It’s been a while since I’ve done a Dressing Em post. I think it’s time for an update. This little melon floral number is what she’s wearing today. I buy very little clothes for her [sans Janie + Jack on sale] because she’s been so generously given hand-me-downs and gifted lots of cute dresses like this one. I adore the smocking + scalloped edges.
We celebrated Em’s first birthday a few weeks ago. As you may remember, we created a theme of “a celebration of firsts” and crafted these invitations + first year certificates.
We wanted the decor to be easy + inexpensive. So, we continued with the theme and framed some of her special first things in frames we already had around the house.
Her first rattle. Her first bonnet which was hand smocked. Her first hand + foot prints. The bloomers from her one month pictures. We also framed one of her first dresses – a beautiful, soft pink Feltman Brothers dress. Elsewhere, we framed the little hat + info anklet she wore in the hospital, her going home outfit, and her first booties that my grandmother tatted.
We custom ordered a pink vanilla cake from Sugar Mama’s and raspberry and strawberry champagne macarons from La Pâtisserie. We also ordered pink rock candy swizzle sticks.
After purchasing a bunch of different pink + white flowers from a local grocery store, I arranged them into vases we already had.
When it was time for cake, I thought Em would dive right in. Instead, she pulled off the bottom layer of cake + frosting from her slice of cake and ate it. She was really meticulous and neat.
Kacey’s mom created the sweet pink drink. It was some sort of yummy raspberry + ginger ale concoction. The striped straws were ordered from The Cupcake Social. The bottles are just Starbucks frappuccino coffee drinks that we scrubbed the labels off of. I love that we’ll be able to use the bottles again for future parties + gatherings.
We hung a festive mixture of paper lanterns above the island in our kitchen. I purchased them from Fiesta Pom Pom, Paper Lantern Store and Garden Ridge.
We also created a wish table for guests to leave their wishes for Em on her first birthday – a tradition I hope to continue ever year for her birthday.
It was such a great party and I am so proud of how it all turned out. It took a lot of planning + time but by doing a little bit each day, we were able to accomplish everything we wanted without too much stress.
And finally, a hearty thank you to everyone who came to her party + celebrated with us. Em is so lucky to have you all in her life.
I’m so excited to finally share with you the invitations we designed, letterpress printed + mailed out for our daughter’s first birthday party! After a bit of brainstorming, Kacey and I decided to make Em’s party a celebration of her firsts. The first time she giggled. Her first word. The first time she sat up. First time she crawled. Her first food. First steps.
I wanted her invitation to be interesting plus a little keepsake for each recipient. So, I designed multiple parts. The largest card is a certificate. The smaller pink card is her party invitation. We included a picture of the birthday girl, put it inside a glassine envelope and bound all the parts together with pretty metallic + cotton twine.
Below is a closeup of the certificate. This was a three color print job. A dark pink, a light pink and gold for the text. It was stamped, well letterpress printed really, with “First Year Certified.” Lots of her milestones and the dates for each were listed.
I turned Em’s first foot + hand prints into graphics so that we could letterpress print them in a pale pink ink on each card. Fun fact? They are printed in the actual size of her first foot + hand prints.
Each envelope was adorned with pretty pink and cream vintage stamps + an envelope wrap. Since we only needed to print a small number of invitations, we letterpress printed each envelope wrap with our return address plus the address of the recipient.
A closeup of the parts all grouped together inside the envelope.
I love how her invitations turned out. They’re exactly as I pictured them in my head. And, I love the idea of the certificate so much that I’m going to be designing + letterpress printing similar first year certificates to sell in our little shop soon!
One year ago today, our sweet Em was born. Ever since, our hearts have grown bigger + our days are overflowing with joy. I can’t believe all that we’ve accomplished together. Happy birthday, love bug!
This cracks me up. Every month, I take Em’s picture, and this is one of the outtakes. So funny! I mean, what are the odds that I’d get a pic of her sneezing?!
Hope you had a great Monday!
Such adorable ballet flats… for babies! Ruffles + polka dots + shimmer. Oh my! I think these are my favorite baby shoes. Ever.
We’ve got nothing but love for you today :] Happy Valentine’s Day!
Have you seen this cuteness from Olliegraphic? I first fell in love with the plates + bowls that feature a customizable kiddo. I thought they would be so cute for Em. Maybe for her upcoming birthday? Then, I noticed the Parisian vocab series of art prints. Again, they showcase a cute customizable illustration. All sorts of adorable.