Baby Shower: Strawberries & Sunflowers

This weekend, I had the opportunity to help set-up for a strawberry-themed baby shower.  One of my good friends asked if she could borrow some of my party gear - of course, I obliged.  But I asked if I could take some pictures and feature the shower.  Win-win!

Although this was baby #3, there were lots of bumps along the road for Mommy and she deserved to be sprinkled!  The hostesses provided such a beautiful set-up.  Notice the dangle-bop ribbon they used - it's a small thing that's classy and eye catching.

 

The food was simple - drinks (delicious strawberry basil lemonade) and cracker-topped snacks.  For a fun touch, a chocolate fondue fountain was available to dip strawberries.  Yum!

The cupcakes themselves were a piece of art!  They were so adorable and I'm sure delicious!  The provided the extra pops of color on the shower activity/game table.

I loved the shower games - not over the top (as so many are) but also fun and creative.  They asked the guests to guess Baby Helena's birthday and weight.  An idea like this can extend the party beyond the party itself!  As a host, it's fun to follow-up on a game like this.

The second activity was so cute!  I asked the hostess where she found the idea and she said it's originally a bridal shower idea.  It's perfect for a girl baby shower, too!

The favors were not only perfectly themed, but perfectly packaged and yummy!  This homemade strawberry freezer jelly was the perfect gift to send guests home with.

I loved so many small things about this shower.   The ribbon on the table and the striped red straws added pops of color.  Using mason jars for cups and catching them with the favors.  The pops of green on the cupcakes and jelly jars.  This was such a sweet shower!

Shower Sunday: Tinker Bell Bridal Shower

The best parties are based off personalized inspiration. For this bridal shower, the bride loved Tinker Bell!  So we went with it!

To help tie in with the overall theme, consider using a themed bag or wrapping your gift to match the decor!  It's an easy, small thing that makes the gift table pop!

Yum!  If you've never tried a candy bar for a party or shower, it's so fun and a simple, delicious favor for guests!  In addition to Tinker Bell, we used the colors of the wedding as our shower decor colors - so we purchased as many different kinds of candy in these colors as possible.  It makes my mouth water just looking at these pictures!

Ribbon is a super easy, inexpensive way to add color and character to party staples like drink containers.  This is an example of a small touch with a big impact.

We planned three simple shower games.  (1) Each guest was given a necklace to wear - if they were caught saying "wedding" or "ring", they had to forfeit their necklace.  The person with the most, received a small gift card.  (2) A spin off a traditional "words of wisdom" game, each guest took a jewel or pearl of wisdom.  We went around the circle and each guest offered their words and dropped the jewel into a container that was given to the bride as a keepsake jar for her wedding day.  She can later add petals from her bouquet, pieces from her invite and any other keepsake such as bird seed or a bubble jar.  (3) Finally, we played Disney scategories (sorry, no picture!) where the guests had to come up with alphabetical answers based on Disney themed questions.  As a small thing, we used Disney themed books as the boards guests wrote on.

Another small thing, that can make a big impact on the bride is to ask guests to fill out an envelop with their address to save the bride the time addressing thank you's herself.  It's simple, small and easy!

To tie the color in and add a vertical touch to the decorations, we hung ribbon and beads from the light fixtures and ceiling.  Small, inexpensive and classy!  And of course, we added Tinker Bell wherever we could.  We found a set of 6 Tinker Bell cupcake toppers and hand painted them ourselves to match the colors of the wedding as well as the bride (a brunette).  So fun!

We had a great time planning this shower and watching it come together!  The company was fabulous and the bride enjoyed herself and felt the love - which is what it's all about! 

When you're planning your next party, think about the small things that you can add to make a big impact with a tight budget.  And be creative!

Owl Pillow Box

Inspired by Kerry's Paper Crafts, this project was so fun and turned out fabulous!  To start, you'll need one pillow box (any color).  We got ours from Oriental Trading Company.  Next, cut 15 small circles (feathers), one orange heart (feet), one orange triangle (beak), two ovals (wings), two larger white circles (eyes) and two small, darker circles (pupils).  Start near the bottom of the pillow box, add the feet and three layers of feathers.  Add the beak, eyes and tuck the wings behind the eyes.  Fill with a fun treat (we used trail mix) and give to a friend!

