Oh Baby! Shower Decor...the blog

Valentine's Day Chocolates...with a Twist!

2012-02-10T08:00:00.000-08:00

My latest article over at Tablespoon features fun ideas for Valentine's Treats.

You still have time this weekend to whip up these fun, fruity treats for your sweetie!

Seriously easy & delicious! Check it out here.

Giveaway: What to Expect Package!

2012-02-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

When I was pregnant, the famous "What to Expect Before You are Expecting" book quickly became my go-to resource. And now that I've got a little one, What to Expect the First Year is a book I frequently reach for. All my questions can be answered in these pages.

The kind folks at WhatToExpect.com have offered me an opportunity to share my love for these books with my readers. Two lucky winners will receive a copy of What to Expect When You're Expecting, What to Expect the First Year, and What to Expect the Second Year! This is an awesome set of books to win if you are expecting or already a mom to a little one. If you aren't either of these things, these books would make a great baby shower gift. So everyone should enter!

Here's the scoop on entering:

The giveaway will run through next Thursday February 17th at midnight. I'll announce the winners next Friday the 18th.

You can enter up to 6 times (please leave a separate comment for each & your email address):

1. Follow this blog (or tell me if you already do)

2. Follow me on Twitter

3. Tweet about this giveaway

4. Blog about this giveaway

5. Follow WhatToExpect on Twitter

6. Like WhatToExpect on Facebook

Here's the little snoozer I'm reading about lately...thought you might want to see an updated pic. ;)

P.S. Are you excited for the star-packed movie based on the books coming out later this year? I am! That'll be one worth getting a babysitter for. :)

image via

Real Party: Superbowl XLVI

2012-02-06T06:00:00.000-08:00

As always, our friends Katie and Casey hosted the Super Bowl party, which included the 2nd annual Chili cook-off. This is such a fun day! (And I don't watch a single minute of the game! -- who has time between sampling chilies, tending to baby, and catching up with friends?)

The house & yard looked great as always. I love all the bright colors Katie used in her decor.

There were lots of yummy desserts too. I had a delicious s'more with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup...to die for!

The hosts, and the winners of the chili cook-off!

Please note the homemade spoon trophy by Casey. ;)

The first annual Chili Cook-off can be found here.

And a previous Super Bowl party hosted by Katie and Casey can be found here.

Real Party: Purple Pinwheels 1st Birthday!

2012-02-03T08:12:00.000-08:00

My friend Jocelyn's daughter Maddie recently turned 1, and she asked Lindsay and I to help with a theme and decorations for the celebration.

We had such a great time putting together this pinwheel themed bash for sweet Maddie!

My go-to-graphic designer, Jennafer of Oh Creative One, helped me with a pinwheel graphic that we featured throughout the party.

We made dozens and dozens of paper pinwheels and stuck them everywhere we could think of. We put them in vases, made a chandelier out of them, put them glass vessels, and lined them up along the mantle.

The food table was flanked by balloons and a banner featuring pictures of Maddie from each month of her life. Jocelyn served a variety of sandwiches, salads, and soup for lunch.

Cupcakes were topped with mini pinwheels.

Cute little pinwheel tags were used on the party favors: gorgeous cake pops topped with pinwheels!

I made a little banner for Maddie's highchair. And her mama made the adorable {cup}cake. How cute is the birthday girl?!

Happy Birthday Maddie!

Vendors: (Who all did an amazing job coordinating with our colors and theme!)

Cupcakes: Sibby's Cupcakery

Cake Pops: Sweet Lauren Cakes

Lunch: Urban Bistro

Graphic Design: Oh Creative One

Photography: Lindsay Little

Real Party: Tying the Knot Bridal Shower

2012-01-25T05:00:00.000-08:00

You may remember that I recently helped my friends Megan and Emily come up with a few ideas for the bridal shower they wanted to throw for their sister Katie. (See the inspiration I put together here).

The party they threw turned out amazingly, and I have some pictures to share!

Food:

Lunch was sandwiches and a few varieties of salad. They tied the sandwiches up with knots! Cute knotty labels were on the water bottles too.

Desserts:

Megan & Emily set up a candy bar and a had a few other sweets. I love the sugar cookies with knots of icing! Isn't the color palate beautiful?

Party Favors:

Chocolate and yogurt covered pretzels were the party favors (perfect, don't you agree?). Cute little labels too!

Congratulations Katie! (in the red)

Thanks Megan & Emily for sharing the photos!

Celebrating Chinese New Year

2012-01-23T09:25:00.000-08:00

Chinese New Year begins today. Even if you aren't Chinese, its the perfect excuse to throw another party. :)

I have lots of Chinese New Year style inspiration to share with you today!

But first, make sure you check out my post about the Chinese New Year birthday party we threw last year, if you haven't seen it already. Lots of cute stuff.

Have you seen this fun fortune cookie craft by Martha?

Well, I used them as placecards for my Chinese New Year tablescape. And I found a shortcut!

Rather than gluing ribbon inside the fortune cookie, I used a strip of electrical tape over the floral wire. No waiting for glue to dry! The electrical tape sticks quite well to the felt.

Perfect little Chinese New Year placecards!
(Or for any time of the year you are serving Chinese food!)

One more thing to share... My friend Johanna threw a dragon themed (as in Year of the Dragon) baby shower for her sister in law over the weekend. Here's a few scenes from the party:

I love the idea of "dragon egg" candies as favors.

And that big paper dragon? Lindsay and I helped Johanna put him together last week.

We made a giant paper accordion for his body by gluing together multiple pieces of 8.5x11 inch card stock paper. We scoured each section before folding them over since they were pretty thick. Isn't he fun?

Happy Chinese New Year!
and Congratulations Tiffany & Braz! We can't wait to meet her!

{Resolution: Organization} Pepper Design Blog

2012-01-20T05:00:00.000-08:00

Next up in my series on organization is Morgan, of Pepper Design Blog.

I was originally drawn to Morgan's blog because of the some amazing parties she had helped to throw, but stuck around for much more than that! She shares all about her family's adventures with remodeling & decorating their home, parenting, crafts, and even some fashion. Plus she's always ready with a fabulous tutorial. I also love that Morgan sticks to a budget with her projects. Fabulous designs and parties are even more impressive to me when they are done with a realistic budget.

Morgan was kind enough to share with us where she stores all her goods, and to explain her systems. Here's what Morgan had to say:

I'm honored to be here today as a guest of Sandi's! My name is Morgan and I'm visiting from Pepper Design Blog - a little project of mine that focuses on the remodeling of our family's 1930's home plus a collection of parties, projects and people that inspire me. I'm delighted to share my organizing tips today since I've recently finished arranging my home office's bookshelves.

I work from home nearly full time as the marketing director of a company that's located on the other end of California, so I find it absolutely essential to have a base at the house that will help me stay on top of all of my projects and deliveries. The funny thing is - my home office does that but primarily functions as one giant craft room (shhh - don't tell the boss). While I keep file cabinets and folders full of marketing work, I have reserved 80% of my shelf space to carefully and cleanly layout painting, knitting, sewing, felting and so on craft supplies. These are the things, after all, that really need that designated 'home' or they begin to take over!

You can read all about our little house transformation and how we turned the old 70's kitchen into an office and guest bedroom here (don't worry, we relocated the kitchen elsewhere). Though I must warn you it is still 'in progress'.

But let's get down to organizing and my tips for creating a peaceful space: 1. labeling, 2. boxes, bins & baskets, 3. functionality, 4. room to breathe.

Labeling is my best friend when it comes to organizing a space. For me, it's important to clearly identify a home for each object or I definitely won't remember where to find my hem tape or beading pliers in a snap. I keep a little handheld labeling machine nearby for my file folders, but I find a simple printed label from the computer will do just fine for my boxes and bins.

Speaking of boxes and bins, there are plenty of killer deals to be found on these super helpful organizing tools if you create a habit of consistently checking the sale racks at stores like Target, The Container Store or office supply stores, plus online perusing on those great deal sites. I picked up the brown boxes and metal baskets on my shelves at See Jane Work, the fabric floral boxes at a killer price on One Kings Lane, the white magazine butlers and file bin at West Elm on, and various filing bins on sale at Home Depot and Target. Having an office that is also pretty helps to remind me to put everything back where it belongs at the end of the day (well... I try).

Jars, baskets and containers serve their purpose well on an organized shelf. I keep spools of thread, wrapped up bunches of ribbon and even frequently referred to paint chips in unusual vessels that I've found at garage sales and while thrifting.

My last and final tip is to organize your shelves with two ideas in mind: functionality and breathing room. It's important that the objects you use most often are at an easy reach and are easily accessible. When it comes to styling, I often have to remind myself to allow the objects to 'breathe'. You don't want too many books, high boxes or baskets smashed in next to each other - seeing a decent amount of wall space on each shelf is okay.

I'm no organizing guru - in fact my family would probably laugh if they heard me offering advice on the subject! But from one mom/colleague/blogger to another, I'm learning as I go :).

Thanks, Sandi!

Find Morgan here:

Pepper Design Blog
Facebook
Twitter

If you missed it, check out the behind the scenes peak from GreyGrey Designs I shared earlier this week!

