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Hi.  My name is Susanne and I’m addicted to party planning.  Haha!  Ok, maybe not addicted but it’s definitely one of my favorite things about being a mom.  I love watching my kids eyes light up when they see the cake that I made or the treats table all set up.  And then seeing them have a blast and talk about their party months later!  Yesterday my baby girl turned four (sniff, sniff!) and she requested a mermaid theme for her party.  I had so much fun putting this together!  Here are a few little details…

My son turned six last month and I had tons of fun planning a camping themed party for him!  If you follow me on Pinterest, you probably already know that I’m a bit obsessed with party planning.  I was really excited with how this party came together… Lots of work but it paid off when my little Gavin told me that his party ROCKED! 

I ordered the invitations and all the tags from BrightSide Prints and was so pleased with how everything turned out.  Jill did an amazing job designing everything!   

I forgot to take a detail shot of the ”Camp Gavin” banner, but the middle flag says “established 2006″… thought that was so clever and cute!

I made the cake with homemade chocolate mousse (try this recipe!!!) and saved some marshmallow ghosts from Halloween for the party.  I was definitely planning ahead!  The acorn idea was a Pinterest find and they were super easy and REALLY yummy!

The s’mores bar recipe was the BEST bar recipe I have ever eaten (if you’re a fan of s’mores… which I am!  Try it!).  Recipe found HERE.

The camp cookies were purchased on ETSY here.  I’m not usually a fan of sugar cookies, but these were seriously delicious!

The fort kits were the take home gift… They ended up being quite a bit of work, but after hearing from party guests about how much they have enjoyed them, I decided that it was worth it!

Each kit included a sheet with grommets on the corners (my awesome hubby did all the work on those!), rope in different lengths, clothespins, clamps, suction cups, and a flashlight.

I love how this girl one turned out!

The day of the party turned out to be bright and sunny but very, VERY windy.  That combo caused all the chocolate to melt and everything to blow all over the place, so I ultimately had to bring everything inside… try to ignore the cluttter in the background!  I like how the mason jar drink cups turned out and the paper on them doubled as a place to write their names and keep track of which drink was for each child!

I also bought some plain muslin bags online and then stamped on each of them… aren’t the little tags cute?  (also from Brightside Prints.)  The Trail Mix Bar turned out to be a huge hit with all the kids!

For the craft project, the kids decorated pet rocks. 

The big finale was the marshmallow shooters (my hubby also made and spray painted all ten of these!  He was so helpful with the party planning and ran the party while I was running around like crazy taking pictures!).  The kids had a little marshmallow war in the backyard.  SO fun!!!

Whew!  Aaaaaaand now to plan the next party!  Hahaha!

My sister threw the most FABULOUS tea party for her daughter yesterday… I just had to share! 

A “K” for Kylee… Made out of cupcake liners! 

Beautiful cake done by Cakes by Heather…

Adorable free printable food tags found at: Glorious Treats

Paper lanterns from Luna Bazaar…

And check out this super cute button art butterfly that she made!  I found the frame at a local antique store. 

She also made this little cake stand out of felt and ALL this felt food!  Each of the girls got to take home a couple of the felt cookies in little “doggie bags” for their dolls. 

She also made these darling silhouettes of Kylee and her American Girl doll…  AND sewed an outfit for each girl to take home for their own doll!The table was set with china found at Goodwill (we found a full set for less than $30!) and each girl had a mini tea cup for their doll…The birthday girl with her Samantha doll and her new Rebecca doll (that arrived at the party a little late – as a surprise!)…Cute craft the girls made… decorating their own flower pots and making flower pens…Last, but not least… Freeze dancing!  Always a party favorite! 

This weekend I had a blast photographing little miss A.’s first birthday party!  They had a face painter/balloon maker, a bounce house, a magician, a snow cone machine, and lots of amazing food.  It was quite the party!  Here are some favorites from the day…