à la parisienne: Birthday

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Secret Garden Party~Soft Touches~Poms and Marshmallows

Did I tell you that the party actually took place in a secret garden? No, I didn't create this garden just for our daughter's party. This secret garden has been a tranquil retreat for a few years and has been cultivated with the love by my mother-in-law, my husband's aunt, and several other very sweet women who attend our church.

About the location:

The secret garden is a hidden place on our church's property, and our church is located in the country, where tractors run the roads and cow pastures are sprinkled across the land.

When our church built a giant metal gymnasium next to its main building, this new ediface created a secluded area encompassed with three walls leaving only two ways to enter: through the back pasture or through one door.

_{My mother-in-law created this beautiful basket full of flowers with a skeleton key suspended by a ribbon, which hangs on the door leading to the secret garden. She has been doing this for years and changes out the flowers seasonally.}

The secret garden actually existed about a year before anyone else even knew about it. One day my mother-in-law told me "I have something to show you" and she led me through the door...

This secret garden is quiet, innocent, untouched, secluded~the perfect place to celebrate a young child's birthday.

To compliment the existing rose bushes, potted plants, and climbing ivy, I wanted the décor to be soft, pure, innocent.

I decided that paper poms would be the main decoration. I hung them above the main table (actually from a large 15 foot metal frame that held the above airconditioning unit).

I purchased these paper poms from Pom Love on Etsy. The poms came in the mail "unpoofed" but with simple instructions to follow. Be sure to allow about 20 to 30 minutes per pom for poofing.

Once I had the poms ready, I clothespinned them to a hanger and hung the hangers on chandeliers throughout my house to avoid flattened poms...Hmmm have you seen any poms hanging from chandeliers lately?? Scroll up!

My goal from now on is that when I host a party, I will make at least one of the decorations and hopefully create something that is unique.

I wanted to keep the cost of Amelia's party at a minimum (She's only two and we have the rest of her life to spend money), so I used two white pots that I already had...which happened to be flower pots leftover from my own wedding.

This centerpiece is made of:

*a flower pot
*a wooden stand made by Mr. à la parisienne and tucked inside of pot for elevation
a canteloupe
toothpicks
white and pink marshmallows
silk flower blossoms
green moss

_{I took a couple of pictures of the process if any of you would like to see them, let me know.}