Sterling Express [Let’s Party]

Just what was I doing in Texas? Mostly this girl wants to party all the time, and that’s just what I did. My nephew, Sterling, was turning the big 2 and celebrating it with a train-themed birthday party, so that was priority #1 upon landing.

My sister, Kelly, did a ton to get things started, then called in a bit of an SOS to me and Selina as the party got closer and she got sicker with the flu. Let me mention she is a 7-month-pregnant doctor with a successful medical practice and a toddler, so what she did pre-SOS was that much more impressive. She started with some awesome printable invites from etsy. These ticket/train invites set the tone for the party, though it was not a Thomas the Tank Engine affair.

From there, she put her Silhouette to work to make a great train engine and car birthday banner,  insanely cute train tickets and tented train food cards. Food-wise, she dragged me out shopping, a little zombiefied after my red eye flight. We decided that Oreo pops and Rice Krispie pops were  must haves, as well as kid-friendly finger foods. Bring on the bagel bites and pigs in blankets!

Moeller’s Bakery in Houston makes awesome cakes that will melt your brain a little. OK, maybe just your willpower and heart. But the petit fours definitely would move you to do crazy things–rob a bank, kick a puppy. What I don’t love is their decorating of said cakes. When we picked ours up, it was a little underwhelming. More than one person asked (pre-taste) if we had made the cake ourselves, surely because the writing was so amateurish.

More Silhouette and Selina to the rescue! We decided to mimic the birthday train banner in miniature form to spruce up the cake. The last thing my sister wanted was me and Selina near the Silhouette a couple hours before the party, but that’s what she ended up with. We tend to egg each other on in true maximalist crafting style.

• Selina: What do you think of a little cloud coming out of the engine? Maybe if it had a 2?
• Me: Yes!! I had wanted white balloon “steam” coming out of the train-style food display that Kelly vetoed. What if it said like, two-two, you know, like a train sounds?
• Kelly: What are you two doing in there? We don’t have much time. Put the Silhouette away.
• Selina/Me: Nuhhh-thing! *conspiratorial smiles*

Our projects did last a little longer than planned, but I think that was partly owing to the fact that Kelly’s Silhouette blades and mats had seen better days, and the replacements were still lost in the mail. Selina took over paper duties while I started dipping Oreo pops. We ran out of time for Rice Krispie pops and my Sterling Crossing sign, but the world kept turning.

Most party-goers were probably more impressed with the train that took everyone on magical journeys around the block, but we were pretty jazzed with the decor.

Oh, and on the fashion front, I made sure to match my attire to the party via my new Jason Wu for Target dress and a borrowed necklace from my sister’s closet.