It started with a really cute invitation that did a great job of setting the scene. Katy found it on Etsy. She sent the information and got it back in a printable file. I thought it looked great.
Then Katy went to work setting the scene for the party at their home. Most of the decor was done with paper. Katy and I were able to put all the pieces together on Saturday morning while Travis and Grandad took the Princesses out for a long lunch at a restaurant with a playground. Aunt B and her granddaughter, McKinzey, came early to lend a hand.
The tea party menu was simple fare that kids would like: cupcakes, popcorn, cookies, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and Koolaid. Princess E had her very own little cake. Aunt B furnished a few of the beautiful teapots from her collection. We served three kinds of tea in real china cups. Our little guests especially seemed to enjoy the raspberry hibiscus tea served with sugar cubes (it was pink). There was also chamomile tea and English breakfast tea for the adults.
One of the parts of the party that the little ones seemed to really enjoy was the Mad Hatter's Shop. Each party guest made her very own mini-top hat which was attached to a headband. Both Katy and I gathered up scraps of lace, tulle, ribbons, beads, sequins, and buttons from our craft supplies. McKinzey, who is 11, supervised the little girls in decorating their hats. In some cases, their Moms helped too. McKinzey also manned the hot glue gun, which was safely placed on the kitchen counter-top out of reach of all the little ones. I must say, there were some pretty cute creations including the one that McKinzey made for me.
The final touch was an Alice in Wonderland dress for Princess E to wear to the party. She loved it and so did I. I really enjoyed making an old-fashioned dress with puff sleeves and a pinafore. I used a size 4 girls pattern, but I had to add two inches in length. At four years old, she's clearly going to be tall like her mother.
Katy and I worked long-distance from both San Antonio and Corpus Christi to put together all the details for this party. We used a shared Pinterest board for pinning ideas and then decided on the specific details we wanted. I made the "WONDERLAND" banner from instructions we pinned. Katy hand lettered all the other signs and gathered all the other supplies.
I spent the past few days putting together a photo book as a keepsake for Princess E. I started making these for the girls on Princess E's second birthday. Each of them gets her very own book for each birthday. I love doing them, and it takes the pressure off of Katy. Several of us take the photos and Katy doesn't have to worry about taking photos while she's trying to run the party. I'm usually able to make a keepsake album for around $30. We watch for Groupon or Living Social deals on albums and buy them. I've used several different sources over the years including Shutterfly and Snapfish. This time I used Picaboo. Unfortunately, their program doesn't allow me to share the book on my blog. I like this style of books better than the scrapbook-style books that I used to make by hand. They may not have all the cute little decorations, but they are more durable. The girls can handle them while they're little and will still have the keepsake for years to come.
