Chevrons, Etsy, mustaches, instamatic cameras, sophisticated color palates for children, Eames. Is this a parody?

No, it's Portland.

That was mean of me. I'm sorry.

It looks like he had a great time, especially with that cake (which looked really neat). Good job!

SOOOOOO cute, those cakes!

(Regarding the snark, I kinda wondered what would happen when the old Ohdeedoh party posts would cross paths with ATers!!!)

I'm trying to imagine his h.s. graduation party.

Can't a mommy enjoy what's fun in this world, readying for her first child's first Birthday, and sharing it with such pride and love, without "snarky" troublemakers being so thoughtless and rude???? What's your point of commenting negativity and bitterness?? Why bother spreading your ugliness???
and STAY OUT OF PORTLAND (esp hannasharp..uh you DID want to add to the snark)

Katie, we all leapt for joy and love and our whole department was so excited to see the gorgeous Ronan and the wonderful shots!! You are treasured, your party looked amazing, YOU are amazing xoxoxo

I think it's cute and while it is a little hipster, it's more original than the all the cowboy or circus themes you see over and over. Obviously the kid is one and could care less about the party. The event is totally for the parents so let them be free to celebrate in whatever style they choose.

Very, very cool and creative!

I think it looked like a fun party with a collection of great ideas. the baby is cute, the home looked cute and I imagine the mom had a great time putting it all together. Portland, Ohio, who cares? why look at fun baby party pictures and try to spoil it for a proud mommy? don't look at kids blogs if you don't like it. or go to chuckie cheese

well done mom! cutest baby ever

I love the pom poms on the cake. I'd love to know how they were made or where they were bought.

Wow, this kid's party is way cooler than EVERY party I have ever had and I'm 35. *sigh

@junebug28 - Whoa such harshness from someone claiming to be condemning negativity. Overreact much? The mother already had her fun. I didn't crash the party and stomp all over the cake, I just recognized the obvious - that it was a total trendy hipster party for the adults, big deal, have a little fun with life. I'm sure everyone at the party had a blast, especially that cute little boy and his mother. She got to enjoy it, and then shared it with the world. No need for you to viciously attack people with silly words of "thoughtless," "rude," "bitterness," and "ugliness."
I love your "STAY OUT OF PORTLAND" though. Like "and stay out of the Woolsworth." Stay out of Portland, lest you be attacked by hipsters. There's a trendy coolness rating for that town and I'm not allowed in. Can we form a truce if I admit I love Zooey Deschanel?

The chalkboard paint on everything everywhere trend has grown to include tablecloths now? At least the chevron tablecloth looks awesome.

It looks like this mom put a lot of time and careful thought into this party...but dang, remember when "birthday" was a good enough theme?

I was at this party and it was a lot of fun. the mom had fun, the baby had fun. the kid guests went crazy for the chocolate milk in little bottles,the cupcakes were delish, those who wanted took silly photos. Mom doesn't live in Portland, so, sadly, "no Portlandia" (never watched it so not sure if it's positive or negative). Mom is home all day with a busy baby and it was a fun outlet to design and create this party. It was all done on the cheap and mostly all home made. so Congrats to mom. everyone be nice. it was just a party and we liked it. I hope none of the guests felt "stifled" (really? you would think someone who did fear factor would be ready to enjoy anything!) wow, who knew. we had sandwiches, fruit and wine. guests old and young just hung out and enjoyed it. The baby seemed to enjoy the wrapping paper as much as the gifts!

Wow, guys. This is a kiddo's first birthday party... Ease up.

I know. who knew? why read kid blogs if you can't just look at photos and either enjoy or move on? this mom probably had a blast creating a special moment for her and her baby. way to go, it looks great. I think elephants are fun.

Wow. Um. That's intense.

I wish the AT/Ohdeedoh folks could play nicer together. This is not a "design" post. This is a post on a themed birthday party which used to be standard fare on Ohdeedoh. You just never saw them before unless you went to that site directly. Sure it's a bit trendy/hipster (thinking SE PDX on Portlandia :) ), but so are elements of most of the AT design posts, and in no way does this seem over the top to me. They had fun, baby had a blast, end of story. Again, well done and glad it was what you (and clearly several of your guests) wanted.

Samnotis commented thoughtlessly and then apologized. Isn't that enough?

Like most everybody, I don't like everything I see on this site (or anywhere else for that matter). I never hold back on my opinions, but let the unflattering ones (which I enjoy making tremendously) remain in my head.

Remembering that somebody has put something they love out there for other people to see makes a live and let live approach my best way to go.

AT... maybe this isn't working.

and by "this" maybe I mean civilization, in general.

I thought the first birthday party was supposed to be for the adults. After that it's for the kids. This seems fine for an adult celebration of a first year.

