{by HWTM Contributor, Jessica Kirkland of Pen N’ Paperflowers}

I’ve been wanting to share this “Pocket Full of Posies” birthday party for some time now.  I’m hoping the charming little details will inspire you; like the denim pocket banners, the paper maché flowers and the handmade vintage-style aprons that went into making my daughter’s third birthday extra special.  I knew I wanted a “vintage-meets-fresh” vibe with some denim thrown in there to keep the party a little more organic versus…”fluffy”?

Although I kept the party itself relatively simple, there were two key elements that really made the day extra special and tied everything together beautifully; the homemade aprons and the paper maché flowers. The aprons I envisioned were brought to life by Made by Morgan. She did such an incredible job of catching my vision, listening to all of my specific requests and sweetly, magically, bringing everything to fruition. The gorgeous paper maché flowers you see throughout the party were created by Maisey’s Daiseys Little Shop. She does amazing work and I LOVED using them as cupcake toppers, accent pieces for the rods of The Pastry Pedestal™, birthday cake decor and incorporating them into the backdrop.

If you want to fill your creative pockets with inspiration, keep reading for the rest of the  party details…

PARTY DETAILS, as told by Jessica…

Inspiration

I pay especially close attention to the unique little mannerisms that define my children while preparing/deciding on their birthday theme. Ella’s theme this year was chosen after noticing the genuine excitement she had as she either tucked in or pulled out small treasures from her pockets. So although I knew pockets would somehow need to be incorporated into her party, it wasn’t until we were singing/participating in “Ring-Around-the-Rosie” together that the lightbulb went off: “A Pocket Full of Posies” Party!!

I started putting together this Pinterest board of inspiration for her party and then designed the invitation. From there the ideas for the vintage aprons transpired and her vintage color scheme containing orange, yellow, blue, green and pink was chosen.

Party Decor

I kept the party decor quite simple actually. It was Ella’s first party in which there were no extended family members or adult friends invited. This year she had three little girls from our neighborhood attend so I tried to focus more on what would seem magical to them. As the little guests arrived, the first thing they saw were the beautiful aprons awaiting them. There was a simple food/dessert table (just their height) and a table with some balloons tied to the chairs. The dessert table had charming denim pocket banners used as part of the backdrop. I created these using recycled toddler jeans and some twine. There were yellow floral printed napkins I used on the dessert table for color. These same napkins were used by the girls while they were eating and some of the napkins were even mailed to Made by Morgan for her to incorporate them into the aprons and bags she made. (go back and look at the aprons closer now…you’d never know they were napkins). *wink*

Food,Dessert & Beverages

Again, with only four little girls to feed, I chose to keep the menu simple and sweet. I made mini flower cupcakes (and a few regular sized cupcakes), flower sugar cookies, “Posey Parfaits” and some “Pocket Sandwiches” filled with peanut butter and jelly. (see the credits below for the neat little gadget that helped me make those).

Drinks included a “Posey Punch” using a favorite slushy-type party punch recipe I’ve had for years and then I also offered a dispenser with cold water containing sliced citrus. Both beverages had edible organic flowers floating in them for a splash of color as well as to tie in the party theme.

Activities

After the party guests picked out an apron and a flower hair clip to wear, they were sent on a small scavenger hunt outside. Using the denim pocket on their aprons, they filled their pockets as they located small wooden game pieces I’d hidden around the playset. Once all of the pieces were found they naturally turned to entertaining themselves on the playset for a bit. We then sung a few rounds of Ring-Around-the-Rosie before heading back inside for another surprise activity. Since Ella loves getting her toenails painted, with the help of my two older daughters, we set up a “Posies for your Toesies” pedicure station. Each party guest was able to select a “fast-drying” nail polish for their toes along with an adhesive nail art flower for each big toe. (they thought that was SO special).

Party Favors

The little girls were given a 12-piece “Pocket Full of Posies” matching game set. I created these by purchasing precut 1-inch round wooden circles from a local craft store. I designed coordinating paper printables that I punched out with a 1-inch circle cutter and then used Mod Podge to secure them to the wooden circles. The game pieces were bundled up in handmade fabric bags created by Made By Morgan – which coordinating perfectly with the aprons they were given to wear when the arrived at the party. Along with being able to pick out an apron when they arrived at the party, the girls also picked out a handmade flower hair clip to wear – created by Maisey’s Daiseys Little Shop.