So simple, my two-year old daughter was able to help assemble these fun owls!

It's in the small things!

Shower Sunday: Owl Shower

This gender neutral baby shower came together with oranges and reds to balance out the blues and greens.  The inspiration for the shower theme came from the baby's nursery and bedding. Simple, classy and colorful!  And you can't go wrong with owls!  

The shower was held on a Friday evening and dessert and drinks were the big draw.  You can't go wrong with the classic combination of chocolate and fruit.  Mommy is vegan so all the food was, too!  Look at this gorgeous spread!  The reds and browns really popped!

The centerpiece cupcake tower helped tie the party together.  Guests were asked to paint ceramic owls to be used in decorating the baby's nursery.  The owls came from Oriental Trading Company and were the perfect touch.  It's all about the small things!  I spray painted the owls brown before the shower and outlined the eyes in white and painted the beak orange.  My pre-painting sample was placed atop the centerpiece for a nice, small touch of theme.

I'm not a huge fan of shower games that involve Momma and her belly.  However, I love it when guests have an opportunity to share some parenting wisdom or tips.  With a little twist to that, since Mommy and Daddy are "wise owls" already for baby #2, we asked guests to give advice to baby.  They wrote on small leaves and stuck them to a canvas with a tree painted on it.  After the shower, I modge-podged over the leaves and hung it in the nursery!  So fun, with lots of advice ranging from "Dream Big" to "Brush your teeth" - definitely a repeat for future Baby 2 showers!

The guest book was really a book!  I bought a fun book about owls (It's all about the small things!) and asked the guests to sign the book as a start to Baby's library.  Love this idea!

At the end of the night, we sent guests home with a "It's Been a Hoot!" owl treat box.  The boxes were also purchased from Oriental Trading Company and were decorated using circles, ovals and hearts!  This idea came from Pinterest and was so fun and easy, my three-year-old helped assemble.  They turned out cuter than imagined and we filled them with trail mix.

It's all about the small things!

Color Palette Inspiration

As the mornings turn crisp and the summer fades to fall, this color palette inspires creativity.  I love the blackberry and plum combination - perfect for a fall wedding or maybe a baby shower!  Yes, I think that's it.  Whatever your inspiration - be creative!

Shower Sunday: Duck Baby Shower

When Neyssa was pregnant with her first, we decided to have a duck-themed shower.  This gender neutral theme was perfect for a Mommy who was waiting to find out if Baby was a boy or girl.

 

The food was simple, but gorgeous.  The centerpiece was designed by Brianna and added such a fun touch to the party.

It's all about the small things.  Check out the duck-shaped pineapple!  Simply use a cookie cutter to cut a shape with your own theme!  We also placed rubber duckies throughout the house.

For games and activities, we didn't want to do anything that involved Mommy and her belly.  When guests arrived, we gave everyone a pacifier necklace and each time the words "baby" or "due date" were said, the necklace was stolen by the person who heard it!  It ended up being super fun and it's amazing how you can space out, forget and get caught! The guest with the most necklaces at the end of the party, got a $5 gift card.  Simple and easy for any party.

We also gave words of wisdom to first-time Mommy - with each piece of wisdom, the person added a design to the canvas.  This canvas now hangs above baby's bed!  A fun activity for everyone.

It's all about the small things!

Shower Sunday: ABC Baby Shower

]My baby shower was ABC themed!  They got the idea from the nursery bedding.  Neyssa, Amy and Brianna were the hostesses.  It's always the small things that make the shower theme shine.

The banners added a personal touch and added height to the decorations.

The favors were cookies packaged in small block abc boxes painted yellow.  Even the plates and cups had small alphabet stickers on them!  It's all about the small things!

All of the food was labeled with letters - so fun!

 

The food was delicious and perfect for a lunchtime shower.  

Games: Baby Themed Scattergories

Menu: Soup, honey ham, veggies, fruit, salad, mac 'n'cheese, cupcakes

Favors: Letter cookies presented in ABC Block boxes