This VINTAGE SILHOUETTE themed birthday party that Cristen and Jeff created for their daughter Savannah – along with design help from expert party stylist Kate Landers – is filled to the brim with charming details and inspiring DIY elements (like the fabulous paper doily dessert table backdrop, for starters!).

Some of my favorite details include the pint-sized parasols for the girls, the giant hanging tissue pom personalized with a big “S”, sweet vintage style birthday cakes (made by dad), and the super cool homemade “photo booth” area – complete with vintage dress up props and an oversize ornate gold frame. Also loving the paper doily accents galore, which really helped tie all the different party elements together… you see them everywhere from the handmade invitations and party hats to the favor bags and food signs!

Read on for lots more inspiring pics + party details…

PARTY DETAILS, as told by Cristen…

Theme

• Vintage Silhouette.
• The main theme elements I wanted were the Silhouette.
• Doilies, and the colors Light Blue & Peach.

Decorations

I used the main elements to decorate every aspect of the party.  Keeping everything within those 4 things (silhouette, doilies, peach & blue) really helped in keeping Light Blue and Doily backdrop, to the ‘Peach’ Lemonade, to the Doily, Light Blue and Peach Food Tags.

The kid tables were part of the decoration.  They had White Tablecloths and were layered with personalized placemats, party hats (handmade for the girls and top hats for the boys), Doily bowls (made using crochet doilies and soaking in a Elmer’s Glue and Water mixture.) and a Doily like photo frame featuring various photos of Savannah I purchased on clearance after Valentine’s Day at Target.  The centerpiece also contained glass jars filled with handmade pinwheels.

Food & Drinks

We went with various types of Sandwiches, Mini Quiche, Deviled Eggs, Cracker & Cheese Platters, Peach Slice Cups, and Mini Carrots.  The food served several purposes; the items were Savannah’s (the birthday girl) favorites, fit in the color scheme, and helped to make a special environment and help take the guests to a different time with the ‘vintage feel’ of it.

We served Peach Lemonade, Sparkling Water, and Sweet Tea to again give that old fashioned Southern feel we were going for.

Favors

I used the favors to help decorate the party and give the guests some entertainment and items to ‘dress up’ with as well.  Every girl at her table setting had her own parasol (halo heaven), antique ring (Michael’s), white gloves (Target dollar section), and hand made lace trimmed party hat.

The boys place settings had a Black Top Hat that I purchased at Oriental Trading and then trimmed with Light Blue Satin Ribbon to help incorporate them into the theme as well as a handmade Light Blue Felt Bow Tie.

The favor bags the guests received when they left contained a Handmade Light Blue Moonstitch Hairbow (ribbon from the ribbon retreat) for the girls and Vintage Toys for the boys.  (Jacks – Oriental Trading and Silly Putty – Crayola).  The Favor Bags were made using White Paper Sacks and wrapping the tops in doilies and a ‘Cameo’ Tag I made using either my son or daughters silhouettes for the boys and girls.

Dessert Table

The dessert table featured 3 cakes made by my husband of Jeff’s Creative Confections.  The 2 smaller cakes were mini cameos of Savannah and the larger was a Peach and Blue Monogrammed tiered cake.  He also made Silhouette Cookies featuring Savannah’s silhouette printed onto Edible Wafer Paper by Cake Art.  The Meringue was made by Jeff and displayed in Polkadot Candy Cups by Shop Sweet Lulu.  Jeff made the mini Peach Cream Puffs as well.   We had Blueberry and Peach Taffy, Orange Candy Sticks and Original Rock Candy Swizzle Sticks on the table as well.  All purchased from a candy store.   The guests used doily cones I made using doilies and the Cameos I made as well to put their treats in.  They were displayed in a vintage blue box I purchased at Joann’s Fabrics.

Activities

We had a Dress Up Station with Men’s Suit Jackets, Ties and Top Hats for the boys and Pettiskirts, high heels, jewelry and parasols for the girls.  All taken from our closets.  I purchased a Vintage Frame on clearance at Hobby Lobby and we hung it from PVC Pipe in the backyard to create a ‘photo booth’.

I handmade tissue paper flowers to create a Monogram Pinata for the kids at the party.  Since we had a dessert table already with plenty of sweets we chose to fill the pinata with small vintage toys instead.  Items like harmonicas, jump ropes, and wind up toys were purchased at the Dollar Tree and Michael’s Dollar Section.

Handmade & Diy Items

Virtually everything you see at this party was handmade by either my husband or myself.  We really enjoyED making the items and DIY elements are a great way to stick to a budget when hosting a larger party like this one!

The invitations I made using cardstock, doilies, velum, and satin ribbon.  Food Labels were made using cardstock, doilies, and satin ribbon.  Bow ties were made using felt, elastic and velcro.  Backdrop was made with a tablecloth hung behind the doily backdrop.  I made it by tying several doilies together and hanging from the ceiling.  My husband painted Savannah’s silhouette onto Canvas and we hung those with empty white frames we had around the house with Satin Ribbon.  The Doily Pom Pom were made using paper mache balls we made and then hot glued doilies to them.  The girls hats were made using cardstock, lace trim (Hobby Lobby) and cameos I made and printed onto white paper.

Placemats were made using doilies and again printing the silhouette onto paper.  The entryway silhouette that greeted the guests was made by my husband painting the silhouette onto foam board.  These were hung throughout the house and backyard to decorate with.  Pinwheels were made using wooden dowels, wooden balls and cardstock.
Savannahs outfit was really the item that gave me the idea for the them in the beginning.  It’s a Marie Antoinette Inspired Dress from euro brand I Love Gorgeous.  The headpiece were purchased on Etsy as a sister set that I put both on her to make it more dramatic and was from Chique Showoffs.”