When I started planning my Greyson's Fourth Birthday, I knew that I wanted to have Mexican food. Mexican is his very favorite food in all the world (just like his Daddy), but I knew that I didn't want to do a general fiesta party. So, that's when the idea hit me to do a Skippyjon Jones party! Skippyjon Jones is a series of books that Greyson received as a gift from my sister a few years ago.
The premise of the books is that Skippyjon is a Siamese cat who thinks he is a Chihuahua superhero. His imagination takes him on all kinds of adventures and the first book in the series is about his journey to Mexico to meet his band of Chihuahua friends, the Chimichangos.
So, once I had this idea in mind, I contacted my dear friends Do and J at Piggy Bank Parties to help me with the invitation.
There are not any Skippyjon Jones party items on the market, so we had to start from scratch on everything. Do and J, AS USUAL, took my vision and completely expounded on it. They created this gorgeous invitation with the graphic of a pueblo, and Skippyjon's back in the foreground. They also created an entire collection for me, which you will see displayed in these pictures.
As you can see, instead of gifts, we asked that our guests donate toys or monetary donations to LeBonheur Children's Hospital. Greyson is a patient there, so we felt like it was the least we could do. And, if your kids are like mine, they have more toys than they know what to do with.
I also knew that I HAD to have Natalie at The Knock Knock Factory to make me one of her outrageous door hangings. And I mean, come ON. How great is this? I wish I could get over to you the level of detail on this thing. It is amazing. There is a full on FOUNTAIN in the middle of it! And a taco, and a mission bell, and a sombrero! I couldn't bear to put it away, so it is hanging on Grey's closet door in his room. And it will stay there for a long time. It's so happy!
Natalie has mad skillz.
Now, everyone knows that I like to make a statement for my guests when they enter my house. Last year it was a 9 feet tall hamburger...this year, a giant Skippjon with a sombrero and maracas.
I hand painted all of them onto science fair backdrops, which I cut into the shapes that I needed. See? That Art degree DOES come in handy sometimes, EVERYONE.
Here is a pic of Grey standing under it, so you can see the scale of it.
I always hang these large pieces using floral wire and command strips. Command Strips are pretty much the best thing to happen to event planners in years.
I also had authentic Papel Picados hanging around the house.
Piggy Bank Parties also did gorgeous printables for me. For the little ones, we had juice boxes wrapped with cute slogans.
And, since there were a lot of adults at the party, we did beer and margaritas. It was pretty fun to see our moms drinking margaritas at noon.
I had this brainstorm one day that I wanted to display the taco shells in a creative way. So, I thought, hmmmm, taco shells kind of look like bunting if you turn them upside down! I consulted with my party-guru friend, Kristy--The Purple Pug, and she said she didn't think I was smoking too much crack for this! So, I went with it! I am pretty sure I confused everyone though. I caught my grandpa looking for taco shells and had to tell him that it was okay to eat those!
And Skippyjon made an appearance, of course!
I made the cupcake stand using my old faithful Wilton cupcake stand. Did you know that you can spray-paint them? Well, neither did I until I tried it!
I cut the top out of the bottom sombrero and that allowed me to stack the cupcake stand together.
The favors were displayed in a unique way too. In the books, Skippyjon imagines all his adventures while he is in his closet! So, I wanted to put the favors in his "closet." So, I painted this box and hinged it open to make it look like a door.
I also knew that I HAD to have Natalie at The Knock Knock Factory to make me one of her outrageous door hangings. And I mean, come ON. How great is this? I wish I could get over to you the level of detail on this thing. It is amazing. There is a full on FOUNTAIN in the middle of it! And a taco, and a mission bell, and a sombrero! I couldn't bear to put it away, so it is hanging on Grey's closet door in his room. And it will stay there for a long time. It's so happy!
Natalie has mad skillz.
Now, everyone knows that I like to make a statement for my guests when they enter my house. Last year it was a 9 feet tall hamburger...this year, a giant Skippjon with a sombrero and maracas.
I hand painted all of them onto science fair backdrops, which I cut into the shapes that I needed. See? That Art degree DOES come in handy sometimes, EVERYONE.
Here is a pic of Grey standing under it, so you can see the scale of it.
I always hang these large pieces using floral wire and command strips. Command Strips are pretty much the best thing to happen to event planners in years.
I also had authentic Papel Picados hanging around the house.
