Alice in {Winter} Wonderland

When my very dear friend Laura asked me to help with her daughter 

Sophie's fifth birthday party,

I thought it would be so fantastic to do a girl's party for a change!!!

Laura and I met while I was managing HOME at our Anthropologie.  

Since those days a lot has changed...children...becoming stay-at-home moms...

I always love that we can talk design and fun girl stuff.  I need that!!

Her idea was to have an Alice in {Winter} Wonderland party.

Very cool!
{it's not every day that you get to fall down a rabbit hole!}

We are in the 'burbs of Chicago and the first snow fell actually a couple

days before the party, which was perfect.

The vibe Laura was going for, definitely Vintage Alice,

tea party, collected and whimsical of course!!  We decided on 
the colors of pink + tangerine {LOVE that combo!} with 
accents of white, black, and light blue.  

We spent New Years Day scouring Good Will and Home Goods for 

party supplies.  I made lists and the ideas kept coming.  

Last weekend it all came together!  Where shall I begin?
"Begin at the beginning

and go on till you come to the end: then stop!"

Alice in {Winter} Wonderland

{Miss Sophie, Birthday Girl Extraordinaire}

{Tablescape}

Eat Me and Drink Me was the theme of the tablescape

that featured delectable treats, vintage pieces, teapots,

urns, keys, glass vials, and even a little moss covered scene

captured in a cloche.  

I made the clocks and put them inside empty frames found at Goodwill that 

I spray painted black.  The "Welcome to My Party" sign includes Alice and 

Rabbit silhouettes along with a table of vials.  I cut the silhouettes out of black

glitter cardstock, and placed them on book pages from Alice in Wonderland.

The frame was also found at Goodwill and spray painted a shimmery silver.

Even the time on the clocks had significance!

Laura made these awesome Eat Me cookies.

Cupcakes were  done in similar colors and were delicious!
This stand from Home Goods was the perfect find!!

  

Milk  was served in repurposed frappuccino bottles with pink and blue striped paper straws from In The Clear {Etsy Shop} adorned with a mini butter cookie. 

Drink Me was written on tags from Michaels and tied onto the bottles with black string.

Alice as the latest starlet added to the Got Milk? ad campaign {smile}.

I had to show off this silver piece from Goodwill, I think it was $2.95, seriously.

{Candy Bar}

The candy bar was part of the tablescape, and the party guests loved it!! 

Being a party with such whimsy we wanted to come up with some different 

candies mixed in with the good ol' standbys.  

Nuts.com had an amazing assortment.  We loved that you could shop by 

candy color, prices were reasonable, and they had some really fantastic finds...

blue raspberry gummy bears?  sparkly pink and tangerine gum balls? 

 shimmery rock candy?

Yes please!!

Some of the cylinders and vessels were purchased from Home Goods,

but most we had between the two of us, so fantastic!!

I found these great printable Eat Me, Drink Me tags

from B.Nute Productions Party Place.

We had ordered some additional supplies from an ETSY shop,

that messed up and sent another order rushed, and unfortunately,

would not work to get Laura her order in time.  So in a fantastic

moment at Michael's in their dollar bin I found a vintage teapot stamp 

and another great find, some brown kraft {food safe} bags.

I used my existing stamps to put "eat me" below the teapot.

This beautiful pewter platter had an extra compartment perfect for the bags,

and if you could see the detail you would love it...a flower, an owl, 

very woodland creatures, perfect for Alice!

We filled it with oreos to play off the black and white 

clocks hanging above the tablescape.

I called this young gentleman Mr. Wonka

{wrong theme I know} but he was very sweet {can't help myself!}

to help distribute the candy.

{Tea Party}

The beautiful 3D snowflakes are from Carter's Cottage Interiors

and Laura made the flowers from tissue paper in the party theme colors...
aside from all the shimmery effects, this truly tied the {winter} part into wonderland.

The table was created from 3 rectangular tables covered with white tablecloths and
branches spray painted in silver glitter adorned the center along with vignettes of vintage
silver teapots, mercury glass mushrooms and serving pieces made from pretty plates
and candlesticks found at Goodwill and glued {epoxy} together.

Tea party placemats {free printable} from Oh! Crafts were a lovely addition to the table.

As every birthday girl in Wonderland should have, the table was anchored by
a wingback chair so perfect!

{Mad Hatter Story Time}
"we're all mad here"
The setting for this area included benches and a beautiful chippy cupboard.
I had tea-stained some playing cards and made garland with twine.

We filled the cupboard with vintage books and party favors

{books wrapped with READ ME tags}
laid out on silver trays along with some other fun pieces.

The Mad Hatter was the adorable Birthday Girl's adorable Grandma!!
She was so great to play along and did a fantastic reading of the book.
She also brought a little Mad Hatter experiment for the kids.

My little Mad Hatter took a picture with her, love it!

{ More Decor & Fun}

We added this rabbit from the venue {poor guy had a broken foot}

to the gift table with a vintage pocket watch that was Laura's.

I'm late! I'm late! For a very important date!

I reused a chalkboard from my boys' Vintage Wheels party

and added a new little saying to it...Why Thank You!
Heart Alice & Sophie.  {Alice was sweet to oblige with a picture}.

Guests could choose from some very Wonderland designs
to adorn their faces...cheshire cat, spade, clubs, heart, or diamond.  Of course it was a hit!

The movie played on a loop along a wall as guests sat on pillows to watch.  

{Venue}

Laura found this gorgeous place, Blumen Gardens, right in her town!!

It was absolutely perfect for the party.   Lots of greenery indoors,

urns, plants, pottery, beautiful lighting and windows.

The kind of place you step in and it just transforms you.

We had a chance to talk with one of the owners, and the place

itself has hosted some very cool and very different events.

What I appreciated most?  The ceiling already had hooks

for hanging all of the decor, and {for a fee} they did it for Laura

the day prior to the party which worked out so perfect.

So there it is, a very GIRL party and we were so so happy with how it turned out,
most importantly Miss Sophie had a fabulous time!!


For more details on help with your little one's next party, 
head on over to my page...

Little Marvels Designs


{michelle}


Linking up to...
these lovely parties!