Maybe it's because he's my first, maybe because this is my guilty pleasure, maybe a combination of BOTH, but believe it or not, I started envisioning/planning my son Julian's 1st birthday party when he was just three months old. I wanted to do something that screamed 'boy', something that didn't seem too baby-ish or too generic. As I peered through countless party sites searching for my niece's 3rd birthday party ideas, I stumbled across several generic cowboy invitations and such. I thought, 'oh em gee, this is absolutely adorable!' It was something that I could do a lot with, and the more I looked into it, I realized I could make most of the decor with just a couple of trips to my local craft and hardware stores. Granted this is only the second party I've done in which I've had full control over, so I borrowed a few ideas from others and made them my own.
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| We took a trip to Old Town San Diego and had my brother take his birthday pictures. For the invitations I designed a Wanted poster on Microsoft Word and added Julian's picture with the words 'Julian the Kid' below, the party information was to be in the back. I printed the invite on recycled brown paper and crumbled it. Pretty simple and still really cute! |
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| My brother (@grafxproductions) takes all of my son's holiday pictures; he does amazing stuff! It's too bad he was out of town for Julian's birthday party. Check out his work here. |
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As I browsed through different sites in search for the perfect banner I came across this one on Etsy and immediately fell in love with it! I figured, hey I can probably make that. I rummaged through my hubby's unused boxes and got to work. It came out pretty AMAZING if I do say so myself:) |
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| Tables were adorned with lanterns (that I found at Ikea), recycled cans filled with yellow flowers, mason jars, aluminum pie plates, and bandannas, sheriff badges, fake moustaches, and cowboy hats for guests to wear that I got from Oriental Trading. |
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| I thought it would be really cute to recreate a western backdrop. I made these with a few large cardboard boxes (it'd be ideal to use like an old refrigerator box or something, I had to make due with what was available lol) and some paint. I wanted them to look as authentic as I could make them...heck I even stuck "money" bags behind the bank windows! A couple of my friends also had a ball tagging western sayings inside the jailhouse walls hahaha....THESE are my pride and joy!! |
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| I had this adorable cactus pinata custom made in Mexico--one of the perks of living just minutes from the border! |
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| Originally I wanted to buy these already made, but everywhere I looked they were either sold out, on recall, or just too pricey. I googled hobby horses and came across this tutorial. I was amazed at how easy they were too make, I wish I would've had the time to make more of these for the kids (I only made three). Everyone loved them and even asked where I bought them! |
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| At one time Dillard's carried ornaments for a western-themed Christmas tree. The garland was a rope with strands of red bandanna attached to it to make it seem like little lassos. I used it to spread across the porch ceiling and attached lots of pictures of Julian's first year with clothespins. |
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| I lined the patio with several Wanted posters with pictures of all the kids that were invited, they were able to take them home as souvenirs after the party. |
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| These were made from white card stock, I grabbed some black paint and a brush and added cow spots! I got the idea for this from Dulce Design as featured on Tip Junkie, they had absolutely darling ideas! |
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| Birthday boy had a blast! |
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| Hobo/goodie bags for all the kids:) |
Putting this party together, although a bit stressful at times, was a blast! Guests were served barbecue chicken and St. Louis style ribs (my father-in-law makes the absolute best!) alongside potato salad and chili beans! Since my son's birthday is in August, we decided a pool party was best. The kids all had a great time, and everyone was raving about how adorable the party turned out. On to the next!