But I really wanted to comment that I agree with SFALI's comment. AT doesn't seem to have been harmed by the new more streamlined web sites but I used to also enjoy Unplggd and OhDeeDoh and haven't enjoyed that since the redesign. They were better as separate sites.

ps. Katie, thanks for sharing Ronan's party.
Yes, it was totally on trend, which will probably make the photos that much more fun to look at in 30 years, when all of it's back in style (and Ronan's kids will think their Grandma's cool).
Seems to me, by throwing the party at home, you kept down costs and what money you spent went mostly to support small businesses. God knows they need it, so, kudos to you.
Also, you should continue to hug, kiss and read to your son despite the fact that he won't remember any of that either.

Sophie from Asheville: Hi! I actually purchased the swizzle sticks at a small party store in Portland that is now sadly out of business. I just did a search on them and apparently they are now discontinued by the manufacturer. However, Martha Stewart has a post on how to make them and they look pretty simple! Hope you enjoy your craft project!

http://www.marthastewart.com/307565/tinsel-drink-stirrers

Best,

AT - look at the fuss over a one year olds party! Please, Bring back Ohdeedoh!

I've been at home with two kids long enough to know that as a paused career woman you NEED these creative outlets. if you're into design, of COURSE you're going to do something like this to save your sanity! and here you are all excited that AT picked it up only to have it picked apart. i've seen some over the top birthday parties, and this certainly isn't one of them. in fact, it's quite sweet.

that being said...a lot of the posts i see on design sites these days seem to be parodies of themselves. so there's that.
and then there is the hilarious tumblr f*** your noguchi coffee table. helps lighten things up a bit.

What a wonderful idea. Why do we all have to give into Winnie or a mouse? I am sorry to see some of the comments above. It is easy to go to a party store and pick out a "theme", it takes creativity, imagination and much more effort to put this together.
High Five!

This is so wonderful! SO well designed and for such a fun occasion.

So, this sort of commenting is why I'm sad that apt therapy combined all of its various sites. I don't think it works.

p.s. Lovely party, it looks like you had a ton of fun!!

Not much of a kids party too me... nice cake but that's it!

@Samnotis: Kids' parties are anyway more for the parents--especially at that age :)

Fallingup-- I hope you refused all monetary reward for parties you thought would, ultimately, remain unremembered, or you deemed to be a waste of a parent's money.

And as a past-professional, your scathing comments about someone else's creative efforts are really surprising.

@patrick (the other one) - Please take it down a notch. Fallingup wasn't saying she was a professional party planner, she said she's done a ton because she's a mother of four. She did not leave any "scathing comments" either. This is what is so irritating now about AT comments, if you leave a comment with anything other than "OMG best thing ever," then the negativity hounds attack. I see such negativity and rudeness and insulting comments from people acting like they're the nice guys with it directed at the people that had the nerve to not love something. Drop the rhetoric.

who cares.

We define "scathing" in different ways, I guess (along with "notches," btw...). If this party had been *my* doing, and I read her comments, I'd feel they were scathing. I'd be insulted that some stranger had judged something intended to be PURELY JOYOUS and called it a waste of my time and creativity, and that it would be forgotten. I stand by my definition.

If I misunderstand she was a professional planner, for that I apologize.

No, it does not have to be ALL sunshine and rainbows and OMGs. But there is also no requirement, whatsoever, to comment on something that is not one's cup of tea.

Well then I think you need to take your view of "scathing" down a notch. That party was not at all something intended to be "PURELY JOYOUS" because if it was, she wouldn't have presented it online for everyone. It was clearly intended to be a joyous celebration for her family and friends, and an expression of herself...that she then wanted attention for (which is not a bad thing, this site wouldn't exist without that). But when you put things out there you're asking to be judged, but there's the risk that the judgement you receive isn't always what you hoped.
Lately, the sunshine patrol has been so harsh and they think it's fine to act like jerks and say childish insulting things because they claim they're defending someone that was unfairly hit with negatively. But really it's just that they're mad someone didn't just say "Yay!"

So, does the same apply for people's living rooms and home decor projects? Aren't those, also, "just for themselves," posted because they are "fishing for compliments"?

Sometimes people post purely out of pride, thinking perhaps their experience holds the potential for inspiration to another.

Yes, it does apply. But, notice how I said, "most" people not all.

I think it was a sweet-intentioned get-together, an outlet, bit 'o fun, nothing more...

And of course one year old parties are for grownups! One year olds would be just as happy plunked in the bathtub with a tub of grass jelly and some cackling toe-licks.

If I ran AP I'd be afraid to post but for the frothing wyverns of disapproval.

uh, AT, that is... AP might unleash another torrent.

