DIY – Leah’s Surprise 30th Balloon Birthday Party!
Photos: Edyta Szyszlo
Woweee my friend Leah turned thirty! It’s the busiest time of year for weddings/photoshoots and there’s lots of celebrating as well! So very excited to FINALLY talk about this surprise birthday party that I’ve been co-planning for months! We just returned this past weekend from quite the little diy bash. My bff from college, Leah, lives 2000 miles away from me, and she thought I had to photograph a wedding on her 30th birthday. Little did she know that her fiance and I had a little something up our sleeves! She had no idea that my man, myself and her Minnesota based family were going to be there with tons of food, diy decor and cheer! It all started with an invitation…
Absolutely fell in love with this idea and used as it inspiration. All materials from Paper Source except for chevron bags and custom balloons. The party was held at an art gallery and the decor was disposable/biodegradable, reusable/rented and handmade. Childhood photos strung for viewing and a diy photobooth for creating. Potluck style food!
We still can’t believe that the whole thing remained a surprise for months! Guess our fibbing was pretty good ;)
My dearest Leah: I hope this upcoming year is full of fun, laughter, growth and best of all….love. It’ll be the best one yet ;)
still can’t believe i didn’t know! nice work, lady!
Comment by leah — October 2, 2011 @ 8:43 PM
Wow! this is amazing! what size balloons did you order for the invites?
Comment by Ashley — October 19, 2011 @ 8:17 PM
i believe i ordered the 10″
Comment by Edyta — October 20, 2011 @ 11:31 AM
Did you design the invite yourself? What computer program did you design them on?
Comment by Ashley — October 20, 2011 @ 2:01 PM
yes i did design them myself! i used illustrator for the design because of the vector capabilities. but i’m pretty sure you can use most programs. check out fast balloons website for exact files they accept.
Comment by Edyta — October 20, 2011 @ 2:44 PM
oh my god…those invites are incredible!! actually the whole party is amazing!!
Comment by nuha — October 23, 2011 @ 5:33 PM
OMG! sooo fun. found this on pinterest. So how did you do the photo booth? Would love more specifics on that.
Comment by Rachelle — October 25, 2011 @ 8:42 PM
my intention for the photo booth was the decorate it with fabric strips. but last minute we had several balloon deflate from the humidity. so we push-pinned/taped the balloon strings onto the backdrop. backdrop itself is 2 stand-alone cardboard boxes stacked (about 8 inches in depth) that were sourced from a warehouse. fabric drapped over them
Comment by Edyta — October 26, 2011 @ 9:02 AM
This is adorable and I’m so inspired by those invites! Also, am I taking crazy pills or do I recognize Jeremy and Elsie Larson in one of the photobooth pictures??
Comment by Brigitte - Artsy Heartsy Events — October 26, 2011 @ 5:02 PM
I came across this via Pinterest and I love. The invites are amazing, love the chevron and love how happy your friend was. cute blog.
Comment by stephanie — November 10, 2011 @ 3:53 PM
[…] this generally can be done at a online balloon retailer. Here is great invitation featured on http://www.edytaszyszlo.com. I love the idea of using balloons as a feature for a fun, casual adult party. Invitation and […]
Pingback by Invite Delight: Balloons | Your Creative Side — November 28, 2011 @ 5:54 AM
[…] Birthday Invites I spotted these balloon invitations via Oh Hello Friend. They are the work of Edyta for her friend's 30th birthday […]
Pingback by Collected Blog | — January 5, 2012 @ 1:26 PM
Love this, so much fun and so creative!
Comment by Julie — January 20, 2012 @ 3:57 PM
These invites are absolutely adorable. Where did you order the balloons? Thank you!
Comment by Nicole — January 24, 2012 @ 8:19 PM
nicole – look in the text i’ve listed where i purchased everything!
Comment by Edyta — January 25, 2012 @ 10:34 AM
[…] festive idea for an invitation… the typography is superb as well! So cute! See more of this 30th birthday celebration here. Found via Oh, Hello […]
Pingback by Evernotes Every Friday « Creating For Our Creator — February 3, 2012 @ 7:39 AM
Thanks for the inspiration! That balloon idea is GENIUS! -Ashley with The Simplifiers!