Piggy Bank Parties also did gorgeous printables for me. For the little ones, we had juice boxes wrapped with cute slogans.
And, since there were a lot of adults at the party, we did beer and margaritas. It was pretty fun to see our moms drinking margaritas at noon.
And, what else do you eat at a Fiesta but TACOS?
My baby loves tacos, so that was a given.
So, I did a build-your-own taco bar.
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The backdrop was painstaking, but I love how it turned out. I wanted it to be like a giant pinata. So, hundreds of pieces of tissue paper later and one worn out scissor-hand, it was gorgeous.I had this brainstorm one day that I wanted to display the taco shells in a creative way. So, I thought, hmmmm, taco shells kind of look like bunting if you turn them upside down! I consulted with my party-guru friend, Kristy--The Purple Pug, and she said she didn't think I was smoking too much crack for this! So, I went with it! I am pretty sure I confused everyone though. I caught my grandpa looking for taco shells and had to tell him that it was okay to eat those!
I am slightly obsessed with these printables and how they look like little Pueblo houses!
And Skippyjon made an appearance, of course!
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For the dessert table, I wanted to keep it loose and make it feel more like a Mexican restaurant than a perfect display of cupcakes.
So, I decided to use sombreros as a cupcake stand!
Piggy Bank did this gorgeous Papel Picado-inspired banner. The colors were so brilliant! I love it!I made the cupcake stand using my old faithful Wilton cupcake stand. Did you know that you can spray-paint them? Well, neither did I until I tried it!
I cut the top out of the bottom sombrero and that allowed me to stack the cupcake stand together.
The UNBELIEVABLE toppers are by Lynlee's Petite Cakes. I mean, could you die? The cactus was my favorite. It was even prickled!! Lynlee is amazing. I mean, there is no other word for it. Sick talent.
Cute little Skippyjon!
The favors were displayed in a unique way too. In the books, Skippyjon imagines all his adventures while he is in his closet! So, I wanted to put the favors in his "closet." So, I painted this box and hinged it open to make it look like a door.
Then, on the inside, I painted a desert scene and displayed the pops in some foam that I covered in sand patterned scrapbook paper.
Could you die over these Skippyjon pops from Whimsical Boutique? I won these in a giveaway that Purple Pug had and Leanna absolutely killed it. They were so precious that I cannot even stand it. And those favor tags from the printable set were pretty awesome too.
For Greyson's special birthday spot, Purple Pug made me this fabulous little banner using her new product line. I was honored that she let me be one of the first recipients of this fabulous new stuff! It's so gorgeous up close--glittered of course! And how great does the fringe go with the backdrop?
And of course, a few pics of my sweet boy.
You like my sombrero fascinator?
Muchas Gracias Amigos! Hope you liked the Skippyjon Jones party!Major thank yous to Crystal Brisco Photography for shooting these gorgeous pictures. She is wonderfully sweet and did an amazing job!
Vendors:
Cupcakes: Mad Lily Cakery
Cookies: Whimsy Cookie Co.
Fondant Toppers: Lynlee's Petite Cakes
Invitation and Printables: Piggy Bank Parties
Door Hanging: The Knock Knock Factory
Favors: Whimsical Boutique
Custom Greyson Banner: The Purple Pug
All Styling: GreyGrey Designs
Seriously???? A TACO garland??? Pure awesomeness!! (as usual)
ReplyDeleteYour ridiculous talent still AMAZES me! Thank you for letting us be a small part of Greyson's special day and for introducing us to Skippyjon! ♥
ReplyDeleteso, SO cute! that taco bunting is brilliant! love everything!
ReplyDeletewow! super creative!! I love the backdrop, banner and the sombreros for the cupcakes!! adorable!
ReplyDeleteThis is creativity on another level. The backdrop is stunning, the taco garland is beyond clever. Sombrero cupcake stand is out of control. I adore the spilling out of the box tortilla chips. Perfect presentation. Greyson is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteWOW!! What a party! Awesome job mama. Um, that taco garland is amazing!! Love the tissue fringe backdrop - everything is perfect! Happy Birthday Greyson, what a lucky little guy!
ReplyDeleteAdorable party Brittany, as always! Love the banner and design by Piggy Bank Parties and all your fabulous ideas! That TACO Garland might just be the best ever!!
ReplyDeleteYou are kinda rockin my world right now! I love the wood cut out over the stairwell.LOVE IT.
