isabella's 1st rockstar party

um, shara.

are you in a time warp?

bella's 1st birthday?  

isn't she 3 1/2 years old?

yes.  yes she is.

i get asked a lot which of my parties was my favorite.

honestly.. that's kinda like asking which of my kids is my favorite.

(don't ask me right now, cause i could actually tell you...at this exact moment... it could change at any second ;)

i love almost all my parties.

but.... there are definitely some at the top of my list.

charlotte's caterpillar party, bella's pinkalicious party, jackson's bus-riding party, the circus shower....

i loved those.

well- here's another that tops my list.

isabella's 1st birthday party.

totally worth sharing- if for no other reason than to look at these kiddos almost 3 years ago- cuteness.

you may be thinking that the rockstar party is overdone.

let's just remember this was almost 3 years ago. 

 it wasn't so popular then... kinda like pink & brown together 

(it was straight up impossible to find pink & brown baby bedding back then!)

for the invitation, we made a 'concert' ticket and included an 'autographed' photo 

excuse the poor quality... it was the only version i had and didn't enlarge well. the actual invite was much clearer!

guests were encouraged to dress like rockstars.  

i was excited that lots of people went with it.

when guests arrived at the party, they received their personalized backstage pass.

after they got their pass, they moved into the glam station, where a team of stylists helped get them decked out.

they could have their hair styled (included colored hairspray), makeup done, temporary tattoos applied, and dress up in star sunglasses, boas, and extra accessories.

after they were properly glammed, they moved on to take their headshot at the celebrity photo station.

 

the little rockstars could either work on their voice or their guitar playing.

the decor for the party was lots of pink, black, leopard/zebras, stars & boas.

the centerpieces of the tables (not shown) were silver shooting stars (from the dollar tree) surrounded by boas.

my amazing and talented friend, kristin lofgren, painted all the signs by hand.  adorable.

for food, we kept it simple with pizza & salads.  

but we came up with fun names like "celebrity chinese chicken" and "band practice broccoli salad"

cause rockstars will only eat one color of m&ms... you have to pick them out :)

 bella work a pink & black tutu (again...impossible to find back then!) with some little leopard shoes.

jeff, jackson & i wore t-shirts as part of her crew:

(how adorable is he?  melting my heart right now.)
of course jackson was her security guard.. .isn't that what big brothers are for?

(this makes me want to cut my hair again.  but i won't).

mommy was manager, cause i keep everything straight.

and daddy was her agent.

i made her birthday hat with scrapbook paper and a tiny boa

and fancied up a costco cake with chipboard letters/stars, frosting, sprinkles, and  a microphone

for her smash cake, i made a little star-shaped cake, frosted it pink, and accented with black.

 can't believe how little she was, how much has changed, and how fun it has been to watch my sweet bella become a little girl.

love you, bella boo!

we knew you were a star right from the start.

(there were lots more details at this party (like the inflatable guitars for favors) that didn't get captured on film... and i've kinda forgotten :)

special thanks to chris hensley for taking pictures that night, and the slaydens for lending their then-home.