AVERY'S 2nd BIRTHDAY

I decided to post pictures of Avery's party on this blog since I didn't know where else to do it. I figured this is just as good of a place as any. 

I decided on an ice cream theme since the girl loves ice cream. It's hot and it's summer so it seemed the perfect fit!
This party took me over a month to prepare for. It may not seem like it but it did. I did a lot of internet searches, I created all the labels and invitations on my own on Photoshop (and I'm not tech savvy so this took a lot longer than it should have!) and tried to do as much DIY as possible. I always think I save money but in the end I think I end up spending more. Most of my inspiration came from Pinterest (what did we do with out this great invention?). Here is a link to my Pinterest board for my inspiration to the party if you're interested.

Here is her invitation. I created this in Photoshop. My theme was trying to be old fashioned, vintage-y ice cream parlor with light pinks, browns, and turquoise.

I did a little welcome sign on the front door. I found this wood cutout at Michael's craft store and painted it pink. 

 Avery's Ice Cream Shoppe!

On one side we had birthday cupcakes, candies, the ice cream cones, and cups.

Of course we had to have bubble gum and taffy since it's another of her favorites!

I made a paper bunting and it hung above the tables with crepe paper streamers for the background.

I even stamped little 'A's' on the pink napkins. I couldn't help myself. 

And what kind of party would it be if I didn't make cupcakes! The cupcakes were chocolate and vanilla. I topped each with a metallic chocolate Sixlet and sprinkled them with white nonpareil's and simmering disco dust for sparkle (which you can't tell in the photos but they looked amazing in the light!). Here is a link to my little online cupcake bakery (Sugar High Bakery).

The stand was total DIY. I used cake boards cut to different circle sizes and covered them in scrapbook paper. I finished the edges with ribbon. And the centers are tin cans wrapped in ribbon! This was all from things I had around the house. 

A Pinterest idea I saw were doily wrapped ice cream cones. How cute!? I already had the doilies so why not??

I created the ice cream cup and water bottle labels on Photoshop and printed them on 2" round sticker labels. The ice cream containers and cups were hard to find. Most online shops required a minimum order of 1,000! They were more than I wanted to pay but they were exactly what I wanted.

On the other side of the table was the ice cream, toppings, and bottled water.

I made all of the ice cream myself. It took me a week to make it all! My ice cream containers wouldn't freeze half way through and I ended up enlisting a friend to help me out! Thanks Meg!

The flavors we had were chocolate, chocolate sorbet (egg and dairy free), vanilla, strawberry, mint chocolate chip, and blue bubble gum! 

I had to do blue bubble gum. Two of Avery's favorite things: bubble gum and the color blue!

 I put the different toppings in ice cream sundae glasses I borrowed from my mother-in-law and found the little scoopers at Party Land, a local party supply store. I tied them with ribbon I already had.

I created the label tents on Photoshop and printed them on card stock. I did the same for the whipping cream labels and chocolate and caramel sauce labels (which I forgot to put out before I took the photos).

 

I didn't get photos of the ice cream during the party so I had to take a few photos after...

The bubble gum was awesome! It had a smooth and creamy consistency and tasted just like Double Bubble! (recipe)

The chocolate was my favorite. It was perfect. (recipe) Okay, the strawberry was pretty amazing too. That recipe came from Ben & Jerry's ice cream book. You must make these!!

The chocolate sorbet was so dark and rich. It definitely satisfied any chocolate craving! (recipe) It was perfect for those who can't have dairy or eggs. It was just chocolate chips (the one's I used didn't note it had milk in them), water, sugar and cocoa powder. 

The vanilla was just vanilla. I'm not a fan of vanilla but it's always a great base for all those toppings! This vanilla recipe was a bit of a dissapointment. It's more icy than creamy. But it's also when my ice cream containers decided they didn't want to freeze anymore. 

I also made mint chocolate chip but we ate all of it before I realized I didn't have a photo of it! It was really tasty too! (recipe) I added a bit of peppermint extract because I didn't think it had a very strong peppermint flavor. I also added mini chocolate chips.

Here is the birthday girl enjoying her blue bubble gum ice cream cone!

After cake and ice cream she got to open her presents. She got a lot of cute things! A very spoiled girl indeed. 

 Right now she loves flipping though the pages of books. It's a new skill she's proud of! 

 Uncle Mark got her an airplane. Did I mention how much she loves airplanes? She spots them constantly!

Next, it was time to blow out her candle. She loves blowing out candles - we had to do it over and over and over again!

 

We handed out little bubble favors to the kids. These are so cute! Ice cream bubbles! I found these at Blinkenstaffs and All A Dollar. 

 We had the 'back yard' set up with tables and tents. The flowers below were the centerpices. I created the pinwheels with paper I had already and hot glued them to skewers and added a button in the middle. I used ice cream sundae glasses for a few of the vases.

  And as 'thank you' favors I enlisted a cousin who has a cookie business (Sugar Bliss Cookies) to make these adorable ice cream cookies. I created the tags in Photoshop and tied them with ribbon. Check out her website. She has better photos of these cute cookies on her site. 

 After the party Avery was full of energy and one happy girl! 

Here is a list of some things she likes, says, and can do:

She can say her ABC's, count to at least 19 (some day are better than others), she loves to hold my hand in the car (just not crossing the street), she loves to swim and is always a daredevil at the park. She loves to climb anything and everything, she adores swinging and will swing on just about anything she can (she calls it 'winging'). 

She loves Tic-tacs and I can bribe her to do anything for them!

She loves to run and gather rocks and sticks on our walks.

Her favorite character is Elmo and loves to watch Elmo's World.

She gets so excited when she sees ambulances, trains, buses and airplanes and the moon.

Her favorite foods are Gerber Organic Harvest Vegetable (oh gross but she loves it), corn on the cob, waffles with 'beam' (cream), smoothies and just about anything sweet. 

She loves loves loves to read. She loves all books and going to the library.

She loves to dance and her favorite songs are Old MacDonald, Incy Wincy Spider, and Wheels on the Bus. She can throw and catch a ball really well! The girl has an arm!

There is so much more but most of all she makes us laugh and we couldn't imagine life without her.  

Happy Birthday Avery!