Happy 1st Birthday Claire!

Today is Claire’s 1st birthday!! Here is an overview of the cake, food, and decorations.

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I can’t believe my baby girl is already a year old! We celebrated her birthday on Saturday with a Spring Garden themed party.

Her outfit was made by Violet at Organicheadbands on Etsy. I absolutely loved it. Claire enjoyed playing with the ruffles.

1st Birthday Cake

My mom flew in a couple of days before the party to help out and decorate the cakes.

For the tiered cake base, I made a double recipe of this Vanilla Almond Cake. I made two layers of this Strawberry Preserves Cake for the top tier and Blueberry Lemon Yogurt Cake for the Smash Cake since Claire’s current favorite food is blueberries.

1st Birthday Decorations

I made a little banner out of cardstock and butterflies to tape to her high chair.

I made these paper poms from a Recollections kit and taped them above the table (make sure to tape them well so they don’t fall randomly into the food- I may have had a close call or two). Here is a DIY tutorial to make your own out of doilies.

I arranged her monthly photos along the window with mini wooden clothespins and kitchen twine.

1st Birthday Food

For the food: I ordered mini clay pots (3Pk 2.5″ Terra Cotta Pot)and buckets (Mini Metal Buckets,Pack of 12)from Amazon to hold the vegetables (celery, rainbow carrots, and grape tomatoes). They were perfect paired with a Ranch Dipping Sauce.

I arranged crackers, cheese (some cut into flowers with vegetable cutters similar to these: (Stainless Steel Vegetable Cutters), chorizo and sopressa on a platter.

I made a variety of scones ahead of time (Earl Grey Dark Chocolate Chip, Cardamom Vanilla Cream, Pesto Parmesan) and froze them on a baking sheet without baking, then transferred to freezer bags. Right before the party, I baked them straight from the freezer with just a couple minutes added to the baking time.

We also made Ham and Cheese Pinwheels and Pizza Pinwheels.

I filled little serving cups with Bird Seed (Cereals, Marshmallows, Pretzels) and Cheddar Bunnies.

Not pictured: My mother-in-law made Lumpia (Filipino Egg Rolls) and Pancit (Noodles with chicken and vegetables, traditional on birthdays for long life). I also made these Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Meatballs.

Plus a double batch of Vanilla Bean Lemonade to go with the assorted beverages.

1st Birthday Chalkboard

I made this chalkboard to match the one I made Evan for his first birthday party. I spray painted a large canvas with a couple layers of chalkboard paint (Rust-Oleum 1913830 Chalkboard Spray, Black, 11-Ounce).

After printing off the letters in my desired fonts, I filled in the underside of the paper with Chalkboard Markers, placed them on the chalkboard canvas, and colored over them to transfer the marker using a pencil. I removed the paper and used the marker to fill in the outline, then repeated with the rest of the words.

Growth Chart

I also painted a large board for her growth chart. I painted Evan’s blue with a turtle, octopus, and fish to match his Under the Sea theme. For hers, I painted flowers, bees, and a butterfly for the Spring Garden.

Happy Birthday my sweet Claire!