Here it is! Finally - all the little bits and pieces behind creating a fun look for a small and intimate Birthday celebration!

My theme this year was loosely based on the movie - Where The Wild Things Are. I loved the cinematography, the music, and that sort of nostalgic over-wash married to a dash of hipster aesthetics.

The Breakdown:

Invitations - where it all began: I found some delicious tree brushes {free at Brusheezy.com} and a wonderful font called "Love By The King" (how appropriate for this theme) at Da Font. I knew I wanted to incorporate the look of the growing word poster (one of the movie's main adverstisements) which reads: "within all of us is ... Adventure." So I found a sweet quote and thought that it would be perfect to use that growing design element on the words "GROWING UP." As for the paper itself, I love stock cards and envelopes from Kates Paperie's paper by the piece selection they're affordable and come in a wonderful array of colors. As always, cream and kraft tan is a wining combination!

Let's not forget ZAZZLE of course - I think creating custom stamps is the funnest part of it all!

The Menu:

I did the reverse of the invitation color combo and printed the text itself on kraft paper and used a cream standing stock frame to house them. If you're a big foodie - check out the actual list of food itself (I had great feedback from my guests about the food! Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar and Grill is a great spot for a small dinner gathering). My favorite dish? The oxtail garlic fried rice with bone marrow - delish!

The Favors:

A wonderful and talented pastry chef - Katherine Yang {stay tuned for a full feature on her}, made these delicious couture Ding Dongs. So divine that I can honestly say - if I had to choose one dessert - the only one that I would be able to eat for the rest of my life - THIS is it! SERIOUSLY!

To house these lovely treats, I used kraft-tan 3"x3"x3" boxes {from Kates Paperie and only $1 a box}. I printed out my guests' names on gray stock paper and cut them out with a scallop-edge square punch, ran them through a Xyron sticker machine and placed them atop each box. The favors also worked as place cards!

The Cake:

A party for me is not complete without something from my favorite bakery - Bouchon Bakery. This year we went for a Fall-theme Pumpkin Spiced Cake with walnuts and cream cheese frosting - DIVINE! I went for a more casual look - the cake was blanketed with cream cheese frosting and topped off with a circular design of silvery dark gray and white lettering that read "Make a ferocious wish."

Have a peek!