Neutral is the new black. Lately, it’s one of my favorite “colors” to design with, and Sharon of Cupcakes and Cutlery created the most fabulous Neon + Neutral “So Glad You Were Born” Birthday Party by cleverly pairing it with neon pink and yellow! How unique to take your traditional “Happy Birthday” saying and turn it on it’s head!

This party just looks like a blast…  Traditional birthday elements like cookies, balloons, cupcakes, and flowers are mixed in with fun & not-so-traditional retro items like disco balls, embellished roller skates, mad libs, and more. Even the pool deck area is the perfect backdrop for this incredibly bright birthday party.

How perfect are the large wood cut-out “E’s” to recognize the birthday girl? Spray paint was definitely Sharon’s best friend when putting together this birthday bash. Everything looks better with a coat of spray paint. Don’t you agree? I just can’t get over all the little vignettes, complete with throwback details like the paper fortune teller, jar of mad libs, and disco balls. There’s such a fabulous quirky element to this party that already has me excited for what Sharon will come up with next!

Keep reading for more BEAUTIFUL, BRIGHT photos, (as captured by Jackie Culmer) + all the creative details…

PARTY DETAILS, as told by Sharon…

“I recently threw a birthday party for one of my best girlfriends, Erika.  She is super fun and full of joy and the color palette of neon pink and yellow with beige was perfect for this. Instead of saying it was a regular Happy Birthday party, I called it a “So Glad You Were Born” Party which was inspired by Shanna Murray’s great illustration with a similar sentiment.

I wanted to really make the party personal to the things that Erika enjoys so I decided to create little vignettes.  Of course, they all had to match the color scheme so most of the items got several coats of spray paint. Aside from creating some festive swags with various types of ribbons, etc. in the party colors, I also used the letter “E” around the party. The large ones were created with foam bought from Lowe’s while some of the smaller ones were cut out from wood I had used from a previous party.

The food and drinks were kept really simple with just some snacky foods and flavored iced tea.  We also used one of those deal website for some smoothies and funnel cakes, but that was a horrible experience. I can’t say too much more about it.  I guess you get what you pay for.  Jenny of Hank and Hunt created the ‘logo’ for the large banner and a sort of starburst pattern, done in the three party colors, for some bunting flags, cupcake picks, and water bottle wraps which she offered to all my readers as a free download so you can recreate this party for your own friends.

Amazing photographer, Jackie Culmer, shot these images for me before the guests arrived.  She is an amazing talent and I am so grateful to be able to have her photograph this for me! Kristin of Meringue Bake Shop created a small cake for me for this party, and because it was so hot out that day, I put it in the fridge and promptly forgot about it!  But you can see one of the cupcakes she made to match in the shots with the cupcake picks.  As always, I have to thank my dad for helping me cut out the large letters!  I don’t know how I would get my parties done without him.  Maybe he should start his own blog…”