A "Deere" Celebration!

When Alan walked into his parents home and saw this invitation sitting on the kitchen table the surprise was off! Although Alan knew his family was throwing him a 'surprise' party for his 60th, what he didn't know was how well his family designed the party theme after his daily mode of transportation - John Deere Tractors!  Alan has been a rice farmer in the Sacramento Valley for about 40 years so the theme was perfect. 

Coming up to the house, the party theme was immediately apparent. 

 There were John Deere toy tractors and pumpkins greeting guests at the door, with bundles of rice sitting atop hay bales.

The early evening weather was perfect for a backyard celebration!  And since there was rain the day before the party, most of Alan's farmer friends were able to make it to the party since it was too wet to harvest rice that day!

Round tables were covered in green tablecloths and John Deere fabric toppers.  White plates were flanked by the silverware and topped with yellow bandana print fabric napkins tied with jute. Water glasses were canning jars accented with jute ties as well.

Centerpieces were pulled from the family's treasure trove of John Deere collectibles!

 There were collectible dolls on every table. . .

 .  . such as small scale John Deere tractors, metal lunch boxes and other pieces.

The floral arrangements were designed by daughter-in-law, Leslie.  Vases filled with fresh sunflowers were anchored with rice straight from the field, instead of oasis or flower frogs.  Leslie's mom, Fran, and sister-in-law, Julie helped with the set-up.

There were plenty of ride on toys for the 8 grandchildren to entertain themselves with throughout the evening, although most were camera shy so I didn't get a good picture of any of them on them!

The grandchildren even wore John Deere clothing - here grandson Cage models his Deere green shirt - along with his bandage from slamming his finger in the door the day before!
Daughter-in-law Cory, Cage's mom, was in charge of setting up the bar so Cage's accident added to her list of duties the day before the big party! 

Brynn, Alan's oldest grandchild, smiles for the camera with Katie, who is sporting her pink John Deere overalls!  These girls will be excellent party planners some day after watching and learning from their moms, Leslie and Melissa, and their aunties Cory and Julie, who all worked together with grandmother Debbie, to plan and implement this birthday! celebration!

Alan's daughter, Melissa, found and ordered the invitations from Lemonade Moments, an Etsy site.

Melissa also created this clever balloon wreath to hang on the patio door after seeing one on Pinterest.

The guests' party favors were placed in a large John Deere tin on a console table by the front door. Yellow bandanas protected the table's surface and John Deere Collector's plates added to the charm. A chicken wire basket accepted cards for the birthday boy!

Party favors were handmade shortbread tractor cookies in two patterns, Melissa had found on another Etsy site.

Susan Dobbs of The Tailored Cookie, created the tractor with the cab cookie, 

and the 'tractor without a cab' cookie!  The two types of tractors represent the years Alan has farmed; as he started with tractors without cabs (driving one you eat dirt all day!) to the luxurious air conditioned cabs of tractors today!

The buffet table was decorated with gingham checked fabric, pumpkins, bundles of rice, more John Deere toy tractors, and other farm decor.  The delicious buffet included ribs, chicken and chopped beef from Dickey's BBQ Pit in Roseville.  Debbie made the rest of the menu which included tasty beans, potato,fruit and Cesar salads, heirloom tomatoes and rolls.

And last but not least was THE CAKE! The three tier cake was created by Jessica Calta, a former student of Debbie's, and featured a tractor on the top tier, a cornfield on the middle tier and a split rail fence on the bottom tier - all, of course, in John Deere yellow and green!

The grandchildren couldn't wait for that cake to be cut! 

 
 Meika grabbed Alan and brought him over to the cake table where Cole, Cage, Wade, Katie, Brynn and Blake gathered.

Alan's son, Brad holds the youngest grandchild, Emma, while helping Melissa light the SIXTY  candles . . .

and light . . .and light!

 As 'Happy Birthday' was sung, the tractor looked like it was on fire!

The big moment came and the grandkids helped Alan blow out his candles!

 Alan will no doubt cherish this event which his "Deere'' family so wonderfully put together! 

