James & Alex's Cardboard Box Birthday!

Cake and balloon face

Sabrina's twin sons James and Alex's cardboard-box themed 1st birthday party was this past Saturday - it was a huge success!

Letterpress Party Invitation

It all started one night with some hilarious antics involving a Huggies box...

Alex in box

Alex laughing in box

...which made Sabrina think that cardboard boxes would be the perfect theme for their party! It also worked perfectly with a happy graphic style inspired by Paul & Ann Rand's Sparkle & Spin, a favorite since childhood!

The invitations were printed on kraft board with box-inspired envelopes. The party was billed as B.Y.O.B. (Bring Your Own Box)!

BYOB

We transformed cardboard boxes into all kinds of vehicles for the party -- a car...

Picture 10

Alex in Car

James in plane

...a prop jet...

Castle & Pennants

...and a castle guarded by Ugly Dolls, ducks, and piggies...

Dragon

...and a fierce / playful dragon!

Hugo

Monsieur Hugo, a party-goer, aboard a cardboard bus...

Balloon closeup

Fun custom balloons were a graphic accent...

Favors

...along with mini-box favors (instructions can be found in our book, Handmade Weddings)...

Hats

Tom & Hat

...and paper hats!

Drinks and flowers

Cardboard flowers in yarn-wrapped bottles (instructions are also in Handmade Weddings), sodas and stripe-y straws...

Eunice, Sabrina, Jude & Alex

Eunice & Sabrina with cousins Jude and Alex eyeing each other...

Blowing out candles

Happy 1st birthday, James & Alex!

Special thanks to our friend Jillian Northrup of Because We Can for the amazing photos - check out her photo stream here. And props to Noe Valley Bakery for making the delicious cake based on our design! And finally, high-fives to Craft Night for your cardboard creativity (you know who you are!)!