{Resolution: Organization} GreyGrey Designs

2012-01-17T06:00:00.000-08:00

In honor of my New Year's Resolution to continue on the path to organization now that I have a baby, this week's posts are going to be spent discussing getting organized. A few of my favorite bloggers agreed to help me cover this topic, by sharing where and how they store all their party goods.

(Plus I love a good behind-the-scenes peak! Don't you?)

First up is Brittany of GreyGrey Designs.

I've been an avid reader of Brittany's blog for a long time. She throws insanely creative parties of all kinds as a a former wedding and event planner turned work-at-home mom. Check it out if you aren't already following along at GreyGrey Designs.

Brittany was kind enough to share with us where she stores all her goods, and to explain her systems. Here's what Brittany had to say:

Hi everyone!

This is Brittany from GreyGrey Designs.

I run a boutique party planning business out of my home, and so organization is key for me.

Luckily, when my husband and I found this house a few years ago, we were shocked at how much additional storage it had. I have claimed the upstairs bonus room closet as my party/miscellaneous closet. It runs the entire length of the room, so this picture is really only half the closet. That room is also our dogs' room. We have a Great Dane. Trust me, they need their own rooms.

For me, clear Rubbermaid containers are absolutely essential. If you follow my blog, you might see some recognizable pieces from some of my parties! The top right two containers are fabric. It seems that I have 3 or more yards of fabric leftover from every party I do. I have one for glassware, one for paint, one for crafting tools and art supplies, one for miscellaneous serving pieces, one for ribbon, and even one strictly for feathers. I know, right? It may not look organized to you, but I can find everything I need within a few seconds.

Now, this room looks like this right now because I am not in party shopping mode at the moment. But, when I am in party-shopping mode, this closet floor will be littered with Hobby Lobby bags!

Hope you enjoyed this peek into the party skeletons in my closet!

Find Brittany here:

GreyGrey Designs

Facebook

Pintrest

Resolution: Organization

2012-01-16T09:36:00.000-08:00

This week's post are all about something near and dear to my heart at this time in my life.

Anyone who has kids knows that one thing a baby means for your life is tons of STUFF.

With the addition of a baby and all her stuff to an already full house, my husband and I have spent much of this past year just trying to get organized. And being a girl who loves to craft and throw parties, I already had lots of stuff before Mia came along.

In honor of my New Year's Resolution to continue on the path to organization, this week's posts are going to be spent discussing getting organized. Some of my favorite bloggers agreed to help me cover this topic, by sharing where and how they store all their party goods later this week.

Welcome to the series I am calling:

An article on Parents.com that I spotted recently about organizing your pantry sparked my attention. Many of the items they featured could be used outside the kitchen and applied to storing crafty party goods.

This two-tiered turntable by Oxo is perfect for storing lots of things. In the kitchen I could use it for my collection of sprinkles and cupcake liners. But beyond the kitchen, its perfect for jars of beads or buttons. I like the idea of spinning to search for an item rather than digging through a big box.

This organizer is would make finding pens, scissors, and glues easy.

Come by tomorrow to see how a blogger you know stores her party supplies!

PS If your resolution had more to do with getting healthy, check this out! Lots of tips!

New Year's Eve Potluck Recipes

2011-12-29T13:03:00.000-08:00

Last year's New Year's Eve party was epic. Please check it out!

With so many new babies in our group of friends, this year will look quite different. I'd be surprised if we even last long enough to see the ball drop.

But if you are headed to a house party...you've got to check out my latest post to get some recipe ideas!

Have a tasty, safe, and fun New Year's Eve everyone!

DIY Idea: Plaid Coasters

2011-12-28T07:00:00.000-08:00

Every year I like to make something homemade to give at Christmas.

(Here's a post about the pesto I made 2 years ago. And here's a post about the apple butter I made last year. )

This year I made coasters.

And they were surprisingly quick & easy. Here's the DIY instructions:

Supplies needed:

Cork boards

Felt in 2 colors

Tacky Glue

Rotary cutter

Cutting mat

1. Cut cork boards into 4 inch squares using rotary cutter and cutting mat.

2. Cut 1 inch x 5 inch strips of felt. Cut 4 strips of 2 colors.

3. Starting in the corner, glue the strips in place. Overlap each strip to make a plaid pattern with the alternating colors. Put glue between each layer.

4. When all the strips have been glued into place, turn the coaster over. Use the rotary cutter to cut the excess felt around the sides.

5. Ta-da!

I made a few different sets with different colors of felt -- and forgot to take pictures!

They were quite cute when tied up with bow -- which I also forgot to take pictures of.

If I wasn't a busy, sleep deprived new mom, I would have paired them with a bottle of wine or some coffee...but alas that did not happen this year.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T11:30:00.000-08:00

Our 2011 Christmas Card

Wishing all my readers the merriest of holidays!

Thank you for sticking by me this year! Love to you and your family.

photo by Philip Dhillon

Cookie Party How-To's

2011-12-19T05:30:00.000-08:00

Cookies are the perfect reason to throw a party during the holidays.

My friends and I usually get together and do a cookie baking party.
(You can read about the last couple here and here.)

I wrote up how we do this for Celebrations.com -- check it out!

You can also do a cookie decorating party. (Sometimes this is included in our cookie party too!)

I wrote about how to do this for Tablespoon -- check it out!)

And of course, the most popular way to do a cookie party this season is a cookie exchange. (My mom and her friends have been doing one since before I was born!) A few of my fav bloggers had some great inspiration for throwing a lovely cookie exchange. (See here and here).

How do you celebrate cookies this time of year?

DIY Idea: Holiday Wreath & an Introduction

2011-12-12T06:30:00.000-08:00

Introducing: Mia Danielle

Born on Thanksgiving day...we are so thankful!

What a crazy whirlwind these last couple weeks have been.

I won't leave you completely hanging while I'm in baby land though...

Here's a fun idea for a DIY wreath! This one is super easy -- even a brand new mom can do it!

Check out all the details here.

DIY Ideas: Cranberry Holiday Decor!

2011-11-28T05:00:00.000-08:00

Have you started decorating your house for Christmas yet? I like to do it the weekend following Thanksgiving...I don't encroach on turkey day, but I get the maximum amount of time out of those decorations.

Whatever your personal schedule is, I have a few ideas for you to try this year...all involving cranberries!

Check 'em out here! And let me know if you try any.

{Nursery} Pink & Green Apples: Part 2 The Reveal

2011-11-22T08:30:00.000-08:00

The nursery is done! And my baby girl should be here any day!
I had so much fun designing her room. (Please see yesterday's post for more information about the process and inspiration).

I am so excited to share her Pink and Green Apples Nursery with you!

I've have a picture of each area of the nursery, and then I'll show close ups of the some of the details and sources.

Crib

The quilt was a gift from a family friend. It has a beautiful flower pattern on it that I just love.

One of my favorite things in the room is the adorable apple mobile that my friend Lindsay made. She gave it to me at my baby shower. Isn't it amazing? Did you notice the one apple that has a worm? :)

I hired someone to make a crib skirt for me with the fabric that I found. I ended up having her make the skirt out of 3 panels that are tied to the crib separately, allowing them be adjusted as we lower the crib. (I found this idea here). I am so happy with this as it allows hidden storage. I've got all kinds of plastic storage containers under there, and they'll stay hidden at every crib height without the skirt bunching up.

Sources:

Crib: Target

Crib Skirt: custom made by Sharon Bechtol

Crib sheet: Babies r Us

Dresser & Changing Table

We decided to use the top of the dresser as our changing to table to maximize space and function. I knew I wanted to use a specific dresser from Ikea, and was stoked when I found it at a deep discount and in good condition on Craigslist.

The curtains were the very first project I tackled for the space. They are definitely the most complicated thing I've ever sewed. They make the whole space seem cheerful. (Just don't look too carefully at the stitching...there's some mistakes for sure!)

The drawers in the dresser are packed to the brim with adorable little girl's clothes. So to keep the top of the dresser from getting too cluttered, I made this little hanging pocket for the side to hold some of the diaper changing necessities. (Thank you to Lindsay for this idea!)

Sources:

Dresser: Ikea via Craigslist

Changing pad cover and organizer: Babies R Us

Storage Shelves & Rocking Chair

This shelving unit was ideal for this corner. It fit perfectly and gives us lots of storage options. I love that the baskets hide the clutter of toys and blankets. I've stashed extra sheets and changing pad covers in there also so I can grab them quickly. This is definitely a piece that can grow with our baby.

The chair was handed down from my mom. It was used when I was a little girl. I had the cushions custom made with more of the fabric.

The heart picture is a pillow case that I found and framed.

How could I resist this apple? I'm using it as a bookend for now.

Sources:

Shelf: Ikea

Baskets: Ikea

Apple: Home Goods

Chair cushions: custom made by Sharon Bechtol

The Guest Bed

I mentioned yesterday how we have a trundle bed in the nursery that will act as guest bed.

I was going to sew some kind of duvet cover with some curtains I had...and then I stumbled upon some pink bedding and sheets that were on clearance. That allowed me to cross an item off my long to do list. The bedding was so cheap that if we don't end up using it for long it won't be a terrible thing.

