A Fun December Birthday Party Idea: Hot Cocoa/ Coffee Bar

This was such a fun party, both in the planning and the hosting! It was easy, festive and colorful, and quite inexpensive, too!

Just twenty four hours before the party, the dining room looked like this:

I'd been keeping things simple in here for a reason- it was super easy to move these things aside and decorate for the birthday party.

I realized that things looked a tad "girly" but Caleb was a good sport and said he liked how it all looked. I think it was actually the prospect of hot cocoa and all the toppings that won him over.  ;)

We set out various creamers, marshmallows, and other add-ins for coffee and hot cocoa...which included lots of candy canes! We already had everything else, like the mugs and bowls. Talk about easy!

One of our party hosts was on super high alert mode all day. Funny dog!

 
Isabelle Kate had requested a whole-head braid (buh-raid) with a bow and flower on the side. Voila!
It lasted all of 7.8 seconds, ha!

Caleb had his heart- and taste buds- set on one of my cheesecakes. This one was a Tuxedo Cheesecake- Oreo crust and filling with melted white chocolate, and oh boy, was it scrumptious! Needless to say, that didn't last long either.

Happy Birthday to my favorite eleven-year-old! How have eleven years gone by?

Isabelle wanted an ice cream cake, and well, I don't make those. This makes me smile because we've had a few of these little snowmen cakes over the years for Caleb, so they're sort of like tradition. =)
How do you like those off-centered buttons, ha! (We have a special birthday party in January for Isabelle and her friends, and I'll make her cake then.)

My Birthday Girl and her special Birthday Brooch.
Isabelle has a fun little tradition of wearing one of her favorite summer dresses for her birthday to mix things up a bit. I sure giggled when she came downstairs like this!

So excited!!!

We were having an ice storm last Sunday on Isabelle's actual birthday, which meant church was delayed, so that worked out well for having reindeer and snowmen pancakes for a special breakfast.

One last THANK YOU to everybody who has made a purchase from my shop, Rose & Ruffle! I'm still working on a master plan, if you will, for this business, and I really do appreciate you all! I thought I'd throw in a picture of my top-sellers for Christmas this year and...

...some cozy flannel nightgowns still available. I have some other nightgowns listed as well if you'd like to take a look. After Christmas vacation, I'll begin working on some fun spring things!

Hope you all have a blessed week!

A Fabric Roses Birthday Brooch Pin for Isabelle

We've had quite the week of birthday celebrations in our home this past week! Caleb turned 11 on 12/12 (gulp), and Isabelle turned 7 (seven? SEVEN!) yesterday on the 15th. Our family came over on Saturday for a festive Hot Cocoa/ Coffee Bar Birthday Party, and it was so much fun! I'll be posting some pictures of that later this week. For this post, I wanted to share something special I made for my sweet Birthday Girl.

I think birthday shirts and outfits are just about the cutest things ever, and I've enjoyed making them for Isabelle over the years. But last year she had her little heart set on wearing her favorite summer dress on her birthday. I probably tried to talk her out of it but eventually agreed, and she was thrilled! I still wanted to make her something special, so I opted for a Birthday Brooch- she was in love! She wore it for the whole week!

This year? Same thing. Summer dress and a special Birthday Brooch. I think it's becoming a cute little tradition. =)

Since this brooch pin is removable, you don't have to worry about it holding up in the wash. You can make it as simple or as glitzy as you like. This is the first time I've used all of these materials together and I'm so pleased with the result! It is even prettier and lovelier in person!

Felt is the obvious choice for the number because it is stiffer and holds its shape well.

There are so many wonderful tutorials on making roses out there, so I'm not going to add one more to the mix. These roses are a combination of cotton, knit, and felt. I will say that I prefer to use a needle and thread as I'm "wrapping" the material to secure the underside. Then my trusty glue gun does the rest of the work, and in mere minutes, it's all done!

I adore the colors and textures, so bear with me as I post way too many pictures. =)

 I liked how this pink felt rose looked when I loosened it up a bit; the grey rose is rolled up pretty tight. Any edges that stick out too far are easy to snip right off.

For added dimension, keep some ribbons flat and curve others. 

That green ribbon on the left bugs me just a little, ha- it was supposed to be tucked underneath the grey rose more, but once that glue hits, it sticks! I couldn't move it! A toothpick helps with this part, too (and will spare your fingertips).

I added the white felt to act as a stabilizer, and stitched the safety pin on. You could use the glue gun, but I prefer to stitch it in place.

You could easily cut two of the numbers out and glue them back to back if you want a more stable number. This one seemed fine on its own so I left it as is. Of course, please ignore the glue! I didn't even notice until I was editing pictures, so it really doesn't seem that messy in person.

My happy, toothless Birthday Girl!

Notice the ensemble? I had laid out her pink dress and sure was tickled when she came flitting into the room wearing all this!  ha ha

 

And if you'd seen her just five minutes prior, this is what her hair looked like:

She moves. A lot.

Here she is last year:

Just a preview of our Hot Cocoa/ Coffee Bar Birthday Party...

sharing with:
seven thirty three
Have a wonderful week!