Lately, Liam seemed obsessed with all things animal - especially elephants, zebras and lions. So with that came the idea to have a safari themed birthday. I immediately began my internet research to get some DIY inspiration. Etsy is amazing for exactly that but I found too many that screamed SAFARI!! I wanted it to be playful and although this may sound silly, I also wanted it to be sophisticated. So I set out to make a banner. I chose the colors of muted greens, browns and oranges (and a hint of yellow) as the official colors. I set out to use all of these colors for the banner I created but decided to skip the yellow. I cut patterned craft paper that I had at home into triangles and printed out cool (did I mention FREE) letter templates I found online. I used a whole puncher to cut openings at the top portion of the triangles and used heavy weight twine to loop it through the separate pieces to link them together. Below is a photo of the banner - currently hanging on our living room wall mounted sled until party time :-)
I used the left over pieces of craft paper to cut tiny triangles that I then used to decorate this old styrofoam cupcake stand.
During my research I found a few illustrations of animals that I really liked. I then simplified them into my own illustrations and printed them out on colored construction paper. I cut out the shapes of the animals as well as strips of green "grass" and using paper bags made surprise goodie treats for the children who will be attending the party (thanks to my friend Stephany and brother David who helped put these together!) I also added small tags that read "Liam's Wild Party"
Lastly, I picked up cheap bananagrams pieces at my local thrift store and used the letters to create the names of each animal I had drawn - Elephant, Monkey, Giraffe, Lion and Zebra. I glued the letters to old wood picture frames along with my illustrations to create a "centerpiece" for the tables that would be an improvised educational tool. I took the remaining letters to create the animal names again and hot glued craft sticks to each letter. I printed cards that then challenge the child to create words from the letters in the names of each animal. This was fun! Look forward to sharing photos of Liam's party with you all!
The second event that has me very excited is an upcoming wedding. NO, not my wedding but one that I have been hired for. I will be organizing and decorating the reception space ( and all that is involved in such a large undertaking), making centerpieces, bouquets for bride and bridesmaids, and pins for the groom and groomsmen. The wedding has and Indian theme and the colors will be a beautiful mix of light and deep oranges, greens and yellows. Below are some of my inspirations. This wedding will require me to get very creative - using all of my DIY powers!!
Thanks for reading!!
-Alby
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