Though I do have to say that I giggled when one of my husband's friends stayed with us and crawled into the pink sheets to go to bed at night. :)

I used all the time I saved on the duvet cover to re-cover some throw pillows we had.

And instead of making a duvet out of the curtains, I just shortened one and used it to at the closet. Its kind of small opening to this closet, and there hasn't been a door on it as long as we've lived here. Now some of the inevitable closet clutter is hidden. And the extra fabric from the curtain became a throw pillow on the bed.

I also framed some fabric swatches and added pictures of my husband and I and our dog to make a little collage above the bed. The solid pink framed fabric is from the pillow sham in the clearance bedding set. The fuchsia fabric is from the back of the heart pillow case framed above the storage shelf. No fabric went to waste in this nursery. :)

The two blankets were gifts handmade by my friends Drea and Megan. I know my daughter will love them as much as I do.

Do you see the green apples in the circle quilt? Love!

My other favorite item in the nursery is this print I had custom made. The seller, Fern Tree Studios, was so great to work with!

Sources:

Bedding: Target

Frames and shelf: Ikea

Apple of my Eye Print: Fern Tree Studio

Now all we need is a baby to add to the finished nursery! ;)

PS If anyone that lives locally is looking for an amazing seamstress, email me and I'll pass along contact info for Sharon Bechtol. She was incredible!!

{Nursery} Pink & Green Apples: Part 1 The Inspiration

2011-11-21T05:00:00.000-08:00

I'm so excited to finally share the nursery I've been working on for the past several months!

Today's post is to give a little background and share some details about my inspiration.

A few years ago we bought a black trundle bed for the 2nd bedroom to act as a guest bed. With real estate being so expensive in the area where we live, the guest bed will have to stay in the nursery. So all the nursery furniture needed to coordinate with the black bed.

So the goals for the nursery were:

1. Furniture and colors coordinate with the black trundle bed.

2. Incorporates a subtle green apple theme. I say subtle because I wanted to incorporate apples, but I didn't want any of the over-the-top apple fabrics that I'd seen. (There were lots of cute ones, but they were all just too much for anything bigger than a dish towel. And I originally (and mistakenly) thought I was having a boy, and didn't want it to be too girly.)

3. No traditional bedding sets. Besides the fact that I've never seen an apple one that I liked, I knew I wanted to do something a little more original and crafty.
4. Create storage space! I'll say it again: our house is not big. Therefore I needed to create places to store the many items a baby causes you to accumulate.

5. Stick to a budget! I wanted to DIY what I could, look for furniture on the cheap, etc.

I'd perused a few of my favorite nursery sites for inspiration when I was starting the process.

In case you are wondering, my favorites are:

Project Nursery

Lay Baby Lay

Nested

Chic & Cheap Nursery
Spearmint Baby

I was very inspired by this photo:

via Project Nursery

I loved the bold colors, patterned curtains, and the adorable Jonathan Adler lemon pillow reminded me of an apple.

The day after we found out we were having a girl, I was browsing at JoAnn's fabrics and stumbled upon 2 fabrics that I fell in love with. I wasn't even sure what colors I wanted to use at that point, and was leaning toward some turquoise after the above picture caught my eye. But when I saw these fabrics, I knew this was it. And they were on sale for 50% off for one more day, so I had no time to second guess my decision! (Of course, if you remember the posts about my wedding & reception, you'll know that I tend to be drawn to these colors. I just can't get away from them!)

(This is the picture I took on my phone to send to a few girlfriends with a "Should I do it?" text.)

I was a little nervous because it was upholstery fabric (which I have never worked with before, completely novice seamstress that I am), and it had to be custom ordered and was therefore final sale.

But I was lured in by the 50% sale and committed right then and there!

And then the work began... (to be continued)

Christmas Tree Party

2011-11-18T12:49:00.001-08:00

I am not one of those people who believes in starting Christmas decorating before Thanksgiving. One holiday at a time is typically my motto.

However, I do want to share an idea for a holiday party with you that is best if thrown the first weekend or two in December. I'm not advocating starting your decorating or Christmas-music-listening until after Thursday! But, its never too early to start planning your next party.

I wrote up all the details of how to throw a Christmas Tree Hunting Party over at Celebrations.com. I threw this party a couple years ago, and it was a blast! Check it out!

Just a little tree inspiration from my house a couple years ago...

(This little guy is soon going to be sharing the spotlight with a baby sister!)

And now I promise: no more mentions of Christmas from me until at least next Friday!

DIY Idea: Turkey Cupcakes

2011-11-15T15:08:00.001-08:00

I am officially off work and awaiting the arrival of our little girl. (I wish she'd hurry up! I'm notoriously early to events, and I'd love it if she'd take after me on this!)

In the mean time, I'm staying busy running errands and finishing up her nursery. (Which I can't wait to share with you!)

Its strange this year to not make any real Thanksgiving plans. We could be in the hospital at that point, or we could be still waiting for her to make an appearance. (Her dad and I would definitely prefer to not be eating hospital food on this holiday, for the record).

I did make some cute turkey cupcakes though. These guys are easy & cute, and would be the perfect to bring wherever you are spending your holiday. And the kiddos can help, which is always a bonus.

You can get all the instructions for making these guys here.

And seriously, check back sooooon for my nursery reveal!

Butterfly Centerpiece

2011-11-08T06:14:00.000-08:00

I recently helped to throw a small bridal shower for a coworker. I was in charge of some of the decorations for this quick little potluck shower.

I fell in love with these butterfly napkins at a party store.

I used them as inspiration for the color scheme and the centerpiece.

This centerpiece was oh-so easy and I was really happy with the way it turned out. I found some wire butterflies at Michael's that worked with the color scheme. I attached them to thin wood dowels with glue dots and added them to a simple flower arrangement. I used a bronze vase I already owned. Simple!

Congratulations Ruby!

I can't wait for the wedding!

Quick and Easy Holiday Recipes

2011-11-07T05:00:00.000-08:00

I've compiled what I consider the ultimate list of quick & easy holiday eats.

Its a good one to keep on hand with all the parties this season brings!

You'll want to bookmark this one!

Click here.

And then feel free to share!

Are there any you would add to the list?

Real Party: Gray & Yellow Luncheon Baby Shower

2011-11-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

My friend Leslie is expecting a baby boy. We threw her a lovely little shower in Lindsay's backyard a few weeks ago. We tried to make the decor appeal to Leslie's style. We decided rather than do a specific theme, we'd concentrate on a color scheme she likes. We settled on gray and white, with touches of yellow.

First off, I have to give a serious shout-out to Jennafer of Oh Creative One. She helped with the invitations and other printables for the party and did an awesome job. She was super fast and made any tweaks I requested almost instantly. It was a pleasure to work with her.

Appetizers and drinks were out when guests arrived.

Foods were based off some of the mom-to-be's favorites. We had a cheese plate, pigs in a blanket, and tomato bruschetta for appetizers.

We strung a line of onsies over the appetizer spread. Our friend Alana found these perfectly colored onsies at Target.

Lindsay's re-purposed window-turned-pin-board held baby pictures of the mom and dad-to be. Too cute!

We set up two long tables in the yard for guests. I made some runners out of gray fabric. Alana made floral centerpieces.

We had the cutest tented place cards made by Oh Creative One.

Lindsay made little fabric covered jars of candy for each plate. Crisp white linens and pewter napkin rings finished the look.

We decorated the area around the tables with ribbons and a garland. Lindsay sewed the circle garland and we strung it between trees. We also hung ribbons from trees.

I've mentioned on this blog before that my friend Leslie is a total celebrity nut.
(We played a celebrity themed game at her bridal shower.
And if I remember correctly, she actually won when we did it again at this shower, but we disqualified her since she won the first game.)
So, we had to have a celebrity game at her baby shower also.

Drea whipped up some this cute game and everyone had a lot of fun trying to name the babies and their celebrity parents. Guess who won? The mom-to-be of course! :)

We also had guests write a message to the baby in a children's book.

We chose Frederick mostly because it matched our color scheme, but what an adorable book to help start the baby's library.

Lunch was served next.

We had a "slider bar". It was adorable and yummy!

We had both beef and veggie sliders with all the fixin's.

We served Caesar and kale salads.

We also had mac & cheese and potato chips (served in cones -- thanks to Katie!).
No one went hungry at this shower!

With all the yummy food, I was afraid that no one would eat my dessert.

Luckily that wasn't a problem!
These push-pops were so fun to make! I just layered chocolate chip mint ice cream and chocolate cake (with a little frosting mixed into make it sticky), and then topped them with whipped cream.

Party favors were Deb's homemade caramel corn.

Embellished with stickers by Oh Creative One.

Congratulations Leslie! I cannot wait to meet your little man!

Halloween Baby Shower Cupcakes

2011-10-31T05:30:00.000-07:00

My friend Leslie had a baby shower this weekend, thrown by several of her mom's friends.

I had to bump my original post planned for today to show you the adorable cupcakes that were served at the shower.

The hostesses decided to go with Halloween-themed cupcakes since the shower was held a couple days before Halloween. The toppers were made by the talented Lynlee's Petite Cakes.

And they were adorable!! There were cute pumpkin toppers, and the mom-to-be's last name spelled with pumpkins.

