Grace's Fairy Fourth Birthday

You know how you have an idea and then you decide to pursue said idea even though you're fairly certain the idea isn't exactly feasible without your spouse's help and a tremendous amount of work, but you wait as long as you can to tell your spouse so you can be too far "in" to said idea to turn back?  Allow me to introduce you to the fairy party idea 😊.

Grace and I have been into fairy gardens for the last few months, so we decided to have a fairy themed birthday party!  We invited our family and friends over and everyone got to design an adorable fairy garden.  But first, I had to figure out how to seat 15 people in the same room.  And by "I had to figure out," I mean "Eric had to figure out."  So he figured we would just move all the furniture out, remove the television so we could work without the distraction of football, roll in some tables and chairs, and fire up the glue guns!  The result was cramped, cozy and just perfect.

I found some fairy flower crowns on Amazon, and pulled up some of my spring decor to give us garden inspiration. 

To build our individual fairy gardens, Grace and I hunted for some teacups and saucers, and in a real coup, I got one set for free from a friend, and found another set that coordinated with the initial set from our local thrift store.  I ordered the succulents from Amazon, and after a last minute search for potting soil (which is SEASONAL WHO KNEW?!) I ran into my aunt and uncle at Walmart, who just happened to have half a bag in their garage and completely saved me.

I pre-glued the cups to the saucers, lined the bottom of the saucers with some small pebbles for drainage, and then everyone got to plant a succulent and decorate their garden with some fairy darling accessories.  Instead of purchasing multiple real fairy garden fairies, I found these little cuties on toothpicks -- they're easier to move around for little hands, farrr less breakable and expensive.  Trust me, I've learned this the hard way.  I found gem stones, butterflies and moss at Hobby Lobby, and scoured my craft boxes for odds and ends like toothpicks, glitter, sequins and letters. For our guests who preferred a more masculine garden, I found some cute dragons and footballs, soccer balls, and basketballs (also from Amazon, how did people exist before Amazon) that I forgot to take a picture of.  The whole process was really charming and I love how the gardens came out!

Anyone else terrified by photographs of their hands? Anyone?

Grace really went for it with the accessories:)

Anna's garden was my favorite so I hid it when she wasn't looking and it worked because it's still at my house.

These little gardens reside on top of my piano in front of a sunny window, and a few weeks post-party they're holding up nicely!




And lest you think Eric was just the brawn of this operation, allow me to introduce you to his brainchild, the bloody mary bar. 👏👍

I am always in it for the beer chaser. 

We wrapped up with a little cake and ice cream, a few gifts, and lots of smiles.  It was a great party and now I'm slightly concerned with the precedent I have set for my kids' future birthday parties. 

Cake, ice cream, and a side of potting soil 😳

 But with memories like this ↓, I say, bring it on.