Hi everyone! This is Joelle and I’m the designer and owner of “The Party Starters Events” in Utah. I am absolutely thrilled to be your guest blogger here today on Taylor Joelle Designs! You see, I’ve known about this fun and fashionable children’s clothing company for a few years now, when I first met them at a local boutique. It’s not everyday that I meet someone who shares my quite uncommon name, and to see it on a large banner in huge print was AWESOME; I felt like a rock star! Never mind that it wasn’t for me…ha ha!
Anyway, I’d like to share what I enjoy creating and designing with all of you – parties!!
I’m excited to share the party that I designed for my daughter Madeline’s 1st birthday party! To be honest, I wasn’t planning on throwing her a big party, but after thinking back to my very difficult pregnancy with her, and through all the happy (and miraculous) milestones she’s surprised us with this past year, I wanted to celebrate her life with our dear family and friends who’ve supported and cheered for us along the way!
Based on Ludwig Bemelmans’ classic book about a sweet and brave young Parisian girl named Madeline, I wanted to design a space that would recreate a romantic evening on the cobblestoned streets of old Paris. Because my little Maddie really is a teeny-tiny cutie and named after the book, (at a year old, she still wears 3-month old clothing!), what better way to celebrate my own little Madeline than with a fun and whimsical Madeline-themed birthday party! So here we go!
I wanted to incorporate hot air balloons into her party as an homage to the Frenchmen who invented the hot air balloons in the late 1700’s. It was actually really tricky to get these balloons to work for me! Because of a nationwide shortage of helium (yep, who knew?), I actually filled these balloons up with air from our air compressor tank, tied strings to the balloon bottoms, and flipped them upside down. I then draped the balloon netting over them! If you look closely, you can see the fishing line holding them up! 🙂
Onto the best part – the yummy treats! The treat bar was fun because we tried to incorporate “French” treats such as cream puffs, éclairs, madeleine cookies, and other French pastries. Maddie’s Madeline birthday cake and cupcakes were incredibly pretty, delicious, and enjoyed by our little (and not-so-little) guests! A phenomenal local baker, Cravings by Alisha’s cupcakes, made these super cute and amazing treats!