How-To: Easy "Paris" Banner

Happy Bastille Day!!  I love everything French and today is a day the French celebrate!  I made a "Paris" banner to celebrate - I could have done it in Red, White and Blue since those colors are France's national colors, but I already have one of those for Fourth of July!

 So I decided to go with the more popular pink, white and black 

colors for a Parisian Theme. 

Banners or garlands make everyday occasions extra special.

Here's an easy way to create a banner.

                                                                   

 

First, cut out a basic shape out of card stock for each letter that your banner is going to spell out.  I am going to make a banner that spells "Paris" so I needed five shapes.  You can use a Cricut machine to cut these out if you have one.  The shape can be a square, diamond, rectangle, circle - whatever you like that will fit the theme of your banner!  I like to use cereal boxes - the thickness of the cardboard is perfect and I always have a box with just a little left in it I can dump into another cereal!  You can cover the cardboard with scrapbook paper or just spray paint all the shapes at once when you get them cut out!

Punch two holes with a standard hole punch in each shape about two inches apart.

Grab some glue - I used this kind for this project  because the tip allowed for a tiny stream of glue to come out at one time.

Squeeze a narrow stream of glue along about half the edge at one time and . . .

 . . . dip the glued edge into your choice of glitter.  Tap lightly the glittered edge with your finger to make sure the glitter sticks to the glue. Repeat to adhere glitter to the second half of the shape and then do the rest of them.  

 I used Recollections Tinsel Glitter here so it looks a little more vintage.  German glass glitter is also good to use as it will tarnish with time if you want that authentic 'vintage' look!

Next, grab some scrap scrapbook paper in a pattern you like and cut a small diamond shape out of it.  I used this paper because it already had perfect diamond-shape clusters all over it and it was pink which fit the look I wanted. I also cut it out using a wavy shape scissor instead of plain scissors so the cut would be more interesting.  You can cut out any shape for this step - I just wanted little diamonds!

Glue the diamond shape scrapbook paper pieces to the middle of each shape.

Find some glittered letters at your local craft store.  These come in lots of sizes and colors.  I am using black glittered letters for this project.  I have seen them in pastel colors, white glittered, red glittered, black glittered, etc.  

 You can print letters from your computer, like the letters on this banner,  and cut them out individually if you can't get to the craft store.  If you have a Cricut machine you can cut them out yourself or another option is to used rub-on letters but I suggest you rub on each letter before you add the glitter to the edges!

Glue one letter to each glittered edge shape - center it on the diamond and between the two holes you punched in the top to be sure it reads right when you string the letters together.

Finally, string the letters together in order to make your word.  I used black tulle to string these letters together.  You can use ribbon, jute, fabric scraps, shoelaces, just about anything to string your letters together to add character to your banner.  

My theme was Oooh La La "Paris" for this banner so frou-frou tulle was perfect! 

Make sure you cut a long enough piece to tie the ends to whatever you are hanging your banner on and enough to add bows if you like!  

I love making these banners and have several for sale at Melange. 

I have also made them for gifts and it is a gift the receiver seems to cherish!

I am linking up to these parties so check them out!

Fireflies and Jellybeans: Show Off Your Stuff Party

Somewhat Simple: Thursday Do It Yourself Party

Fun 4th of July Cupcakes!

Looking for something new for dessert to surprise your 4th of July guests? Here's a easy, fun, quick idea! Remember those Pop Rocks candies you would eat straight from the little envelope that came in, that exploded in your mouth?

How about using them for your "sprinkle" decorations on some cupcakes? 

Just bake some cupcakes . . 

Frost them with your favorite frosting and put in the refrigerator 

or set them aside until ready to serve.

                                                           

Then right before serving - sprinkle the "pop rock candies" on to the top of each cupcake . . .

. . . add an American Flag pick to each cupcake and serve!  

 Your guests will get a mini-explosion in their mouths with each bite!  Pop Rocks come in many different flavors which are different colors.  I used Cherry flavored here so I had red sprinkles.  Some of the pop rock candies will pop right when you put them on the frosting so the 'sizzle'  and the 'popping explosion' both add to the fun of the 4th! 

Enjoy and Happy Fourth of July!

http://www.tipjunkie.com/images/TipMeTuesdayButton1.png

Sara's Vintage Baby Shower

Frogs and snails and puppy dog tails - that's what little boys are made of!
This vintage themed baby shower is full of creative uses of vintage treasures!

