Putting on a 3rd Birthday Madeline Party!

Hi Friends!

I had the best time getting ready for Isla's third birthday party! We decided (and by that I mean, I decided :) to do a Madeline in Paris theme. If you aren't familiar, Madeline is a character from a series of classic books. The books are about a school girl named Madeline who's brave, adventurous and the smallest in her class. She lives at a boarding school with a group of 11 other little girls and their Teacher, a nun named Miss Clavel. The stories are very sweet, kind of quirky and timeless. I wanted to do Madeline for Halloween last year but Isla was set on Rapunzel so I repurposed the idea for her birthday and I'm so glad I did-- I kind of ran with it (for a good month :)

Isla had the best time with our family and her little buddies. They all seemed to love the extra touches- which always makes the extra effort put into a party SO WORTH IT! I tried to link to the products I used below if you're planning a Madeline themed party and need ideas--many of these came from pinterest and blogs I researched. There are a ton of cute ideas--have fun!!

We invited a small group of kiddos because I wanted to go all out on party favors. Each little girl got a handmade cape (I used this pattern. I'm a pretty basic seamstress and it was very easy!) and Madeline's signature yellow hat with black ribbon. A note on the cape--I used a polyester blend that was lighter and softer than wool. I lined Isla's in plaid flannel and the other girls' in navy lining. All of them turned out great. The hardest party was the Peter Pan collar. The pattern on the website was too small for me so I used it as a base pattern and drew my own. Message me if you want help with this! One cape had a button but the rest all had ribbons to tie them with. This cape is really versatile- you could add buttons, clasps, pockets--so many cute ideas! 

The blue milk bottles are from Target. The hats are from Amazon. They shipped much faster than expected. I hot glued black ribbon to them after cutting off the bright ribbon. The tags are from Michael's. 

The two little boys got adorable berets and a set of mustaches. oui! oui! The mustaches are from Target's party aisle. The beret is from Amazon. I must say the beret fit a 4 year old and one year old great and shipped much faster than expected. They were SUPER CUTE! 

These flags are from Amazon. 

These prints are from Social Print Studio- order through the app, it's very easy! 

Balloons from Amazon- Banner from Target (letters from Michaels). 

The banner is from Target, letters from Michaels, hanging fans from Michaels, Poster from Michaels,  red cake pedestals from Target ($5!!!) and white is from Amazon. 

I grabbed a Madeline paperback from Half Price books, took out the pages and made pictures for easels and that adorable book page banner. It turned out super cute! 

I used book pages and a grommet pincher to do the top of the banner. 

Picture of Isla's year were strung in the window. These are from Social Print Studio. 

This invite- cutest thing ever. You can find it : Here.

Everyone signed this adorable Madeline print- found here.

Madeline cookie favors for everyone! (and Isla made a special Thank you sign!) The Madelines were from Target and bags from michaels. I made the tags on a home printer. 

Isla and Rosalie -- her baby cape kills me- so cute!! 

These two Parisian monkeys!

GIFTS!!

That adorable personalized crown and wand courtesy of the Hansens- Good work L!!!

If anyone's interested - Isla's dress is from Amazon. The dress wasn't available when I looked but it's by: Weixinbuy. It was $9 and shipped straight from China (in about 2 months) but quality wise it's totally fine, didn't shrink a lot and will definitely last us through this size. Their other clothes are cute too! 

Happy Planning Friends! 

xoxo. 

S

Product Review: Plan Toys Terrace Dollhouse

Hi Friends!

