A Vintage Paper Doll Party

Several months ago, my girls and I found these Betsy McCall paper dolls  and cut what seemed like hundreds of dolls and dresses!  I decided to use them for my youngest daughter's birthday! For this chain, I sewed some of the dresses onto the doll and then just pulled the string to the edge of the sewing machine before adding the next paper doll.

I had several '5' metal numbers in my shop, so I pulled them out for this special occasion!  My youngest daughter just turned '5!'  This number acts as a paper weight to hold the napkins.

I made the vintage looking party hats and found the vintage style cake carrier at Hobby Lobby.

The bunting, made from old dresses of my daughters and some vintage fabric, hangs over the swing. 

The beverage station serves lemonade and Izze's Sparkling Apple Juice, along with bottled water.  I purchased the pink polka dot paper straws (biodegradable and eco-friendly!) from Can Do Chefs.

This little table is set up for the children to color and cut out their own paper dolls.  The Betsy McCall fabric came from Hancock and cost a few dollars a yard.  The black and white paper doll sheets came from Printables4Kids.

 A small red wagon holds a jump rope, a slinky, and other vintage toys for the little ones!

Which way to the photo booth?

Jars are filled with old fashioned candy, such as salt water taffy, Mary Janes, Sixlets and Bazooka.  The little stand-up paper doll comes with pages of clothes to cut out.

I purchased these at Amazon as a gift to our daughter.

You can't call it a 'Vintage Party' unless there are Cracker Jacks!  And who doesn't love Cracker Jacks!

More old fashioned candy is given as prizes! These Boston Baked Beans and lemonheads bring back some memories!  And who remembers getting a treat of Howard's Lemon gum?!

   

Since we cut out so many paper dolls and dresses, I decided to hang some of the extra dresses on a mock clothes line with small clothes pins.

Some old blocks, other found letters and two Mason jar lids spell out the birthday girl's name!  The food consisted of Party Vegetable Sandwiches and Ham and Cheese Dinner rolls.    These recipes came out of an old church cook book of my moms.

Other foods included were these pickles and celery with ranch dip; as well as, popcorn, pretzels, cheese rings and fruit...2+3=5!!  I found these cute jars at Tuesday Morning.

I wish I could say that I made this cake, but I wouldn't even know where to start!  But, I did make the banner for the cake and will give the simple tutorial soon!

The cupcake toothpicks were made out of some of the smaller dresses that were for Betsy McCall's cousin, Linda.  I topped the cupcakes with strawberry buttercream frosting.

  These small wooden ice cream spoons from Hobby Lobby add an old-fashioned feel to the individual ice cream cups!

The flowers are made from old dress patterns and fit with our theme!

These 'photo booths' are widely popular at weddings, but it was so much fun for this fifth birthday!

I found most of these props online (here, here, here and here), printed them on heavy stock paper, cut out and hot glued to a small dowel.  I made the speech bubble by sketching, cutting out and then outlining with a black marker.

If you can look past this huge dose of CUTENESS, as part of 'Earth Day' I made the newspaper table cloth with ruffled skirt in the background.  This was a great way to reuse our paper instead of buying another paper table cloth!  I stapled the paper in ruffled sections to the card table and trimmed it in ribbon.

Games included hoola hoopin'!  This is just some good outdoor fun! 

Grandma gave these vintage wind-up toys to my son for Christmas.  I believe they came from Restoration Hardware and helped to set the vintage vibe!

A game of hopscotch is some more great outdoor fun!

And of course...bubbles!

A basket of 'paper cootie catchers' is set out for the children to write notes inside or to take home!  Do you remember these?  We printed these from the adorable toymaker site here!

 

A game of 'pin the dress on the dollie' takes the place of pin the tail on the donkey! 

I took a regular copy of this paper doll (here) and enlarged it.

It seems that most little 'party favors' the children took home in the 50's consisted of these nut cups full of nuts or M&M's!  How sweet and simple is that?!

I included these paper dolls with some crayons and a set of jacks for our party favors.

Happy Day Brooke!

Thank you for stopping by our Vintage Paper Doll Party!

I will be linking to these Link Parties!  Check them all out for great inspiration!

Note: I am working on adding all of the link party buttons to my sidebar!  Thanks for your patience!  In the meantime, click on the red 'Link Parties' above and it will show you the list of all the great parties!
Thanks!

Thank you for the features!



















Sincerely,

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Vintage Paper Doll Party Recipes

Party Vegetable Sandwiches
2/3 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup minced green pepper
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup cucumber
1/4 cup celery
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp. mayonnaise
8 oz. cream cheese

Chop in blender.  Fold vegetables into cheese, mayo and other spices.  Chill several hours for flavors to blend.  I put the vegetable spread on wheat bread, trimmed crust and cut into thirds.  Surprisingly, my kids loved these!

*I made these the day before, placed them in a large plastic container, put wax paper over each layer and topped them with a damp paper towel (over the last layer of wax paper.)  This is a great tip to keep sandwiches moist when making ahead!  I put these in the frig.

Ham and Cheese Dinner Rolls

*My mom used to make these all the time!  I don't know how I had forgotten about them! 

1 lb. ham, boiled and sliced very thin
1/3 lb. Swiss cheese sliced
3 pkgs dinner rolls (Parker House type...the very small ones)
1/2 lb. margarine (I used butter and scaled this back)
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 onion, chopped fine
3 Tbsp. mustard
3 tsp. poppy seed

Slice dinner rolls horizontally, so that all the tops are together as one piece and the bottom of the rolls are together as one slice (do not slice individually.)  Soften butter or margarine and mix it with Worcestershire sauce, onion, mustard and poppy seed.  Spread on top and bottom of sliced dinner rolls.  Layer ham and cheese once.  Bake 10 minutes at 400 degrees.  Freezes well.

