Emma's 3rd Down by the Bayou-Princess & the Frog birthday

our invitation

the table

the gorgeous cake

key lime cupcakes

red beans and rice

lovely containers and forks from the great folk at Garnish.

bayou pops

mason jar for lemonade. I think people were intimidated because no one used them :(

I scream, you scream for ice cream! cups and spoons also from Garnish

craft time-princess hats and...

lightening bugs. From Oriental Trading

this is E's bug

pin the kiss on the frog game

it goes here

da loot

I love making the souvenir bags!

handmade coloring books and crayons

princess starter kit

memory game

this is my prototype

Pinata time!

Emma is a huge fan of the movie the Princess and the Frog, but she is not a princess girl. She is very much a free spirit, an independent, can do, kinda gal. I see a lot of Tiana in her, someone who does not depend on anyone but herself, because if it hasn't been made clear, da ninj rarely asks for help. So for her third birthday I wanted to focus on the bayou aspect of the movie and steer clear of a lot of Disney imagry. I tried to incorporate classic images of the prince frog, as well as give the party a very organic feel. I was very much attracted to Mama Odie's home and the bayou, the moss, the color, the feel of the swamp. I must say that E's birthday came at lightening speed! I was so happy to go back home to celebrate with family and I had it all planned out for it to be an outdoors party, as the theme was Princess and the Frog, Down by the Bayou. Florida is the perfect backdrop, so lush and green, but alas there was threat of rain and high winds so we had to set up indoors. Luckily it never rained and we were able to do the pinata outside, but the winds were very strong, knocking some branches down, and the party had to stay inside. Thus my photo ops were limited, due to the lack of space inside my mothers house it was impossible for me to take a full shot of the table and there is no natural light, so I had to use what little source there was and gasp, use flash- I cannot tell you how much I am not a fan of flash and adore natural light. Anyway, I did the best that I could to document the party, but as always I was busy playing hostess, so there is just one picture of the family together.

It was a great time however and the best part was that Emma and her friends had a great time together. They loved their goodie bags, which are always the highlight for me to make! I will post a separate post where I will list my sources and inspirations, for now I wanted to share these pictures and give a huge thank you to our dear family friend, Gema, who as always did an amazing job with the cake!