Monday, March 26, 2012

An un-party ART and Music Birthday HUNT through TOWN! (PART 2 of 3)


I love all things party and I adore gorgeous dessert tables, etc, etc, etc...BUT for Titus' birthday this year I wanted to pull away from the big, popular, birthday party trends and just be DIFFERENT.  For his special day, we had a big birthday EXPERIENCE instead of a birthday PARTY.  Titus is my chillax boy: go-with-the-flow, relaxed, music loving and art making kid.  So, I focused his theme on culture, arts, and music.


The Plan:

Symphony candy bar clue for MUSIC, multicolored pencil clue for ART...it's a different kind of party, party.



The plan was set: Titus would wake up and discover a line up of birthday balloons down the stairs (more photos and details here).



 At the base of the stairs, a big art easel read, "Happy Birthday Titus" and a little message with instructions for the day was attached.




He had 8 clues sealed in little brown envelopes to find throughout the day, at different stops throughout town. Each clue would lead him to the next place, until he had completed all eight. Each stop was either focused on birthday fun or ART & MUSIC. To kick the day off for all the boys, they each received a brand new, custom T-shirt from FlyDuds to wear. 



Our first big clue led us to Artist's Haven, an art store in our town. Upon arriving, the boys walked into the art studio to find 3 big easels set up and a surprise package on a stool just for Titus!  (from Mama)



The box contained all the supplies needed for their art studio activity: painting a canvas. The box was stuffed with paint brushes, trays, colorful paint, and artist smocks.




Next, the boys each got to choose their own shape and size canvas they wanted.

And, they became artists for a day!












I adore this pot of gold! 


 Ta Da!!







The next clue took us straight to the downtown toy store to look at the musical toys.


 When we arrived, the store staff pulled out treat bags for the boys!

What's inside?

The bags had kazoos to celebrate music!


Kazzooooo.....oooo



Time to leave the Toy Store because there are so many other fun clues to discover!

My Mom joined us for the birthday fun, which made the boys extra excited!


The NEXT stop was actually an exciting lunch right downtown, with plenty of town culture and music,  HOWEVER, this post and party is super long so I will be sharing all the deets of the lunch and party food in a separate post later this week.  

For extra art learning and culture, we kept our eyes open for downtown art.  Our downtown has a special program called Art on the Corner where artists feature their unique work in a outside exhibit year round.  We had a pamphlet that shared the details and location of each sculpture.  We spotted a few as we made our way from clue to clue.  This worked in perfect harmony with our special Art & Music Hunt day!




Another little stop was to our local candy shop. 





The walls were covered with childlike, artistically enticing wall murals.  We used this stop to pick a small bag of candy and to hang out in their back lounge for awhile before moving on to my most anticipated stop...




My most anticipated stop was the music store!


  This stop held a very exciting surprise.  Chris would be surprising the boys and meeting us all there with a big present for Titus.  When Titus walked in he saw his Daddy playing guitar and sitting next to a giant birthday gift bag.


I think Titus knew what it was!  It was his big gift for the year...


Titus has been wanting to learn to play the violin for awhile.  And he opened up a beautiful new, Suzuki violin.  And he was extra pleased to have his Daddy there on this part of the day.



The other boys had fun sampling the instruments at the store too...

Saying goodbye to Daddy before he headed back to work.  We sure love that man!!



Well, that was a super exciting stop but we still have one more clue to find!  Moving on along with my Mom to the next stop...



The final stop for the day was at a pottery painting studio, Angelos.  


 Just a little more time to be artists for a day...



Picking out colors is the best part! 


I adore the way Titus holds his little tweety bird lips together
 whenever he is concentrating. 






But that's not all! Later this week I will be sharing a couple more clues that focused around lunch time and birthday food.  There is a lot more CUTE things you won't want to miss!


...like this...so check back loves!



It was an incredible birthday event!  I hope it is one that each boy could tuck into their memory pockets forever.  This was a very "un-party" birthday, filled instead with anticipation of 8 secret clues that took us all through town on a Music and Art adventure!  I live for these moments with my family.  I feel so blessed to have our Titus for 8 years now!  He is my sweetheart. 




*The government makes me say that this was a sponsored post that I have been compensated for, however all thoughts and opinions are my own and always will be! 



