{ranai}

I love my mom thisssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss much (that’s like, a lot). As her 60th birthday was approaching I wanted to do something special for her. I knew I could throw a party and have it at the church or maybe a friend’s house, but not at home because we didn’t have a great yard for parties. Then the idea hit me that I could actually enlist my dad’s help and clean up the backyard to be able to host the party at home. This was no easy feat. My dad is a contractor and hoarder of tools and supplies he “might” be able to use on a future project.

It took months to create a space for a gathering. I hauled lumber and trash, used a chop saw to cut old lumber up for fire wood, found snakes and a million nasty spiders, and overall just put in a ton of sweat equity to remove all the unwanted debris. We built a 20′ x 20′ pergola and put up a fence to hide my dad’s shop. That was her real present, but the party was still a fun plus.

Instead of having a huge party with family and friends, I decided to have a smaller party where I could create more special touches. I invited my mom’s “sew sisters”, the ladies she quilts with every week and takes vacations with nearly every year. I envisioned a base of black, white and gold with pops of color and flowers. The accent colors I chose were pink, coral, purple, yellow, orange and green.

Tables and Decor

Aren’t the flowers so dreamy? Jessica drove from San Jose to arrange them for me because that’s what besties do! She also brought me a venti frap…I bet your bff isn’t as awesome as mine. I used pink gerberas, orange mini gerberas, yellow poms, white roses, purple stock, orange carnations, myrtle, and million star.

I added tissue poms to the pergola to continue the floral theme. I fluffed them out weeks in advance to save myself time when I was putting everything up. I used 36 of those bad boys.

I covered the tables with white linens and black runners. I painted plain white paper coasters to create a watercolor effect. The black and white striped plates from Hobby Lobby were perfect, as were the gold disposable silverware from Target.

Think napkin folding is just for real linens? No way! Paper napkins fold beautifully. I used a bit of washi to secure them so they could be folded ahead of time. This napkin fold is called a diamond pouch.

Mimosa Bar

The mimosa bar was a hit with the ladies! It consisted of five juices (peach, mango, orange, watermelon cucumber, and strawberry lemonade), barefoot moscato, sparkling water, and fresh fruit for garnish. I made the backdrop out of an old gate that was going to be tossed and the table was an old planting bench that was hidden in the back yard.

I used my Silhouette Cameo to add the juice labels to tags I purchased and to create stencils to etch the champagne glasses. Each person got to take their glass as a favor.

Sweets

The desserts consisted of coffee cakes, snickerdoodle and oreo cupcakes, and a trio of candies. The cupcakes were provided by my cousin Kelly Koch, and were decorated so beautifully!

Photo Banner

I think by far my favorite aspect of this party was the photo banners. I loved going through all of the old family photos (once I found them…but that’s another story, ha!) and choosing ones to display. I used the google photoscan app and printed them myself. I laminated them with pictures on both sides so people could approach from any angle.

Drinks

The drinks were a simple iced tea and citrus water because…mimosas.

The Ladies

I love that these ladies are such great pals!