*love*ly things-rainbow birthday party

okay...so a rainbow birthday party doesn't technically fit into a valentine's theme. but i LOVE throwing parties. so parties belong on my love list!

i think we all know there is nothing new under the sun (rainbow??). i planned this party with the help of pinterest. how in the world did i EVER throw a party before pinterest? it makes it so much easier for this tired mama's brain. see my rainbow board here.

 

the invitation:

here is how the party started off. i wasn't sure i'd EVER get past this point.the look on jimmy's face told me he wasn't sure either. HA!

the first thing i did was the chandelier above the table.

i used the martha stewart hydrangea punch for the garland. i strung it onto embroidery thread. the paper fan flowers are from party city.

we did watercolors for the favors...i bought rainbow ribbon from michaels and used a studio calico stamp for the tags. note: these are a great and affordable favor, i found them at target for 97 cents.

the wreath for the front door (all supplies from michaels, minus the ribbon, which was from walmart):

the front room when you first come in the door, lanterns from oriental trading:

 i set up the plate/drink station on the bar in the front room:

straws from shop sweet lulu:

an overall shot of the table (please note what is happening underneath...HA!):

strung above the dining room (from target):

closeups of the table:

 

the cake and cupcakes were from the AMAZING cheryl at back in the day bakery. she doesn't normally do custom orders like this, but she made an exception and we are SO grateful!!

i purchased sadie's candle at shop sweet lulu.

as you enter into the den (martha stewart flowers):

party hats from target, i embellished them with a heart punch and jenni bowlin buttons:

crepe paper fringe leading into den...i won't even admit how long this took me+j to do. he's a bit of a..ahem...perfectionist?

the den (lanterns from oriental trading,fans from party city,garland above window from party city):

as far as activities go, we had manicures:

and a pinata (yes that is a BULL. don't ask. i initially was concerned that sadie chose a jackass and/or llama pinata until jimmy noticed the ring in the nose):
 

  and my personal favorite..an inflatable twister! YESSSSS. we rented it from a local inflatable rental business:

everyone came in their finest rainbow-hued attire (sadie is dressed in  amy tangerine+maggie b) :

and some of the guests:

 

and my favorite shots of the sweet birthday girl:

  that FACE. man. photos from when everyone sings are always my favorite.

one more thing:

jimmy made a playlist for the party (the girls had a hilarious dance party at one point).

the playlist included fresh beat band, yo gabba gabba,rainbow connection, several versions of somewhere over the rainbow, and the rainbow song.

also...i gave the bigs a basket of sidewalk chalk and let them draw rainbows all over the driveway and sidewalk leading up to the house.

 

well, there you have it! i want to say how much FUN this was for me to do. i love throwing parties for my girls.

hope you all have a beautiful tuesday!

xxo

s

Comments

[Jessica Turner @ The Mom Creative]

You are AMAZING!! AHHHHH I LOVE THIS! xoxo

[Ellie]

Ooh I just LOVE it ! All your amazing hard work paid off. I just love how fun & pretty & bright everything was ! It just makes you smile. That cake was so cool!! Knowing me I would have stood there taking pics of that inside lol ( I'm such a dork) & the cupcakes (my weakness) then the super duper cherry on top Sadie's face that just beamed super happiness which was brighter then the whole rainbow party oh just rocks and makes it all worth it! YOU ROCK!

[tammy kay]

Looks like so much fun. I love the twister idea! I'm planning Karigan's Bakery party based off of pinterest too. Wish you could come. If you would be willing to drive then you are totally invited!

[kellyk]

you are an awesome mama! Sadie looks overjoyed and the party is gorgeous!

[Melissa]

Girl, you NEED to be submitting your parties to Amy Atlas! http://blog.amyatlas.com/

[gabby]

goodness i love this.
you are such an awesome mama.
sadie looks so happy.
xoxo.

[Fiona]

Wow you sure do know how to throw great parties. That second last photo of Sadie - she looks so grown up, and so like her Daddy!

[Jessica]

Looks so amazing! Great job

[Briana]

So fun! We threw Olive a rainbow party on January 22nd! Loved your ideas too!

[Brooklyn]

You sure have outdone yourself. What a beautiful party. You didn't miss a detail. Miss Sadie looks so happy and grown up. It's like I can feel the laughter through the screen.

[dana]

omg, what a fun party! you need to be a party planner/decorator...i could never imagine all the fun stuff you planned! great job!

[Kami Pfingsten]

You totally rock!!! WOW!!! I love every little detail. I am sure that Sadie had a memorable birthday!!

[Joanne]

wow, wow, wow!!! Your girls must feel so very special when their birthdays come around - so much love and thought, not to mention hard work went into this. Wow, the memories you have created...awesome!

