The makings of a 1st birthday...

I cannot believe I am planning a 1st birthday party for Richard! The first year of his life has just flown by! It is getting harder and harder to remember the little details of being pregnant. Memories of the birth and his first few weeks are slipping as my mind gets filled up with whatever new thing he is doing on a daily basis. I am stressed about keeping up with my scrapbook and journal so that I don't lose these precious bits and pieces.

The theme for his party is "Circus". I guess you could say this theme was decided as early as last summer, when his birthday seemed so far away. My friend Kristen and I were at Michael's and they were clearing out some of their dollar bin items. They had a collection of Circus themed items, but all that was left for me to claim was a packet of stickers. So when I started planning a couple of months ago, I was giddy when I saw Michael's brought back a similar collection this year too! Different items, but the same graphics. First up, I'll show you the invites I made for the party. Here's what I started with:

packets of blank Circus note cards - $1.00 for 6

box of multicolored cards & envelopes - used 40% off coupon

sheets of Circus scrapbook paper - 6 for $1.00 sale

vintage Circus postage stamps - eBay

photo collage of Richard at Circus exhibit at Navy Pier in Chicago

ink pads, adhesive, and invitation stamp

I first cut the cover of the note cards off so that I could adhere them to the larger colored cards. I used my ink pads to color the edges. As you can see, the color combinations were endless! I love these vintage graphics. Since I have been looking at all the Circus party stuff out there, I love that these are cute but a little bit mature too. Not too cartoon like or cheesy.

Using the matching patterned scrapbook paper, I adhered it to the backs of the photo collages for a more finished look.

I saw the idea to use these stamps on one of the hundreds of Circus party inspiration sites I found. You just have to use enough to cover the current price of postage.

I bought these rolls of tickets from Oriental Trading to use as fun inserts in the invites, as well as for decorating at the party.

Here's an example of the completed invite. The colored cards I bought had precut windows on the front. Once the outer card was attached, I knew it would create the perfect pocket to hold the tickets. I adhered the other half of the cards, featuring a star, on the inside of the card. It was there that I stamped the invitation information and filled it all in. Depending on the orientation of each card, I had to stamp it accordingly (up and down or across).

I really love how these turned out! I'll share more crafty details about the "Big Top" as they come about!