Girls Nautical Birthday Party

My baby girl is TWO! (well almost...

...since I am 8 months pregnant I decided to have her birthday 

party a month early just in case this little boy decides to make 

his appearance sooner than expected)

I think I started planning this nautical themed party almost as soon as her 

first birthday was over. What can I say, I need a lot of time to 

plan, create, and continue to create up until the actual day.

The weather report the week before her birthday party was looking

pretty rainy, each day I continued to check the chance of rain & as the week wore

on I needed to decide whether to reschedule or change the location. 

The original plan was to have the party at my husband's parents pond (a perfect

location for a nautical party) in the end I decided it was more important to 

have  the people who play a huge part in Grace's life there,

than at the perfect location.

So, my parents awesome wrap around porch it was-we still had a view of a pond anyways!

and..it did end up pouring, so thankfully we had a roof over our heads!

I bought very little that was already assembled, this party was almost 100% DIY.

Enjoy the overload of photos.

(Click an image to enlarge!)

Table setting & Tablescape!

Each place setting had a paper boat made from scrapbook paper.

These took more time than any other project. But those little sails

were so worth it!

Paper straws need tags. & if you are wrapping your silverware,

why not add an anchor?

The centerpieces were simple. Easy to put together and added

that sand every nautical party needs.

 I bought wooden boat kits at michales for $1

painted them white

and added my own sails to them.

Drink station to suit everyone's thirst.

I love chalk art!

Pinwheels are super easy & add a splash of color in unexpected places!

Nacho bar!

Bought this ladder shelf at a yardsale for a few

dollars a couple weeks ago (for the nursery)

 & it turned out to be the perfect stand for

the bags of chips for the nacho bar!

Embellishments make everything better.

Messages in a bottle for Grace. 

Coffee stained the paper to make it look old.

Food labels are more for decoration than the practicality. 

This cousin hug turned into more of a dance than a hug.

Food spread.

These flag toothpick holders were easy to put together and super cute!

I think she's enjoying her mason jar cup & punch.

S'more Bar!

These starfish and sand dollar were made out of air drying clay.

Gourmet S'mores, what not to love! 

Terracotta pots lined in foil and filled with charcoal are the perfect solution

when you don't have a campfire handy. (Warning: they need to be lit well in

advance to get hot enough to roast the marshmallows

 & the pots get VERY HOT) 

Possibly my favorite DIY project from the whole party. A personalized

LIFE PRESERVOR!

I wrapped a "hay" wreath (from michaels) in burlap, added the

white rope and glued on the letters cut out on the cricuit.

(That description makes it sound easier than it really was..but

it was worth it!)

I found this dress on zulily.com and knew it would be perfect!

Double kisses from mommy and daddy, may or may not be her favorite.

Sometimes the simplest details are the cutest.

 I hope you enjoyed my little girl's 2nd birthday party. I also hope I inspired you to do some of your

own DIYs. 

Pin Away! & leave me comments, I love reading your thoughts.

Pink, Grey & White Nursery. Owl & Elephant Themed.

This nursery is not the one I originally planned. 

I spent hours "researching" and designing a completely different theme.

I wanted to find out what we were having, my husband didn't. I thought

I wasn't going to know if I was having a baby boy or girl until I actually 

had it. So, I started brainstorming a gender-neutral nursery.

Both of our families have a majority of boys. We honestly thought that we 

were having a boy.

I had a grey & yellow nursery "You Are My Sunshine" theme in mind.

Looking back now, I definitely wouldn't have been happy with that

for my baby girl!

When we went to our 20 week ultrasound, Drew surprised me and said

we could find out the sex! An even bigger surprise came when the 

tech said "its a girl!" I actually asked her if she was sure, I just

couldn't make it register in my head! 

After finding out we were going to be blessed with a girl,

I set to work coming up with a completely different room.

Owls? or Elephants? was my big dilemma. I couldn't decide,

so I went with both!

A lot of this nursery was built by Drew, made by me, or passed

down from someone else.

Nursery decor is expensive- make sure to shop around,

see what you can make yourself, and try to find a coupon!

Cribs are expensive, and there are so many to choose from.

I found mine at a very decent price at Burlington Coat Factory, plus I 

had a 20% off coupon! 

"I'll love your forever..." My mom used to read

this book to us and I knew I wanted it incorporated 

into the nursery.

I never knew how many options there were for crib bedding, and I

never knew how picky I could be about it. I quite possibly

could have looked at 1000+ bedding designs.

Even after looking so much, I still hadn't found THE ONE.

I actually spent some time looking at fabric, thinking my grandma

might have to make the perfect bedding.

 I finally found this light pink polka dot & floral print at The Land of Nod.

I've seen the ladder shelf in high end stores, for high end prices.

My awesome hubby made this one, in ONE day!

For my baby shower, it was "bring a book, instead of a card". What a perfect

way to start off a babies book collection!

Grace's Gigi knitted this adorable owl.

Lot's of people helped make this elephant pull toy (although the 

string hasn't been attached yet). My mom cut out the elephant shape

and ears, Drew made the base and wheels that roll & I painted it.

This owl bank is so cute!

This might be the only thing in the whole room that I already had.

Drew bought it for me for Christmas a few years ago and I never got around

to filling it with pictures, I think its perfect for a nursery though!

My Rockasan from Pier 1 is awesome. It's amazing to sit in

by MYSELF. Personally, I wouldn't recommend this as your nursery

rocking chair though. It's hard to get in and out of when holding a newborn

at 2 or 3am in the morning. I would tell you to buy one for your living

room if you have the space!

             

Drew's uncle made this changing table

for his mom when he was born. We updated it

with a coat of white paint & new hardware.

I found this stand at a yard sale and immediately

knew I wanted to make it into a diaper holder with extra

storage for blankets/burp cloths and rattles. I painted the frame 

and baskets white

and my grandma sewed basket liners.

With the fabric leftover from other projects I made this

frilly banner for on the mirror above the changing table.

The lamp behind the rockasan was bought at a local

used furniture store. I painted the stand white and recovered the

shade with the same fabric used for the closet curtain. 

My grandma sewed the curtains for the closet,

I didn't want to have to use those rolling doors

that fall off the tracks and make loud creaking noises!

I bought 3 square white canvases and wrapped them in fabric.

After cutting out the circles and elephant shapes I modge podged them

onto the canvas.

Grace's nursery is my favorite room in the house. It's the only room we took the time to paint (we painted our last rented house & decided its not worth all the time and fuss for a house that's not yours). Everything in the room was handpicked by ME (or a loved one) after hours of researching and crafting. Its how I wanted it (well mostly, if it were my house I would paint the trim white, change the receptacle covers, add a chandelier and change the carpet color--but again, its not my house!), I didn't just move things in from other parts of the house, I made sure it was perfect for my princess!