The Pinterest-Influenced Birthday Party

I'm somewhat addicted to http://www.pinterest.com/  . . . I say somewhat because I can go days without checking it . . . so I don't think it's truly an addiction . . . but I would definitely say I love it . . . and that I am on the verge of having a problem . . . :D

Take for example . . . Shane's birthday party.

I went on pinterest and did a search for "cowboy birthday party" . . . I followed the leads from that search and "pinned" several ideas on my "cowboy party" board.

So what ideas did I get off pinterest that I actually used for Shane's party . . .

Here we go:

1.  Martha Stewart Cupcake Stand:

I thought this looked so cute and I love Martha!  so I decided to make one. . . or two.  Here's my cupcake stand I made for Shane's party:

I actually made two cupcake stands and used scrapbook paper to decorate them for our western theme.  I had all the materials already so these cupcakes stands didn't cost me anything to make!  Of course, because I had made the cupcake stand, I had to make cupcakes in addition to the birthday cake! 

I thought the finished cupcake stand with the cupcakes on it turned out really cute!

We put brownies on the other cupcake stand in bandana print cupcake liners I got from Oriental Trading.

2.  Cowboy Cupcake Toppers:

I thought the cupcake toppers were so cute at this party I found on Hostess With the Mostess blog, but I didn't want to pay someone for the toppers when I could make some myself!  So I used my Microsoft Publisher program and made some simple oval and star shape toppers for the cupcakes. 

I thought they turned out pretty cute for an amateur!  And the toy cowboys and indians added a little extra touch to the cupcakes too!

3.  The Cowboy Vest:

I had already made the cowboy vests for Shane's party when I came across this tutorial at Dana Made It for making cowboy vests on pinterest:

So even though the cowboy vests were an original idea of mine . . . seeing these cute little vests helped me decide to cut fringe on the bottom of each vest.  Brown vests for the boys . . .

Pink vests for the girls . . .

I could have embellished the vests more like the one at Dana Made It, but I made 30 vests!  I didn't think embellishments were that important!  Each vest cost a little over $1 to make!  Pretty reasonable price, I think!

4.  Table Centerpieces:

I saw this cute centerpiece on pinterest and followed it to the website, Three Pixie Lane, where I found lots of cute ideas for decorating.

I took some of the boys' cowboy boots that they had outgrown along with some artificial sunflowers, forsythia, feathers, and bandanas I had . . . and I put together some cute centerpieces for the children's tables that cost me nothing!

5.  Wanted Poster Place-setting:

I saw this cute children's table placesetting on pinterest and followed the link to MiniMocha blog where I found lots of cute ideas for decorating . . .

And she used these cute Wanted Posters on the tables for coloring that she got from the Bookmaking With Kids website, and I thought they would make a fun extra activity for the children.

So I printed out copies of the blank Wanted Poster on cardstock paper from Bookmaking With Kids website and used them as place settings on the children's tables too.  I added crayons in little tin pans on the table and laid bandanas out on the plastic tablecloth for additional decor and . . .

Voila!  Instantly the children's tables were very festive and western-looking!

Lots of the children drew and colored on the Wanted Posters so it wasn't a wasted effort even beyond the decorative effect they had on the tables!

6. Cowboy Table Idea:

Someone pinned this cute idea from My Growing Home of using hay bales and a sheet of plywood for the children's table:

I found a red wooden children's table on the side of the road by a school a couple of years ago, and Dave threw it in the back of his truck . . . 

Afterall, I'm always needing a children's table for parties and crafts!  My sweet friend, Robin, also let me borrow a small table from her shop so I would have 2 tables for the children.  Dave was going to make some benches to go with the tables for Shane's party, but he didn't get around to it . . . so I remembered that hay bale table and thought . . . why not use hay bales to sit on ?!? 



I thought the hay added a nice authentic western touch to my whole decorating scheme!

7.  Cardboard Western Town:

By far the cutest thing I saw on pinterest for the cowboy party was the western town made out of large cardboard boxes.  I first saw this cardboard town at the Design Dazzle website, but originally the idea and picture came from Meredith Eisele's blog.

I got a couple of washing machine boxes and a large furniture box from the stores in our little town.  Using the picture above as a model, Dave cut the boxes out and I painted them. . . .

I thought it turned out pretty cute and cost us nothing to make! 

All the children enjoyed playing in the houses and getting their pictures made in it.

Even Zach and Alex enjoyed having their pictures made:



















8.  Soup Can Utensil Holder:

I saw this cute idea for using soup cans to hold the plastic forks and spoons at a party on Pinterest and followed the link to a wall photo on a facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/Pizzazzerie?sk=photos):

I started saving empty soup cans and used scrapbook paper to cover the outside of the cans. 

They made very cute dispensers for the plastic forks, spoons, and knives on the food tables . . . and cost me nothing to make!

9.  Wanted Poster Invitations:

I worked on Shane's party invitations for several days before finally settling on the Wanted Poster design for them.  I saw these super cute cd invitations at http://www.kellehampton.com/ and modified it for Shane's party.

We went on a family vacation to Gatlinburg last summer and while we were there, we had a family picture made in one of the old timey photo shops.

I used a cropped out picture of Shane and my Microsoft Publisher program to make his Wanted Poster invitations. 

I think they turned out very cute and they helped to establish our western theme early on with all our party guests!

10.  Family Wanted Poster Decorations:

I found the cute Wanted Poster invitations at http://www.kellehampton.com/ , and while checking out all the cute activities and decorations she used at her party, I saw where she had made Wanted Posters of all the children and used them as decorations at the party.  

I thought it was a really cute idea so . . .

and . . .

I hung these "Wanted" posters above the dessert table.  They really contributed to the overall effect . . . Ha!

11.  Roping Sawhorse :

The one pinterest idea that I didn't complete was the roping sawhorse. 

I saw this cute sawhorse at http://www.mygrowinghome.com/ and thought . . . Hey!  we've got some sawhorses!

Dave and the boys got to work on them and created these lovely "horses."

You have to admit . . . Dave did a great job imitating the picture I gave him.  I was supposed to finish the horses by adding the mane and tail and bandana.  I didn't get to it! 

But it was okay because Robin brought a rope and pretend cow for the children to rope instead of my sad, sad sawhorses. :D

And finally . . .

12.  The Pedestal Cake Stand:

Okay this was not my idea . . . nor my pinterest craft . . . it was a gift from sweet Charlotte, and I know she got the inspiration from pinterest!  I looked on pinterest to find something to show you and this is what I found that came close to giving a tutorial on how to make one:

The instructions can be found at http://meandjilly.blogspot.com/ .  You basically get a good sturdy candle stick holder and a plate . . .

and glue them together . . .  Here's my pedestal cake stand made by sweet Charlotte!

And here's my cake stand being used for the first time at Shane's cowboy party!

Really . . . how many cakes should one little boy have?  Ha!

I know this has been an extremely long post about stuff you may care nothing about . . . but somewhere out there could be one person who finds this information very informative and inspiring! 

Pinterest is a great place to find ideas!  The main thing to remember though . . . is you've got to do more than "pin" the ideas to a board to get the real benefit out of Pinterest!  Do it!  But maybe do it . . . in moderation!  Ha!

So happy trails to you . . . and to all happy "pinning" from

                      the Ferrell boys and me!