I love the ghost-onsie.

And the pregnant witch is my absolute favorite!
You can see the full collection she made for the party here.

Mom-to-be and the pregnant witch! Too cute! Congrats Leslie!

These cupcakes would go very nicely with several of the little pumpkin baby shower ideas that I posted recently...check those out here.

Check back tomorrow to see Leslie's other shower.

Pumpkin Carving Party!

2011-10-28T07:18:00.000-07:00

Are you having one this weekend?

It's not too late!

Visit my Tablespoon blog for ideas on how to throw the perfect carving party!

Thanks for visiting, as always. :)

DIY Idea: Thank You Gifts

2011-10-24T05:45:00.000-07:00

My coworkers threw me an amazing surprise baby shower last week. And I was completely surprised, which was so much fun.

I wanted to do something nice to thank everyone who contributed and bought our baby girl gifts, and I wanted to do something more than just standard thank you notes. But there were a lot of people I needed to thank.

So, I decided to whip up simple little treats and package them to hand out. They went over SO well that I thought I'd better share them!

I made Pretzel Turtles, which are quick & easy...and people loved them.

I essentially followed this recipe. These were perfect little treats because its easy to make a huge batch all at once.

Paired with some printables from a blog I love: InkSpot Workshop, they looked pretty darn cute!

Pretzel Turtles would be a great addition to any holiday baking you may have planned!

Inspiration: Tying the Knot Bridal Shower

2011-10-13T05:30:00.000-07:00

My friend Megan recently asked me for some ideas for putting together a "Tying the Knot" bridal shower.

I decided I'd share what I came up with for this cute theme with everyone!

Decorations for this shower all involve yarn!

I love the yarn balls strung from the ceiling, forming a kind of knotted chandelier (as spotted on Hostess with the Mostess). I found some great DIY instructions for making these here.

I made these yarn wrapped vases for a baby shower a few months ago. DIY instructions are here.

The possibilities are endless for this yarn-wrapped word. The couple's names or initals or the wedding date are fun options. Or Love like the one featured here is perfect for a bridal shower. Great DIY instructions are here, by Family Chic.

Lastly, a bowl full of yarn balls is the perfect centerpiece. Hostess with the Mostess has DIY instructions here. (I've made these before and used a straight pin rather than a glue dot, and it worked great as well.)

A few other ideas:

Purchase a length of rope from a home improvement store.

Tie knots in the rope.

Run it down the center of a table, or a long a fireplace mantle.

Hang pictures of the couple from a thin knotted rope.

Licorice comes in almost any color you can think of. Licorice knots would make perfect cupcake toppers for this bridal shower! Thank you Fete Fanatic for this inspiration.

Martha Stewart shares the recipe for these "Wedding Knot" cookies here.

Napkins should be tied into knots, of course.

Pretzels are the perfect knotted food. Pretzel snack mix served in cute cones is a great appetizer. Chocolate covered pretzels would make great cupcake toppers. They also make great favors. These are packaged from a set of "tying the knot" printables by Nellie Design, available here.

Sandwiches make a great main course for this shower, as they can be wrapped in parchment paper and tied with a knot. (These are from a shower I threw).

I love this theme! Am I missing anything?

Real Party: Cowgirl Baby Shower

2011-10-12T08:27:00.000-07:00

Several of my girlfriends threw me a Cowgirl themed baby shower a few weeks ago. It was incredible!

They used this invite from Etsy, but had the colors adjusted to fit their vision for the party. I was so excited to see what they had up their sleeves after receiving this in the mail!

The shower was held in my friend Lindsay's backyard.

Two long tables were set-up for a sit-down brunch. I loved the burlap runners, mason jars holding babies breath, and pink party poms in the trees.

Each seat at the table had a cute little cowgirl boot place card, a pink napkin tied with a gingham swatch, and a card of wishes for guests to fill out. What a wonderful keepsake for me to have!

The food, and presentation of the food, was amazing. My friends are very good cooks, and everything was homemade and delicious!

The appetizers consisted of mini croissants, scones, coffee cake, donut holes, and yogurt parfait. Everything was to die for!

Mason jars served as drinking glasses. Lemonade, water, and tea were available.

Lindsay converted an old window into a pin board and used it to display sheriff badges for all the guests. This served as the backdrop for the appetizer display.

And a sweet bunting banner hung over the display.

After guests lingered for awhile, the actual brunch was served. (After all those apps? I know!) My girlfriends made a chili cheese egg puff, happy potatoes, turkey sausage, and spinach salad. Again: YUM!

The recipe for happy potatoes can be found here. Trust me, this is one you should include in your next brunch.

The party favors were, of course, Bakerella's famous Cowgirl Cookies. Too cute!

Thank you so much to all the girls who made this incredible shower happen!

Lindsay, Janelle, Jeani, Drea, Katie, Leslie, and Deb!

Between this shower, and the nesting shower I shared a few weeks ago, this baby girl is LOVED!

Maybe a new record? For us I think it is:

8 pregnant guests at the shower!

I'm waiting for the first one to pop - any day now! :)

Fall Party

2011-10-03T11:03:00.000-07:00

I am recovering from a baby shower yesterday. I can't wait to share all the details of the shower we threw for our friend Leslie. I think you'll love it!

Here's something to hold you over until I am back on my feet (note to self: throwing showers while in one's 3rd trimester is tiring)...

A fun idea for a fall party! Here's your hint:

Click here for all the how-to details.

There's been lots of fun stuff happening over at Tablespoon lately...party ideas, must-try recipes...head on over!

Inspiration: Pumpkin Baby Shower

2011-09-27T07:18:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to throw a pumpkin themed baby shower for a friend. The timing hasn't worked out yet, but in the past week 2 separate readers have reached out to me asking for ideas for Fall or Halloween showers...so I thought I'd put together an inspiration board. Maybe someday I'll get to use it myself. :)

There are so many fun invites you can use for a pumpkin theme. I love these by Oh Creative One. (Its technically for a bridal shower, but I've worked with this designer before and she is very flexible and can make changes you request no problem.)

A classic pumpkin-themed tablescape by A to Zebra Celebrations, spotted on Hostess with the Mostess). Love the brown and orange linens and the pumpkin garland.

Natural elements are a must for decorating for this shower. Acorns, flowers in oranges and yellows, mini pumpkins, and gourds are perfect! (my photos) You can also incorporate pine cones and fall leaves.

Pumpkin foods are perfect. Serve lunch of a hearty stew and flaky rolls. Followed by pumpkin desserts...like these Cheesecake Filled Pumpkin Cupcakes by Rachael Ray. (Yum!) Pumpkin cakes, pies, cookies, pudding...the possibilities are endless. Don't hesitate to make a dessert bar with all of the above and some pumpkin candies thrown in! (All of these items make great party favors as well).

A children's book that doubles as a guest book is a must at a baby shower. (Seriously - you must do this at the next shower you throw. People love it, and its such an easy way to carry through your theme.) I thought this book called Pumpkin Pumpkin worked well with my board, but any pumpkin or fall or even a Halloween book would be great.

Pumpkin onsies can double as a gift and decoration. Baby stores have plenty of these in the fall, or you can try Etsy for some extra special ones. Make a banner by stringing them on a line.

For a game, gather some pictures of the mom-to-be in her Halloween costumes as a child. (Ask Grandma-to-be for help!) Post the pictures at the party, and have guests guess her age in the different pictures. This is a great way to get the crowd laughing.

What other ideas do you have for a pumpkin-themed affair?

Real Party: Nesting Baby Shower

2011-09-19T07:24:00.000-07:00

If you've been reading this blog for the last few months you know that my friend Lindsay and I are both expecting. Our high school girlfriends threw us a joint baby shower earlier this summer. And it was amazing! I'm so excited to finally be able to share the pictures!

My friend Megan made the adorable invites, which set the scene for the nesting theme.

There was a banner for each of our babies.

The food table was gorgeous.

My most favorite detail was the 2 bird houses painted for each of us and hung above the food table. Aren't they adorable?

Lunch was tea sandwiches and assorted salads.

Our friends also baked up a storm!

Vanilla cupcakes, bird nest sugar cookies, grapefruit sandwich cookies, lemon tarts were just a few of the desserts.

Around the house were flowers, birdhouses, and bird nests.

Linds and I opened amazing gifts for our baby girls from friends and family...

...and then played the best game I've ever played at a baby shower. With the help of our friends Deb and Leslie, our husbands were secretly interviewed on camera about our pregnancies and parenthood. We had to guess how they would answer. It was hilarious!

The boys were very good sports. :)

Party favors were individually packaged macaroon cookies from one of my girlfriends' favorite bakeries.

Lindsay and I with our hostesses: Linnea, Marci, Megan, and Morgan. Love those girls. :)

Thank you so much for the amazing shower! I could not have asked for anything more.

Photos by Morgan McGinn

Tea Party Sip and See Party Favors

2011-09-15T07:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I shared a tea party sip and see that I had attended recently.

The hostess Julie asked me to help with the party favors.

I decided to make cupcakes in mason jars.

Didn't they turn out cute?

I put stickers on the top..."Welcome Addison" over a subtle teapot graphic, as a nod to our tea house location.

