Isla’s 4th Birthday | A Mermaid Celebration!

Dive right in, swim this way, it’s Isla Grace’s 4th Birthday!

It wasn’t long after her 3rd birthday party that Isla began planning her 4th! She told me she wanted a mermaid party and we spent many happy hours snuggled up together, looking through ideas on Pinterest. I was having trouble finding a mermaid design to incorporate into the decor that wasn’t either too childish or too mature. Then, as luck would have it, my mom gave me some new notebooks from Rifle Paper Co and one had these adorable mermaids!

This mermaid design became the foundation for the party decor and I built all the colors, details and food around it. I found the same print on wrapping paper, ordered a few rolls, and we made almost everything from those, including the table runner, signage, the cake topper, cup details- and the mermaids even served as inspiration for the mermaid tails my mom made for the girls.

We added a little additional sparkle to the decor with gold sequins and a collection of shells and driftwood Isla found on the beach. We spray painted a handful of the shells gold and they looked so festive!

This large treasure box was the centerpiece for Isla’s party table. We filled it with all sorts of wonderful bobbles fit for mermaids, like gems, strands of pearls, necklaces, rings, and seashells. At the end of the party the girls each got to take home part of the treasure in their own custom treasure boxes (more on this below).

Isla requested a lemon cake this year and I found a killer recipe that simply doctored up a cake mix. I frosted it with a basic cream cheese icing, and decorated the cake with mussel shells that Isla collected and a mermaid cake topper- again, more of that gorgeous wrapping paper. I just mounted the mermaid to a thin piece of cardboard, spray painted the back gold and attached it to a toothpick.

We kept the party food simple, kid friendly, and ocean-themed. We served shells and cheese, peanut butter and jellyfish (we cut the sandwiches out using a fish cookie cutter and added a candy eye), shark teeth and seaweed dip (pita triangles and spinach dip), seafoam (pirate’s booty), driftwood (pretzel rods) and goldfish.

The place cards were made by painting a simple water color wash that matched the mermaid wrapping paper table runner and Isaac hand-lettered them in gold pen.

Isla’s auntie found these adorable mermaid bubbly waters to serve alongside bottled waters.

My mom made these darling mermaid outfits (gold, to match the mermaids in the decor) for each of the girls using sequined stretchy fabric and tulle. They were a hit!

As soon as all the little mermaids arrived we had them decorate their own treasure chests. They painted the wooden boxes with water colors (less mess and they dried quickly!) and then applied sequins and rhinestones with tacky glue. The boxes dried during the remainder of the party, and before everyone left we handed out all the jewelry and goodies from the big treasure chest we used as the centerpiece.

Let’s be mermaids! Next it was time to change into their mermaid attire before eating, opening presents, and enjoying some cake.

Our sweet 4 year old, making a BIG wish!

4 years ago we welcomed the sweetest, smartest, sparkliest, and strongest little girl into the world! Isla Grace, you amaze us daily with your passion for learning, your inventiveness and creativity, your incredible observations, your quirky humor, your expansive vocabulary and impressive conversation skills, your adaptability and understanding, your adventurous spirit, and your beautiful, tender heart. You give us a run for our money sometimes with your sass, but we remind ourselves it’s a sign of your strength and you’ll continue to find ways to communicate with kindness and channel that energy into good. You have brought more love and happiness into our worlds than we ever knew possible and we give thanks every day for the gift of living life with you!!! Happy birthday, sweet girl! We love you more than applesauce 😉

This mermaid was thrilled to have her little shark brother celebrate with her. We are so excited for years of fun birthday parties with these two!

We are so very grateful to celebrated our Isla with a magical birthday party alongside such dear friends and family! You can rest assured that party plans for her 5th birthday are already well under way ;).