[lauren]

what a great party!! in the second to last photo, sadie looks SO MUCH older!! :) and :( the time is just flying by!!
*

[Jen Strange]

HOLY COW. I am so, so incredibly impressed!!! (And jealous!!! I want an awesome party like this for MY birthday!)

jen

[Cynthia B.]

So cool! I showed my 9yo daughter these pics, and her favorite part was the rainbow fruit plate. :) Mine was the cake - those layers are awesome! Actually, the whole party looks awesome- fabulous job, and I'm sure the kids had a blast!

[Lyndsay]

Amazing!!!! Loved the rainbow fruit tray!! and that cake!!! All of it was so adorable!

[Krista Nash]

Fun!!! It looks like it was a wonderful party. As someone who also likes to go big with a theme for my girls' birthdays, I can appreciate how long that took you, how much money it cost (despite your efforts to do a lot of it yourself), and all the love involved. Great job! Wondering if I can convince my girls to go for a rainbow themed party.

[Leigh Erin]

Man, I hope you have a reason to throw a party after you move... so D and I can crash it!! :) LOL. Awesome rainbow party and J looks really excited for Sadie to be the heck out of that pinata!

[Debbie S.]

Awesome!

[Pat Cloud]

Oh!My!Goodness! I would love to have a party like that! Your creativity is amazing - down to the last detail. Beautiful pic of Sadie!

[Jenni Hufford]

AWESOME PARTY! her sweet face says it all!

[Amy]

Love all the bright colors! Your girls are so lucky to have you for their mama.

[Christine F.]

That sounds amazing! You are providing her with so many fantastic memories! :)

[Ana F.]

Amazing party! Amazing mama too.

[Katie Rose]

How awesome!! You didn't leave out any detail!! So fun!

[justlisa]

What a fabulous party!!

[Suezi Gurzi]

I wanna a rainbow party!!! man oh man where'd that baby go???!!! Sadie looked like she loved every minute of her special day!

[kristen w cox]

i LOVE it!!! the bright colors are so cool. i have a friend here in az that is doing a rainbow party for her daughter next month. she too is pinterest planning! when she first googled "rainbow party" though she uh, em....didn't get what she was looking for. lol!!!! i will have to share your blog!

[Peg]

All I can say is wow, wow, wow. So fun, so well put together and that picture of S w/the big 'ole grin on her face, well that just says it all. Nice job Steph and thanks so much for sharing. I think this is a great party that could be boy or girl friendly too (well, minus the nail polish. LOL)

[Kabrina Walton]

Love the rainbow party!!! Great job and love all the details!!! I too am so thankful for Pinterest....what Did we do before lol.

[Dana N]

OK seriously - my birthday is coming up - wanna plan it??? ;) It looks like the party was a major HIT. Great decorations!

[Chris]

looks like it came together fabulous! Such a fun theme, we had a blast with a rainbow party last summer for our 7 year old. Such fun!

[pegg]

You really know how to throw a party !! Looks like so much fun - glad you all enjoyed it :) esp your sweet girl Sadie!

[rkokes]

what an amazing party-how FUN! thanks for sharing the details-my 5 yr. old daughter was oohhing and aaahhing and asking when we can have a candy party. :)

[Sherry Cartwright]

Over the rainbow! Love all the party decor, the kids clothes [I wanna dress like that!] and all the colorful goodness of Sadie's party. She is bound to have very happy, colorful memories of her 4th birthday.

[dawn]

WOW WOW WOW YOU WENT ALL OUT FOR THIS PARTY. I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID ALL THAT DECORATING, IT'S INCREDIBLE!!!!!!! YOU ARE AN AWESOME MAMA AND PARTY PLANNER.

THE PHOTOS ARE GREAT, LOVE THE TWISTER AND SHE LOOKS LIKE SHE HAD THE BEST TIME. I bet your still tired today.

[Elizabeth]

I bow down to your mad birthday planning (and executing) skillz! Be proud it was AWESOME! *E*

[kristine cline]

I love this! What an amazing party....I noticed a mom in a football jersey! SUper Bowl SUnday...heeheee....:)

[Alison]

Okay - that was a TON of work, but WOW! What a lucky girl Sadie is. Maybe you should throw parties for a living. Or maybe just my parties. ;)

[Vickie Lee]

Wow - you can plan parties for me anytime! What a wonderful memory. I am impressed big time.

[elana k]

I totally agree about pinterest--don't know how I ever came up with anything before it!

that being said, you went WAY beyond your pinspiration-this looks so fantastically creative and fun. I know how much work goes into these things and it looks like it was all worth it! thanks for sharing!

[courtney meyer]

Wow! You did an amazing job on her party...I love the rainbow theme!

