matryoshka party - decor and a feature!

Today, Jaina's party is being featured on Hostess with the Mostess! They've graciously agreed to feature it in one of their weekly Party of Five posts. Pretty psyched about this! It's always nice to be recognized for your hard work. 

Click here to check it out!

I know it's been a while (over a month, whew!), but let's check out these party details.

The main decor inspiration came from all of Mom and Mimi’s vintage linens. These set that folksy tone I was after. 

I also used vintage cake stands for the desserts and these cute, old children’s chairs I have to set the drink dispensers on. 

I used lots of ribbon and ric-rac; from the drink tags around the jars to the ribbon tassel bunting I created for the pavilion and Jaina’s highchair. 

The cupcake toppers, favor bags, and invitations were made with kraft paper, rubber stamps, and black embossing powder. 

I also made matryoshka doll banners using black and white printouts of Jaina’s face and patterned paper. I got the idea from this adorable face banner on Pinterest. (My friend, Holly, from Curious Sprinkles, also made one way back for her son's first birthday. Super handsome.) 

I used several sets of matryoshka dolls as decoration. The boys especially liked the set of sailors and pirates. Jaina’s special present this year was a stuffed doll that I made. She was the star of the dessert table!

 Everyone loved the painted matryoshka cut-outs.

And the kiddos had fun hunting for these adorable matryoshka eggs.

There is no one photo that can adequately sum up how hilarious it is to try to get seven children five-and-under, holding bubbles, to pose for a picture, so here's a little montage. I should make a flip book of these.

The boys all got "Russian hats" (newsboy caps from Hobby Lobby), and the girls got babushkas (plain bandanas). I also found bubbles at the Dollar Store that looked an awful lot like nesting dolls.

The grown-ups got Russian Tea Cakes.

I put them in cellophane bags and stapled cute paper to the top. Totally my go-to wrapping choice from now on.

And you wanna know the coolest thing about this party? Not counting the items that I'll be using over and over for years to come (like the drink dispensers and jars), the decor and favors for this party only cost me $35. I'm not kidding. I used so much of what I already have that I only needed a few special items to bring it all together.

Check out more of the decor and Jaina's cute matryoshka outfit!

And check out my feature on Hostess with the Mostess! Woohoo!


Vendor Credits

Party Styling: Kara of Kara’s Domestic Life

Photography: Faith Scheuerman

Cheesecakes: Carol Scheuerman

Linens: vintage

Fonts for invites and signs: Free Fonts for KevinandAmanda.com

Drink dispensers: Target

Stamps: Hero Arts from A.C. Moore

Candy melts and lollipop sticks: A.C. Moore

Kerchiefs, newsboy caps, patterned paper, cellophane bags: Hobby Lobby

Fabric for matryoshka outfit and invites: Joann Fabrics

Mason jars: Walmart

Matryoshka doll pattern: Sew Daily Shop on Interweave Store

Bubbles, plates, napkins: The Dollar Store

 

oh valentine

I've always loved "scrappy" crafts; collages, decoupage, ransom notes... I'm a sucker for pretty slips of paper, and I tear apart most every magazine I get ahold of. I've even been known to furtively rip out pages in the doctor's office, shhh. So for my homemade valentines I like to go scrappy.

Back in Victorian days the ladies were really into the collage thing. They would sit around gabbing in parlors while they cut apart old magazines, books, and cards. I read somewhere that it was even a thing to trade your really good scraps, as in, "I'll trade you this wicked dove for those dope violets." The Valentines back in the day were especially cool.

This one's kind of intense. Is he seriously touching her boob?

I'm sure this card would've been "tradeable".

I like finding these online, printing them off, then doing what they would've done; cut up old cards to make new ones. I made a bunch this week, using all stuff I had around the house and pictures I've saved for a while.

 Perfect project to do on the couch with your hubby.

It takes a lot of patience. And very sharp scissors.

I went through my old scrapbooking stash, and found some fun paper. A couple stickers, a little glue, and - ooh la la - Victorian Style Valentines.

I was in such a scrapping mood after that, I dove into my favorite resource: magazines. I buzzed through and found all of the mostly red pages, and started folding paper hearts. Here's what I came up with:

I used this pattern to make the hearts. It was fun to try to fold strategically to get the berries, flowers, or gorgeous Persian rugs to show up on the front. Here's what I finally figured out. The purple bar on step three is what will make the front of your heart. Also I taped down all the back foldy pieces once each heart was done.

I even swiped the string off of a Valentine's present I just got. Ha! Completely free holiday decor. I love it. 

This post is featured on My Life, as Mommy & Wife's blog hop, Spread the Love.

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AND on Bower Power's link-up Lovely Crafts Linky Party.