FRESH FROM THE FARM PARTY

Nina's party was Saturday evening, the ONLY day with rain in the forecast. It had been high 90s for weeks and weeks and of course here we are in the midst of a storm on her party day. What the?!?! So we went about our business and hoped for the best. Because, what else can you do? It's a barbecue and there's no way around it. Food was purchased, decorations were up, people were coming. It was a "Christmas Miracle", (as my husband says) because it didn't rain until after the party. Not only did it rain, it HAILED huge hail balls as everyone was leaving. And then the power went out. It was amazing, the timing of it all.

Many thanks to our neighbors and family that joined us to celebrate our sweet little tweedle Nina who turned TWO!

Here's a sneak peak of our Farmer's Market Birthday party.

Below are some of the preparations:

Name Garland - I painted the invite and scanned in the art to apply to other letters and alternated the color palette colors with the painting letters to spell HAPPY BIRTHDAY NINA.

I cut out the printed letters and glued them to twine. Then I clipped mini clothes pins to the top of each letter.

Rag Garland - I cut 1/2" strips from three different fabrics and tied them to a strand of twine. Easy. Done.

Lollies - I've never made these before, but it was easy. I found a recipe here, bought molds and sticks. The other ingredients I had in my kitchen. Added a bit of color and flavoring. Next time, I'll add less color, a little goes a long way.

Pennant Garland - I cut triangles from three different patterned papers and three solid papers and sewed them together. When I make these, I like to make stacks of each pattern so I can grab the next one easily and keep my machine running evenly.

Party Favors - I filled some canning jars with candy and tied a strip of fabric around the lid. I also inserted a piece of burlap into the top of the jar.

Table cloth - I purchased a cheap round burlap table cloth and some fringe at 1/2 price (because that gets expensive) and then I sewed the fringe on.

The other decorations were things stashed in our basement: wood crates, Grandma Wright's painted vases, old farming crate labels that my husband and I have been wanting to use for something. This was the perfect project. A vintage frame that I wasn't using for anything else, and a wood bowl from Australia.

There's a helium shortage apparently so balloons... I thought I'd have to go without our favorite 36" balloon and blow up the small ones and have them hanging upside down. But then I found someone that doesn't seem to know about this shortage... Thank you Harmons!

A huge thank you to my lovely friend Nicole for making Nina's cute little green tunic. She's so talented and whipped that out in a couple of hours, I'm sure. You can see more of her talents here.