The SuperHero Party – Official post with pictures and vendors Galore!

 

Alex's 4th Birthday Party: SuperHeros!

 

This is a follow-up to my “List of Resources and Vendors” blog post

First off!  I now know that you are reading! Which is so very cool by itself!  CuddleBaby’s on Etsy has told me that she has orders for capes pouring in – So THANK YOU!  I love supporting mom based businesses/crafters and am so happy that you do too!  She really appreciates it as well!

I wanted to follow-up on my vendor list as well as how everything for the party actually turned out!  We had an ABSOLUTE blast! And I do believe that this was the best party yet.

I did an after-party post and you can find it here

Big lessons learned:

• 11:30am parties are too early for this momma!  I felt rushed to get set-up and think that a few more hours were have made it much easier!
• While it was nice to offer such a selection of customization for the capes; It would be good to cut out the felt for the shields and attach to the capes before-hand (maybe leave a few blank for extra crafty moms: My friend Ann hand cut a batman logo for her son that rocked! – She is super crafty!).  Then you can lay out the letters, pens, scissors and have the moms/dads help with the tracing of letters and cutting them out for their own kids.

The Crafts and take home favor portion: Create your own Capes, Masks and loot bags

Favor Capes – by CuddleBabys on etsy: Click here

These were one of the best purchases ever!  The capes arrived with finished edges and velco for the closure and the quality of the fabric was fantastic!  Light enough to move with the kids and easy to decorate, but tough enough to stand up to the wear and play of kids!

SuperMom Cape customized by Me

I purchased self adhesive felt from S&S as well as searched Michael’s and other craft stores.

The felt from S&S is pretty soft, but it did work well and made this non-crafty mom, look very crafty.  I cut templates myself for the shields and then traced around the edges of letters directly on the felt to create the words and images I wanted.  I will be honest – I wanted to give everyone their choice of colors for the shields, so I had templates and pens and scissors – but in hindsight, it would be far less chaotic if you picked the colors for the shields and did them before hand – This way it would just be the tracing of letters and customizing that way.

I also ordered the self adhesive shapes and letters but to be honest.. the letters were super small and flimsy.. they did work well for the loot bags as well as the masks – Some of the adults did search through the find what they wanted to used them on capes as well – worth the small amount, but be prepared to have larger letters on hand.

 

Customized Cape on a Blank by CuddleBaby's

 

Felt

Felt letters

Felt shapes

You can purchase letters at a local craft store (I found a bunch on sale for .29 each and went that route).. but if you have the time.. I thought this was a FABULOUS idea!    Such a wonderful and easy idea.. just takes time!

Make your own Letters

I also decided to purchase some self adhesive foam shapes from Michaels and got a big bag of glitter stars that were a huge hit!  While it means that your cape would not be washable, it probably doesn’t need to be.  I also had some craft glue for backup but we never even needed it.  I also found some felt stars and guitars at a local craft store on sale and bought those to add to the mix.

I had high hopes of using firm felt to make the masks myself but I really don’t have the time and while I could have purchased them on etsy for 3.00 – 5.00 each.. that just wasn’t in my budget – but they are out there and pretty awesome!

Instead I purchased black masks (24) and some sequined (12) ones from OTC

I would keep your eyes out for after Halloween type sales!

The plan was to allow the kids to use the sticky felt and foam shapes to create their own spin on the mask and just about everyone did and they had such a blast!  Even the smaller kids seemed to be into it and it made it fun for the kids as well as the parents!!

I also took the loot bags that I got from Michael’s and took stickers and brads from OTC and decorated each bag, then I left out the extra stickers so that kids could decorate their bags even more!  The foam stars and felt found their way onto the bags, which I thought was really fun!

I bought the bakers dozen, natural type handle bags on sale at Michael’s and used the following.

Brads

Epoxy Stickers

Marvel Stickers for favors

Because I am on the OTC site. I also got these for the favor bags

Then it was decorating idea time and for me… the decorating ideas always start with the cake!

I ordered these awesome superhero favor tags and “cake toppers” from kabibimei – You will see how I used everything below.  She also did some door signs and cupcake toppers for the party.

 

Cake Toppers by Kabibimei on Etsy

 

 

Cupcake Toppers by Kabibimei on Etsy

 

and the favor tags!

 

Favor Tags by Kabibimei on Etsy

 

• The favor tags were a little smaller than I had originally thought they would be – but they still looked really neat and are def. fun! – I tied them to each favor bag and wrote each child’s name on the back, I also had a few extras on-hand for the “Maybe’s”.
• I used the door signs around the area and added a fun pop of color!

