Monday, December 10, 2012

A Long Expected Party

After lots of party preparations late into the night...
Dwarven treasure in wooden boxes for the trivia winners!


Including last-minute inspiration while looking at our recycling and an ugly shelving unit that needed hiding...
Two cereal boxes + some tape + judicious application of Sharpie to a yellow balloon + black fabric stash = Barad-dur. Since the Eye of Sauron was a balloon, it swayed back and forth with every air current, making it look like it was actually turning to watch your every move. I don't think I've ever been more pleased with myself.


A day spent whipping up Middle-Earth-themed goodies...
It's too bad our door isn't green! We had Radagast the Brown wizard hat cookies, not-coney stew (with taters, of course), some nice crispy bacon ("Put it out, you fools, put it out!"), lembas (actually almond shortbread, with the reasoning being that the added protein would help keep a grown man going at least for an hour, if not all day...and all imprinted with either G runes for Galadriel and Gandalf, or with Bill the Pony, Gollum's fish, or Radagast's animal friends), and nametags with gold rings (actually grommets).


The One Ring was passed from Bilbo to Frodo, Photogenic Hobbit made an appearance, elves looked serene, people gambled on LOTR trivia...

Merriment was had and awkward prom photos were taken.

It was seriously the birthday party of my dreams! I had so much fun and felt so loved, and I'm pretty sure other people were having fun too. Walnut poked his head out twice, only to decide that there was too much going on for him to make an appearance. So of course I had to steal him afterward for a quick photo.

Come on Mr. Walnut, I can't carry the ring for you, but I can carry you!

Even though I asked for people to bring children's books to donate instead of gifts, Shayna (of course) disobeyed and brought me the exact same kind of Rainbow Brite sheets that I had as a little girl! I loved these sheets when I had them and wanted a Starlite of my own so badly, so I was thrilled beyond belief; I think I might have accidentally let loose with a ringwraith scream in my excitement. And the icing on the cake was the LOTR Pez dispensers from my pastor!



And to keep happiness going...the winner of the Care Bear sheets is Trisha! Please email me with your mailing address as soon as possible so that you can get these sheets by Christmas!

One last picture: Walnut the ethereal elf-cat. 

Posted by at 4:37 PM
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57 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 10, 2012 at 4:49 PM

    From a Wellingtonian who has really enjoyed all the hype of the lotr movies for my hometown (Thankyou Sir Peter!) I applaud your epic party preparation, standing ovation of one from me xx

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    1. MacskaDecember 11, 2012 at 1:56 AM

      I see your standing ovation, fellow Wellingtonian, and raise you (aka we jump onto the nearest chairs/couch/whatever - I can't think of any way to otherwise raise a standing ovation. Hmmm.)

      Seriously, this is fabulous! I am in awe of your attention to detail. (And somewhat freaked out by idea of the Eye of Sauron moving to watch what was going on. Argh!)

      Delete
    2. AnonymousDecember 11, 2012 at 12:36 PM

      :)

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    3. Amy.December 11, 2012 at 12:41 PM

      I join in standing. Bravo and hurrah!

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    4. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 10:20 PM

      Thanks ladies! And I am so jealous of those of you in Wellington who got to see all of it up close!

      Delete
  2. GailDecember 10, 2012 at 4:54 PM

    That's just crazy awesome! I'm so happy you had the party of your dreams!

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    1. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 10:21 PM

      I'm so happy I decided to have it too! It was so much fun getting to exercise my creativity in such a focused way!

      Delete
  3. MollyDecember 10, 2012 at 5:58 PM

    That looks like a super awesome party! I love the last picture of Walnut!

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    1. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 10:22 PM

      He makes an awfully good elven dream-cat, doesn't he?

      Delete
  4. AmandaDecember 10, 2012 at 6:45 PM

    Om. My. Goodness. This looks AWESOME!!! I love the reluctant Walnut photo- so good! So glad that you had a blast. Happy happy birthday! :D

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    1. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 10:22 PM

      Thanks Amanda! And yes, I had such a blast and was so happy at the end of the night!

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  5. BrookeDecember 10, 2012 at 7:07 PM

    Oh. My. Gosh. That Eye of Sauron balloon is absolute greatness! And it sounds creepy cool because of the movement. (You totally need to put one of those up every Halloween in your classroom just to spook the students.)

