Saturday, February 25, 2012

Diggers & Dumpers Construction Birthday Party

I did so many projects during December and January, but just couldn't find time between holidays and traveling to share on my blog.  While I attempt to reorganize my craft area over the next few weeks, I'm going to share some of these "forgotten" projects.  First up --  decorations I made for my son's third birthday party.

My little guy loves construction equipment, so the party theme was Diggers & Dumpers.  I combined some decor from a local party store -- the construction tape and signs -- with my own Cricut creations. 

I made this banner to hang in the dining room over the food table:


Here's a better view of the patterned paper, ribbon, and embossing:


My guy's birthday is in early December, so I try not to decorate for Christmas until after his party is over.  This year I incorporated our Christmas tree into the party decorations, and my son loved it.  He talked about his "construction tree" for weeks -- even after I flipped it to a normal Christmas theme after the party!


I decorated the tree with paper dump trucks and with toy dump trucks filled with candy (another party store find).  The "garland" is construction tape, and I used a plastic tablecloth for the tree skirt.  The toy dump trucks were the favors, and my son's friends enjoyed choosing a dump truck from the tree.  How often does a toddler get to undecorate a tree by December 10?  (Unfortunately, I didn't snap a picture of the tree until a few guests had left -- so it's a little bare, but you get the idea.)

Here's a close-up of a paper dump truck with lots of embossing:


In a moment of non-papercrafting inspiration, I also put together a discovery table/box for the kiddos to dig and dump with pinto beans.  It was a big hit and now a permanent toy in our house!


Project Details:
  • Papers - patterns from American Crafts - Play; cardstock by Recollections
  • Cricut Cuts - dump truck from Boys Will Be Boys, page 28; letters with "Arrow Font" function from Boys Will Be Boys; banner from Birthday Bash, page 58
  • Embossing - Cuttlebug's Distressed Stripes, Spots & Dots, Traffic Jam; The Paper Studio's Mesh Texture
  • Other - ribbon by Ribbon Boutique

I'm entering this project into the following challenge(s):

Decorate to Celebrate: Challenge #19 - All About Boys (Must Use Blue) -- there's a little blue, right? :)

10 comments:

  1. Looks like a fun party!
    What a cute way to use the Christmas tree!

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  2. Adorable!!! I love all of the embossing on the truck! Thanks for playing at Decorate to Celebrate!
    :)Amy
    Amy's Crafting Space
    Decorate To Celebrate Design Team Member

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  3. How cute! Thanks for playing along with us at Decorate to Celebrate.

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  4. Jessica, your ideas are just genius! Love this theme for a little boys party. The decor is just so fun and I love all the caution tape. Super idea! thanks for sharing!
    Cindy Porter
    http://cardcrazeeme53.blogspot.com/

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  5. What awesome party ideas, Jessica!! I love the banner and wow, the embossing on the truck is fabulous!! What a great idea with the pinto bean discovery box!! Thank you for sharing your awesome party ideas at Decorate to Celebrate!

    Lisa
    A Mermaid's Crafts
    Decorate to Celebrate DT

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  6. I really loved the idea of decorating the Christmas tree as a birthday themed tree, that is a fabulous idea. I had to share the pinto bean filled bin with a friend to make for her grand-boy too!

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  7. This is adorable! You have such fabulous ideas! Speaking of fabulous...I have a special surprise for you. Check out the post to find out!!!
    http://glitterpanda.blogspot.com/2012/02/exciting-news.html

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  8. this is so super cute for a boys birthday thank you for joining us at decorate to celebrate for the boy challenge

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  9. Fabulous decorations!! Love your cute little truck and awesome tree!
    Sherrie K
    http://sherriescraps.blogspot.com

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  10. Jessica, this has to be one of the cutest boys birthday party themes I have seen!! And I love how you decorated the Christmas Tree for the birthday celebration as well!! I love all the details & colors, from the trucks on the tree to the banner hanging!! Might have have found a second job...party planner! :)

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