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baby’s first birthday: winter wonderland Russian tea party

planning my baby’s first birthday was so fun! her birthday theme was a winter wonderland Russian tea party, because i’m half Russian, and she was born in the winter. so yes, she is a snow princess, but luckily still unaware of Frozen, so i could keep it Disney-free, albeit the color scheme was very much Frozen, with an abundance of cream, teal, and blue, amidst pops of color. 

 

IMG_4745i want to share the unique, handmade in the US, crafty mama shops that i discovered and that made her beautiful birthday dress, floral felt crown headband, and name bunting garland. each one makes a wonderful gift.

 

i only got active on instagram a few months ago, and now i’m hooked. i’ve discovered so many amazing etsy shops and crafty mamas selling beautiful handmade children’s clothing, accessories, and decor. my instagram account is @livinglavidaluna by the way (and yes, it’s private).

 

for her birthday party, i decided to bake a ridiculous amount of Russian piroshki (similar to empanadas) filled with cabbage, egg, and dill, from scratch (which took days). i also made smoked salmon and cucumber, and beet salad open faced tea sandwiches, and for dessert i baked a huge four layer chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream frosting, which i will devote a separate post to.

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IMG_4636daddy went nuts on ordering balloon creations for the decor, which looked incredible. it was so magical and colorful. we had one big table piece balloon arrangement, two floating giant octopi, two tall stationary snowmen, a gigantic winter wonderland creation, and bunches of dozens of helium balloons in theme colors to decorate our living room, as well as our kitchen/dining area.

 

the idea was to give balloons out to kids as favors, but we totally forgot about that! she absolutely loved playing with the balloons for many weeks, Mr Octopus, and Mr Snowman became close members of the family, which she spoke to all day long squealing with delight. so i highly recommend finding a great party store, and letting them go crazy creating balloon fantasy animals and creatures at different heights. 

 

fabric name bunting 

 

i found the most wonderful handmade in the US crafty mama shop- Crunchy Farmy Baby. the Montessori mama behind the shop makes these gorgeous custom name buntings. i’m so happy we got this- it was such an inexpensive yet effective decoration. we hung it above the bay window alcove, where we put her gifts during the party. it framed her birthday table beautifully. the bunting is gorgeous, colorful, soft fabric letters, and you can adjust the spacing in between. and noone will ever misspell your baby’s name again ๐Ÿ˜‰

 

now we have it hanging in her nursery. this is a gorgeous and unique handmade gift for a mom-to-be or mama, because it can be used as everyday nursery decor, and brought out for birthdays every year! it would be fun to decorate a baby shower with as well!IMG_4685

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the birthday girl opening her gifts the morning after the party.

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her birthday outfit – dress + headband

how darling is the Beatrice dress from Little Rabbit Wears? a former etsy shop that now has it’s own website, i fell in love with the online pic, and in person it was even more precious than i hoped for. soft cotton top, with embroidery, and lace and tulle details. Janine makes the most beautiful Downton Abbey vintage-inspired dresses, and accessories. i also have one of her lace headbands, and it’s incredible.

 

the felt floral headband is by fancy free finery, an etsy shop i discovered on instagram that makes gorgeous headbands for your little girl. when i saw this particular color combination, i had to have it. it was perfect for her winter wonderland Russian tea party theme! my darling also has beautiful blue husky eyes, so the blue and teal just popped.

 

i paired the dress with some warm bright blue snowflake tights from Hanna Andersson, and blue polka dot high tops from babyGap.

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bye bye! waving her wing so hard it's a blur.
bye bye! waving her wing so hard it’s a blur.

hope this post inspired you for your baby’s birthday! coming up next is the  woodland rose four tier chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream frosting that i made for her birthday party. it was a HUGE cake, as you can see from the above pics, and i decorated it with fresh roses and a fawn figurine. 

 

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One Comment

  1. Loved the entire party theme.She is beautiful. So happy for you and Bubba. Looking forward to reading your blog. Patsy

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