I did some serious internet research for the 'perfect first dollhouse' for Isla (who was turning 3). I had certain criteria which really helped narrow it down. I wanted something:

 -wooden (and well made!)
- timeless (i.e.: not a ton of modern pieces or bright colors)
- A dollhouse more than one kid could play with

I looked at the Kid Kraft dollhouses (too bright and busy for us), Fisher Price (too plastic), Ryan's Room (a shortage of furniture apparently) and Lundby (so in love with them for ME--but too adult for Isla- they're so pretty!) I also looked into a really beautiful homemade dollhouse from Camden Rose built entirely out of cherry. That thing is a serious heirloom! In the end I narrowed it down to the Hape All Season Dollhouse ,  Melissa and Doug Hi-Rise Dollhouse and the Plan Toys Terrace Dollhouse . I compared price, furnished/not (all come with options), colors and size. I read a TON of Amazon comments and blogs with varying opinions. Keep in mind when reading those that everyone's kid is different and pick apart the pieces that apply to you. I loved many of the 'first' dollhouse versions from Plan Toys and Melissa and Doug but it was too simple for Isla and I knew she'd need an upgrade.

We ended up going with the Plan Toys Terrace Dollhouse. It helped that I saw this model set up in a toys store and Isla loved it! The price was a bit more for this one than the other two we were considering but I read many reviews that regretted not buying this model. I loved the Melissa and Doug version but had similar concerns as many of the reviews I read that Isla would break the elevator. The house is furnished which is nice but the furniture is VERY basic- like painted on faucets,etc. It also was just too bright for what I wanted. The Hape version was very cute and I LOVE the furniture sets- they're adorable (!!!) but it was too colorful for us. I also read a review that the stair configuration was confusing for kids- the stairs don't go to all levels. If you have a boy and need a dollhouse Hape makes some really cool models of dollhouses- very geometric and not overly girly.

What sold me on the Play Toys dollhouse was the simplicity of it. The fact that more than one kid can play with it at a time and it's not overly girly. You can also change the configuration of the dollhouse. For instance the door was blocking Isla's ability to put furniture in the living room easily so we moved it to the side. There are little clips that go in and out that make it really simple to move. Any of the vertical wood pieces, windows, sky light and door can be moved. The dollhouse is REALLY sturdy- perfect for a 3 year old who doesn't know her own strength ;) It's very open and easy to access or move things around. We are pretty much head over heels in love with our choice for Isla!

If that roofline bothers you it can be tinkered with to line-up, we just didn't care enough :) 

I went through Plan Toys website and picked out the furniture that I thought Isla would like the best. It was hard to find the entire line on Amazon so I talked to my amazing girlfriends and my Cousin had an amazing hook-up and got Isla all of the furniture for her birthday! What a lucky duck! The day it arrived was like a 2nd Christmas! 

From a Mom standpoint- these furniture sets are REALLY cute, really well made and the extra touches are pretty rare these days with toys. For instance the toilet set lifts up (picture below), vegetables with garden are wood and felt, kitchen includes a tiny toaster and tea pot. So many cute extra touches! These sets are fairly pricey (about $20/set) but after receiving them I see why. I would happily pay that much for a set that was going to last and is really well designed. Isla loves them! 

These are the sets we received: 

Neo Bathroom

Neo Bedroom

Classic Children's room

Neo Dining room

Garden Swing

Neo Kitchen

Neo Living room

Nursery

patio

pets

vegetable garden

garden swing and pets (that swing kills me- so cute!)

children's room/nursery (that is a doll in the stroller)

Mobile over the crib and changing table (the top folds out)

Nursery crib 

Bathroom. 

Garden

Living room (Dining behind-high chair is in nursery set)

Note: I bought the dolls from Kid Kraft because I wanted a Grandma and Grandpa. They are so cute and fit great in the house. Also: I read over and over that Hape furniture and dolls are smaller than the dimensions of Plan Toys dollhouses and furniture. They're super cute but little. 

stroller and doll (that come with nursery set)

Pets

kitchen. 

Changing table (top opens and is covered in felt)

Child's room bunk bed (includes bedding and additional pieces)

We are SO happy with our purchase and hope it's with us for many years to come- Good luck looking for your little one's perfect dollhouse!

Most helpful links: 

For age 2-6 (great reccs!)- Mommy Edition

If you want to see some beautiful and wallet draining versions check out: Apt Therapy

Babble- link

Each Amazon and your local toy store!