Looks like a sweet little party.

That cake? Adorable. Was it iced in fondant? I helped my dear friend make fondant for her son's firetruck cake and it turned out to be more challenging than expected. Draping fondant around a cake looks so easy when you see experts do it.

That cake is the most adorable thing I've ever seen! Lucky, lucky baby. I'm sure all he'll see when he looks back in a few years time is a cute elephant on a cake and chocolate milkshakes in bottles. But in 20 years time he'll be boasting about how cool his parents were with their Eames themed party.

And I'm fairly sure my parents didn't even have a celebration for my 1st birthday. I'm the baby of four kids, so by the time I came along I'm fairly sure they just stuck a candle in my broccoli and sang happy birthday. I would love to have those sorts of photos to look back on!

Erikakn: Thanks! The cake was actually frosted with regular buttercream. I thought it would be easier my little guy to eat. :-)

This party looks like it was fun to plan, fun for the guests, and never lost sight of the fact that it was a celebration of a child's first birthday. The mom mentioned that fact that the centerpiece was a photo of her son posing with his Eames elephant chair (maybe one of his favorite things?). Maybe all the naysayers be happier if this had just been billed as an elephant-themed party. Then they could have commented on how creative it was to use an Eames-inspired elephant decoration on the cake instead of Dumbo.

I have two kids--one's a teenager--and all their parties except three have been at home. I've planned everything from I Spy to Lego to a solar system theme to rock & roll. We put in a lot more heart than money, and this party looks like it was the same. I loved it, especially the milk in little (recycled?) jars w/ straws. Keep it up. What your son will remember is that you CARED to make his parties unique and special.

Actually, Blowingraspberries, you said "What bothers me most about people on AT..." which is quite different than saying "What bothers me about most people on AT..." Just sayin.'

The cake is beautiful. I was a little aghast to see it smushed by the kid...somehow I thought he'd just get a slice and everyone else would be able to enjoy some cake, too. But I see you also had cupcakes, so I guess everyone got to use their sweet tooth. Really loved the little elephant cake topper. Was it edible?

Congrats on a great party and on your sons first birthday! I think you did a great job. When you love somebody so much it's natural to want to do something special for them. I saw mama love all over that party and someday looking at pictures- he will too.

Honestly, who cares anymore? "Just sayin"

dang, you guys are harsh. first thing i thought - "cute party." this really wasn't over the top, it just had some unique touches. if this party isn't acceptable, what exactly would be?

Macbride: I wanted him to have his own special little cake. The cupcakes we had were absolutely delicious though, so we didn't miss out! :-D The little elephant topper was edible. Although, my son didn't eat it. He was too young to crunch through that sucker! :-D I actually saved it because it was just so sweet. I don't remember whether it was gum paste or what.... It was made by Andie's Specialty Sweets. She is really wonderful and her work is AMAZING. Check her out. http://www.etsy.com/shop/andiespecialtysweets?ref=seller_info

Photo credits:
Some of these photos were taken by me and some of them were taken by Remembrance Photography, namely the great shot of my son eating his cake.

http://remembrancephoto.com/

Hi Kathryn, I want to congratulate you on a very original party idea! The style is on trend and personal at the same time. I too am an Eames Elephant lover :) in fact, we gave or 2yr old son one last month for his birthday! One of my readers suggested I see your party because I did a little post about the elephant just the other day, you might like to see it: http://nikkiikkin.com/2012/02/27/1176/ Enjoy!

I think you did a great job! Very creative theme! I love the Eames elephant!!

what a wonderful cake!

Nikkiikkin: Hi there! Thanks so much for the link! What a fun post! Especially love the pictures of your son with his elephant. My son is in love with his and loves to climb all over it as well as inside of it sometimes. It was only natural that his first birthday party be themed on one of his favorite toys.

Kathryn, I think this party is full of love and inspired by your son's favorite toy to boot. If you can't go all out for a birthday party for someone you love, then when can you? Great Job Momma!

I stuck up for some people that were being attacked for leaving harsh comments when they really hadn't and my completely respectful and non-offensive comment was deleted. I then posted about how it's wrong to censor people on here without real cause, and my completely respectful and non-offensive comment was deleted. And then it was again a third time and I know other people's comments were removed that should not have been. AT you should be ashamed at how you treat people! So it's ok to flag someone's comment just because you loved something and they didn't think it was great, AT thinks it's alright to remove that when it's not spam and isn't offensive. But it's not alright to not love what's posted once in a while. This is the kind of behavior that creates the beginning of the downfall of a popular site.

Totally agree with you Roberta!

Love this cake !
What a better birthday present than this Eames elephant poster :)
https://www.etsy.com/listing/100910843/eames-poster-retro-plywood-elephant