    Looks like it was a wonderful party! And I love Walnut's eye-roll in the photo of you holding him, hehe.

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    1. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 10:26 PM

      Brooke, that is the best idea ever!! I am totally going to acquire a larger one and put it up in my classroom next year!!

      Delete
  6. AnonymousDecember 10, 2012 at 7:09 PM

    Looks like it was a fantastic party! Hooray for you

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  7. skyleDecember 10, 2012 at 7:15 PM

    I'm impressed as always at your ability to turn recycling materials and furniture into situationally appropriate decoration. Did Eric have to buy pink pants to look more hobbity or is he just a pink pants sort of man now?

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    1. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 10:30 PM

      That's us -- recycling into Christmas trees and towers ftw! It's all Dad's fault, of course, starting with that castle made from an old fridge box. And Eric only bought the pants because they were $8 at Target, but he's been wearing them non-stop now, so I guess that means he's a red pants guy now...

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  8. Neeno - Sew Me LoveDecember 10, 2012 at 8:51 PM

    What a fun party, wish I was there!!! You know how much I love to dress up!
    Happy birthday baby!

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    1. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 10:31 PM

      I wish you could have been there too! I would love to dress up with you sometime!

      Delete
  9. niddetissusDecember 10, 2012 at 9:47 PM

    I hope you realize how awesome you are ;) I'm sure Walnut does. The Hobbit comes out here on Friday - can't wait!! Happy birthday again!

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    1. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 10:31 PM

      Thanks Donna! I can't wait for the movie to come out...I'll be seeing the midnight showing so it's gonna be Thursday for me!

      Delete
  10. AnonymousDecember 10, 2012 at 9:51 PM

    Where to even start. The wooden boxes, awesome. Eye of Sauron, creative genius! The food, awe inducing. The photos, gorgeous and hilarious. Rainbow Brite sheets, the most jealousy inducing birthday present ever (WANT). And Walnut is of course fluffy perfection. What an amazing birthday party, I'm so pleased you had such a wonderful time!

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    1. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 10:40 PM

      If I ever find another set of sheets, I am sending them to you! I wish you could've come all the way over here for my party...it's always nice to have someone else geek out over details with!

      Delete
  11. Jacq CDecember 10, 2012 at 11:04 PM

    I love all the attention to detail, so glad you had your dream party :)

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  12. UnknownDecember 11, 2012 at 3:23 AM

    Happy Birthday! That looks like an epic party, so cool that even the food is in style!

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    1. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 10:45 PM

      Thanks! The food was all my husband's doing; I just had to think of the menu and he executed it perfectly :)

      Delete
  13. lsaspaceyDecember 11, 2012 at 4:38 AM

    OMG, the detail! Looks amazing! I love the movies and can't wait to see the Hobbit. However, I would have failed those trivia games at your party, still would have loved to have been there though. I have to admit I'm late to the Tolkien, I haven't even read the books YET! But constant exposure to your blog is coaxing me along. Perhaps it will be my next series after I finish "The Girl Who..." books (saving Kicked the Hornet's Nest for New Years Eve) Happy Belated Birthday!!

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    1. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 10:48 PM

      Yes!! My blog is doing its job and getting people to want to read Tolkien! Haha no, that's not an ulterior motive at all, but I'll be honest -- I didn't read the books until I heard the movies were being made, but I absolutely fell in love with them when I did! They're not as fast-paced and intense as the "Girl Who..." books, but it's a different kind of absorbing. I wish you could have been at my party too!

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  14. AnonymousDecember 11, 2012 at 6:34 AM

    I hope you enjoyed your party as much and Lily, Dylan and I enjoyed seeing the awesome pictures. We agree Walnut was the hit. Did you hand decorate the cookies? Would love to make these for the next birthday party. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 10:49 PM

      I did decorate the cookies by hand! I actually just posted my recipe if you want to try your hand at lembas too!

      Delete
  15. marcy harriell | oonaballoonaDecember 11, 2012 at 6:54 AM

    HOW FABULOUS that is so not the right adjective for a LOTR party (is fabulous even an adjective?) but i don't have the lexicon for it. or the grammatical knowledge. i digress.

    your party looks like an absolutely amazing time. i love it to pieces that you did it!! THAT EYE IS KILLING ME!

