{Featured Parties} The Sweetest Honey Bee Soiree

When we set our eyes on this party...one word came to mind.....BEE-utiful!

This Honey & Bee themed 2nd birthday party styled by Liz Archard from The Papered Nest is simply adorable! We love the yellow, white and gray color palette! The vintage feel mixed with all of the pretty little homemade details are amazing. We are especially loving the cake which may remind you of the beautiful cake featured in Sweet Designs by one of our favorites... Amy Atlas.

The work that went into this party WOWS from the Mason Jars, hand-dyed doilies, Wooden cupcake stands and cutlery, beautiful paper rosettes + paper fans, super creative honey comb backdrop and that kids table!! How creative! Simply stunning!!

 Liz has the most lovely Shop - The Papered Nest ...you can see some of her gorgeous items featured in this party. We can't wait to show off what she cooked up for our Annie party! Read on for all of the amazing details and images. Thank you so much Liz for sharing your party with us!

.

Simply one of the Sweetest and best Bee parties we have ever seen! For more images visit Liz at the PaperedNest on facebook!

PARTY DETAILS, as told by Liz…

INSPIRATION
I chose a Honey & Bee theme for my daughter’s 2nd birthday because ‘bee’ was one of her first words (other than names!). I decided on a Yellow, Grey and white color theme because I felt these color gave the party a soft vintage feel. After the 2 hardest (but fun!) decisions were made I started collecting goodies for months before the party!

DECOR
It was a hot summer’s day so we set the party up outside. By using Honey & Bee elements I transformed our front yard into a Bees’ paradise! I tried to look at the yard as a whole as well as make features out of the food tables. Using compostable hexagon plates which I painted yellow, white and left some natural, I made a honey comb pattern that climbed the boundary walls. I also made bees from kraft circles and dyed doilies with trails made from stickers which I placed amongst the honeycomb backdrop. I framed 3 of these behind the savoury food table to highlight the theme.

FOOD
I set up 3 tables, sweets, savouries & drinks. On the savoury table we had a honey tasting station as well as some honey and cheese pairings – there were a variety of ‘vesels’ to consume the honey along with kid friendly snacks, like fruit, popcorn & bite sized cheese. I anchored the back of this table with a vintage window I have had for years, decorated with some paper fans and handmade paper rosettes.

DESSERTS
I used the hutch from my daughter’s room on the sweets table to help display all the yummy treats. Where possible I tied the food together by sticking to either the honey/bee theme or the color scheme. Some treats included chocolate covered oreos with a honeycomb pattern, choc covered honeycomb, honey flavored rock candy, coconut cupcakes with honeycomb fondant toppers and sugar bees. My Mum helped me bake the beehive birthday cake and we topped it with a filigree number 2 lollipop. I displayed some of the cupcakes on mini wooden cupcake stands and dotted them around the table. I found wooden letters to spell out ‘honey bee’ and a vintage honey sign in the months before the party, so used these to help set the dessert table. I used more of the handmade paper rosettes and doilies to decorate this table also.

BEVERAGES
I kept the drink table simple by just displaying all the glasses beside a beehive beverage dispenser. I used square Mason Jars with pewter stamped lids for the kids and the larger ball glasses for the adults. I decorated them with drink kits from our Etsy store (ThePaperedNest). In keeping with the Honey & Bee theme we served a Bees Kness cocktail and an assortment of Honey beers.

ACTIVITIES
Because this was a party for a 2 year old and her friends I wanted some specifically kid only areas – the little ones seem to love that! So I used our umbrella with a mosquito net to create a hive like area for the kids, where they could find toys, an easel and a bench with activities. Each child got a bucket with a felt bee hat and activity inside. The activity was a wooden beehive cut-out which I painted yellow and sheets of stickers to decorate with – stickers seem to be an easy and entertaining activity for 2 year olds! The kids loved buzzing around in their bee hats! I also used these same cut-outs with the food labels on the tables.

PARTY FAVORS
There were favors for the Children and adults, the kids got a wooden honey pot and dipper along with some honey sticks, while the adults got a beeswax candle in place of the wooden honeypot. I used the kraft favor bag kits from our store which I decorated with a honeycomb patterned paper.
We all had a great day/night celebrating with family and friends & I had such a great time during the planning!

VENDOR CREDITS
- Photography: Lynn Wilson of It Just Clicks Photography
- Paper straws, twine, tags, food labels, ribbon, hand dyed doilies, favor bags, drinking jars & lids, patterned cake pop sticks, cupcake liners, cupcake toppers & the mini wooden cupcake stands: The Papered Nest
- Chocolate covered Oreos: The Chocolate Box
- Sugar bees: Baker’s Bling
- Honeycomb Fondant Toppers: TwoSugarBabies
- Number 2 filigree lollipop: Vintage Confections
- Bee Raw Jars of Honey: Baker & Olive
- Wooden Beehive cutouts: Craft Parts
- Honey Sticks: HoneyRunFarm



also featured on Hostess with the Mostess