 A group of friends and sisters pooled their creative energy 
to stage a gorgeous shower on a beautiful Friday evening, for my niece Sara,
who loves all things vintage, and is having her first baby!

  The gift table welcomed guests as they entered the garden setting at a friends home.  A vintage suitcase is ready to receive cards for guests who chose to go in on the group gift.  The "Gifts" sign is clothes-pinned with a lace doily to the suitcase, which is lined with a vintage napkin.

photo courtesy of Lacey C. Photography

A vintage baby scale sits at the other end of the gift table.

Above the gift table, a clothesline of vintage hankies fluttered in the soft summer breeze.

 

Guest of honor, Sara, was beaming as she arrived for the shower.

A shabby yellow service cart from the fifties, holds the vintage green plaid ice bucket and the canning jars until the guests arrive.  Another vintage napkin with floral embroidery details formalizes the otherwise casual cart.

The glassware was moved to this table when the guests arrived.  A white metal bucket was given a floral decal to match the sunny floral tablecloth.  

Photo courtesy of Lacey C. Photography

 The vintage berry baskets hold the beverage napkins nicely and the daisies came from Sara's parents home.

Vintage glass shower dishes were stacked in piles on another vintage cart.  Sara's mother, Janie, and Sara's sister-in-law, Carianne, provided all the vintage floral tablecloths. 

The hydrangeas in the yard were at different stages of bloom, but added the perfect punch of color to the garden setting!

The dessert buffet was lined with a mix of vintage dishware and shabby serving pieces - from Jadite to LuRay, they sit at attention waiting to receive their subjects!

Seating was around round tables dressed in white rented tablecloths 

with vintage tablecloth toppers.  

Centerpieces were large mason jars filled with roses, hydrangeas and daisies.

 The stage was set for the special guest to open her shower gifts.  A vintage chair was draped with a soft throw, and Jessica hand made a paper garland announced "It's a Boy" in the vintage nursery colors: seaglass, mustard yellow, taupe and cream.

 A wire basket holds game supplies ready and with a vintage kitchen scale,

adds to the theme.

Bamboo poles stuck in rock filled buckets, 

held the banner aloft over the mom-to-be's chair.

Ribbon streamers, tied to the ends, gracefully danced in the slight wind.

A vintage stroller was positioned next to the chair and seemed to say,

"Come on out boy! We're ready if you are!" 

 

Jessica and Lacey pause for a picture before starting the games!

While the guests were arriving - the desserts were set out. Even baby Caleb arrived sporting a vintage romper - he can't wait to meet his new boy cousin!

A sweet feast awaited the guests!  The dessert buffet included double chocolate pecan brownie bars, individual blackberry tarts, shortbread cookies topped with cream fraiche and strawberries, caramel brownies, and neighbor Dianna's famed Serendipity - a luscious chocolate cookie crust bar with whipped cream filling and a chocolate glaze.

Lacey and her sisters made Cake Pops and decorated them in Sara's nursery colors!

Beverages included ice cold water with cool cucumber slices and a strawberry lemonade punch.  The large glass decanters fit perfectly on the yellow cart with the canning jar glassware moved to the table.

Guests filled their plates and ate the decadent treats while Sara opened her gifts.  This little guy, Karam, sure enjoyed his cake pop!

My favorite dessert was the individual berry tarts.  The crust was a perfect blend of sumptuous flavor and texture, the berries were absolutely perfectly ripe, and the little crust heart tucked into each tart added the perfect finishing touch!

One look at this picture and you can see why they are called 'showers' as Sara is clearly 'showered' with gifts for her new little boy!!

A vintage doll stroller for the nursery decor!!

As Sara opened gift after gift, no doubt the older guests thought back to their own showers and the younger guests thought about the showers that would be held for them in the future. 

 Sara poses with the shower planners - Julie, Lacey, Jessica, Dianna, MaryAnn and Carianne.

 With the gifts opened it was time for Sara to enjoy a cake pop!  

The baby shower is a cherished tradition and it won't be long until 
Sara has her new bundle of joy whom she will cherish as well!