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Monday, September 12, 2011

Vintage Wheels Party for 4: Projects

{UPDATE!}
The boys' Vintage Wheels party
is an
Amy Atlas Moment Feature
{pinch me!!, so thankful!!}
You can read more about
my gratitude here.


For all of you sweet blog friends,
who have followed along with
the boys' party planning,
I am so excited to share
the final result with you!!

It is a long post.
I wanted to show all the meaningful details.
{you've been warned!}
Not to rival their very special
first birthday party post.
{smile, thanks for sticking with it!}

If you are just stopping in,
I do have FOUR boys turning the
SAME AGE on the SAME DAY!!!!

Super exciting and
because each of my little guys is
so unique, a big task.

I recently, officially started up
Little Marvels Designs
and took the boys' party through
my party planning process.

In this post I will share the projects,
linking back to those I have highlighted
the past few weeks.

My next post will show all the party fun!
{the BEST part of it all!}

Initially, I created a
Vintage Wheels Party Inspiration Board.

Now on to the real deal!
Ready, here we go!

I actually set this all up beforehand
to make sure I could get photos.
Yes, I had plans to cover the siding,
and a few tweaks to the table,
but for the naptime timeframe I had,
I really do love how it turned out!


{dining car tablescape}







While I LOVE tablescapes,
I don't think kids care much about them.
When incorporating them into a kids party,
it's great to have them become part of the party,
be loaded with things they do love,
and embellish it with photos.

Here I turned a long rectangular table into a Dining Car.
Inspiration found here.
I also researched a little to get the Vintage Dining Car vibe.

The frame seen better here...


is from
Orange Blossom Shop
and was literally the jumping off point
for my entire design.

However, it was not purchased for the party,
it was saved up for, for my upcoming birthday
{we never do presents for ourselves, so it's super special}
and there is a perfect spot waiting
on our entryway wall
for a picture of all 5 of my little loves.
{It makes me giddy, it's so pretty!}

We took the pictures at a little train "museum"
a few minutes from here, perfect backdrop!
In their No. 2 shirts.
I will have to do another post on that experience.
{Oy Vey!}

{favors, etc.}
The favors were super simple,
you can find out more here.
I found the vintage No. 2 on ETSY,
love it and we used it in their picture.
The wagon and suitcase were found at
this flea market.
It made for a really sweet vignette
right next to the dining car.






{all things cake}

I purchased the cakes from Jewel,
made the bunting from left over stickers,
bakers twine, stripey straws, and cardstock I had.  


You can visit this post for more on the cakeplates.



{tablescape decor}
The vintage suitcase has special
meaning it is from someone we love,
that belonged to someone she greatly loved,
and it worked perfectly!

I made a No.2 runner out of burlap,
a homemade stencil, and black paint.
It worked out so well for the top of the trunk.


I made all of the bunting.
I believe in go big or go home.
{grin}
So while bunting has been around awhile,
I tried to used different styles, textures, and mediums
blended together to keep it fresh.

You can read more about it here.

I added some pinwheels to the chalkboard background.

{tablescape serving}

Milk served in glass bottles,
with stripey straws.
Instead of buying expensive bottles,
I used the Archer Farms {Target brand}
Vanilla Caramel Iced Coffee bottles.
{Matt so did not mind drinking those!}
Silverish tray from Goodwill.


Mini Doughnuts are coveted by my boys,
special weekend here-and-there treats,
and they fit in with the wheels theme.
I made the tray from 2 candlesticks painted aqua
and 3 round cake-type trays {all Goodwill}.
You can read more here.
I added some doilies for a sweet touch.


Another favorite? Cookies of course!
Perfect companion to the milk.
Trader Joe's joe-joes.
Another stand made similar to the doughnut one,
with only one tier.


Snack cones that are so cute, thanks Andrea!
Filled with peanut butter pretzels and
caramel corn/cheddar Chicago style popcorn combo.
These were out when our guests arrived.
I found the baskets at Home Goods,
spray painted them black, added a bit of bunting.


The kids {and adults!} LOVED the
mini cupcakes in pushup containers.
Matt handmade the holder upcycled from a pallet.


More about the push-pops here.

