A multicolor yarn pom backdrop is one of my favorite designs in this incredible Vintage & Rainbow Carnival Party by Kiira Turnbow of Eye Heart Pretty Things! Could you guess ;) Mini food, colorful desserts and tons of thoughtful crafted details celebrated her son’s 3rd birthday in a totally playful way! (And for more Colorful Carnival Ideas look here and here.)

PARTY HIGHLIGHTS to look out for:

• Colorful Popcorn Balls, Rainbow Jello Jars and Mini Donuts
• Rainbow Layer Cake & Super cool photo collage!
• Mini Hotdogs and Sliders + Labeled Mustard and Ketchup
• Yarn Pom Backdrop, Framed Chalkboard “3” Sign & Rainbow Banner

PARTY DETAILS, as told by Kiira…

I found a vintage fisher-price circus train at an antique shop, and it inspired me to plan a vibrant vintage carnival 3rd birthday party for my son. As always, I wanted this to be budget friendly, so everything was DIY. From the yarn pom-pom garlands to the printables, I painted, printed, cut and glued all the decorations for this party myself in my living room.

I bought an ornate frame from Ikea, primed & glossed it with bright green spray paint to make it candy-coated, and painted the center glass with chalkboard paint. I wanted the table to display the food in different heights so I used some vintage nursery rhyme books to stack on the table to add extra height. I also bought old candlesticks from a thrift store and painted them bright candy colors with glossy spray paint. Then I glued a large white flat plate to each one to create cake stands. All the brightly colored bunting flags I created for super cheap! I bought sheets of felt in each color, cut them into triangles and folded and stapled them to white string. Super simple, and all the flags were under $10!

I wanted to keep all the food and desserts miniature…mini sliders, mini hot dogs, mini donuts, and such. I collected soup cans for months and served individual tins of tater tots wrapped in a label that I designed and printed on my inkjet printer.

For dessert I displayed an array of candies in the vintage fisher-price circus train. I made rice krispy pops drizzled in frosting and sprinkles. I bought wooden dowels from the craft store and cut them to size for the candy popcorn balls and I created the little flavor flags to attach to each stick. The 6-layer rainbow cake I baked and colored with actual fruit and lined the edges with large gumballs. I loved that each layer had a flavor…strawberry, blueberry, lemon, orange… I also did a layered jello in mason jars and tied a spoon around each jar with twine.

I created a photo-collage in the shape of a “3” using photos as a timeline of Micah’s 3 years, from being a newborn, to walking, his first trip to Disneyland, to potty training, all leading up to his 3rd birthday. I bought glossy photo paper and printed these all on my inkjet at home and cut them out to arrange them in the shape of the 3. Another very affordable decoration idea.

Overall the party was a giant hit and everyone left in a giant sugar-induced coma :)