*I made these the day before, stored them in the original packaging and placed in the frig.  I did not bake until right before the party and baked them in the tin foil pans that the rolls came in.

Strawberry Frosting

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup strawberry jam
2 tsp strawberry extract
1 (8 oz) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 cup confectioners' sugar

In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese and butter.  Beat at medium speed with an electric mixer until smooth.  Beat in strawberry jam and strawberry extract until smooth.  Beat in whipped topping and confectioners' sugar. (Southern Lady Magazine March/April 2011)

Enjoy!

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If you have a mom, there is nowhere you are likely to go where a prayer has not already been. ~Robert Brault

On this Mother's Day, my prayers are for my daughters.  I pray that they will understand what an incredible gift it is to be a mother.  I hope they will seek to learn as much as they can, so that they can teach their own children.  I pray for these girls to have discerning hearts full of compassion and grace.  Although not always an easy job, it is an incredible privilege to be called 'mom.'  While it is not a career with much affirmation or bonuses, watching your children grow and mature is the greatest reward any mom could have.  

I have learned that I am most effective in the lives of my children, when I am on my knees praying for them.  I pray they will not miss how very much they need the Lord's guidance and His Word to raise their own babies.  I cannot be two steps ahead of them always, but it is certain...

the Lord can and my prayers can.

Happy Mother's Day to all of you!

 

Thank you Ashlyn, Mason, and Brooke Owen for making every day 'Mother's Day.'  I do not take this awesome blessing lightly! 

I write this in memory of my lovely and gracious mom who's role as mother, wife, nurse, teacher and friend was finished in 1997.  I love you!

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Vintage Party Hats

I couldn't find party hats for my daughter's birthday party...

...so I made some!

Materials: scrapbook paper, ribbon or trim, fuzzy balls, elastic cord, hot glue gun, and staples.

This paper is called "English Garden" from Michael's.  We used what we had on

hand to keep this a low cost project! 

I used this paper in my garden shed a while back to decorate the walls here.

The template I used is here; however, I did not cut the slit in the side or add the side tag insert.  It seemed like too much trouble!  I tried several templates and this one worked the best with the small semi-circle cut at the top.

I used my hot glue gun and one staple at the bottom.

I added the fuzzy balls on top, punched small holes in the side and added the cord elastic.  This cord elastic is the only thing I had to purchase for this project.  It is called 'Beading Cord Elastic' in extra thin and came from Hobby Lobby for under $2 for 3 yards.

You don't have to add the ribbon or trim around the bottom, but since my lines were sloppy, I added the trim!  Tip: the ruffled ribbon worked the best! 

Make sure you have a little model to measure how long the cording should be!  Here is my finished hat sitting on top of a 1950's photo of a child's birthday party (courtesy of bing.com!)

Enjoy making your vintage party hats!  The options are endless!    Whatever your theme is, it is certain that there are scrapbook papers to match!

I will link up to all the fun party sites here!  Check them out for some great inspiration!

Thank you for the features!

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Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.~Hebrews 13:2

(bing.com)

Jesse is an old, old man.  He has come over for years.  Looking back, I can remember the first time he knocked on our door and asked if he could fish off the point.  He has come to this little spot for many years; long before we moved here.

Until yesterday, I didn't even know his name.  Had I not asked or did my memory just fail me?  Ashamed that I didn't remember, I asked my daughter to go introduce herself and to ask him his name.  "Jesse," he says.

Jesse comes over to catch his supper.  Usually he leaves with brim, but last night he caught three large catfish!  This spot is popular with the crack-of-dawn fishermen and is known to house quite a few catfish; I guess something Jesse has known all his life.

My daughter and I were cleaning out my shed from the winter of having thrown everything right inside the door. 

It was dark when Jesse came up the hill.  I could barely see him and hollered out, "Did you catch anything tonight?"  He didn't answer and probably assumed that I could see the three catfish hanging beside him.  Carrying his simple fishing pole and his fish, and seemingly tired, he stumbled as he walked and I worried that he would fall on the uneven path.

When he spoke, I couldn't see his face, but he sounded just like my grandfather; soft spoken, gentle and humble.  I had to clear the path from all my 'stuff' for him to pass by.  As he passed he said, "If you ever need any help around the house, I am a pretty good carpenter."  I thanked him and said I would pass that along to my husband.  He said, "Well, best get on home.  I still have to cook these fish.  My wife died six years ago."  Amazed that he would go home, skin and filet his fish and cook it, I replied, "I wish I knew how to skin a fish." 

He offered to teach me next time.  As he climbed in his truck, he turned back to me and said, "You be careful now, ya' hear.  The snakes are starting to come out and it is dark."

I thanked him and said I would.

Later that evening, an overwhelming sense of conviction came over me. I can throw a party.  I love to entertain and to make fun decorations for my family and friends.  I have been told that I have the 'gift of hospitality.'  Do I?  I can entertain loved ones, but can I serve a sweet, old man in need of some food and a comfortable place to sit?

How did I miss the opportunity?  How did I 'forget to entertain a stranger?"  All the excuses come to my mind.  We ate sandwiches earlier in the evening and didn't have anything but pimento cheese in the refrigerator.  I think back and bet that a pimento cheese with a big slice of tomato on some toasted bread would have tasted pretty good to Jesse.

Next time, I will tell Jesse to throw those fish in the back of his old truck and invite him in.

This reflection overwhelms me; a fisherman, a carpenter, a humble and gentle man, and even the advice he gave me...reminds me of someone else I know.  Could Jesse be a stranger in disguise?  My heart hurts over my actions, but I am thankful that the Lord is working in my selfish heart.

I will link up to Spiritual Sundays.

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