Ladybug Party

Yesterday, we threw a ladybug themed birthday/baptism party for our girl.  I did it on a budget, and I hate buying useless overpriced decorations and paper goods, so I made what I did buy disposable count.  I thought I'd share some of what I did with you!

 

 Ladybug cups:  Red paper cups from the dollar store.  

Round white labels leftover from another project run 

through the copier at work with the lid open=black spots.

 If you have a girl, jumpers are super easy to make.  

I just traced one onto doubled fabric, sewed up the sides and the shoulders.  

This perfect fabric was from JoAnn's.  I used less than a yard.

 I whipped up this bib last thing, 2 pieces of white flannel stitched together.

A number 1 cut out of jumper scraps, sewn on.

Ribbons attached at the top to tie on.

 Red tablecloth + back plates and bowls = ladybug tables.

Those are plain white napkins in the center.

I think the colored ones don't work well, and white 

fit in with my color scheme.

 

Guestbook:  Red stamp pad, sharpies and a  blank page from her scrapbook.  

(Plus baby wipes for cleaning off thumbs!)

We did a similar guestbook for our wedding, but the thumbprints were leaves on a tree.

 

 Ladybug cupcakes:  Red frosting (for some reason it looks orange here) 

Spots = upside down chocolate chips pushed into the frosting.

Another idea I had, which I will certainly do again, was to put a bunch of prints of photos out on a table for everyone to sift through and help themselves in lieu of favors.  This  was especially nice for grandparents who don't quite get the concept of a photo sharing website.  We always order multiple prints to share, but don't have a great way to share them efficiently with family.  This worked out great!

I didn't go overboard with decorations, as you can see, but the theme was evident, and nobody really notices decorations anyway, in my opinion.  If you're wondering about a menu, I served:

• Chili (which, unintentionally, fit the theme, as I use black beans in a red sauce!)
• Butternut squash and black bean soup 
• Coleslaw
• Apple Waldorf Salad
• Corn muffins
• Appetizers: Taco dip, buffalo chicken dip, artichoke dip, and a veggie tray.
• Dessert:  Cupcakes (chocolate and vanilla), apple pie, cheesecake.
• Drinks:  Boxes of iced green tea with honey and lemonade (from the grocery store) and a jug with a spigot of water from the grocery store.