Little Blue Truck Birthday Party

Finally... A's Little Blue Truck Birthday Party!

I am crazy proud of how it all turned out. I wanted to give A a truly special day, and what better way to do it than with his favorite book... Little Blue Truck! If you've never read this book, I highly suggest it. Aside from being beautifully illustrated and having a wonderful lesson in the end, it's about a truck. If you have a boy, chances are you know the importance of this. A is crazy about planes, trains & automobiles, but this book holds a very special place in his heart. He learned how to say "blue" and "beep beep" from hearing us read this over & over, and continues to request it every night before bed.

Ok, onto the party!

Starting with the invitations, this is what our guests received when they opened up the envelopes. A little "present" to unwrap. The tags were a little preview of what was to come inside, and the license plate read "ARPIS2".

The photo is an instragram picture, printed from Printagram.

Once they unwrapped the bakers twine, this was the invitation inside!

Once the invitations were in the mail, I started planning the rest of the party! I was able to use a lot of things we already owned, and even re-purposed A's birthday banner from last year.

This way to the Little Blue Truck Party!

This year, I tried very hard to keep A's party 'green'. I was shocked by the amount of garbage we created last year with our napkins & plates, and from early in the planning process, sought out ways to change that. The sign above instructed guests that the paper plates could be put in our compost, the silverware was recyclable and the napkins were washable. I was very happy to see that we only had one trash bag at the end of the night - a huge improvement from last year!

Needless to say, the cake was my favorite part! Deborah from Cupcake Stylist totally brought my vision to life with recreating the cover from Little Blue Truck, and created a custom "toad" for the front of the cake! 

Aside from the freezing temperatures, the party was a success. And A literally beamed when he saw his cake! That was all I needed. The smile on his face melted my heart. Unlike last year, he loved eating cake & frosting, and laughed the whole time we sang happy birthday. It was such a special day for him, and I loved being able to celebrate him for an entire weekend. Can't believe my little guy is two!


Sources:
Invitations: Bella Carta Boutique
Wooden Chalkboard Arrow: Save On Crafts
Gingham Tablecloths: Amazon
Giant Balloons: Shop Sweet Lulu
Vintage Egg Cartons: Shop Sweet Lulu
Chalkboard Food Signs: Save On Crafts
Striped Straws: Shop Sweet Lulu
Mason Jars: ours from canning peppers!
Giant Little Blue Truck Book: Amazon
Wooden Wine Crates: passed down from C's grandfather
Wooden Wine Carrier: from Home Goods many years ago
Birthday Banner: Bella Carta Boutique
Gingham Reusable Napkins: myDrap Linen Napkins
Cupcake Liners: Shop Sweet Lulu
Cupcake Flags: homemade with washi tape & toothpicks
Cake "Fence": re-purposed Melissa & Doug toy box
GMC Model Truck: ebay
Fondant Animals: Cupcake Stylist on Etsy

I need to give a very special thank you to my mom, mother-in-law & sister-in-law for helping me the morning of the party, without them, we never would have started on-time! They made cupcakes, fixed my poor excuse of an icing job, and help set up everything for pictures before guests arrived. And of course, my amazing hubby is owed a HUGE thank you for listening to my crazy ideas, helping me pull them off, and greeting me with a bloody mary before the party started. He's seriously the BEST! 

Linking up with:
Saavy Southern Style
DIY by Design
A Bowl Full of Lemons
Lady Behind the Curtain 
Liz Marie Blog