ReplyDeleteEbony
This party is adorable! I just love the taco garland and the sombrero cupcake stand!
ReplyDeleteAmazing and beyond words - we love this book.
ReplyDeleteBrilliant like always!! Love love love your backdrop and your taco garland is genius! Your little hombresito is gorgeous..I love his sweet little face : )
ReplyDeleteBrilliant, Brittany! So many great details, I can't pick my favorite!
ReplyDeleteMUY brilliant Senora Brittany:)
ReplyDeleteAMAZING!!!! Love the piƱata backdrop, taco garland and cupcake stand. Great party!!!!
ReplyDeleteAdorei!!! Lindo demais parabƩns!
ReplyDeleteWhat an insanely AMAZING party!!! The theme is adorable and your vision and execution are enchanting!! Love the adorable printables and that wreath is beyond fabulous!! But my absolute favorite is the taco bunting!! Ridiculously creative!!! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!!
ReplyDeleteWhat an fun and perfectly styled party! I love your take on the traditional fiesta, everything looks amazing and your creativity is inspiring!
ReplyDeleteYou are sooooo amazing! What a phenomenal party! The taco shell bunting is the greatest thing ever!!!!! We love Skippy Jon Jones at our house too!
ReplyDeleteLove, love, love the taco bunting!!! This was a great spin on the traditional "fiesta" theme!
ReplyDeleteTodo Hermoso !!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great party!!! Love it!
ReplyDeleteThis party is above and beyond and the attention to detail is even more amzing! What an incredible fiesta!
ReplyDeleteBRILLIANT! As a huge fan of Skippyjon, this is perfect! Every detail was there! What an amazing party planner you must be!
ReplyDeleteOMG Taco shell garland!! Very outside the box. Great job!
ReplyDeleteAmazing party details!!! Love the piƱata-inspired backdrop, the sombrero cupcake stand, the taco shell garland to name just a few. Mom deserves a HUGE hug for this!
ReplyDeleteHoly cow... you made a taco garland!!! Seriously, that is like the best thing ever!! The whole party is fantastic and love the sombrero cupcake stand and just every single thing! Do you care if I share this on my FB page? Fantastic job!
ReplyDeleteOf course you can share! I would love it!
DeleteI had no idea who Skippyjon Jones was until my niece showed up at my doorstep on Halloween dressed as him! It was the cutest thing, and this is the first thing I've ever seen of him since then. Everything turned out so well, great job.
ReplyDeleteMy cheeks hurt from smiling... Unbelievable!! More than loved everything!! You rock!
ReplyDeleteI think this is so totally amazing & wish I would have found sooner then 2 days before my Cinco de Mayo Fiesta. I don't think you were smoking crack but wow....this is ALOT. I think I have found my arty guru hero. Thanks for all the great ideas.
ReplyDeleteThanks Susan! The taco garland is super easy! Ribbon and taco shells!
DeleteThank you for the WONDERFUL ideas! My daughter LOVES Skippyjon Jones - this will be most helpful in planning her birthday party this year! Well done.
ReplyDeleteHoly Happy Birthday! Thank you so much for sharing these excellent ideas. My daughter LOVES Skippyjon Jones - this will come in handy when planning her birthday party this year. Muchas gracias.
ReplyDeleteOh man, I've been dreaming and scheming of doing a Skippyjon Jones party for a couple years now! I'm hoping that I can convince my youngest daughter to do it for her next birthday (her 4th). You did a magnificent job (those taco shell banners!!!), and if I don't get my own chance, I'm going to be so jealous of your party!
ReplyDeletequestions about the number of layers of tissue you used for the backdrop. can you give me more details??????
ReplyDeleteHi Deborah,
DeleteI think I used two large sheets folded over to make four layers. Does that make sense? I pinned it to a large piece of construction insulation using straight pins and also taped over it with scotch tape at the top.
Love, love love, the taco shell garland! SUCH a great idea! =)
ReplyDeleteAngie from www.marigoldmom.com
I was wondering how you made the Taco Shell Garland? What kind of string did you use and did you glue the taco shells on? Also, how many did you use?
ReplyDeleteEmily, I really don't know how many I used because it has been over a year, but I didn't glue them on at all. I used a wide grosgrain ribbon and simply put them where I wanted them. The weight of the shells keeps them in place pretty well!
Delete