Yesterday we celebrated Ella's 5th birthday, Brave style!! This was such a fun party to create and was relatively simple. I incorporated lots of moss to create a very green, woodsy display reminiscent of Merida's trek into the forest. I used wood stumps to display the treats and some plaid fabrics to give a Scottish vibe. The blue "wisps" were tucked into the moss and were one of my favorite parts of this table. They faded in and out at different rates to give a fun visual experience. (I added a short video to the end of this post in case you wanted to see the "wisps" in action) I hope you'll enjoy this tour through the party details!! Check out another fabulous cake made by my friend Rachel! Perfect detailing right down to the wood grain in the bow and arrow and the leather-like wrapping on the bow handle!! Ah-Mazing!! I filled these little cups with some healthy treats perfect for an adventure in the forest. This trail mix is made up of organic dried fruit, nuts and bits of chocolate :) I absolutely love the glowing "wisps" that light the way around all the treats on the party table! This was a fun detail! Delicious Bear Paw cookies made from whole wheat, raw sugar, and baking chocolate!! These were yummy and a super fun way to incorporate the bear aspect into the party table! I love the way you feel as if you are peering into the forest to catch a glimpse of this beautiful cake! I wanted to keep the drink a neutral color that blended well with the earthy color palette so I just filled this decanter with organic unfiltered apple juice. The color was perfect with the neutral colored theme and definitely a kid-friendly beverage :) I created a plaid sash pinned with Merida's clan crest to help tie it all together! Ella LOVED her party table!! And I made this cute Merida style crown using a template I found here. The birthday girl admiring her cake! She was so cute as she listened to everyone sing happy birthday to her! She loves attention this one ;) Making her birthday wish!! We cut the cake to reveal a delicious red velvet cake that mimicked Merida's red locks! In the backyard I wanted to create a mini version of the Highland Games so the kids would have some activities to keep them busy. I hand-painted this board to create a fun bean-bag type game using nylons filled with beans as the "haggis"! This was a hit with the party guests! Well worth the time I put into it! I also created a target using a wreath-form and some canvas fabric. I painted the blue ring onto the canvas and then glued it to the wreath form. I then added a red piece of cotton to the inside to create a large bullseye for the kids to aim for. They had a lot of fun shooting the bow and arrows! One of the activities I planned for the party was letting each of the guests create a Coat of Arms. This required quite a bit of prep work b/c of the age of the kids. I had to pre-cut all the shields, shapes and banners in order to make this a craft that was suitable for young children and wouldn't require too much parental help. All they needed were some markers and glue sticks to complete their art piece! You can get the template here. Ella with most of her party guests. We had a few that were still running around playing outside :) I'm pretty sure they all had a blast at this party. Ella came to me afterwards and said "Mommy, my party was awesome!" That is the best compliment I could get!! Here is a quick little video I created so you could see the "wisps" in action. Sorry for the awful video and audio quality but you'll get the idea. And I was about to lose my voice so you can barely hear me when I narrate a few parts. I'd suggest just turning the audio off and just watching ;)