{greeting our guests}
I painted a $3.00 Goodwill frame,
Matt cut a piece of wood perfect size,
which I layered with chalkboard paint
to make this sign for our guests.

Here's the bit of retro nod with E's old trike.

I had this little vignette out front to greet our guests...


{a better view}




these were inside the galvanized bucket...



and I couldn't believe I found
these for the adults,
they were really good
{Matt was worried as I only bought them to match the decor}


{raceway}


So this fun bucket project turned into this...
Each bucket is filled with different cars and trains.
I cannot wait to add the pictures of the fun
the boys had with this!!




The ramp was scored by E and I at the Toys R' Us closing sale
for $12, and he will later use it for a bike ramp.
{eek!}


{double decker bus felt board}
The boys have really been into matching,
so I created this number/color matching felt board
{the  numbers are also written on the felt board
below each piece}.
Let me know if you'd like a tutorial.
I know learning games at a party?!
I promise I have a picture of both my nephew and Liam playing with it!



{outdoor twister}
This one has been mentioned all over this summer.
I first found it on Pinterest and in my Family Fun magazine.
The morning of the party 
the boys' electric train battery 
{purchased for $50 at a resale, the train not the battery!}
was supposed to arrive and while it had
been upgraded to Overnight Shipping 
with GUARANTEED delivery, 
it still didn't make it.


It was going to be the "big deal" at the party.
We had done bounce houses for years,
we setup a mini one but a big one was not in the budget
nor was entertainment other than 
our awesome family talents...so...


Matt ran out to get the paint about 2 hours before the party,
and painted it on while I was doing setup in about 10 min.
{rockstar!}






The Motto, You can Cry or you Can Twister!


{centerpieces and more}
I had this lightbulb go off, 
and I was super impressed with myself 
{so not usually impressed with myself}
cover the tables in kraft paper
and leave a jar of crayons out
for birthday boy messages, 
also to help entertain my boys while they eat.


For some reason all the kraft paper
in the Chicagoland area was sold out.
I wasn't about to pay shipping online.
So, I found some packaging paper on 
a roll at Meijer for $1.99. 
I covered 5 tables with 3 rolls, 
not too bad, and super fun!



I also wrote out the boys' names
with their little No. 2 matchbox cars
in front of their highchairs...



And a special note for Big Brother...


I made the little crayon holders
out of mason jars, left over burlap,
fabric and twine.









The rest of the mason jars were used for...


{mason jar luminaries}
I have seen these all over Pinterest.
E helped make these with
thinned down glue, tissue paper, and
electric tealights to prevent any burns.
Our party lasted into the evening,
thankful to AMAZING weather.
They were SO pretty all lit up!


{the patio}
Early on in the summer I promised
to show the finished patio.
We still have high hopes for a pergola,
with dreamy curtains, a chandelier, string lights,
pretty pillows and outdoor containers.

We have a plan for it all,
but not a budget.

After 5+ years of living here,
Matt toiled and put this patio in SOLO.
Well one special little helper sometimes {grin}.
He is a computer guy by day,
so smart, but this is not his thing.
He takes on so many projects that
he has no idea how to do
and does them SO WELL,
this is another one,
and I couldn't be more proud of him.

Like me and this party,
he sees all the plans not finished,
the imperfections,
all I see is complete beauty
and a dream we worked
SO HARD FOR
fulfilled.

I can write a whole post on that alone,
blood, sweat, tears, years planning,
all of it.

It just happened to be
revealed too at the boys' party.



Matt and I literally finished setup
12 minutes before party time.
{just enough time to change.hair.makeup.}

The biggest thank you goes to my husband,
who has supported me through the past weeks of projects.

Not only did he build everything I needed,
he encouraged me, took care of the boys,
helped me setup, so much more,
I could not have done it without him.

You'll see in my next post about all the party fun,
that the day was even more special for us.
It was the actual day of our 11th anniversary!

I thank God for our team of 2,
making the dreams happen for
our family of 7.

{I am by no means a professional photographer,
and we could not afford to have one capture this day,
but I hope to have done it justice
with a bit of editing!}

Until soon as I seriously cannot
wait to show off my little smiling faces
and our sweet friends and family
who joined us in celebrating!
{michelle}

{a little note on the inspiration}


My inspiration for the party came from
these vintage wheels {with a retro nod}.

