Mad Hatter Tea Party

So now that I'm too old for my own birthday parties (sad face), I thought it would be awesome to throw a Mad Hatter Tea Party for my daughter's 2nd birthday. She's not quite old enough to object to my thematic shenanigans. So, I figured I better take advantage before she discovers she has some say in the matter!

I knew I wanted the theme to be bright, colorful, whimsical, and bold. I love everything about Alice In Wonderland - the story, the imagery, the slightly over the top style, the quotes, the hooka smoking caterpillar, everything! There is just something insanely magical about the entire story. For this particular party, I wanted to bring in some elements of vintage Alice, along with the vibrant imagery of the more popular Disney version, and the funky feel of the modern movie version. My goal was to make it look so awesome that the adults would feel the magic of being a kid again (all while their kids were having a blast).

So, I set to work, and down the rabbit hole I went. It was one heck of an adventure, and I'm quite pleased at how everything turned out.

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The first order of business was to set the tone with the perfect invitation. I saw a few options online that were almost on the money, but being the DIY addict that I am, I decided to make my own.

I also went ahead and designed some wrap around 2x8 inch labels. For this project, I worked in Adobe Illustrator and used a commercial printing service.

The next step was deciding which style of characters to incorporate into the overall decor. In a momentary dip into insanity, I decided it would be a great idea to draw/paint the characters and have them serve as props throughout the room. My ideal would have been to use wooden panels as my base, but low and behold, I had to compromise. I experimented with a few different types of more economical boards, including poster boards (meh), science fair cardboard (surprisingly perfect for this endeavor), and foam boards from the dollar store (so-so). You can link to that tutorial on those bad boys here. For now, enjoy some pics of the end result.

Like what you've seen so far? Wondering where all those pretty things are from the main pic? Don't fret. The saga continues! More pics, tips, and how-to's in a series of upcoming posts.