Sunday, February 8, 2009

Nancy Drew Birthday Party, Part 1

What is purple and black and has fingerprints all over it?

This party of course! In this first installment of all things mysterious, lets talk decorations. It was tough to pick out a color scheme for this one, because Nancy Drew doesn't necessarily radiate any particular hue. So, I put on my thinking cap and chose purple and black.

I started with plain black construction paper, and cut large question marks till I couldn't any more. Then, I found some free images online of fingerprints and bootprints and printed them on repositionable clear window decals (inkjet compatible, available at Staples). If you have ever read any of my other posts about our birthday parties, you already know that there are a ton of windows in my home, perfect for adhering all party décor. Oh, but the bootprints were (obviously) stuck to the floor.


giant construction paper ? marks


oversize fingerprints printed on window decals


and they fooled lots of guests


Moving on to birthday banners. I've never made one of these banners where you spell out the name in individual letters and hang them adjacent to one another, so here is my crazy version. Each letter was layered in photoshop with a fingerprint and a touch of purple. Then I had them printed at Costco's photo center as 5x7 photographs, on sale, and very cheap compared to buying more ink for my awful color printer. I mounted each 5x7 on a larger piece of sparkly silver paper and strung with dark purple ribbon. I think it turned out okay, don't you?


happy 7th birthday Autumn!


all the guests with the birthday girl in the middle


We decided on a popcorn "bar" as one element of the snack table. I saw the coolest jar labels here and borrowed the idea for these fabulous jars I found at Cost Plus World Market. I used a little more of that black construction paper in 6 x 12" strips and wound them into a cone shape (with one simple staple) to serve up this popular snack.


three kinds of popcorn


easy cones for little hands


Lastly, I had so much leftover paper and scraps and supplies from invitations and trial printing of fingerprints and letters, that I used them for garlands. I used an 1.5" punch for the papers and backed them with an 1.5" Avery round sticker (printed with, what else, question marks) and strung them with 1/8" silver ribbon. Scotch tape works pretty well on painted drywall and (usually) comes off cleanly.


okay, maybe I did go a little overboard on decor


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UPDATE: This printable collection is now available in our Etsy store! Only $5 for the entire set.

12 comments:

Missy Wuertz said...

You are SO Clever!!! I can hardly believe it. I hope your daughter had a GREAT Time!!!! WOW!!!!!!

Kendra@My Insanity said...

Love, LOVE, the print decals. It almost makes me want a do over of my Nancy Drew party just so I can add that element! Great decorations! I can't wait to see the rest of the party!

Brenda said...

The decals are ingenious! I love the dangling garland too - you can never go overboard on decor!

Unknown said...

No such thing as overboard! The Decor is fantastic!! I love the footprint and fingerprint decals.

Setting the Mood said...

SOOO cute!! I love the fingerprint idea!

amy & lisa said...

Oh this is such a cool party! I love everything you did with it. Lots of very fun ideas. Thanks so much for sharing.

brit.brat said...

love this party..cant wait till i have a few runnin around to throw them for.


you did such a great job..wow..all the hours put into that party!!
and LOVE the giant labels. don't you want to put them on everything!?

Saucy said...

You outdid yourself! Awesome idea for a party!

Chris @ Celebrations At Home said...

So many great details in this party! The prints, the hanging garland, the popcorn bar with paper cones....Love it All!!!

Miss Andrea said...

I wanted to let you know I referenced (and credited) this Nancy Drew party on my blog (http://happypartymonkey.blogspot.com/). Please let me know if you have any issues.

Andrea

Natalie said...

I LOVE the window decals! I've been searching all over for a way to make bumper stickers for car windows for friends that are graduating, and I think this may be my answer! I had no idea they made that type of paper, I'll have to head over to Staples ASAP!

This party looks amazing, too!

bounce house said...

Lovely idea! nice party decorations.