Chalkboard Party Décor

I love using chalkboards for party décor. It’s a very versatile blank canvas. Let me show you four ways to incorporate chalkboards into your party themes.

1. A chalkboard can serve as a tray for both display and labeling. I’ve used a plain thin board painted with chalkboard spray paint for this application. These Bistro Chalk Pens are ideal for labeling. They produce vibrant colors and wipe clean with a damp cloth.



2. Signs and backdrops are another great way to use chalkboards. This way you can use the board over and over. Here, I attached the cherry piece with removable adhesive.



3. Go bold with a chalk wall! My friend, Katy, painted her dining room wall with chalk paint. She now has an instant backdrop for any party.



4. Finally, I love taking advantage of the printable versions of chalkboards for food labels. You can find a printable chalkboard background here and some of my favorite chalk fonts here.



Ikea Tolsby frames provide the perfect means for display.



I used some of my favorite washi tape to dress up these white Tolsby frames.



So, there you have four ways to accent your party with chalkboards!

DIY Washi Tape Beads

I came across these photos from Avery’s Pancakes and Pearls birthday party, and I realized I had meant to post a little tutorial on how to make the washi tape beads we used in our candy necklaces. Better late than never.

I had wanted to try to color coordinate all of the candy for the necklaces with the color scheme of the party, but soon realized that would be too complicated and probably less fun for the kiddos. The least I could do was provide a little color coordinated filler and hang a little sample necklace. It would satisfy my OCD anyway! You can certainly use these beads for any necklace. They are not reserved for candy alone!

The supplies needed for the washi tape beads are washi tape and straws. So simple! Try to use a light colored straw, so nothing will show through the tape. Mine are from Ikea, and they are also a bit skinnier than a typical straw.

Start at the end of your straw, and wrap the tape around the straw. I wrapped the tape around twice to double it up for a less transparent look.

Trim your straw at the edge of the tape. If your tape has an uneven edge, just trim the tape and straw together.

Repeat about 50+ times in various colors, and you have some pretty beads to thread on your fancy necklace.

Just be sure to note that they are not edible if you include them with other candy necklace supplies!

Sausage Cheese Balls Recipe

I realize this is totally a photo of pancakes here, but I really didn’t have the energy to bake up another batch of the sausage cheese balls just to get a styled photo. So, just imagine a nice photo of those yummy cheesy balls peaking out from the top of this photo.

This recipe has been a go to appetizer for our family as long as I can remember. It’s always present during Thanksgiving and Christmas, and it makes the perfect football game snack. I can pretty much guarantee any male in your life with love them!

Sausage Cheese Balls

• 1 pound sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 pound hot pork sausage
• 3 cups buttermilk biscuit mix (such as Bisquick)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix shredded cheese, uncooked sausage, and biscuit mix in a food processor until well blended. The mixture may seem dry at first, but will come together.  Shape dough into 1 inch balls and place on parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes. Serve warm or at least room temperature. Yield: Approx. 6 dozen.

tip: 1.  I find the pre-shredded and packaged cheese make this mixture a bit dry. I recommend buying the block of cheese and shredding it. 2. These freeze great. Pop them in a Ziploc and freeze up to a month. Thaw in the refrigerator and heat them up in a microwave.

Pancakes & Pearls Party

Avery’s excitement over this birthday party was so contagious. She loved so many of the details as much as I did which made things very fun. We celebrated 5 years with a pancakes and pearls party. You saw the inspiration here, the dress here, and the invitations here. Now here’s all the rest!
This table housed the beverages and pancake toppings.


I used a chalk pen to identify the toppings that rested on a chalkboard. The whipped cream can is covered in coordinating scrapbook paper.

I just had to have the pink syrup dispensers when I found them on eBay. I was able to incorporate many of my vintage treasures with this pink, mint, and gold color scheme.

Can’t you feel the enthusiasm as we prepped for the party?!?