They were a hit!

I used this cupcake recipe, and this frosting recipe.

Real Party: Tea Party Sip & See

2011-09-14T15:38:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I attended an extra special Sip & See. My friend Adrienne just adopted a baby girl and it was a party to celebrate both of them. Adrienne's friend Julie was the hostess.

Julie used this invitation from Tiny Prints.

Julie found the perfect spot to hold the party. This venue is so amazing on its own that a hostess doesn't need to add a single thing to decorate.

Crown & Crumpet Tea Room is in San Francisco's famous Ghirardelli Square.

Check out some scenes from this amazing venue:

We sampled assorted teas and had some traditional tea party foods: tea sandwiches, crumpets, scones...YUM! (I had no idea what a fan of crumpets I am!)

And then Adrienne opened gifts for her baby girl. I hear Dad is trying to figure out how to add onto the house to hold all the new clothes she received. :)

Congratulations Adrienne!

And Welcome Baby Addison!

Check back tomorrow to see the favors I made for the shower!

DIY Idea: Baby Shower Gift

2011-09-08T06:55:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned a few times how many baby showers I have coming up. This weekend they are officially starting. I have one on Saturday and one on Sunday.

Purchasing gifts for all these showers in such a short time can get expensive (especially when I'm getting ready for my own baby!). So I decided to make something to go along with store-bought gifts, to make my money go a little farther. I settled on ribbon tie baby blankets. What a fun little project! And I hear babies love them, with all the colors and textures.

Let me warn you that I am not a seamstress by any stretch of the imagination. I have a basic skills with a very basic sewing machine. (I've never even used a pattern before.) I took a few wrong turns with this project, but I finally figured out a method that works well and doesn't take too long. Thought I'd share it with you!

1. Cut the front and back panels of fabric. (I did 13 inches x 13 inches) I used a soft material (which I'll refer to as the back) and a regular cotton (which I'll refer to as the front).

2. Use an iron to crease the edges of the front fabric.

3. Pin loops of ribbon around the outside of the front fabric. Place the pin near the base of the ribbon loop.

I used 16 total ribbon loops, or 4 on each side. Use a variety of colors, textures, and patterns.

4. Sew each ribbon loop to the front panel.

Sew the outside edge first. Then remove the pin.

Continue sewing around the base of the ribbon loop to anchor it. Lift the "foot" at each corner and swivel the fabric around the needle until you have sewn a complete square.

5. Repeat until all 16 ribbon loops have been sewn to the front panel.

6. Place the front and back panel together. The back panel will be slightly larger, which is what you want.

Pin them in place with a few pins.

7. Switch your sewing machine to a zig-zag stitch. Stitch the front and back panels together. Try to get the stitch at the very edge of the front panel.

8. When the panels are sewn together, cut the extra fabric from the back panel as close to the front panel as possible.

Ta-da!

Here's the finished product from the front and back:

And I made a second one, since I have two showers to attend this weekend:

I love the way they turned out with all the different ribbons! So many fun color combos you can use. I have plans to make many more in the next month or so... :)

***

And...we have a winner of last week's giveaway!

I'm happy to inform Bethany Freitag that she has won a $25 credit to Sweet'n Treats! Congratulations Bethany! And thank you to everyone who entered!

Dinner Party Round-Up

2011-09-01T06:01:00.000-07:00

I've attended a few photo-worthy dinner parties over the last few months that I thought were worth sharing. Either beautiful food or creative menus have earned these a spot on the blog today. Enjoy...

Leslie hosted a few couples one night for dinner. We dined on roasted garlic chicken, crusty french bread, smashed potatoes fried in duck fat, green beans, brussel sprouts (my contribution). Lindsay brought homemade tarts for dessert. Yum. I still think about those potatoes...

During Lindsay's first trimester she had crazy cravings for Greek food. During that time she decided to host "Falafel Fest" at her house. It was delicious! She fried up homemade falafels, and had all the fixin's to make yummy pitas. And of course french fries and my Greek salad on the side. I'm hoping her craving comes back, because this is a party I'd love to repeat!

Lastly, Lindsay had a small gathering where we barbecued several different kinds of pizza. Not sure how, but Katie, Lindsay, and I ended up in charge of the grilling (I usually leave that up to my husband!), and it was quite an adventure. We made 3 different pizzas, I brought a salad, and Katie brought a cobbler. It was really fun to do pizzas this way and the crust ended up very crispy.

Are you inspired?

Don't forget to enter the giveaway of $25 to Sweet'n Treats! Click here to enter.

Giveaway!

2011-08-30T07:31:00.000-07:00

I received lots of positive feedback on the custom cookie toppers I used as party favors for a recent baby shower.

They were adorable, easy to use, and best of all: customizable to any color or party theme.

I'm so excited that Sweet'n Treats has agreed to do a giveaway for a reader of Oh Baby! Shower Decor...the blog!

One lucky reader will win a $25 credit to their store.

First, let me show you some of the great stuff they have.

The toppers like the ones I used can be placed on a cupcake or a cookie. She also makes cake-sized toppers.

How perfect these would have been for this shower! Click here to see all the animal prints, perfect for baby showers or kid's birthdays. There's a huge variety of prints and colors available.

And if you can't find the perfect one, Bonnie will create something for you. Customizable with names...

...or even a picture that you upload to the site. The possibilities are seriously endless!

To enter this giveaway, you must go to Sweet'n Treats website.

There's a special page dedicated to this giveaway, and you can find it here.

Click on over and enter! Good luck!

(The winner will chosen by random.org after Tuesday September 6th at midnight.)

I am Loving: Glass Ikea Plates

2011-08-26T07:02:00.000-07:00

Oppen Plate

I have to thank my friend Megan and her family for this fabulous idea.

These glass plates from Ikea are my newest must-have item for hosting parties.

Megan and several members of her family each have a set of these plates, so whenever one of them is hosting a large gathering they pool their resources.

Some of my other friends and I have decided to copy this idea. We each purchased 20 of these plates each and now loan them to each other. Genius! They match any color scheme and are cheaper than renting plates. And at $.99 each, if one breaks -- who cares?!

Hurry up and grab some yourself!

See how great they looked at my most recent shower?

Sweet Sponsor: Sweet'n Treats

2011-08-25T22:36:00.000-07:00

I mentioned this sponsor yesterday when I shared Lindsay's baby shower with you.

Bonnie, of Sweet'n Treats, is the sweetest. (Pun intended!) She whipped up an adorable cherry blossom graphic for me when I told her the theme of the shower.

I used some of her custom cookie toppers as party favors. (They can also be used on cupcakes). The toppers were so easy to use! I have to admit that I was a little nervous since I had never used anything like these before, but Bonnie gave simple instructions to follow.

My friend Megan and I made sugar cookies and frosted them with Megan's standard butter cream frosting. (Bonnie recommends royal icing, but we tried butter cream since we like the taste better.)

You just peel the backing off the toppers.

And press them gently onto the frosting.

Easy-Peasy!

We let them sit out for awhile to allow the buttercream frosting to firm up, and then popped them into cellophane bags. I can't wait to use these again!

Real Party: Japanese Cherry Blossom Baby Shower

2011-08-24T12:04:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was my friend Lindsay's baby shower.

We did a Japanese Cherry Blossom theme in pink and gray. Her nursery is going to be pink and gray cherry blossoms, and we added some Japanese touches as a nod to her culture. I was so happy with how everything turned out! I think she was too.

I used this invitation from Ink Obsession Designs. The designer, Erin, was fabulous to work with. She reworked the invite for a baby shower and got it to me very quickly when I found myself running out of time.

A sign welcomed guests to my backyard.

Konnichiwa means Good Afternoon or Hello in Japanese.

My friend Drea made several pink party poms and then painted cherry blossoms onto white lanterns. It made a beautiful display.

When guests arrived we had appetizers and drinks out.

Itadakimasu means something close to Let's Eat in Japanese.

Appetizers were potstickers (with little flags inspired by this wedding), spam and vegetable musubi (which Lindsay loves), and Japanese rice crackers (served in doily cones made by Katie).

All the food labels had both the Japanese and English names for the foods on them.

I made a sparkling pink lemonade and had several kinds of white and sparkling wine.

Guests found their seats at one of three tables around the backyard.

I made runners for the tables.

Drea, Deb, Christina, and I made tissue cherry blossom branches centerpieces. These were based off this tutorial on Hostess with the Mostess. They were fairly easy, but time consuming. But it paid off. I loved the low centerpieces on each table.

We also used some of the branches to make a tree for guests to hang advice from.

Katie made napkin rings out of Japanese paper from Paper Source.

We had the favors at each place setting. We had Pocky sticks, which came in the cutest pink and silver packaging, and sugar cookies with custom cherry blossom toppers.

The toppers were from Sweet'n Treats, who is a sponsor of this blog. They were adorable.

This picture is so washed out that it doesn't do the topper justice. Check back tomorrow and I'll have more pictures and tell you all about how I used these toppers.

Lunch was Hawaiian plate lunch foods (Lindsay's favorite!). We had green salad, sticky rice, mac salad, teriyaki chicken, and kalua pork with cabbage. It was delicious. The meats were from Takahashi Market.

