Top Son 1st Birthday

When my oldest was turning one, my husband and I were kind of stumped for ideas on a theme for his birthday party. While we know that he would likely never remember his first birthday, the party was more for us to celebrate with friends and family. And dangit, we wanted to have some fun! A Top Gun theme was chosen after remembering that we spoofed a Top Gun movie poster with his birth announcement and we took off from there. 

After his party, I created more items to go with this fun and somewhat unique theme and it's been a blast adding more items over the years. 

Right now, you can purchase the files for this birthday party to work with a 1st, 2nd or 3rd birthday party. If you'd like the files for a different age, just shoot me a message and I can get the files to you. Here are links to the three listings:

1st Birthday
2nd Birthday
3rd Birthday

Here's what's currently included in the Etsy listings:

The invitation is 5x7 and you can customize the text below the header with the details for your party. The file is set up with two invitations on an 8.5x11 page.

With these address labels, the return address wraps around to the back of the envelope. These look great on red or blue envelopes! Print them on full-sheet sticker paper, available at craft and office supply stores, and Amazon. 

Simple favor tags. For an additional fee, I can customize these to say anything you'd like.

Circle cupcake toppers! You add the name of the birthday boy or girl.

Customizable napkin rings. You can type anything you'd like into the three lines of text. A simple happy birthday greeting or turn them into place cards with each guest's name, and maybe their call sign too!

Water bottle labels! Print these on waterproof labels or sticker paper.

Simply print these, cut them out and attach wooden skewers to one side and you have an instant photo prop with some very cool aviator sunglasses.

Each flag on this pennant banner is on one 8.5x11 page, complete with jets and aviator sunglasses that you can put in between the words Happy Birthday or on either side. 

A simple "I'm One" graphic that you can print onto a t-shirt or onesie for the birthday boy or girl. Use iron-on transfer paper to DIY the t-shirt or purchase a shirt professionally screen printed thru my little shop on CafePress. 

Lastly, a simple, blank thank you card. Available in A6 or A7 sizes. 

Our Holiday Card - 2011

When my family first moved from southern California to Utah, our son had just turned two and we were excited and a little apprehensive about moving to a place with a real winter... you know, the kind where it snows and the temperature might go below 50°! 

I wanted our holiday card that year to reflect our new home and I thought of the card I sent in 2008. We didn't have an opportunity to take any family photos, so I created a watercolor painting of the three of us and printed them on watercolor paper on my trusty HP printer.

For the back, I just happened to take a lovely photo of our son admiring an ornament on my grandmother's Christmas tree a few weeks before Christmas. It worked!

I totally scrounged together whatever pieces of scrap card stock I had to print these too. Some had purple card stock, some had navy blue, some had a lighter blue. And I just changed the color of the text on the back to fit with the card stock. I even used leftover envelopes I had from a previous project. 

It was created last minute and in a bit of a rush, but it's still one of my favorite holiday cards that we've mailed.

Our Holiday Card - 2008

In 2008, my husband and I were newly married and happily living life in southern California. It was the first year we were sending out a holiday card as a married couple and I wanted to do something fun. This watercolor painting was the result. 

Yup, snow angels in the sand. 

I printed them onto card stock and mounted them onto pre-made red and white note cards that came with red envelopes from Target. I added a short, hand-written message on the inside too. Simple and fun.