There is pretty much nothing more the Cibula family adores than a birthday party. The nostalgia behind it gets me every time. But, then again, I can't lie, I get a high from planning a party. My imagination literally runs wild.
I was ecstatic when my littlest requested a Fancy Nancy party. Fancy Nancy is Lucy's favorite storybook character. I'm thinking we've read every. single. book. at least a dozen times. It's a bed time fave. No complaints here, it could be worse....like Barbie books for example {gag! those things are so hard to get through}.
So lucky me, Fancy Nancy has stolen my Lu's heart. If you aren't familiar with the books, you should be! Imagine the most darling little gal with a huge vocabulary and a desire to make everything over the top FANCY {which can turn a bit tacky too}.
That being said, I took my inspiration from the phrase I coined during the planning process.... "Tacky Fancy". And that is just about what you are going to see. Lots of vibrant colors, jewels, pearls, flowers, butterflies, and lots of shine.
So , let's get Fancy....
The food table was the centerpiece of the party. I hung this gorgeous {take that with a grain of salt} shimmer backdrop along the back. I ended up hanging two over one another to make sure the stone didn't show through. I added my pink tulle skirt {which has become a party staple} along the bottom.
I made the Fancy Lucy banner on my Cricut with a variety of paper from Michaels.
In the words of Nancy herself, I made an "alfresco dining" sign for the table as well. Again, on the Cricut {as were all the signs from he party}. The buckets the signs are placed in are from the Dollar Spot at Target.
I packed all the lunches in bright gable boxes from Paper Smart. They were filled with pb & grape sandwiches, purple applesauce pouches, and a bag of purple Chica Chica Boom Popcorn. Naturally, all the food coordinated with the party colors.
I made the stickers for the lunches on my computer and cut them out with a scalloped puncher.
The center pieces were the epitome of "tacky fancy". I used vases I already had on hand and filled them with blue stones {from Lu's mermaid party}. I added some fun fringe trim to the mouth of the vase with a hot glue gun. I then took a little trip to Michaels to find as much shine, sparkle and fancy that I could.
To my surprise, it was plentiful and in all the right colors. I can't even begin to tell you how giddy this made me. {insert party planning high}
The tables were covered with sparkle runners also from Michaels.
I grabbed some doilies and shiny wrapping paper from the Dollar Store to jazz up the dessert/ drink bar.
I used ostrich feathers throughout the party in a variety of places. I scored these on Amazon. The cupcake toppers were made with my Cricut.
I opted for white cupcakes this go around. Lucy then had the honor of decorating them with colored sprinkles. Her cupcake had all three colors {per her request}. She had so much fun doing this, that I may go this way from here on out. Sure beats all the icing dye staining everything.
My favorite part of the party were the activity tables. I have to imagine it was Lucy's too. We had four tables {and the pool} to keep the guests busy.
Each activity was named after one of Fancy Nancy's books. This was the "Beautiful Bonnets" table. I got the bonnets from Oriental Trading. I had baskets filled with Dollar Store finds to decorate with...fake flowers, butterflies, feathers, and a few gems.
I had lots of fabric glue on hand too. Aileen's is the best.
We also had a "Spectacular Spectacles" activity table. I scored some great kid's sunglasses at the Dollar Store. We then had a bin filled with adhesive beads for the little ones to decorate with.
The pearls were a big hit!
One of my favorite activity tables was the "Get Fancy" table. I found lots of costume jewelry at the Dollar Store. I also added crowns from Zulily and boas from Oriental Trading.
I propped up a mirror behind the table for the guests to admire themselves.
The girls had so much fun getting all fancied up. I made a picture frame for a photo booth feel. I couldn't believe how many kiddos wanted their pictures taken.
A guest favorite was the "Posh Puppies". It took a lot of tweaking before I could figure out exactly the best way to execute this one. But, I just knew we had to use these darling puppies from Oriental Trading.
In the end, I decided the kiddos would string beads, add a bone name tag, and make a collar for their puppies. Huge hit, they loved it!
All of the beading supplies were found on Amazon. I made the bone name tags on the Cricut and found the cups for individual beading supplies at Tuesday Morning.
If the guests weren't crafting away, then you could find them in the pool. Thankfully, the weather was perfect and there was more than enough to keep all these sweet kids entertained.
All of the guest left with all of their party crafts, and a Fancy Nancy book which had an adorable charm bracelet tied around it. I found the books on Zulily and the bracelets at Oriental Trading.
As fun as all the decor was, I will be back with the best part...My Fancy Lucy turning Four. {sigh} Melt my heart sweet girl!