After a leisurely lunch, it was time for dessert.

Drea's cherry blossom cake was one of the highlights of the shower. It was just as tasty as it was beautiful. We also served strawberry mochi ice cream on the side.

How beautiful is this cake?

Lindsay will have one well dressed little girl. :)

Congratulations Linds, can't waaaaaait to meet her!!

Thanks so much to everyone who helped with the shower! Some I mentioned already, but I'll do it again: Drea, Deb, Leslie, Katie, Christina, Jeani, Megan, and even Janelle (from afar!)

Vendors:

Linens: Danny Thomas Party Rentals

Catering: Takahashi Market

Cookie Toppers: Sweet'n Treats

Invitations: Ink Obsession Designs

On another note...Look at these preggo friends I have!

I told you there were going to be lots and lots of baby showers coming up! :)

Real Party: Ranch Wedding

2011-08-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

I've mentioned my friends Jason &Jen here before.

Last weekend we finally celebrated at their long-awaited wedding and I cannot wait to share all the fun details! It was such a beautiful day. The couple had truly thought of everything.

The venue was a gorgeous ranch outside of Seattle, complete with green fields & a barn.

Pine River Ranch

The ceremony took place outside, looking over a meadow with mountain peaks in the distance. Gorgeous!

The colors were coral & gray. I loved the bridesmaid dresses and coral shoes. (Speaking of shoes - wait until you see the bride's!)

Jason & Jen were married by a high school friend of Jason's.

They look so happy!

Directly after the ceremony we walked over to an outdoor cocktail hour. An adorable sign made by the best man led the way. It pointed out locations for the night's events and displayed distances to meaningful places to the couple (who've done an enviable amount of traveling).

Isn't it adorable?

(We traveled here with Jason &; Jen!)

We enjoyed the views and had appetizers and cocktails (virgin for me!).

How cute are those stir sticks? And the twine-wrapped vases? I died.

Dinner & dancing were in the barn.

I can't even explain how much I love white lights. They make a rustic space seem so elegant.

The bar in the reception was definitely not forgotten. I loved the gray straws and lace wrapped J&J. A frame displayed drink choices.

The gorgeous centerpieces were put together by a friend of the bride. Vases of different blooms were cluster on a stump over a burlap runner. More burlap, fabric, and lace were tied to the vases.

Since Jen loves brownies, and Jason made them for her on one of their first dates...it was only fitting that instead of traditional cake they served brownies.

Touching toasts, silly photo booth pictures, and fun dancing finished off the night!

Luckiest guy in the world: It's true. :)

Congratulations Jason & Jen!

I almost forgot her shoes!

Aren't they perfect?

Summer Parties, An Easy Party Menu, and Creative Place Cards!

2011-08-12T05:27:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I shared what I've been up to over at Tablespoon.

I have several fun articles packed with useful ideas for you to check out.

Let me know if you stopped by: "like" it, share it, or comment on it!

Thanks, as always. :)

Click here for summer block party ideas.

image via Tablespoon

Click here for a ridiculously easy party menu.

image via Tablespoon

Click here for creative place card ideas.

Real Party: Apple Green & Fuchsia Wedding Reception -- updated!

2011-08-11T07:32:00.000-07:00

**Update: half of this post was erased somehow. (ugh!) Please read again, all the information is now updated and included!**

Last week I finally got around to sharing some pictures of my wedding from several years ago.

Today I've got the rest of the pictures for you from our reception.

We had a little table with our guest book and some photos of our parents at their own weddings near the entrance to the reception.

The centerpieces were one of my favorite things about the wedding.

Apples were a nod to my home state -- Washington -- and I love the color. We used floral picks to attach apples, and then my florist went through and added some flowers and ribbon flags.

I was thrilled with how they turned out.

Green apples also decorated the buffet table.

My husband is an avid snowboarder, and I like to ski. We decided to name our tables after ski resorts that we have been to. We sat people at tables that were somehow related to them, for example we sat people at resorts near where they live, or that we had vacationed to with them. Everyone noticed this touch and really enjoyed it. My Grandma made pink fabric squares to place under the centerpieces to give the tables a pop of color.

My Grandma also wrapped chocolates for us and we had them sprinkled among all the tables throughout the reception.

We saved a lot of money on the cake by ordering a plain white layer cake. The baker just added some of the coordinating ribbon which we pulled off before serving.

Our florist added some flowers.

Our party favors were individually wrapped Tom's Cookies, a famous cookie shop in San Francisco (which I think has now closed -- sad!) My wonderful friend and bridesmaid Janelle baked them all for me in the days before the wedding.

After dinner there were sweet & funny toasts.

And then we danced the night away!

What a fun night!! I wouldn't have changed a thing!

Vendors:

Photography: Krystal Preciado

Cake: Sweet Dreams Cakery

Venue: Pines Resort

Flowers: Kathy Campisi

Real Party: Apple Green & Fuchsia Lakeside Wedding

2011-07-28T05:22:00.000-07:00

I got married before I started this little blog.

Since weddings are some of my favorite parties, I've been meaning to share some of the details with you. I planned to share pictures the week of our anniversary...well that came and went, and morning sickness stopped me from getting my act together.

This is turning into all-about-me week around here! ha!

We were married at a small lakeside resort in Central California.

Today I'm sharing the details from the ceremony. (Come back for the reception pictures!)

The ceremony took place on a grassy patch near the lake. The outdoor setting didn't require much in the way of decorations, but we added a few touches.

Flowers decorated the arch where we were married.

And hung in galvanized buckets down the aisle.

Candles hung in the front of the ceremony area.

My niece and nephew handed out programs and fans to arriving guests.

My friend Lindsay and I made the programs (which matched the invitations we also made).

My Grandma made little tags to hang on the fans. Glad we had these -- it was HOT that day!

I loved the flowers my girls and I carried!

We settled on apple green dresses and my Grandma made the bridesmaids matching earrings.

I wore pink shoes! Loved them!

Our mini attendants were too cute. My Grandma made the ring pillow. We purchased a simple white flower girl dress and added a matching ribbon belt.

My dad walked me down the aisle. :)

Married at last!

Check back soon for all the reception details...including the original centerpieces that I am still in love with to this day.

Vendors

Photographer:Krystal Preciado

Bridesmaid dresses: J Crew

Flower girl dress: Target

Flowers: Kathy Campisi

Candle holder and flower buckets: Joann's Fabrics

Real Party: My Gender Reveal

2011-07-25T05:29:00.000-07:00

I have a very exciting announcement!

My husband and I are expecting our first child! We are beyond thrilled.

Last week we shared the moment of discovering the sex of our baby with several friends.

I mentioned recently the Gender Reveal party for my friend Lindsay. Everyone had such a great time, that we decided to do it again!

(Plus Lindsay really wanted the fun job of making the cake and being the first to hear the news.)

This time we had a backyard bbq. Lindsay made us a gorgeous and delicious cake.

(If you remember, the cake I made for her melted horribly in the car -- hers put mine to shame!)

(How beautiful is that cake? Can you tell I was really excited? sheesh...)

My husband and I did not a preference on the gender at all. We said the entire time that we just wanted a healthy baby. However, we were both convinced from the beginning that it was a boy. Convinced. We had a short list of boy's names already. We sometimes referred to the baby as "he". At our ultrasound, the baby was very active, so I was picturing a high-energy little boy (like my husband was). Everyone else guessed it was a boy too (except my Grandma, she knew better!)...So that explains our complete shock when I cut into the cake...

...and saw...

PINK FROSTING!

Oh yes, its definitely a girl!

Here's a little video. I love our expressions - priceless!

What a fun, fun way to discover one of the biggest surprises of our lives!

A little disclaimer: I want to seriously apologize for the slowing down of regular posts on this blog. I was terribly sick for most of my first trimester, and it was just too much for me to keep up my normal posting schedule. Happy to report I'm finally feeling better! And that there are lots of fun baby shower posts in the future here at Oh Baby! Shower Decor...the blog. Thank you all so much for sticking with me!

Welcome to the world Riley, Graham, and Evan! Can't wait to meet you all!

Birthday Cupcakes

2011-07-21T05:33:00.000-07:00

My hubby's birthday was yesterday.

We had a small bbq with some friends to celebrate.

He's quite spoiled, as I made two cupcake flavors at his request: Irish Car Bomb and Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. Yum and Yum!

Irish Car Bomb cupcakes...based on this recipe. The only change I made was that mine were done in 20 minutes, while the recipe called for cooking for 25 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes...using the same recipe I used for this dessert table. These are so quick and easy.

Someone was busted trying to steal one!

Happy Birthday Danny!

You can see goodies I've made my husband for his birthday in the past here.

On another note, I've been knee-deep in baby shower projects over here lately. But I can't share anything until after the big day because the recipient of the shower reads this blog and I don't want to spoil her fun! But just know there are fun things in the works over here!

Happy (late!) 4th of July!

2011-07-11T05:57:00.000-07:00

Sorry for my absence last week. We escaped to Maui for awhile, and took a true vacation -- from the computer and just about everything else in our lives.

It was wonderful, and I promise I'll be back soon with fun new posts as my "island-time" officially comes to an end.

