an american cowboy themed birthday.

i've been dying to share these photos with you.  my sister, the creative genius, just threw my nephew a killer party for his 4th birthday.  niko (my nephew) is currently obsessed with all things cowboy and american.  his favorite things in the world are: the national anthem, his cowboy hat & boots, horses and the american flag.  lindsay had the interesting task of marrying these components and did an outstanding job.  the above photos are some of my favorite elements.

the party was held in a community park on a typical southern californian day.  she served apples, chicken nuggets, some snack mix, veggies & dip (cutely placed in bell peppers), and s'mores.  at the drink station, she created mason jar "sippy cups" and used paper straws and chalkboard labels to complete the look.

in lieu of cake, she made adorable cake pops.  remember those frozen sherbet push-pops you'd eat in the middle of summer?  well, using a similar vessel, she baked a combination of chocolate and vanilla mini cake muffins and stacked cake and frosting into each pop.  every cake pop was topped with a toy horse and placed in a handmade tray she crafted out of a 4x8 board, a drill and some paint.  these were the perfect size for kids and unlike actual cake, were much easier and cleaner for the kids to eat.

as if that wasn't enough, she wanted to offer a place for families to take photos.  she created a photo booth with pvc pipe, left over fabric and a fabric scrap banner adorned with his name.  she offered an array of props: bandanas, hats, shades, stick horses and american flags for the kids/families to use while they took their photos.

to top it off, she made a pinata for the final birthday hoorah.  the kids were in heaven and the adults- myself included- were in awe of her awesome work.  using a variety of pinterest inspiration and some ideas of her own, she created a fantastic day and memory for her little boy.  over the next couple weeks i'll work with lindsay to share some of these amazing diy ideas with you!

ps. if you're interested in purchasing a stick horse, email me at jess.russ10 at gmail{dot}com.  they make great holiday or birthday presents for the little cowboy or cowgirl in your life.