3/29/12

Crafty How To: Camping/Glamping Party

I promised to share with you a few 'behind the scenes' tutorials from our "Camping/Glamping" Party that I posted about on Monday. It was such a fun party, with lots of handmade goodies.



TREE CAKE
I found the inspiration for the tree stump cake here. Of all the cute camping desserts I found on pinterest, my daughter liked the tree stump the best. I couldn't find a tutorial for the cake, so I just winged it!


 I used a small round cake pan (I had originally bought it to make Afton's smash cake when she turned 2- time sure does go by quickly!).  I baked 4 of the little 6-inch cakes using a yellow cake mix. I like to add a teaspoon of vanilla and an extra egg to give the cake a more 'homemade' taste.

After they cooled, I leveled the cake tops to make them flat using a bread knife. Then I stacked them on top of each other with thin layer of chocolate frosting in between. I saved the parts that I cut off and used them to make the roots of the tree.

The best thing about this cake is that the frosting does not have to be smooth. So rough it up- makes for a better 'bark' look!


 I made the tent from crackers and then iced them. (I started with 4 and ended up just using 2 crackers) I added a vine, flowers, a M&M campfire, candles, and "Camp Afton". Then I frosted the big pretzel sticks to make a few branches too. The girls were really excited about the cake. It's not every day you get to eat a tree stump!

CAMP BUNTING
You can see my bunting tutorial here. Basically cut scrapbook paper into triangles and hot glue it to sisal twine. I always make a little extra, the more bunting the better!


CAMP HEADBANDS
I found these cute felt headbands at Hobby Lobby. Then I used colored felt and cut it into shapes of leaves and feathers. I machine stitched them into place on the headbands and hot glued on a few rhinestones. The girls looked so cute wearing them!


CAMP WREATH
I made this wreath by wrapping a styrofoam wreath form with ribbon. It is held in place by straight pins. I used the cupcake wrappers for the party to make flowers. These are also held in place with pins. Finally I cut scrapbook paper into tiny triangles with pinking shears to make the bunting. A little hot glue and jute twine finished the job.



CAMP MARSHMALLOWS
I melted some milk chocolate Almond Bark and dipped the marshmallows using sticks we collected from the yard. 



CAMP PURSES
These could actually work for boys or girls. If you call them 'satchels' or pouches- you could easily use these for the boys too! I found these at Hobby Lobby for $1.99 each. They can be decorated with fabric markers or even colored sharpies.



Other fun details:
-Personalized Birthday Shirt: Ella Bella 
-Rosette Headband: Samantha Conner Designs on Etsy
-Grass Tablecloth: Party City
-Cake Table Fabric Backdrop:An off-brand shower curtain I found on sale at TJ Maxx! Woohoo!

And because you know I love a 'little truth in blogging'- I thought I would share this story. Originally I wanted to have a real tree stump to use as the cake stand and then add a few more tree stumps to the 'campsite'. So I was thrilled when one of my neighbors cut down an oak tree and left tons of beautiful stumps out on the curb for pick-up just a week before the party. I had my sweet husband haul several home for me. Sadly the tree stumps were actually covered in poison oak. And Jeff broke out in a horrible case of poison oak! Needless to say the stumps never made it to the party. And my poor husband is still a bit itchy :)



Thank you for all your sweet comments about our Camping/Glamping Party:) Hugs to you all!










Linking up here: 5 Days 5 Ways, Home Stories A to Z

7 comments:

  1. so cute and such great ideas! looks like it was a great party.

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  2. What a cute party! The decor is awesome, and your photos are so colorful and pretty. Love it!
    ♥Linsey

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  3. Great job, girly!!! Your daughter is precious! :))

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  4. Aw I love that last picture of you and your gorgeous girl xx Nat

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  5. Hi Samantha! I LOVED your daughter's camping party. I am throwing a "Glamping" party for my daughter's 8th birthday. Did you make the invitations? If so, will you make them for others? If not, will you share with me who did make them for you? Thanks! Christina

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  6. @Funguideswife- I put them together using Picnik. But you could easily do them on Picmonkey or find something similar on Etsy. The way that I saved it, the invite is not 'editable'- so we couldn't manipulate the date/time etc. Look on Etsy and let me know if you find something similar we can share. :) Samantha

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Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment! I love to hear from you and will do my best to answer questions and comments by 'replying via email'.
:) Samantha

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