Wednesday, November 2, 2011

A Vintage Cowgirl Birthday Party

Using a western font I found on the web, I made several 'Wanted' signs.  This one hosts a picture of a vintage cowgirl.
My photos are not great of the party, but I will share the ideas that we used for my daughter's tenth birthday, in case you are planning a vintage cowgirl event!  
A pair of my cowgirl boots holds some flowers.  There was a bit of a breeze, so they kept falling over!  Also, we had to place drinks on the plates to keep them from flying away.  Bandana plates came from Michael's.
These vintage western hankies served as placemats for the girl's table.  We also used them as neckerchiefs for the photo booth.
To see how I made the invitations, click here.
Using Modge Podge, my daughter and I made these sherriff badges with some pretty paper.  Some of the paper was scrapbook paper, some came from Funkytime and some came from photocopying a print from a Cath Kidston bag.  I traced the wooden badges and added two coats of glue.
I purchased the little wooden badges from Michael's.  I found closure pins from Hobby Lobby that we glued to the back of the badges.  We loved how these turned out!  Each child wore one, so we could keep up with everyone at the festival.
I ordered the vintage Moda gift bags online.
Wooden horses from Michael's to paint...
Old timey gum...
and wands of bubbles with the 'Lone Star' were put in the fabric bags.
I printed all the western tags from 'The Best Birthday' site under 'printable invitations.'
I found these great cupcake liners at Sur Le Table, but forgot to use them!
The apple crates came from Hobby Lobby to hold the snacks and gifts.  I lined the ones for food with basket liners in blue and white check from Michael's.
Some old house numbers hold the napkins in place.  These little cherry napkins came from the Country Living section at K-Mart.  They have a nice vintage look.
I did not get a shot of our 'Watering Hole,' but these napkins with the horseshoe were placed near the drinks. I used a child's size wheelbarrel to hold the drinks and made the 'Watering Hole' sign.  Bandana napkins came from Hobby Lobby.
The Gold Mine nugget gum also came from K-Mart.
Again, my picture taking was limited, but you can see the 'wagon wheel' pretzels in the left crate.  They are by UTZ and look like real wagon wheels.  I also put out twisted pretzels and labeled them 'ropes.'
This Mexicorn Dip is always a favorite.  I got this recipe from my grandmother.  The ingredients are one can of Green Giant Mexicorn (11 oz), 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 cup of sour cream, and 1 green onion finely sliced.  Mix and chill.  Serve with corn chips.
Sliced Honey crisp apples with heath bar crunch dip (recipe) were served with 'Skillet hotdogs' (Lil' Smokies wrapped in crescent rolls) in my Grandpa's old iron skillet.
Since we were at a farm, I included some wipes and sanitizer to clean up before the meal.
Bell peppers and pretzels were served with 'Every Girl Needs Her Ranch.'
The Howdy Buckaroo vintage cowgirl tablecloth tied the whole theme together.  The Retro Barn carries some great vintage tablecloths and napkins, too.  It is difficult to see, but I added small horse ornaments to the top of the cupcakes.  I purchased these in a pack of three at Hobby Lobby in the miniature ornament section.
A vintage playing card with the number 10 is stashed in the side of a cowgirl hat.  The sash came from a dress that my daughter wore when she was little.  Ten years went by so fast!
Number 10 playing cards were placed around the table.  It seems that cowboys (or cowgirls!) used to sit around the campfire and play poker!
Western craft paper and free printable paper from Poppytalk were used to wrap small presents.
This is the first year I have ever had a pinata at a party!  I opted for the pull string so that no one would get hit with a stick!  Kids are crazy around a pinata!
Ashlyn stenciled the Cowgirl sign on an old piece of salvaged wood from a Charleston home.  I outlined it with a gold pen.  We used this as a prop for taking pictures.
Sometimes I get overly interested in the topic at hand!  Nonetheless, I found some interesting facts about the Pioneer women of the Wild West and posted these for any other odd bird who was interested!
Some famous women of the Wild West included Annie Oakley, Calamity Jane and Cattle Kate.  If you are interested, there are some great stories about these women!  Many women were responsible for food processing, candle and soap making, spinning, weaving, knitting, raising children and establishing schools and churches.  A woman of the Wild West certainly understood 'hard work!'
The girls all had a turn riding the horses.
I have so much fun using the props and taking pictures of the children!  Kids are hilarious!  I found several felt mustaches at World Market, but many printables are found online.  I couldn't find a template for the 'bubble talk' so I drew one out and glued it to a stick.
If you have a birthday in or near October, consider hosting it at a Fall Festival.  There is so much to do and there was no up-front cost.  The cost to ride the horses was $3 a child. Ten kids; thirty bucks...not bad.  Had I rented the barn with horses on another day, it would have cost $150.  We asked for permission and arrived early to grab some picnic tables on the side.  I had so much fun, but more importantly my daughter and the girls loved it!
To see more of the ideas I found, check my Pinterest board here.

Thanks for stopping by!


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28 comments :

Kris said...

