Party DIYs

We had Babycakes' 2nd birthday party last Saturday, 28 September 2013 at Don's Warung, Plaza Damas. I decided that her birthday theme this year would be abik (teddy bear), since she is so fond of abiks. Besides, it is easy to pull off. I didn't want to spend (or rather waste) so much money on the decorations because at the end of the day, it will all be thrown out. I searched the internet for ideas and I managed to do the decorations all by myself (and a bit of help from hubby of course).

The birthday banner was made using cut up Styrofoam plates in the shapes of a abik's head. I got the template online. I cut the shape on a paper, then trace on the plates. I then cut the plates enough to for the words HAPPY BIRTHDAY. At first I wanted to cut colored papers for the letters but I had some brown paper so I cut the brown papers and pasted on the plates to give the effect of brown abik. I then printed the words HAPPY BIRTHDAY from this site. Hubby helped punch the holes and thread the string onto the plates. As for Irene's name, I bought the letters from Balloon Buzz at RM1.50 per piece. These letters can be kept for future use. As for the abik's heads, the same  can be used if you're having a Mickey Mouse themed party. I had the staff of the restaurant help me hang the banner on the wall.

I found 4 small abik coin boxes at Foto Zzoom shop near my office some time ago. They were having a clearance sale and selling each coin box for RM7 with 50% discount. I asked the cashier if I take all 4, will I get further discount? She agreed to sell each coin box for RM3. Initially I wanted to fill them with m&m or skittles or smarties but when I look again, even though they are small, I need a lot of m&m. m&m aren't really cheap so I bought Fruit Plus and stuffed them inside the box. Four lucky guests got to bring home those coin box and enjoy the sweets. Since we are having the party somewhere else, we need to transport the goods and materials and it won't be easy to carry a huge, heavy glass cake stand. I have my huge Zalora boxes so I wrapped one in abik wrapping paper and voila, instant cake stand that not only is light but also suits the theme.

What is a party without marshmallows, right? I searched online and stumbled upon Marshmallow Amana. They sell certified halal marshmallows at a very reasonable price. Once I saw at Giant, the abik marshmallows were selling at RM5.90 per 100g and the abiks were all flat and ugly. I bought 600g from Marshmallow Amana and I packed 6 pieces of marshmallows in small clear plastic bags, which was the leftover plastic bags from last year's birthday party. Earlier I cut abiks from a wrapping paper and I stapled it to the bag. If I had ordered a custom made header, it will cost me a lot and wouldn't it break your heart to see the beautiful headers in the dustbin? People will just rip it off and throw it away anyway.

 

I was on Pinterest and stumbled upon this awesome idea for a pinata. If you go to party shops, go and check the price of the pinatas and tell me if your eyeballs don't pop out. I saw a unicorn pinata for RM79.90! Yes it's super cute but for that price? I'll pass. I decided to make a number 2 pinata but it's not for whacking. Instead, it is used as a decoration on the dessert table. You can make your own pinata too. I started doing it bit by bit since August. This is the link where I got the idea from. Brilliant, isn't it?  The pink and purple crepe papers were also from last year's party. I made a layer of paper mache on the pinata because I want it to be hard and sturdy because it is not for whacking, remember? 

   

I was looking for an easy and cheap idea to make place cards for the stuffs that will be put on the dessert table. I tried making an easel out of popsicle sticks but they are too flimsy and they risk falling apart when I transport them to the venue. I found this adorable abik fan at Living Cabin for RM4.90 (if I recall correctly). I separated the abiks and cut some colored papers, had hubby write the names of the items, decorated with some glitter abik confetti and stick them on the fan. I then used play doh  to stick them and put them on the table.

I also printed pictures of abiks (you can find tons of images online) and put some color pencils and crayons for the kids to color. This kept the kids occupied or they'll get bored. The wooden letters of Babycakes' initials (IDR) were bought in Sydney Airport just before boarding home. I never thought of her birthday party by then but since it's abik-themed and it has koalas on it, it suits perfectly. Again, I used some play doh to make the letters stand. I also colored and printed a picture of an abik with a birthday cake with a number 2 candle on it, cut it out and frame it in a glass frame I bought at Daiso. The 'welcome sign' was also designed and printed online. When you go to parties or weddings, there are photo props which are adorable. We didn't have a photobooth but we did have some abik masks as photo props. I simply printed them online, pasted them on recycled cardboards (I used a biscuit box and a cereal box) to make them sturdy. Cutting the holes for the abiks' eyes is the hardest part. I took 2 old balloon sticks which were lying around the house, cut them into two and pasted them on the masks. One more mask is an orange abik.

I wanted the guests to leave a small note or wish for Babycakes. Earlier this year I bought a deal from one of the deal sites for small photocards. I thought of doing a scrap book for Babycakes but instead I used the photos for the guest book instead. Instead of the normal guest book, I had guests choose a photo, which I've pasted double sided tapes on the back. I bought a packet of coloured origami papers and some abik stickers from Daiso and some glitter glue. I wrote an instruction as to how to leave the wish. I bought small wooden clothes pegs from this site. I put a string on the table for guests to hang their notes.The table cloth, RM4.90 was from Tokutokuya, also a Japanese shop similar to Daiso.

A few months back, I ordered 150pcs mini bar chocolate from Chocolat Wrapper. The design is as per above. I also ordered some mini apams but there's a story behind it, which requires a separate entry on its own.

So there you go. I was happy to see how the decorations turn out and most importantly, I made them from scratch, all by myself and with lots of love. It is so satisfying to know you did it all by yourself.