the boys...but not my mom!) Thanks for noticing mom!

I added pictures of the boys with my dad to the backdrop.  My dad loved this!

AHHH!  Ants!  Too cute to be real!

Grandpa Cliff and his boys!

All the boys, including Grandpa Cliff, had a great day full of laughs, food and swimming.  The kids were so proud of "their" party and super excited to celebrate Grandpa's 60th Birthday.

Printables by Pink Pickle Studios

Red and White Checked paper by Sarah O Chic

Cupcake/Dessert Tower by Ceramic Services

Ants made of Model Magic

Brian's 40th Casino Night!

Casino Parties are one of my favorite events to plan and this 40th Birthday wasn't any different.  My client Tanya wanted to throw her husband Brian a Casino themed party that was unforgettable.  She wanted the colors to be red, black and white with a sleek Vegas feel.  The more details I added, the more excited I was for the event. I absolutely loved the way everything came together and the party itself was a blast!  Happy 40th Birthday Brian!

Tanya wanted a dessert table complete with candy, cookies and cake.  I set it against a 8'x8' backdrop covered in black fabric with 12" playing cards and poker chips hung on red Christmas lights. 

Cucamonga Cakery helped Tanya design this 3 tiered cake.  The King is a handpainted portrait of the birthday boy!  Amazing!

The cookies were also made by Cucamonga Cakery.  I found the red dice suckers from Candy Warehouse.

 

 I actually made these printables.  I loved the way they turned out!

Continuing the theme, I made this menu and the bar sign for the front of the bar.  I found the Casino Mix on a total whim while shopping at Stein Mart!  Too perfect!

 Something special for the bathroom!

 Casino Tables by High Roller Casino Rentals

Tanya like the martini glass feel and she wanted to add submersible LED's to shine throught the bottom.  I added poker chips, dice and stones inside and  found the large dice on Shindigz.  These looked so cool at night!

 I loved the favor table and these cards were the perfect touch to take the party home!  This dice stand up was a great way to continue the dice theme.

The party's inside!  I made this printable as well.

 Tanya found these candles online, so I incorporated them on a 6' table outside.  The runner was made with poker card fabric I found at JoAnn's Fabric.

I can't compliment 24 Carrots enough.  Chef Dan did an amazing job and their food was so yummy!

I made menu tags for the appetizers and put them in placecard frames I found at Michael's. 

What's a party without French Fries and Mini Cheeseburgers!  The guests couldn't get enough!

It's Casino Time!

The girls taking a break from playing for a photo op!

All That Bling Rhinestone Apparel designed our shirts for the evening.  Too cute, right?  I love my girls! Thank you Kristy, Alison and Dahlia!

Birthday Boy Brian enjoying his cake!

I honestly loved planning this party so much.  My favorite part of the event were the printables that I made.  I thought they turned out so cute and I loved that I was able to continue the theme throughout the whole party.  This night was so much fun and I was honored to be a part of Brian's 40th Birthday.  Thank you Tanya!

Clarke's Cars Celebration!

My baby had his first "Big Boy" celebration for his 4th Birthday. Clarke has loved the movie CARS I think since the day he was born.  He loves how loud it is, how colorful everything is, the music, and the fact that it's Cars...a boys best friend!  He has known that he wanted a Lightning McQueen party since February (mind you his birthday is the end of June) and since he is my party shopping helper, every time we are out he would find something else that would be "SO COOL" for his party.  Take a look at what Clarke and I came up with! 

Invitations by Sarah O Chic

Big Brother had a dessert bar, so he wanted one too.  However, Clarke doesn't like candy or sweets all that much so I had to improvise.  He fell in love with this Lightning McQueen fabric that we found at WalMart so I decided to incorporate it here.

Another incredible cake designed by Cucamonga Cakery!  Chocolate with Strawberries was what the birthday boy ordered.

Can't watch a race (or movie) without your popcorn!  I made the cones with scrapbook paper and I bought the adorable circles and labels from Sarah O Chic.

Fruit Snacks, or Gummies as we refer to them in our household, are Clarke's all time favorite thing!  I couldn't pass up the huge box of CARS fruit snacks at Costco.  This jar was empty by the time the party was over (and not just because of Clarke).

I'm a total sucker for sticking with the theme.  I happen to be in WalMart on the day of my oldest son's birthday party back in May, and I walked by a HUGE jar of CARS pretzel snacks.  I swooped these pups up so fast and glad I did because I haven't seen them since!

My dad, Grandpa Cliff, has called Clarke "Clarke Bar" since the day he was born. Clarke and I were in Cost Plus and he saw his name on these and he says, "Well, that's almost my name."  Gotta love it!

I made these labels from a pack I picked up at Michael's.

At least my son has impeccable timing because with the opening of CARS 2 over the weekend, I was able to find CARS everything.  These are Juicy Juice boxes I found at the grocery store and for dinner the kids also had CARS Gogurt (you know that squeezable yogurt in a tube that kids love and grosses parents out...yeah, that stuff). 

There is my boy playing "Red light, Green light" with a "Pit Crew Pass" designed by Sarah O Chic.

The last 3 left for "Hot Tow-Mater".

The big kids demonstrating "Luigi's Tire Roll"

Trophies for all and Ribbons for the 4 and under and 5 and older "Race to the Finish Line" Bike/Scooter/Tricycle Race!  I made the labels with address label stickers.

The happy participants!

Clarke's Speedway Souvenir Stand.  I made the banner with Checkered Flag Pennants I bought at Oriental Trading and scrapbook stickers.  I found the recyclable lunch sacks at Dollar Dollar and inside were CARS eraser, pencil, Silly Bandz, crayons, and Passport book.  The "Thank You" printable was purchased through Sarah O Chic.

Let's pretend the backdrop looks straight, not crinkled and destroyed  (because it was leaned against and fell 5 seconds before the picture was taken) and we'll look at the sweet little faces ready for some cake!

How cool is this sign!!!  Sarah added this as a bonus to my package and I sent it to Costco Photo to be enlarged.  It turned out so amazing!  Thank you so much Sarah!!!

Planning this party was so much fun and so easy because of how popular the movie is.  Most of the items for the party I bought on clearance or at the various "Dollar" stores around town.  The total of the favor bag was less than $3 and the kids got to take home a recyclable/reusable bag!  All the kids had so much fun, even the girls!  It was one of the girls that said, "This was the best party I've ever been to!"  So sweet! 

Happy 4th Birthday to my little "Clarke Bar"!