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    1. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 10:58 PM

      Oona, you could make anything into an appropriate adjective, just like how you can make any print into leggings. I wish you were still in LA so I could've invited you, but alas, we are doomed to miss each others' birthday bashes!

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  16. ~ jessicaDecember 11, 2012 at 8:32 AM

    Wow! Everything looks amazing! Happy Birthday!

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  17. Madeline GraceDecember 11, 2012 at 8:43 AM

    This is an amazing idea! I might have to do something similar for my boyfriend's birthday! Thank you for the inspiration!

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    1. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 11:02 PM

      You're welcome! I hope you do throw him a themed party; it was so much fun!

      Delete
  18. UnknownDecember 11, 2012 at 10:39 AM

    Happy belated birthday! What fun!!!

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  19. Meg the GrandDecember 11, 2012 at 10:43 AM

    What a marvelous party!! I love all the little details you added to make it so special, especially the fabulous balloon eye :) Hooray for the Pez dispensers and Rainbow Brite sheet! Those are some seriously fabulous friends ;)

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    1. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 11:03 PM

      The balloon eye was probably my favorite thing to make :) If only I could've had all my sewing blogger friends there too!

      Delete
  20. LynneDecember 11, 2012 at 11:14 AM

    I have been looking forward to reading about your party, and oh my goodness, it looks fantastic!! I love the big eye thingy - a balloon - genius!! And the cookies and shortbread. I'm so glad it went well, and you had a lovely birthday. :)

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    1. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 11:07 PM

      Oh, you are so sweet to say that! I hope it lived up to your expectations ;)

      Delete
  21. Seamstress ErinDecember 11, 2012 at 11:26 AM

    Looks like so much fun! What great attention to detail and so fun to have your friends all get in theme to help celebrate. Hooray!

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    1. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 11:10 PM

      It was really very sweet of them to get dressed up and everything...it was definitely lots of fun!

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  22. AndiDecember 11, 2012 at 2:15 PM

    This may be the best party ever! So glad you had a great birthday!

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    1. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 11:26 PM

      Thanks! I'm pretty sure it was my favorite birthday ever!

      Delete
  23. MindyDecember 11, 2012 at 4:29 PM

    Genius! I've been lurking around your blog for a while and just had to emerge from the shadows to say awesome job on a seriously fun party. And also - props on naming the post 'A Long Expected Party'!!!

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    1. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 11:26 PM

      Aww thanks for delurking to say so! And I really couldn't name this post anything else :)

      Delete
  24. Cation DesignsDecember 11, 2012 at 11:17 PM

    Awww, thanks...although I'm going to have to pass the credit for the balloon on to my sister. She actually thought of it back when ROTK came out and we were getting ready to go to the line party, and she painted one for me to wear!

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  25. ClioDecember 12, 2012 at 9:55 AM

    OMG! Your post had me saying "friend. Friend. FRIEND!" at my monitor. Sadly it didn't open. What a wonderful party!

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  26. AnonymousDecember 12, 2012 at 1:13 PM

    How fun! I'm so glad you had such a great time! Looks like it was quite the shindig!

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  27. aleahDecember 12, 2012 at 2:31 PM

    This looks like an amazing party - you win at theme parties, forever. And I love a good theme party, even if I (gasp) don't totally love LOTR... can we still be friends? Theme idea for next year: Hitchhiker's Guide party? I know you would knock it out of the park!

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  28. nikkiDecember 12, 2012 at 11:14 PM

    the most awesome party ever! i dont know enough people who are into this coolness to pull off a party like this. i love walnut!

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  29. The DreamstressDecember 14, 2012 at 1:03 AM

    Happy birthday again, and what an amazing party! I wish I could have been there!

    Walnut is a gorgeous elf-cat. The most gorgeous of them all!

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  30. SymonDecember 14, 2012 at 8:20 AM

    This is just SO AWESOME!!! I would have absolutely loved to be there, and I would have come dressed in full elvish garb! You really went all out with the decos, and seriously... so genius!! The Eye of Sauron is just brilliant... well well done!! :D You look amazing, as does everyone else, especially Walnut in all his glory :)

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  31. UnknownDecember 14, 2012 at 11:16 AM

    Just saw that I won the Care Bears sheets! SO EXCITED! I am emailing you as we speak!

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