WOW! What. A. Weekend!  An Amazing Weekend! After about six months of planning... yes, you read that right..six, I went through multiple theme ideas before we finally stuck with Dinosaurs! 

Kelby is completely obsessed with Dinosaurs, so naturally I had to throw her a Dino Party! 

Printed on Premium Quality 80# Futura Dull Cover, these Tri-Fold Invites are by far my favorite out of all her party stationary! 

I have been dying to have an excuse to use this Cherry Wood paper, and this was the perfect project for it! 

Envelope Liners were made from Real Wood Veneer and Paper Backing each having it's own unique grain.  They were paired with this beautiful Custom Laser Cut "SnoCone" Euro Flap Envelope with "Watermelon" Outer Envelope. 

*Outer Envelopes are suggested to protect the laser design.    

From a Dinosaur Dig with Fossils to the Ice Age, Dino Toss and a Dino Art Station, this party was created for any Dino-Loving kid!

Always keeping with the theme, I use the Invitations as a starting point to "brand" the event and use the theme throughout the stationary.  

Look at that Balloon Garland! My assistant's (aka my sister) job aside from helping set up these events are finding a way to bring my crazy ideas to life each year for how I want the balloons.  SHE LOVES THIS (not at all).  

I think one of my favorite parts about planning her parties is coming up with all the fun names for the food/snacks that relate back to the theme.   

I decided to switch up a traditional cake for these Chocolate Covered Gelato Bites which were beautifully named "Dino Droppings!" Pair with these amazing serving bowls made out of recycled Palm Leaf Paper (comparable to Bamboo Wood). 

Details are everything! 

I try and put as much thought into the food choice as the rest of the details.  I wanted to play off of the "Herbivore" and "Carnivore" theme, so I went with Pulled Pork and BBQ Chicken Sliders for the Carnivores, and Salad with veggie sides for the Herbivores.  

One of the first things guests saw when they walked in the door was the "Check-in Center" where the kids were able to find their Dino Name and pick up a Dinosaur Foam Mask! 

She has my heart......♥

These Muslim Bags with a Raptor Dino Print doubled as the Piñata Candy Totes.   

For the MAIN EVENT! The Excavation!  This was seriously so much fun and I am pretty sure the parents loved it just as much, if not more, than the kids!  

Customizing pieces of your event just adds that extra little something that your guests will appreciate.  For each of the Excavation Kits, I designed individual Tags with each child's name who attended for the place settings. 

Each "Kit" came with an Block and Tool Set (inside the block is a Dino Fossil), Paleontologist Hat and Binoculars.  Each Kit had a Palm Leaf placemat to go along with the theme.  

I will say that my Amazon Business Account was my best friend throughout the entire planning process! 

One of the very first ideas I had was I really wanted to do a Photo Booth this year - Probably because I work with Brides all day long!, but I ended up creating this Photo Booth out of a Garden Trellis, Greenery, Silk Florals and Palm Leaves.  

Trying to work with stuff I already had around the house, I ended up staining an old Pallet Planter Box the same color as our Picnic Table, added some burlap twine and BOOM!  

 All of the outdoor activities were so much fun to do, and by far my favorite was the Feed The Rex Toss.

We also had the "Ice Age" where the kids were able to break apart the ice and discover even more Dinos. 

The Art Station! I found these 8"x8" wooden blocks, painted them with white Acrylic Paint to use as the canvas so the kids were able to take home their very own work of art! 

....and of course.. the Piñata! 

One tradition I wanted to pass down to her was Ice Cream Cake!  I absolutely HATE regular cake (yes I said that), so growing up I always had an ice cream cake for my birthdays, and I wanted to do the same for her.  This year was a Pistachio / Chocolate Hazelnut Gelato Cake topped with Gram Cracker dust and of course - more Dinosaurs!  

I hope you liked reading about all the details of the party, and please contact me to discuss your custom theme!

I'll leave you with a couple party pics!  

♥ Kelby Rylen, 3 Years Old

 

Vendor List (Local to Gilbert, Arizona) 

Stationary / PaperTales Custom / @PaperTalesCustom

Photo Credit / Janel Bello / @Janel_Bello 

BBQ / Tom's BBQ / @tomsbbqaz & Joe's Real BBQ / @joesrealbbq

Piñata / Piñatas by Patty / @pinatas_by_patty

Gelato Cake & Frost Bites / Frost Bakery / @FrostGelato

Helium / Bubbles of Joy / @bubblesofjoy

 

Check out the details of Kelby's Mermaid/Under the Sea 2nd Birthday Party HERE!