Comment by Ashley Shearman — February 10, 2012 @ 10:29 AM
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Pingback by Inspiración: Un 30 cumpleaños con photocall incluido | Niceparty — February 17, 2012 @ 12:42 AM
[…] Friday, readers! Do you love cute invitations as much as I do? I love this DIY invite. It just says fun to me.One of these zig zag rugs would definitely brighten up my bathroom. […]
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Pingback by Pozov’ me ba! « Radoznalost ubi macku! — March 11, 2012 @ 10:16 AM
Hi,
I love your invite! Any chance you’d be willing to create an design that I could have printed on a balloon for my son’s first birthday party invite? Just a thought…
Thanks!
Kim
Comment by KIM — March 30, 2012 @ 2:06 PM
Oh my! I love this! I am throwing my husband a surprise 30th birthday and I think that I am going to use this ENTIRE party as inspiration (possibly even straight up copy some of it).
What size font did you use on the invite? I have been to the website, but didn’t see any information regarding actual size (other than 10 inches which doesn’t help me much).
Thank you!
Comment by Vanessa — April 4, 2012 @ 1:41 PM
Haha! Thanks! Font sizes ranged from 18pt to 72pt.
Comment by Edyta — April 4, 2012 @ 2:41 PM
[…] must read/look at this blog because I want my party to be EXACTLY the same! Same as in invitations and the look. I have to […]
Pingback by The Dirty Thirty! « The Queen's Babble — April 16, 2012 @ 7:12 AM
What a creative and thoughtful way to celebrate your friend! I love Paper Source! Are those 4-bar notecards you used for the backing of the invitation or did you cut cardstock? If the latter, what are the measurements you used?
Thanks!
Comment by Adrienne — April 18, 2012 @ 8:38 AM
Thanks! Yes, they are the 4-bar cards – girl’s got to keep things easy ;)
Comment by Edyta — April 18, 2012 @ 9:05 AM
[…] Now this is probably my favorite use of rubber stamps and it is so different! These are balloons that were attached to cardstock to make an invitation. They stamped out all the details with white ink and tiny alphabet stamps and then when you blow up the balloon you see all the party details and the type written out. Now it might be a little tedious but look how cool it looks! I bet your guests will never see an invitation this unique again! (via Edyta Photography) […]
Pingback by Party Fun With Rubber Stamps | Occasions Magazine — April 19, 2012 @ 7:22 AM
These invites are amazing! I’m planning a 30th for my bestie! What color did you use for the balloons and was it pastel, standard or jewel?
Comment by Theresa — April 19, 2012 @ 5:53 PM
ah I can’t remember exactly but pink or magenta maybe? def just standard choice on the printing companies site.
Comment by Edyta — April 19, 2012 @ 10:36 PM
well I’ll take that as a huge compliment but I’m not a designer just go with my ‘what feels good’ gut ;)
Comment by Edyta — April 19, 2012 @ 10:38 PM
thx! not crazy pills ;)
Comment by Edyta — April 19, 2012 @ 10:40 PM
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Pingback by THINGS THAT MAKE ME SMILE « AU PAYS DES MERVEILLES — May 23, 2012 @ 10:34 AM
Would you be willing to create a design for an invitation for me that I could upload to fast balloons?
Comment by Mallory — June 7, 2012 @ 8:06 AM
Love this ! Just wondering if you could give me the exact website on where to get these ballons made. The link in the post doesnt see to be working ! Thank you :)
Comment by Ashley — June 7, 2012 @ 12:50 PM
the balloon company is FAST BALLOONS. looks like the website is down but goggle it and you’ll find it!!
Comment by Edyta — June 10, 2012 @ 12:49 AM
thanks for the compliment! i’m not a designer just a photographer with some extra skills ;) better off diy or commissioning a designer!
Comment by Edyta — June 10, 2012 @ 12:50 AM
Love everything about this party! I do have to ask where you found the cups and platic utensils? And where did you order all of those balloons? I’m looking for those exact colors. Thanks!
Comment by Megan — June 11, 2012 @ 8:04 AM
Amazing!!! Question: How much was the postage for each envelope?
Comment by Stephanie — June 12, 2012 @ 8:27 AM
What a great surprise! Love the balloons and the awesome colours!
Comment by Bridelicious — June 22, 2012 @ 6:10 PM
I found this on Pinterest and LOVE it! I love the whole party! I was wondering though, where did you get the Chevron napkins? I have been looking every where for them!
Comment by Brittaney Allen — June 26, 2012 @ 5:39 PM
stephanie – i believe i only put 1 or 2 forever stamps on each!
Comment by Edyta — June 26, 2012 @ 5:46 PM
brittaney – it’s actually just a decor element not napkins. i cut kraft paper as placemats and hand painted with white. but you should try places like acmepartybox.com or shopsweetlulu.com for hot chevron items
Comment by Edyta — June 26, 2012 @ 5:47 PM
Hi Edyta-
I really love the invitations you created for Leah’s 30th surprise party! I am looking to throw a surprise party, and I was wondering where you ordered the balloons for the invites from. I tried clicking on the link but it did not work.
