Max is 9, we had a party

Max and his friend Adam have birthdays just a couple of weeks apart and they both wanted to see Diary Of A WImpy Kid: The Movie for their party. Since they share a lot of the same friends we decided to have a party together.

I made the invitations because Logan had a lot of stuff going on. I went to Wimp Yourself and made the WImpy Kid. Using my very rudimentary Illustrator skills I tried to give it the look of the book cover art, there's a reason I ended my art school degree pursuit after two semesters.

It's probably wise to be heavily sedated before taking 10 boys to a movie theater.

Wow. 

But I wasn't since I had to drive and also make sure no one was killed while I was responsible for them.

We picked the kids up after school on Friday giving them 20 minutes or so to run around on the playground to work off some energy (we hoped).

I gave a little pep talk about how we were going to behave in the movie theater before going in and had to do a little intervention when one boy was using his regular voice but it's the kind of voice that knocks the wind out of you.

However, when the movie came on, the boys were perfect. I'm sure they think I'm a little nuts because that's all I could talk about the rest of the evening, "Wow, you guys were SO GOOD! I'm so impressed! Way to go! Wow!"

After the movie we headed back to our house for pizza or cake where I gave them a second set of rules for the dog, who was actually really okay with the chaos, I think because she realized in the chaos pizza was probably going to fall on the floor.

Adam's dad made the cake.

He said it's not his best work.

I wonder what his best work looks like because I was pretty impressed by this "sub-par" cake.

I made the banner using the font Cooper.

Because the card stock I had was scrapbook sized and too large for my printer I used a technique I learned in Mr Washington's 2D design class in college. The class I was really enthusiastic about until he hated every single thing I did. It was incredible and obviously not my forte.

First print your letters out in the size you'd like for your banner.

Flip the paper over and run a pencil over all the area of the letter outline.

My pencil kept breaking so I ended up using a crayon for the rest of the letters (and half of this one obviously).

Now flip your paper over and place it on the paper you're going to use to make your banner's letters. Trace over the letter's outline with a pen, pressing firmly.

Here's what you end up with, now cut around it.

I used a white crayon to trace the letters onto the darker color papers.

And as a reminder, here's how it turned out. I hung string along the window and tried to hang the letters with appropriate kerning. I had reasonable success with that.

The party was lovely and after the last guest left at 8:30, I laid down on the sofa and passed out. The great thing about having an after school party on a Friday is that when it's over, you've still got the rest of your weekend left. Perfect.

Comments

[Melissa]

It looks like it was a great party! My son is a HUGE Wimpy Kid fan. (They have t-shirts at Target. Or at least, they did a couple weeks ago.)

A big Happy Birthday to Max!

[kate]

Wow!! I'm so impressed by this party! Your decorations, the invitations, the cake...so cool! They'll both remember this party always. I think you've got a little Martha in you... ;)

[prerna]

You know I'm reading your blog for the first time and found this post at the top ( obviously 'cos this one's recent) n somehow found it funny. Not sure if you were trying to be funny but I liked it.
I guess I'll come back to read a little more about you.Keep up the good work!

[ashleyD]

you need a cricut! that would have taken 10 minutes with a cricut... it still looks mega cute though!!!

[melissa]

I don't craft enough to get $100-$150 worth of use on an appliance like that. Plus I have limited space and will be moving again so I don't like to take in more stuff.

It's a good technique for the occasional crafter.

[bella]

hah, I can so totally tell/relate to you being married to a graphic designer :) It's a funny sort of neurosis that totally rubs off. Looks like a fun party...I didn't even know there was a movie! Bad librarian.

[Rachel]

Love love LOVE this. Always inspired by your website.

[Emma]

Looks like a lovely party! I'm sure he was thrilled.

Also, your new picture (under "about") looks fantastic! You look great.

[Sarah]

I love doing things on a Friday for exactly the same reason - a treat of whatever kind and then still two more days to call my own? Win!

[mel fan]

cool idea for making templates. i'm stealing it. =)

[leah]

Love the banner idea ... but you can also get pre-cut letters at a "teacher store", like Lakeshore (is that a national chain?). We buy them in packs to use for bulletin boards (maybe 100 letters for $4, or something like that). The letters are perforated, so you can punch them out easily, and they come in various fonts & colors. Not quite as custom as yours, but WAY faster :) .

[glb]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAX!

M~Great job on banner and having all those boys in.your.house.at.once.

I'm wimping out and taking my diva to the bowling alley! ;p

I bet all of Max's friends think you are such a way cool Mom!!

[Ashley]

I love your letters and your technique. I do the same thing to customize cheap-o gift bags from the Dollar Store. P.S. As a designer myself, I give you an A for kerning and tracking ;)

[Bridget]

Can I ask a dumb question- -How did you actually attach the letters to the string?

Excellent point on a Friday party! Planning my daughter's 6th b-day party and seriously considering changing the date now. Thanks!

[Melissa Summers]

Just tape, I tried centering the letters on the string but they wouldn't stay straight so I taped them near the top.

I put the names on a separate string so I can reuse "Happy Birthday"

[Daily Cup of Jo]

Okay, you did a helluva lot more work on that banner than I would attempt. Pat yourself on the back. The cake looked amazing, as did the invites. But smearing the faces of the boys so we wouldn't recognize them? Necessary and thoughtful, and really, the coolest part of the post.

My girls liked the movie but thought the book was better. Nothing changes.

[Emmy Mitchell]

I can't believe Max is 9! Love the birthday party decor, you are so crafty. I'm way too impatient for that and very impressed. Also, I completely agree with Emma that you look fabulous in your new picture!

[Jen]

I just had to say - you are awesome. I love the care and attention you put into details for your son's party.

[followingtheroad]

Can I just tell you how much I love that technique? And that you used the word "kerning" instead of spacing? AWESOMENESS.

Thank you.

[Carrie Anna]

OH MY GAWD!
Can't you just buy the banner or am I a horrible mother? (Where is my drink?) I would have bought the cake, and I also probably would have looked for a party room at the movie theater too. Nice work, show off. :-)

[Denise Burks]

I worked in advertising and marketing for over 20 years and birthday parties are one of the many ways that I get to use my professionally acquired skills. I loved your creativity (invitation) and your engineering (suspending the letters) and gneral time management skills for this fantastic celebration!

Warmest Admiration!

Denise Burks

http://www.successinthesuburbs.com/

Click on the link below to see some facebook photos from my kid's birthday parties!

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2007344&id=1403493413