Ilsa's party decorations

I decided to make the decorations for Ilsa's 1st birthday party.  I thought this might be the only opportunity I had to make all the pretty things I wanted her to have at a birthday party.  My two other monsters started having opinions about such things at a very early age.  It's nothing spectacular, pretty simple really, but everything was fun (and cheap) to make.

I made the allergy friendly cake recipe and then crumb coated this cake with a homemade lemon strawberry butter cream (made with Earth Balance).  For the swirly decor I used a couple of cans of Pillsbury because it took so much frosting and our beloved Earth Balance is getting more expensive by the minute!  

I made this banner from material scraps and bias tape.  It was the fastest sewing project I've ever finished.  I say finished because I have started and quit many projects very quickly!

I made these flower puffs for the back of all the chairs.  I just took four pieces of tissue paper and folded accordian style then pinched in the middle with a pipe cleaner and fluffed up each of the pieces.

Instead of a pinata we made a balloon smash.  The prizes were inside the balloons.  

This was made out of coffee filters!  I found this idea and tutorial at http://colorsareblushandbashful.blogspot.com/2010/10/diy-paper-lantern.html

This one is made from streamers.  I just twisted the streamers to look like flowers and hot glued to the paper lantern.

I found this tutorial http://www.theidearoom.net/2011/01/tissue-rosette-kissing-balls.html to make kissing balls out of streamers and styrofoam balls and used the same idea on a paper lantern to hang up.