[~kellyann~]

Seriously, Sadie's Rainbow birthday party is AMAZING! Stephanie, you are incredibly talented and go all out. How in the world are you going to top this one? I hope you are still blogging when the girls get married.....those are going to be some gorgeous weddings! :)

[Kimberly Garofolo]

You are simply OVER THE TOP SUPER FUN MAMA of the YEAR! LOVE ya girl....such a fun EVERYTHING going on for this sweet girl of yours! xx :)
Love ya,
K

[Candy]

Yes, I can see the fun of a party full of girls...I had parties for boys...ALWAYS outside or at the pool, or at the park...run run run, NO singing...the adults had to do that, cause boys want to run run run...and forget trying to decorate...those things were items to be destroyed...ah the memories...

[Michele H.]

Happy Birthday to your sweet Sadie girl! The party looks absolutely fabulous. My favorite photo is the 2nd to the bottom. Sadie looks beautiful:)

[Rebecca Lovell]

What an absolutely beautiful party!!! I love what you did!

[laurie lariviere]

all I can say is omg, that looked amazing, fun and full of yummy sugar!! Gosh, I would have loved to come, I love sugar...lol... I am sure Sadie will not forget this party, it looks like she had a great time! Love the watercolors party favor, that would be great for an art type party too...my daughter just turned 12, so the theme parties are sadly over for me...my son turns 15 on Halloween, used to have fun scary parties for him too, but no more...enjoy their smallness while you can!! (not that I don't love my teens completely...lol...)

[Miriam Prantner]

I want to come to Sadie's next party! This looks fabulous!

[allison]

OK, that's it. Now I want a rainbow party! Beautiful decorations and a super sweet birthday girl!

[Lori P]

I am beyond impressed! I LOVE the rainbow cake! I have seen it on pinterest and would love to make it sometime. Happy Birthday to Sadie :)

[Whitney]

So so cool!! I'm going to make a board for the twins' first bday right now! Thanks for the inspiration!!

[Tiffany]

Oh my gosh I love this!!!! I don't know how you do it!

[Shannon Shurtleff]

Oh Stephanie! It was gorgeous!!! I am so excited for her, I bet she had a blast! Check out her smile!!! You did a great job, MAMA!!!

[Nora]

We have been planning a super colorful graduation party this June so I really, really love all of these fantastic ideas!

[Katrina of Southern California]

Great Party so beautiful....Sadie looks like she had a fabulous time. WOnderful Job Stephanie. You deserve Mom of the Year :)

[Kimber-Leigh]

oh stephanie. phenomenal party. what a ton of fun i can tell you had! (i love party planning too!) but my favorite pictures are of sadie...she looks so full of excitement and joy! and the second to last picture? when did she grow up?!?!??! i remember her baby pictures like it was yesterday!

[Jennifer Harris]

You are the coolest parents EVER. I want to be reincarnated as one of your kids.

[Carin]

Wow what an amazing party!!! You should take up party planning as a business. I just love all the little details and the kids look like they are having a blast! :)

[Mary Jo]

AMAZING! I love the watercolor favors and the colorful bottles of soda! So fabulous!!

[Dawn]

OMG!!! This is awesome!!! You did a GREAT job!!! It not only looks amazing but it also looks like the kids had an amazing time as well. Sadie's expressions are just precious...Thanks so much for sharing :)

[Heidi Jo the Artist]

Awesomely done! I love rainbow parties; they are my favorite! I did one a couple of years ago for my daughter who turned 3. ;) Have a great day! Happy Birthday Sadie!

[Sarah H.]

That is an awesome party!!! My birthday is July 19th, and I would like one just like it! ;) Your girls are so blessed to have a mom like you. Sadie is just precious. It just seems like I was just reading about her being born though! Time surely does fly. Way to go mom. Great job on the party!

[tara pollard pakosta]

what a BEAUTIFUL party!
she looks soooooo happy and I LOVE her outfit!
so precious stephanie! I miss those days when I could throw parties,though I didn't go all out because money was an issue, but I still had fun planning it with them! We did dora & barney, once mine were 3, they didn't want parties anymore! wah!
enjoy while you can! so special!
tara

[Janna]

BEAUTIFUL, it looks amazing!

[melanie bauer]

happy birthday to your sweet sadie girl! she looks so much taller and that she's thinned out all of a sudden.

looks like an amazing party, my dear. :)

[Amanda S.]

I'm in AWE!!! You put together the most beautiful and fun parties for your girls. And you do all of it with 4 littles. I'm so impressed!! So glad you shared it. And seriously, what did we all do without pinterest before?! :)

[April W]

WOW!!! That is quite a party. Amazing!

[Jamie Long]

Everything is beautiful!! but you know what I am missing? You, where are the photos of miss Stephanie?

[berta]

Happy Birthday Sadie!! Mom, you did a great job on the rainbow party!! Everything was beautiful! I love to use my milk glass collection for parties too, it goes with everything!