I have yet to find the perfect spot in my house for this antique mirror we scored a few weeks ago. It was a tad hard to photograph, but I used the chalk pen to list out the pancake recipe ingredients.

There was yummy punch.

And milk with strawberry milk straws (affiliate link). I spray painted the bottoms of baby food jars for the drinking cups and tied on the straws with DIY hair elastics the girls could take home.

The other table displayed the breakfast foods. The menu included yogurt parfaits, tater tots, sausage cheese balls, cake, and, of course, pancakes.



Per Avery’s request, the cake was cherry flavored with vanilla buttercream frosting topped and surrounded with mini donuts. The donuts were glazed and embellished with sugar pearls (affiliate link).


The girls were treated to a table of their own with a pancake tower centerpiece.

Their napkins were tied with pearl rings I made from this tutorial.

We included a station for making candy necklaces.

The giant pearl gumballs (affiliate link) were on every girls list!


While the girls devoured their perfectly topped pancakes, Gogo read “If You Give a Pig a Pancake.” (affiliate link)

Any guests lacking pearls could grab a strand as they entered and take a favor upon leaving.

The favors were mini pink piggy spatulas (affiliate link) tagged with, “Thanks for stirring up some fun at my birthday party!”

So many details and so much fun! We just love to party!
Many thanks to Todd and both sets of grandparents. From transporting picnic tables to washing dishes, I couldn’t have done it all without you!!

Pancakes & Pearls Party–The Dress

Creating the perfect party dress for each birthday is really one of my favorite things. Figgy’s Scirocco Dress is the perfect balance of fancy, twirly, and unique. The Pearl Bracelet fabric by Lizzy House is the ideal compliment to our party theme.

I used some vintage scallop trim to accent the center pleat.

The back of this dress just makes me melt. The twist is such a fun detail, and the elastic at the back waist holds everything together just right.

I was a bit intimidated when reading reviews of the Scirocco dress pattern, but this photo tutorial will guide you right through any tricky parts. It really ended up being a pretty quick sew. I also read reviews all over the map with sizing. In the end, I went with sewing up a 4/5 but lengthening it to a 6/7. I was relieved to find it was a perfect fit!

DIY Book Page Backdrop

I’ve been sewing on paper once again, and this project is so easy I just had to share. I usually wrap this old crumbly cork board in fabric to use as a backdrop at parties like I did here and here. This time I wanted something a bit more neutral but still interesting.

I went with book pages. I’ll show you how easy this can be. I purchased my cork board a while back at Hobby Lobby, and I kept this book around for craft purposes. I cut pages out with an X-acto knife.

Then I placed them end to end overlapping about 1/2” and sewed a straight line 1/4” from the edge of the paper.

I used gold thread here to continue with my color scheme for Avery’s birthday party.

I ended up needing 4 pages sewn together to wrap around my cork board.

I wrapped each column around the top and bottom of the cork board slightly overlapping the sides. I off set the columns so the sewn rows would not align.

Then, I secured each end with a push pin on the back side.

To avoid any gaps between the columns, I used some glue dots to tack down the edges.

I told you it was easy! I’ll be using this as a backdrop for a party, but it can easily serve as a great photo backdrop as well.

Pancakes & Pearls Party Inspiration

In less than a month Avery with turn 5. Five!!!! I can’t believe it. Party prep mode has begun, and as usual I try to fit in a project here and there to make it all come together in the end. I’ll try to share a few along the way.

Almost every Saturday we hear the request for pancakes from Avery. We even have them for dinner on occasion. She jumped at the idea of including them in her party. Instead of a pancakes and pajamas party, we decided to channel her girly side and make it a Pancakes and Pearls party. Here’s a little eye candy to feed the brain storming.

Huge stacks of pancakes.

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Mini stacks of pancakes.

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Here is our color scheme: pink, jade, gold, and of course pearly white.

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Feel free to send any pearls of wisdom my way!! (pun intended)