{real parties} an explorer's 3rd birthday celebration

It's time to open our PIGGY BANK and share another DEPOSIT with you! I'd like to introduce you to Heather of...

Heather recently hosted her Dora-Lovin' daughter, Jillian's, 3rd birthday. Here's what she had to say about the celebration...

This is the e-vite that I sent out to family and friends. The BEST thing about e-vites, you can print and mail them OR e-mail them! LoVe that!

How CUTE are these balloons from A Pink Poppy Balloons & Flowers? They found me exactly what I was looking for and wanted!

 

In honor of Boots the Monkey, I made some Banana Cupcakes with a Caramel Buttercream Frosting. I got the recipe from Annie's Eats website. I'm pretty sure I added way more bananas than the recipe called for but I wanted to make sure they tasted banana-y. She recommends a caramel swiss meringue buttercream, but I had no luck. I don't think I whipped it long enough. I just made the homemade caramel sauce that she lists in the recipe and then some good old buttercream frosting. I added 2 tablespoons of the caramel sauce into the frosting and it was de-lish!

How ADORABLE are these cookies?!?! The Cookie Jar made these and they are almost too pretty to eat.

I found the Lollipop Sucker Party Favors in the Dollar Section at Target before Christmas and snatched up all the ones they had in pink and red.

And here's my sweet, sweet birthday girl, Jillian!

Stitched By Janay made Jillian's birthday shirt. It turned out sooooo stinkin' cute! {Even cuter than I had pictured in my head!} Jillian's matching orange hair bow is from KysKreation.

Another party down in the party books... :) Everything turned out so great and I must say, MUCH less stressed out this time. I had lots of help from my hubby, mama and sister as well as some amazing vendors and now onto the next party!!!

I think Heather did a wonderful job creating an ADORABLE party for Jillian's birthday! I LOVE how she carried the color scheme and the polka dots throughout the party--soda pop, cupcake wrappers, tablecloth, balloons, ribbon and Jillian's birthday shirt. So CUTE!

Hank's Hint: Themes come in many forms including colors and patterns. Keeping true to a theme gives a party a cohesive feel. These simple touches can make an event EXTRAORDINARY!

I wanted to get to know Heather a bit better. Here's my lil' interview with her...

Do you do this as a full- or part-time job or is it just for fun? Totally for fun! I LOVE planning parties!

What penny pinching ideas/tips went into your event? My penny pinching tips are that I used my friends and connections as resources. I can't even sew on buttons, so I used my mom for her sewing talents on my table runner. She also took a lot of my pictures! My friend's daughter-in-law made Jillian's shirt for me at a steal. I LOVE the dollar section at Target where I found the lollipops and just jazzed them up with some Dora stickers. You can always find "treasures" in those dollar sections!! And I LOVE making and decorating cupcakes so that saved me a lot, too, by doing it myself.

 
I hope you're INSPIRED by Heather's party! It makes me wish I was a little girl again!
 

I wonder if J will mind if I decorate our office in pink and orange polka dots?

 
Stay tuned to Oink! for more inspiration...

 

Sources:

Cookies :: The Cookie Jar

Hair Bow :: KysKreation

Birthday Shirt :: Stitched by Janay

Cupcake Stand :: AllCustomGifts

Balloons :: A Pink Poppy Balloons & Flowers

Party E-vite :: Handmade By Jaime

Photography :: Heather's Awesome Mama and Heather
Banana Cupcakes, Cupcake Toppers, Birthday Banner and Poms :: Heather