Can't wait to see all the ideas I missed during my absence for the 4th. Its not too early to start planning next year's party, right? :)

Margarita Cupcakes!

2011-06-27T05:14:00.000-07:00

I went to a party for my friend Molly recently. She is moving away and turning 30th this month, so it was a double-duty party.

The party was catered by an awesome, affordable taco truck that will go on site with a grill. The owner Abel brought his grill and the fixin's for all-you-can-eat burritos, tacos, and quesadillas to the park where the party was held. The food was delicious!

We seriously can't wait to use him again!

Lindsay and I figured that we needed Margarita cupcakes to go with the Mexican food.

Yum!

Lindsay used this recipe to make the cupcakes.

I used this recipe to make the frosting.

And then we got together and frosted and decorated with little candy limes and straws. Cute, cute!

...and we'll miss you so much!

Summer Party Tips!

2011-06-24T17:10:00.000-07:00

I've got a new article up over at Tablespoon.

Its full of ideas for celebrating summer.

Hint: it involves a few of these:

Come on over and check it out! Let me know what you think!

Real Party: Yellow & Blue Baby Shower

2011-06-16T06:18:00.000-07:00

My friends Katie, Samantha and Leslie recently threw a baby shower for their friend Julie.

The goal was for the party to be more sophisticated, and less "baby". There were a few little touches that were nods to the safari-themed nursery, but it wasn't over the top, which suited Julie's sophisticated style. I think these hostesses did a great job!

Party poms were used over the food and drink stations. Katie made stunning flower arrangements, which included lemons (one of my favorite looks!)

Lunch was enjoyed over several long tables in the backyard.

Katie made little paper napkin rings.

The cute little dessert table included cake stands that Katie made, inspired by this tutorial. Katie's husband helped her to make these, using his router to cut the top and bottom pieces. I know I'm impressed! (A bride has already asked to borrow them!)

Desserts included cake bites, cookies, and cupcakes.

Tags had subtle little safari animal graphics.

Katie made cupcake toppers with safari animals, L for baby Luke, and blue and yellow graphics.

There were a few activities set up for guests. Samantha made signs to go at each one.

One was to write a message to baby Luke in a Curious George book. This book was perfect to use because of the safari theme, but also because its cover is bright yellow.

There was also a game where guests guessed how many animal crackers were in a jar.

Lastly, guests decorated onsies and bibs for the new baby and then strung them on a line in the backyard.

My husband would love this one! :)

Party favors were animal crackers tied with yellow ribbon a coordinating tag.

Congratulations Julie!

Great party Katie, Samantha, and Leslie!

(Thank you Katie for sharing your pictures!)

Party rentals were from Danny Thomas Party Rentals.

To see some of Katie's other parties, check out Christmas Dinner, Superbowl Party, and The Chili-Cook off.

Green Your Next Party!

2011-06-14T07:35:00.000-07:00

Head on over to Tablespoon and check out my new article!

Its all about how to be a good citizen of the earth and throw a great party.

Pretty please, oh won't you check it out? If you enjoy it, "like" it on Facebook!

Thank you!

(I have the best readers!)

Real Party: 40th Birthday Dinner

2011-06-13T06:02:00.000-07:00

My friend Adrienne recently hosted a dinner for her boyfriend Patrick's 40th birthday, and I helped with a little styling.

She chose one of their favorite restaurants for the party, and it did not disappoint.

The party was in a cozy private room upstairs. Adrienne had some simple flower arrangements done by a local florist and I made some small fabric squares to go under them. We sprinkled the tables with confetti & the restaurant provided custom menus at each place.

Patrick is a chocolate lover (which is putting it mildly), so Adrienne asked me to make an all-chocolate dessert table. It was a hit, especially with the birthday boy. :)

I made almost exclusively chocolate desserts.

I made chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes. These were really easy and people loved them.

The recipe is from The Larson Lingo.

Patrick goes crazy for my salted oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, so I had to include some.

He also loves cake pops, so I made some purely chocolate ones (just the way he likes them).

Patrick often receives my cake pops "mess-ups", so this time he had some that actually looked nice. :)

I also made some lollipops with a "40" on them. The were displayed in buckets to match the flowers.

Happy 40th Birthday Patrick!

And thanks for the fun party Adrienne!

Real Party: Gender Reveal

2011-06-08T13:46:00.000-07:00

One of my bff's, Lindsay (who I mention all the time on this blog), is expecting her first baby. (!!)

I talked her into doing a cake for her gender reveal. Despite the non-ideal weather and some melted frosting, we had an awesome time.

Lindsay wanted to go Tomales Bay Oyster Company to have her big reveal. So all our friends loaded up the cars with yummy food and made the trip up there.

Tomales Bay Oyster Company has an awesome spot along a cool bay in Northern California which is perfect for oysters. There's picnic tables and barbeques and you can buy bags of oysters on site and grill them up. It is seriously a cool place to have a little get-together.

The day before I received a sealed envelope from Lindsay's doctor's office. I was under strict orders to share the contents with no one. {Torture!}

I made a cake with a secret-colored frosting center. And of course it melted on the long car ride. But it still served its purpose and tasted yummy.

The big reveal...

They were THRILLED! It was such a fun moment!

It's a...

...Girl!

Congratulations Tom & Lindsay! I can't wait to meet her!

My Interview with Real Indiana Housewife

2011-06-03T07:41:00.000-07:00

I met the sweetest blogger recently: Jacqueline of Real Indiana Housewife. Her blog is focused on baby showers during the week leading up to her own baby shower. She did a little interview with me. You can check it out here. Fun, fun!

Thanks so much for the opportunity Jacqueline! Have an awesome time at your shower!

DIY Idea: Tips for Setting up Your Own Photobooth!

2011-06-02T05:59:00.000-07:00

I've got a new post up over at Tablespoon.

Oh won't you check it out? It's got great tips for setting up your own photo booth for a party. (Which is easier than you may think.)

I'd love for you to stop by! Make my day by clicking here. :)

Shower Kit: Baby Shower

2011-05-26T05:34:00.000-07:00

I was asked to make a banner and some party favors for a baby shower recently.

The hostesses didn't have much in mind as far as themes or even colors, so we decided I would use the mom-to-be's crib bedding as inspiration.

The bedding was "Oh, What a Beautiful Morning" from The Land of Nod.

I made a "Welcome Baby" banner.

A closer shot so you can see the cute paper I found to coordinate with the bedding.

I am partial to edible favors, particularly sweet ones. The catch with this shower was that the mom-to-be and several of the guests were vegan. {And a vegan baker I am not!}

I finally decided to go the store-bought route for the favors. I found these cookies at Trader Joe's:

image via

They were reasonably priced, and most importantly: vegan. A few family members of mine eagerly sampled them and were happy with how they tasted.

When repackaged, they looked pretty darn cute.

Congratulations Ashley!

Can't wait to see how the rest of the party turned out!

Real Party: "Pair of Babies" Twin Shower

2011-05-25T13:01:00.000-07:00

My friend Linnea is expecting 2 baby boys. I knew what I wanted to do to celebrate them as soon as I heard (because that is how I think -- and I'm sure you all understand!).

Our theme was "Linnea is Having a Pair of Babies" and the shower based on a a pair of Converse sneakers.

{Side note: the shower took place the day after Linnea and I were in Kelsey's wedding. Therefore I had to keep things pretty simple, and called in several girlfriends for lots of assistance.}

Lindsay and I usually like to get creative with food, and do lots of the cooking ourselves. But this time we ordered pizzas and Lindsay made a salad. That's how simple it was. But, the theme was still quite cute and I can't wait to share it with you!

I had a few centerpieces made at my favorite florist in Seattle. (I used them for these flowers also). They do an awesome job. I was even able to drop off the supplies before leaving for the wedding and pick them up afterward with out a second thought about it. Thank you Thriftway!

We decided to place the vase of flowers inside the little shoe boxes, which were too cute not to use.

My friend Megan made cookies. They were so cute I wanted to die. After I ate several cookies, of course. :)

We had Megan's famous sugar cookies at my own bridal shower. She was nervous to make them into the shoe shape, instead of her normal circles. I think she did a great job, don't you agree?!

My friend Morgan had the brilliant idea to make a baby sock banner, which went perfectly with our theme.

And I bought some coordinating onsies to make another banner.

I displayed the napkins and forks in another Converse shoe box.

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know my love of a children's book as a guest book. We used Those Shoes, an adorable book that my teacher friend reads to her class every year. It worked well with our theme, and has a great message that we knew Linnea would like. Everyone signed the inside cover.

When I asked my friend Marci to pick up some drinks, I thought she'd just grab a few sodas. I was wrong! We had lemonade, a delicious pomegranate and lime fizz, and a yummy punch that had sherbet ice cream in it. Yum!

One other fun thing we did was tell everyone to wear Converse chucks sneakers. It made for some fun pictures. One girl had to borrow her husband's!

Congratulations Linnea! Can't wait to meet the new little guys!

If you are interested, I shared Linnea's first baby shower last year.

Real Party: Red Egg & Ginger Party

2011-05-16T06:21:00.000-07:00

We attended a Reg Egg & Ginger Party for a friend's baby last weekend. This is a traditional Chinese celebration where parents introduce their new baby to family and friends.

