The prince's 3rd birthday recap { finally }

{ THREE }

AND...  as of tomorrow it will be two weeks since the prince's 3rd birthday party and this mommy is finally getting around to telling all of you about it.

First things first...

No.  I didn't forget to post about it, we've just had a busy two weeks.

Second...  how about a picture of my sweet birthday prince!!

Third...  the dessert table { before I forget to share it with you }

I made the bunting out of newspaper and craft paints.

{ It says, "Carter is three"... in case you don't have x-ray vision to see through the balloons }

{ Cherry vanilla cupcakes* }

{ Train sugar cookies* }

{ Chocolate chip cookies* }

*all made by me

YUMMMMMM!

{ you may remember when I shared the inspirations for this party here }

And finally on to the party fun!!

The coloring station.

Thomas trains to play with or for some... { teething toys }

Of course there were presents to open...

{ reminder for next year...  do cake before presents because after having opened all of the presents someone didn't want to even blow out the candles on his cake }

My boys = { LOVE }

Last, but not least a few pictures of the cuties that we got to spend the day with...

{ best buddies, sharing in their love of choo-choos }

Seriously.  Those blue eyes. { LOVE }

And for those wondering what was served for lunch...

You'll have to check back this weekend for the details.

{ FYI, the food was eaten before I could remembered, to get any pictures }

But... there were some amazing recipes that I used and everyone LOVED them, 

so come back this weekend to see which ones they were!

Have a FABULOUS Friday, lovelies!!

Choo-choos... perfect for the prince!

hello lovelies!

It is now less than 4 months until the prince's 3rd birthday...

and that means that I am now officially in planning mode! 

{ I love this stuff }

This year I knew automatically that trains/choo-choos, specifically "Thomas and Friends", 

would be my inspiration...  

Photo courtesy of thomasandfriends.com

Seriously, what little boy doesn't { LOVE } choo-choos?!?!  Mine sure does!
We watch Thomas daily and usually { ALL } morning...
I am not exaggerating.

So here are all of the goodies/inspiration that I've found { so far} for the prince's b-day, seeing as I have 3 months surely I will find more...

choo-choo party fit for the prince

{ as usual many of my finds are from the fabulous shops on Etsy }

invitations. invites. "tickets".

{ BONUS!  All of the invitations I'm considering are sent in a digital file to your email after purchase, so you can print them yourself }

These three are the current front-runners...

1.  I love the train ticket look of this one and the addition of Thomas is perfect, 

designed and created by Olive Press Paper.  

2.  Another take on the train ticket style, but this time it's also a tad traditional, 

designed and created by Dazzle Expressions.

3.  Lastly, an invitation showcasing the birthday boy with a touch of choo-choo fun, 

designed and created by Scriptiva Paper Studio.  I love the contemporary feel

and that the prince would be the main focus of this one.

{ If you hadn't noticed by this point yet...  the colors are likely to be red and sky blue, 

maybe with a touch of GREY- my fave color }

4.  Peace train sign/art:.  I absolutely { LOVE } using decorations for the party that can be repurposed as decor for the childs bedroom.  This cool license plate art was created by Rural Originals, check out their other pieces in their Etsy shop.

5.  Paper straw sunburst:.  Seeing as how I might be a tad obsessed with the striped paper straws, this tutorial for making a "Straw-burst" from Woman's Day will be perfect for the party...  and again it can be used in the prince's bedroom after the party.  { I will definitely be doing this! }

6.  Paper suitcase set:.  These cute and functional suitcase can be found in so many different places, I found these online at Shop Sweet Lulu.  They can be used for displaying party favors or just stacked on the table for decoration.  I think they go fabulous with the choo-choo theme and the colors are spot-on for this party!

7.  Paper straws:.  Both for the "Straw-burst" and for drinks...  added color and so very fun.  I am in love with the different shades of blue that they used in this package.  Get them or other colors at CupcakeSocial, but be careful because there are lots of tempting lovelies in this shop...  { you have been warned }

8.  Cookies:. I found these amazingly-perfect train cookies on Pinterest, thank-goodness for Hostess with the Mostess and Landon's Plaid Train Birthday.  I will be attempting to duplicate these cookies for the prince's party, I seriously couldn't have dreamed of a better cookie... down to the color and pattern!  First things first, finding the cookie cutter... I want my cookies to be as close to this train shape as possible.  So with the help of the internet I found the { perfect } cookie cutter on Wilton's website...  that I will be buying soon, very soon!

{ BONUS:   Check out Sweetopia for the perfect sugar cookie recipe...  and The Sweet Adventures of Sugarbelle for the supplies you'll need for making beautiful sugar cookies like the trains. }

9.  Cupcake toppers:.  This adorable set that I found on Etsy at Lora Lang Designs can be customized to the colors for your party { perfect } and it's digital like all of the invitations I found... so you can print them yourself { saving you both time & money } 

10.  Cupcake liners:.  I { LOVE } Sweet Estelle and all of the pretty liners she sells in her Etsy shop!  I found these blue and red ones that are perfect for this party, but she seriously has hundreds to choose from... even mini ones.

11.  Glass apothecary jars:.  This set of three can be used for candy, like the light blue M&Ms pictured above or maybe some saltwater taffy, jelly beans { Jelly Belly's are my fave }, Swedish Fish or whatever candy you or your child desires.  Candy buffets are a huge hit right now and if you don't already have a huge collection of pretty glass jars { I know I don't } then check out Save on Crafts for some amazing deals...  this set of 3 jars is currently only $19.99...  there are many other great deals too so check them out!

12.  Lollipop tree/bush/topiary:.  I saw this and thought it would go perfect on the dessert/candy table.  This wonderful creation is from Meet the Dubiens, you can get the tutorial here!  { love this }

Well that's it for now, but like I said I have just over 3 months to find more inspiration { smile }

I'll keep you posted on more of the specifics as they come up.

Have a wonderful Tuesday lovelies!  

I'm thinking that I'm going to get to stay home today from work...  afterall it's snowing!

And when that happens here in the Seattle area it's not worth trying to drive the 20+ miles to work just to get stuck in the traffic that comes when everyone leaves at the first sign of snow.  

Last year it took me 3 hours { for what is normally 40 minutes commute } to get home and there were a few times that I thought I might not even make it home.