Red & Chalkboard Birthday Party

This weekend was one of my best friend Hermine’s “Surprise” Birthday party. Her husband, his sister Annette, Her Bf Ornella, Her Sister in Law Eileen, her mom Anna and I all helped in the planning of this great party. I have to say Annette was the visionary and the creative genius behind the décor. The look on her face was priceless. We did this party in her parents backyard and on a budget and think it looked so lovely with lots of color. Her sister in law Annette is so creative and did most all the decorations and a few of us helped with the food, favors and the cake. We had a secret Pinterest board so we could share ideas and talk over the phone which was so helpful too. They rented a few tables and chairs with red tablecloths and she added in a lot of chalkboard elements too. I had these small frames as you have seen in many other projects and I added in chalkboard paper and used a chalkboard pen which was wonderful to work with and so much easier than chalk but gave that same look. She made this darling Happy Birthday Flag Banner with chalkboard scrapbook paper, punched holes and threaded twine through it. What a great idea and it can be used for many parties to come as she can just make a new name easily. The tissue flowers were made with tissue that she found $2/1 and said they were super easy to make yet if you buy them they are $7 a piece so that was a great way to add a lot of color and texture for not a lot of money. Annette spray painted the outsides of clear vases that she had at home and or found at thrift stores with red paint. She went to downtown L.a. and bought some bunches of roses and we helped her assemble them into the vases. Again I thought this was such a great way to add some beauty and color and the varied sizes of vases made it interesting to the eye. WOW I LOVE this Bar. Ok, so one of Hermine’s favorite saying is by Chanel “A woman should be two things Classy and Fabulous.” We went with this as our theme too. Great way to add a little fun to it. Annette spray painted the bottoms of the wine glasses with chalkboard paint so then guests could write their names on the glasses. I love that idea. The “Classy and Fabulous” Margaritas she added a chalkboard label too, as well as the bottles of alcohol which was a wonderful idea. She found mason jars on sale and added the cute red and white straws, cute Coca Cola bottles too. I bought red napkins and found stamp online and stamped the napkins with that saying too. She borrowed her brothers wheel barrel and layered all the beer in there which was super cute too. This was a great idea that we saw on Pinterest. Fun facts about Hermine. We all wrote down things we knew about her and Annette wrote them out on the banners and it was fun for friends and family to read and comment on. You can also print them out on computer paper too. The cake was breath taking. I love, love, LOVED it and her friend Ornella ordered this beauty as well as did the favors which were adorable mini bottles of champagne tied with pretty ribbon and each guest received one as they left the party to say thank you for coming. The inside was red velvet and it was yummy. The birthday girl was so surprised when she walked in. She seemed very happy and I loved the big smile on her face. So if you’re throwing a party, and like most of us you want to do it on a budget, it’s wonderful to have or let people help you. Everyone loves to help out and it makes it so much easier too. When she opened her gifts this was one of the best and creative gifts I have seen. Her mom gave her this umbrella and when she opened it, it was raining money. How clever was that?? She said she just hot glued a dot of glue to hold them on. A brilliant idea for a special occasion or event. The party was a wonderful success and we all had a great time too. Lots more pictures and details on the blog. Thanks for stopping by, Lisa