Surf and Safari

We celebrated Sheridan's birthday by having a safari themed party at the Santa Barbara Zoo. The colors were fuschia, orange and lime and it was reflected in the decor, cupcakes and favors. Since balloons are not allowed in the zoo (it's a hazard to the animals) I used paper lanterns to decorate. I tied them onto bamboo poles and added a banner I bought on Etsy.

I used chocolate brown tablecloths with satin runners in fuschia, orange and lime. I used raffia placemats, colored plates and napkins and made custom chocolate animal shaped lollipops. Even the water bottles had a custom giraffe band and "Go Wild" sticker. I got the glass vases from the Dollar Store and wrapped it in giraffe print scarpbook paper. I bought funky feather branches from the flower mart and Gerbera daisies from Costco to complete the arrangement. I spray painted plastic animals in fuschia, lime and orange and then "glitterized" them and they sat on the table with natural sea shells which was a nod to the fact that we were on the shore.

The guests stuffed different kinds of animals and dressed them in zoo keeper outfits. I machine embroidered nylon shopping bags with each guests name so them could carry their new friend home in it. We played Feed-the-Frog relay and Cottonball Scoop. We even had a rabbit named Peter come and visit the kids.

Lunch was pizza and we had cupcakes for dessert. I forgot to take some pictures of them because my wonderful friend, Jen Wilson, is a professional photographer and took pictures for me. After opening gifts, the entire party took a ride on the zoo train.

Sheridan loves animals and had such a great time at the zoo! Her lion shirt is from WalMart and it is an Eric Carle design. I will post more pictures from Jen when I get them :)