This post is linked to:   Under the Table & Dreamin, Nifty Thrifty, Seasonal SundaysMet Monday, Making the World Cuter, Tuesday Tutorials and Tips, HOMEWORK: Be Inspired, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy, Tip Junkie, Get Your Craft On, DIY Design, Works for Me Wednesday, Blue Cricket Design, Organize and Decorate Everything, Transformation Thursday, House of H, Tablescape Thursday, Show off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff, 36th Ave  Show and Share Day, Foodie Friday, Frugal Friday, I'm Lovin It, Tickled Pink, Friday Flair, Design Dazzle, Be Different Act Normal, Funky Junk Interiors, Weekend Wrap Up  DIY by Design

Monday, March 19, 2012

Waking up to a MAZE of giant birthday balloons! (PART 1 of 3)


Our youngest son's birthday is in mellow March.  We celebrated his 8th at the beginning of this month.  Instead of a birthday party this year, I surprised him with a super fun Art & Music Birthday hunt alllll through town!  (details in PART 2Today, I wanted to share the magic of waking up to a brand new age! 


I love to MAKE MOMENTS, and birthdays are the ideal time to show my lil lovebugs how super special they are.  I have a list of 5 minute birthday traditions you can read in a past post.  I've shared before that we have always had a tradition of hanging balloons on the stairs to greet the boys on their birthdays.  This year, I changed it up in a big way, adding a lot of extra exciting energy to the morning!


I bought big...huge...ginormous shiny number balloons.  Stuffing them in my car and then through my front door was a challenge and I was crossing all my fingers hoping they won't pop or fly away.  (the anxiety mamas face when dealing with balloons..stressful life, I'm tellin ya!) 


Then I cascaded the balloons down the stairs for Titus to see when he woke up in the morning.  There were 8 balloons for 8 years of his life.


I whispered around late the night before, arranging the magic by night in hopes for an early morning surprise. 


At the base of the stairs was a birthday sign with a little note attached, explaining the details of his Art & Music birthday hunt day (more on that in a future post!)The stage was set and good to go as I turned off the lights.


The effect was entirely magical!  The balloons were so big, filling up so much empty space, which created a maze of color and wonder for little-big eyes!




Color, shimmer, twirls: CELEBRATION.


 Spins of streamers from the stairs and from each balloon.




A little 4 foot tall, sleephead, but very excited boy, stumbled out of his room to the stairway and found glitters of shiny silver streaming from the ceiling and blocking the entry.  Pulling the silver shimmers away he made his way down the stairs...



 ...ducking under colorful, huge, dancing balloons, tip toeing down each step, winding around like a maze,







Weaving in and out of the swirls and streamers...



Quietly soaking in the silent early morning birthday wish, created just.for.him. 





Titus and Daddy



Titus and his brothers



Another surprise was new superhero style shirts for each boy to wear on this day for the birthday hunt!  I discovered these from an etsy shop:  Flyduds: cool, hip, fresh clothes for our littles!  I double love her work! These shirts are super fun and very unique.  I will be doing another post soon, completely on the coolness of flyduds. {wink}  All three of my boys were very pumped to wear these on Titus' birthday.




Again, check out 5 minute birthday traditions for more quick ways to make the loves of your life smile on their special day!


And to my Titus Christopher: 
I love you to the moon and back.  
You make this Mama's heart full constantly.
  I am crazy about you.  
There in no greater joy in my life than my 4 boys
 and YOU are the best grand finale 
to be added to our family. 



all the details on his Art & Music Birthday Hunt!

*The government makes me say that this was a sponsored post that I have been compensated for, however all thoughts and opinions are my own and always will be! 

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This post is linked to:   Under the Table & Dreamin, Nifty Thrifty, Seasonal SundaysMet Monday, Making the World Cuter, Tuesday Tutorials and Tips, HOMEWORK: Be Inspired, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy, Tip Junkie, Get Your Craft On, DIY Design, Works for Me Wednesday, Blue Cricket Design, Organize and Decorate Everything, Transformation Thursday, House of H, Tablescape Thursday, Show off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff, 36th Ave  Show and Share Day, Foodie Friday, Frugal Friday, I'm Lovin It, Tickled Pink, Friday Flair, Design Dazzle, Be Different Act Normal, Funky Junk Interiors, Weekend Wrap Up  DIY by Design