[Victoria]

AHMAYZINNNG!!!!!!! Am so impresssed, what an amazing party for a special little girl. Can't wait to see the scrapbook pages from these, the colours are gorgeous. Victoria x

[Stephanie Howell]

i was taking photos, replenishing sodas and candy,putting presents away,cutting cake,hanging pinatas,talking to friends,chasing babies,cutting fruit, picking cupcakes up off of the ground,and telling 347028340283 ppl where the bathroom was. :)

Sent from my iPad

[kate]

this so sweet, the cake looks even better cut! Meg and Faye said ooh and aah and said that Sadie was one lucky birthday girl, love the wreath on your frontdoor!and the pinata is so cool!

[Dena]

I loved the b-day party! Everything looked beautiful and like a lot of fun. Sadie looks so grown-up in these pics!!! None of the baby fat checks or anything - she's all tall and skinny. I'm so sad!! My youngest will be four this October - I forgot that they grow into big people at 4 :(

[Denise Nichols]

OMG....that was some party. Lucky girl! You did a fantastic job on all the decor. How could anybody be there surrounded by all the bright colors and not be happy? :o)

[celeste]

A.MA.ZING!!

[Stacey]

How cute! You really need to be a party planner. You would be very much in demand! Something to think about when your youngest girls are in school. I bet you would make a ton of money with your talent!

[Karyn S]

Steph the decorations & everything looked AMAZING!! You did an awesome job. I am definately remember this one when my baby girl gets bigger. Thanks for sharing.

[amy tangerine]

are you kidding me?! every colorful bit of her party looks amazing. you are brilliant. LOVE LOVE LOVE

[Natalie (QSOgirl)]

what a fun, happy party for your little girl! I had to pin it to my party ideas pinboard :) it's fantastic that her friends all came in their rainbow best, too.

[amy tangerine]

and how on earth did you find that skirt to match the custom tee?! you rock.

[Michelle]

WOW! That's one amazing party!! LOVE all the details!

[Acompton]

Ummm. Please come do my birthday part???! Yes yes?

[Jenn Ippolito]

oh sweet Sadie-girl is getting so tall! i remember when it was just miss Harper..and no one else! wow! you did an awesome job on the party Stephanie! very, very impressed!

[Maria S]

I am so pinning a bunch of these ideas! AWESOME.

[Linda]

You are awesome! It looks like it was a wonderful party!

[Rachel W]

Oh my! What a FUN party!!! These photos make me want to have a big girl rainbow party for myself!

And your photos? They're gorgeous!!

[Kristi]

How, HOW is she FOUR?!? I remember anxiously checking your blog to see when you gave birth to her! Man! And i don't even KNOW her :) She is so grown up looking suddenly! What an AMAZING party. And I'm in awe, wondering how in the heck you managed to get all around town to gather all the materials, and live through THAT torture (at least, it is with my kids!) before even having the party? You AMAZE....

[Natalie Hua]

My birthday is in 12 days, please adopt me! You throw such awesome party!!!

[Elizabeth Gardner]

WOW! WHat a cool party!!!!!! That looks amazing. Good job Mama!

[Bessie Segal]

Stephanie!!!!!!!!!! I've NEVER seen a party looking like THIS. It's completely over the top & totally fabulous.
Every thing in America seems SO much bigger, brighter & fancier.
Your imagination & talents are never ending.
PS "In the name of the wee man", very Scottish & sounds similar to "What in the Josie"!
You are simply super! X

[ErinK.]

u r like super MOM! wish i was as good as u...and i only have 2 kiddos! thanks for sharing looks like all had a great time!!!

[linda trace]

ok so first of all,

My birthday is December 29. you can choose the theme---you have almost a full year to get it ready :)

second, OH MY GOODNESS WOMAN!!! You are amazing! The mroe I saw, the more my jaw dropped!! this is just awesome :)I'm DEFINITELY going to have to take a leaf from your book this year and go ALL OUT on my girls' birthdays. You make them amazing!

Well done indeed Stephanie! Youré a genius and an AWESOME mama!!

[Natalie]

You did such an AWESOME job!! Sadie looks like she has gotten so tall!

:0)

[Amy P.]

So cute, love all the decorations!! Looks like all the kids had a blast!

[yyam]

Goodness! What an absolutely delightful party! I love how you executed the rainbow theme! The colours just scream happy! What a fabulous mommy you are!

[Nita K]

So cute! Love the balloon wreath. I made one for my son's birthday last week. It was my first pinterest inspired craft.

[Debra]

Oh fabbo - it's obvious that you LOVE doing this for your girls. So, so fun. My mum used to do parties for us too - they were always fun. I love the inflatable Twister - would like to give that a go myself! ha ha. Of course we all want to know how long it took to do the fringing over the door...makes me crack up. You probably did! :)

[sam]

Looks like so much fun! What a wonderful gift to give to your girl:)