Thanks!
Comment by Stacey — July 22, 2012 @ 9:58 AM
Nevermind!! I just read through the comments haha!
Comment by Stacey — July 22, 2012 @ 9:59 AM
Where is that table runner from – did you make it!?!
LOVE IT =)
Comment by Caitlin — August 2, 2012 @ 2:19 PM
i made the table runner by ripping 3 inch pieces of diff fabrics and sewing them together.
Comment by Edyta — August 8, 2012 @ 3:47 PM
[…] Edyta Szyzslo […]
Pingback by Save the Date Ideas: Printed balloons | Belle & Chic — August 23, 2012 @ 12:41 AM
I’m going to be throwing a sweet 16 birthday party and I’m using these as invitations! I was just wondering how you were able to get the lettering like that on the balloons. Did you add an image with the words or did you just type it on the website? Because i absolutely adore the font and everything! (:
Comment by Taylor — August 24, 2012 @ 7:51 PM
[…] able to transition into our home after the confetti was thrown). The first project was inspired by these invitations that I spotted online and I put our own pink spin on them. See below for your own free […]
Pingback by SMP at Home: DIY Balloon Invitations | Style Me Pretty — August 26, 2012 @ 9:00 AM
[…] able to transition into our home after the confetti was thrown). The first project was inspired by these invitations that I spotted online and I put our own pink spin on them. See below for your own free […]
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Pingback by I is for Invitation Innovation | tenerezeblog — August 27, 2012 @ 9:11 PM
Hi my name is Ava and I’m sorry and I know you’ve answered this a million times but I’m having a party and were do u get the custom balloons?
Comment by Ava — September 30, 2012 @ 7:07 PM
Fast balloons.com, I looked at the comments above :-)
Comment by Nicole — October 2, 2012 @ 4:17 PM
fast balloons.com
Comment by Nicole — October 2, 2012 @ 4:18 PM
These invites are adorable!!!! Is there any way you could you could send me the same design you used for te balloons? I am planning a surprise party for a friend. Please let me know ASAP! Thank you!!!
Comment by Zenaida Espinoza — October 18, 2012 @ 2:41 PM
[…] invitación de cumpleaños casera la vi en el blog de Edita Szyszlo, para una fiesta sorpresa a una amiga que cumplía 30 años. ¡Me gusta la idea de hacer una […]
Pingback by Invitación de cumpleaños casera — February 8, 2013 @ 6:42 AM
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Pingback by ¿Y Tú Con Qué Invitación Te Quedas? | blog — February 24, 2013 @ 4:24 PM
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Pingback by Invitations I Love! | Be Sweet — March 3, 2013 @ 10:11 PM
I love the balloon invitation and would love to use the same format you used on them. How did you do this??
Comment by Camille G — March 5, 2013 @ 10:40 AM
Hi there,
I’m really interested in this idea. How or where did you get the balloons that would say happy 30th with the name.
Your answer is appreciated! :)
P.S. could you please reply by email
Thank you!
-Daria
Comment by Daria — March 29, 2013 @ 8:21 AM
Hi! Beautiful party! Quick question… What is the name of the font used on the balloons? Thanks!
Comment by Monica — April 6, 2013 @ 5:34 AM
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Pingback by {Tuesday 10: Balloons} | Heart.Body.Mind — April 16, 2013 @ 1:53 PM
I love this idea, we did the same thing for my wife’s baby shower invitations. Everyone LOVES how unique it is when you can get balloons printed with custom image and text! Fast Balloon seemed a little expensive, did some research and I went with http://www.hullaballooprinting.com
Best of luck!
Comment by Brandon — April 29, 2013 @ 12:26 PM
I was going to order the custom balloon invitations but the link is no longer working. Would you be able to let me know where they came from if possible? Thank you so much!
Comment by Aubrey — July 15, 2013 @ 5:27 PM
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Pingback by 8 Invitaciones de Boda Muy Originales, ¿Y Tú Con Cúal Te Quedas? | La Boda de Cloe - El portal de bodas de Mi Boda Rocks — March 7, 2014 @ 10:33 AM
how much did the balloons cost? and how did you make the inventations exactly? were looking to do that same inventations! :) can you please respond by email? that would be great !!
Comment by kirstin — March 13, 2014 @ 4:10 PM
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