What a darling, and clever party idea! Loved every single thing about it. Especially the boy kissing the girl in last photo sequence!!!

Jan@southernjunkin' said...

Oh what fun! You did an absolutely beautiful job!! I know some little folks were extremely happy! Visiting from Savvy Southern Style...

At The Picket Fence said...

I love every.single.last.detail of this Christie!! I don't even know where to begin. :-) You always blow me away with the thought you put into creating these incredible celebrations for your kids and yet they never seem ridiculously over the top, you know what I mean? Does that make sense? Just thought-filled, creative, wholesome and fun! I feel like so many young girls are being encouraged to grow up so fast and this just goes to show that you can still have a pre-teen party that is sweet and innocent and a blast at the same time. As I raise my own little girl, I look to those who are ahead of me on the journey (like yourself) to be a guide for how to preserve that little-girl-ness as long as possible. :-)
Happy Belated Birthday to your beautiful Ashlyn!
Vanessa
P.S. Guess I'm back to those book-long comments again, huh? LOL!

Janette - The2Seasons said...

This is so cute. I love vintage cowgirls and especially cowboys.

Debbie@Mountain Breaths said...

Howdy thumbnail neighbor! What a fun post! Great job!

Shabby chic Sandy said...

This is really cute--great job!

Anita at Cedar Hill said...

Christie,
Vanessa is right, you have blown me away with your attention to detail. You have SO MANY great ideas here, and I will be using some of them for sure at some point since we have a ranch. I posted a link to your post on Cedar Hill Ranch's FB page.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cedar-Hill-Ranch/194162480629331

Entertaining Women said...

So many precious elements for your Cowgirl Birthday Party! I adore the hankies...they would be lovely to collect for entertaining. Have you checked out The Pioneer Woman blog site? I think that you'd really enjoy it. Thank you for inviting us for a peak at the party. Cherry Kay

Anita at Cedar Hill said...

Christie, the vintage Moda bags, I can't find on that site. Did you order the fabric and make them yourself or buy the bags? I can't seem to find the page for that. Please help!!

Gail said...

Christie! I was looking forward to you posting this and you more than exceeded my expectations! :) I will certainly put this idea in my idea folder for future reference!!

Hugs,
Gail

Jacqueline said...

How fun! All the details are perfect. I love your vintage cowgirl! This would be such a fun party to recreate.

Unknown said...

Great job, looks like the kids had loads of fun!

Mary said...

Oh I what fun...I want a cowgirl party! I love all your adorable details that you rustled up~ starting with the wonderful font on the invitations! Those badges are so perfect too! I had to chuckle at "every girl needs her ranch" :)

Mid-Atlantic Martha said...

How fun this must have been for your growing up fast cowgirl. Love all the creativity.

Christie said...

Anita, thanks for letting me know about the link for the goodie bags! I fixed the link! Christie

Kelly said...

What a great idea to link your party up with a fall festival like that. It looks like everyone had a lot of fun. The way you styled your table with everything was so clever. What a great outdoor Fall birthday party!!!

Barbara said...

Oh, this is wonderful! This would have been just the thing for me when I was young. You did such a great job with all the details. So well thought out. I am sure everyone had a wonderful time!

Anonymous said...

Your table would be good for a gal of any age. It is playful and fun, and your daughter must have loved it....so do I!

Heather said...

This is such a fantastic idea for a girl's party! Who doesnt want to be a cowgirl, and I love the vintage feel of it too. Wonderful!

Jenny @ Simcoe Street said...

This party is sooo cute! I adore the flowers in the boots especially, but every detail is wonderful :)

Jenny
http://simcoestreet.blogspot.com/

Anonymous said...

What a cute party..Very clever ideas..

Sherry @ No Minimalist Here said...

What a creative party! All the vintage cowgirl touches are fabulous and I bet your daughter loved it. Thanks for sharing all these great party ideas at the Open House Party this week.
Hugs,
Sherry

Sandi~A Cottage Muse said...

What a fun, creative party!
Thanks so much for sharing...I'll have to remember this one!

Crystal @ Ordinary Days said...

You always wow and amaze me with your parties. No detail left undone or spared. You are awesome! :)

Lexi said...

Hi ! I love everything about this party! you are so creative!
I am looking for solutions to my storage problem. I created a link party in hopes that someone out there in blog land can help me. if you can please stop by. http://cupcakedaydreamer.blogspot.com/2011/11/storage-bin-hunt.html

Thanks,
Lexi

Lindsey said...

What an adorable party! So many cute details.

Jules said...

L-O-V-E this theme! And your pictures of the party look great to me! You did a wonderful job with everything! I love horses, so this theme is right down my alley. ;0)

Anonymous said...

another swesome party!!! love the outdoors/Fall Festival...a perfect back-drop/tie-in! jealous - 2/3 are December bdays so not only are we stuck inside but we compete w/ Christmas a very decorated House, etc...:) My daughter however is a June Bday....this might be the party ;)
amanda
baby-makes5.blogspot.com

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