I also ordered additional cupcake toppers from Emanon on etsy http://www.etsy.com/shop/EMANON?ref=seller_info

I wanted to be able to use them for other food items or favor bags or whatever…

With the same idea… I ordered a few other paper goods for decoration from CreativeQueenBee – She also sent some awesome die cuts of Superman and Batman That I used to top this cake: Along with the birthday Sign for Alex.

 

Paper Cake Toppers by CreativeQueenBee on Etsy

 

I got the Pow’s and Zap’s and then decided that we should do some larger superhero’s and a birthday sign for Alex… I used them on the cake and also placed in the food items.

I also found these VERY cool and unique cupcake wrappers on etsy by ComicBookNovelties

 

Cupcake Wrappers by ComicBookNovelties on Etsy

 

These were a SUPER FUN detail and while it took a little extra time to tape them around the cupcakes – it added such a cool touch!  They are all upcycled from old comic books – which I think is way cool!

I also bought cupcake tin liners in primary colors to do the actual baking in and think they will be a good under-layer for these!

Then it was time to figure out the party attire!

We suggested that the party goers come in Superhero inspired T-shirts and shorts, etc… since our location is at a park… and the little ones may get hot running around!  I actually found a Justice League shirt for my at Walmart as well as a Superman one and wonderwoman in adult sizes… you could easily get black shirts and iron-on’s or puff paint and have it be a craft….

The kids were the big ones here!

Alex is a HUGE fan of Flash.. so I went with that and had a custom shirt done for him by FrayBabyBibs

 

Custom Shirt by FrayBabyBibs

 

FrayBabyBibs also did a Wonderwoman shirt and star skirt for the baby

 

Custom Shirt and Skirt by FrayBabyBibs.com

 

and the very talented designer at Georgia Blue created the best little bows for Mack – worn at the base of her piggy tails.

Cake and Sweets

For fondant details I typically use CRLCreations; She also did the Fondant Flash for Alex’s actual birthday family celebration..but she is taking a break and I was forced to expand my fondant suppliers!

So I looked high and low and picked 2 vendors to go with.

KidsCakes responded first but was heading out for a vacation and could only commit to styles that she had done in the past.  So I placed an order for her generic cupcake toppers and was thrilled.. The quality was superb and they looked great on the cupcakes and took my homemade cakes to the next level!

 

Fondant Cupcake Toppers by KidsCakes on Etsy

 

but I needed to find someone to do the 3D figures.  I base a lot of my research and decisions on past work and prices.

I used Sweetly Done for the 3D superheros as well as the 24 different superhero logos – that I used to decorate the black fondant covered cake.  I think this was one of the best things I did.  Unless you work with fondant a lot.. I would expect that each of those logos took some time – and as it was, I was up until 1am working on the cakes and cupcakes!

 

3D Superheros by SweetlyDone on Etsy

 

All 24 different superhero logos on this cake were also done by SweetlyDone on Etsy.

 

24 SuperHero Logos made by SweetlyDone on Etsy

 

I LOVE SugarandFlour .  I found her on Etsy for Mack’s party and her itty bitty cookies were a HUGE hit!  So, while this was a bit of a splurge – I ordered a package of (8dz) red and a package of yellow stars coming.. along with 12 superman favor cookies and 6 Flash and 6 batman… Not only was the craftsman ship AMAZING (I have no idea how she ices with such a steady hand) They are beyond yummy!!!!!! If you can figure out a way to include her cookies for your party – I HIGHLY suggest that you do!

 

SuperMan Cookies by SugarandFlour on Etsy

 

 

SuperMan Cookies by SugarandFlour on Etsy

 

 

SuperHero Cookies by SugarandFlour on Etsy

 

More pictures!

 

Cupcakes and "Sweets Buffet"

 

 

Sweet Buffet

 

 

Pinata Time! - Notice all the customized loot bags! - So sweet

 

More Cookies!

 

Cookies and Sweet Buffet

 

 

Craft Table

 

 

Sweet Buffet

 

 

Jump House and Craft Table

 

 

Customized Cape

 

 

Party Time! We placed superhero balloons all over the area

 

 

Customized Cape

 

 

Felt, Templates and Scissors - Oh My!

 

 

WonderWoman

 

 

Bows by GeorgiaBlue on Etsy

 

 

Pinata!

 

 

Shirt by FrayBabyBibs and Lightening Tattoos by OTC