I chose a special vehicle for each of my boys...
with a little special meaning behind each one.

If they had to pick a vehicle out of a pile,
these are the ones they would choose.

Aiden {double decker bus}, Beckham {train},
Liam {racecar}, Griffin {trike}.



 Linking up Vintage Wheels to these lovely parties!

23 comments:

  1. wow!! that all looks so awesome; i can't wait to see the next round of photos!

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  2. You did a fantastic job!! I so love this. Now all my son wants is a spiderman birthday party. Can't wait to see all the"fun" pictures!! :)

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  3. Holy Geesh! I've decided that you are officially super woman/mom :) Really... you do amaze me! Planning a party for one boy is a lot of work lol It's darling! I love every single detail :) Great Job!

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  4. I love this....my favorite touch is the milk bottles with the stripey straws. Will you come plan my birthday party?

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  5. You are simply amazing! Your party was perfect down to the last detail. I am in awe of how you find time to craft with 5 kids! Lots of birthday love to the boys and hugs to a special momma!

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  6. I think it looks amazing! I can't believe the amount of time and thought that went into every.little.detail. I am super impressed that you are able to find the time to not only tackle making this birthday party super special and a reflection of all four of your boys personalities, but that Matt was able to complete an amazing patio too. You guys are amazing! Happy birthday to the boys, and happy anniversary to a great team!

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  7. That looks like an incredible party! Congrats on getting them to 2! Woo-hoo! Every detail was simply perfect. You should be a party planner.

    I am a new follower from the Tuesday Time Out Hop. If you have a moment, come by www.messforless.net and say hi!
    Thanks!

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  8. everything is adorable! fantastic ideas you shared! xoox

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  9. Really great job! You are so creative and throw such fantastic parties!!!! I love EVERYTHING!!!!!

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  10. wow everything is so darling!!!! LOVE it all!

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  11. This is absolutely adorable! How wonderful to throw your boys such a party and with such a supportive husband :)
    I found your blog thru lilluna.com link party.

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  12. Oh, Michelle...this party is perfect!!! You did an amazing job...you worked your little tail off sister, and you did it perfectly...so glad you live close enough to come plan my next party...(hee hee hee...;))

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  13. Wow! Everything is amazing and as given me a few ideas on how to set up my table for my twins upcoming 2nd birthday (ice cream sundae theme). I can't believe that you did all of this with 5 kids, I will also probably get getting ready with 12 minutes to go and only have 3 kids.

    By the way found you after you featured on Amy Atlas, how cool is that. :)

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  14. You are seriously incredible! Super mom! Your boys are so blessed to have you as their mother! Happy 2nd birthday to your babies and way to go on the amazing party!!

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  15. I just shared your party on my FB page... LUV it!

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  16. Awesome job Michelle! And congrats on your Amy Atlas moment...so fun!

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  17. This made me smile sooo much. How amazing. How special. I LOVED the row of high chairs, so sweet. My little boy turns two in Jan, I will be bookmarking this for sure.

    I would LOVE for you to link this up at my link party, Once Upon a Weekend on my blog Family Ever After. The party just started!

    ♥Rach H at www.familyeverafter.blogspot.com

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  18. This all looks sensational but the party bags especially caught my eye- just the thing as I need to make some for next weekend. Thanks, Lynda

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  19. I am featuring this on my blog tonight! Feel free to stop by and grab a button! : )

    www.cherishedbliss.com

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  20. WOW, You are "MOTHER WONDER"! Fabulous and fun!

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  21. I just adore this party! Thank you so much for linking it up at Happily Mother After! I will be looking back on it for inspiration very soon as I plan my son's 3rd birthday!

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  22. Adorable party! Every detail is so thoughtfully planned! It makes me want to have little grandsons!

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  23. Genial party y de colores muy divertidos y energeticos. Se ve realmente precioso.
    Enhorabuena y saludos

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I so appreciate your sweet thoughts and thank you for sharing. I always try to reply whether it be to your email or on one of your blog posts! Wishing you a wonder*filled day! Michelle

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