{You can read more about this tradition here.}

They used this invite from Tiny Prints. Isn't it sweet?

My friend Lindsay and I made a small dessert table for the party. They ordered cupcakes from Cupcake Man, and Lindsay and I made cake pops and then set up the display at the restaurant.

They requested the colors of the table be red & yellow. We made a little ribbon-trimmed runner.

Our cake pops were, of course, shaped like red eggs. The guest of honor's traditional Chinese name was printed on little flags on the sticks. Lindsay covered low boxes in fabric and ribbon, and we used some clear glass vase filler to cover floral foam.

Cupcake Man made some beautiful cupcakes: Ginger & Red Velvet flavored.

We painted some eggs red and decoupaged others in yellow paper to hang from tree branches in the background.

I've never seen desserts devoured so quickly at an event.

What a fun little display to put together!

Real Party: Wedding on a Texas Hilltop

2011-05-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

I mentioned my recent trip to Austin, Texas yesterday.

We attended a beautiful wedding of some friends while we were there.

The wedding was held at Villa Antonia. What a gorgeous venue: A sprawling villa in the hills outside Austin. There is something so relaxing about going to a wedding where the ceremony and reception are held at the same location.

The ceremony took place at the chapel at the villa. It was a lovely ceremony and the couple looked ecstatic as the danced down the aisle.

All the attendants danced down the aisle as well. It was so fun!

{How cute are those pink shoes?!}

The cocktail hour and buffet dinner took place in the courtyard of the villa.

The centerpieces were lovely: mixtures of different pink blooms in a variety of vintage silver vessels.

After dinner we moved back into the transformed chapel to celebrate.

The cake was beautiful and delicious.

The first dance was romantic.

Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of the candy bar before the kiddos demolished it. :)

Congratulations Lesli & Sean!!

What a fun party!

Our Austin Trip!

2011-05-11T18:02:00.000-07:00

I spent a long weekend in Austin, TX recently. What a great trip it was! I was so excited to get to check out this fun town.

Here's a few highlights...

We had lots of tasty Texas bbq!

We went to Rudy's in Austin, and then did a mini road trip to Smitty's in Lockhart.

We explored Austin, including the South Congress neighborhood, The Capitol, and The University of Texas campus.

As on any vacation, I checked out a couple local cupcake spots. My favorite was actually a cupcake truck called Hey Cupcake! Yummy & cute!

The reason we were in town was for a wedding. Tomorrow I'll share all the details...

DIY Idea: Giant Spools of Thread

2011-05-11T16:38:00.000-07:00

One last DIY project from the Cute as a Button baby shower I shared a few weeks ago. You may remember the fun dessert table that Lindsay and I put together:

Lindsay and I made giant spools of thread to use as risers for some of the desserts.

They were easy and cheap to make!

Here's all the how-to-details:

For the top and bottom of the spools we purchased thin wood discs from Michael's, similar to these. We finished them with some stain that Lindsay had left over from another project.

We let those dry while we prepared the middle piece.

Our bigger spools were made of Quaker Oats cannisters.

They were the perfect size, and they are pretty sturdy.

For the littler spools, we used sections of an old roll of wrapping paper.

We measured off 3 inch sections and then sliced them with a shape knife.

(Don't use your best kitchen knife, this will surely dull it!)

We didn't want any of the printing on the Oats container to show through, so we covered with a brown grocery sack, using a glue stick to adhere it.

We used strips of left over fabric as our "thread". Wide ribbon, paper streamers or anything else you can think of would work for this as well.

We secured the ends with a little hidden piece of tape.

We attached the top and bottom circles with some glue. We used wood glue that we had on hand, but tacky glue or any craft glue would work just fine.

Easy, right?

Mother's Day Brunch Ideas!

2011-05-05T10:51:00.000-07:00

Have you heard of Tablespoon?

Its a fabulous site with all kinds of recipe and entertaining ideas...something know you all are into!

My ideas for throwing a Mother's Day Luncheon to celebrate mom are up on the site today and I hope you'll check it out.

Tell me what your favorite part is. Mine is the Mom-osa. ;)

Go ahead and share it with all your peeps too.

Thanks!

PS Check back soon for another DIY idea from my Cute as a Button Shower.

DIY Idea: Yarn-Wrapped Vases

2011-04-27T16:30:00.000-07:00

At the Cute as a Button baby shower I recently threw my friend Lindsay and I made several yarn wrapped vases that we used down each of the tables. They turned out really cute and were really easy to make.

Here's all the steps to making your own! {please excuse the iPhone picture quality}

Lindsay and I literally cleaned our refrigerators and found glass bottles that were almost empty or expired {oops!}.

Peel off the labels and wash them out well. You don't have to go to crazy with trying to remove all the sticky label stuff in areas that will be covered with yarn. Do check to make sure there isn't ink printed on the jars in areas that won't hidden by yarn. {We had a few with unfortunately place expiration dates}

Start by placing a piece of double sided tape near the bottom of the bottle. Place a piece of yarn on it and begin wrapping over the end of the yarn.

Continue wrapping round and round until the end of the yarn is completely covered.

Continue wrapping the yarn around the bottle tightly, sliding down as you go to ensure the bottle is completely covered.

If you need to cover any curved areas of the bottle cover with completely with double sided tape and wrap carefully over the tape to ensure the yarn layers are touching. Its best to use more tape than you think is necessary to get good coverage over curves.

Ta-da! Just add a few blooms and you are ready to go!

Behind the Scenes: Cute as a Button Dessert Table

2011-04-25T09:28:00.000-07:00

Last week I shared the Cute as a Button baby shower that my friend Lindsay and I recently threw.

I love seeing behind the scenes stuff of my favorite bloggers, so I thought I'd share some of ours with you.

What I didn't tell you was that for a significant period of time before the shower Lindsay was traveling out of the country. Much of our planning went on via email. Here's the mock-up of the dessert table that I emailed Lindsay from when it was set up in my garage.

I thought it was funny, and thought you might get a kick out of seeing it. :)

Happy Easter Weekend!

2011-04-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

When I spotted this genius little project at Icing Designs, I knew I had to try it!

As usual, my procrastinating ways got in the way. The Target dollar section was completely out of the bunny ear headbands by the time I got around to checking. Sigh...

So I came home with this ugly little felt bunny basket and a jar.

And they just aren't as cute as what I'd pictured. They do have a cotton tail though, I just didn't get a picture.

Oh well...I'm officially making a new-Easter-resolution to not procrastinate so much next year!

Hopefully the niece and nephews will at least like the candy.

Happy Easter weekend to you!

Real Party: Cute as a Button Dessert Table

2011-04-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I shared all the details of a baby shower that I recently helped to throw.

I saved the best for last: the dessert table!

This was such a fun one to create. As I mentioned yesterday, we used thread, yarn, doilies, and lots of buttons in our decor. I tried to continue all this with the dessert table.

Lindsay's grandma handmade the quilt the desserts sat on. And believe it or not, that's part of fence from our garden hanging in the back.

One of my favorite parts of the table were the two flower arrangements. I did one with spools of thread as the vase filler, and another with buttons. My friend Morgan arranged the flowers for me (as I've said before, I'm flower-challenged!). I was so happy with how they turned out!

Cute, cute!

I spread a few of my yarn balls around. And Lindsay and I made the risers holding the desserts...did you recognize what they are? Giant spools of thread! I'll share how we made them later.

We kept the desserts pretty simple.

My cake pops (on giant spool risers). We used some of the leftover paper straws that I mentioned yesterday as the sticks. I was nervous they would fall apart, but they did just fine. Aren't the stripes cute?

Lindsay's mini cupcakes

Frosted Animal crackers. I was so excited when I remembered these cookies as I was trying to come up with one more pink item for the table. I love them, and they are pink, and they don't require any special ordering or shipping. Easy-peasy!

Chocolate dipped fortune cookies. These were such a hit at the Chinese New Year birthday party that Lindsay and I had thrown earlier, we decided to bring them back.

Lemon drops.

Meringues. I love the way these look! They might be the prettiest cookie.

What an amazing day!

Real Party: Crafty Cute as a Button Baby Shower

2011-04-20T10:28:00.000-07:00

My friend Lindsay and I recently threw a baby shower for our friend Janelle. We were so pleased with how everything turned out. This was an extra special party because the mom-to-be and several of the guests came from different states. A plain-old baby shower turned into a girls' weekend! Hard to top that!

The shower was held in my backyard. Lindsay made a little sign by putting some burlap into one of my barn wood frames to point guests in the right direction.

The look we were going for was what we called homespun crafty. We decided to do the classic Cute As A Button theme as soon as we learned Janelle was expecting. We wanted to incorporate buttons, spools of thread, and yarn into the decor. This wasn't only because we like the way they look, but also because Janelle is a crafter, just like Lindsay and I, and we thought it was a fun way to honor her.

{Janelle used to give me sewing lessons when we shared a little apartment together post-college!}

Lindsay and I made several yarn-wrapped vases for the the tables. We literally cleaned out our refrigerators to find glass jars that we could use. (I'll share a tutorial on this later!)

I made pink runners and we sprinkled buttons as confetti on every surface. We bundled the flatware and tied the bundles with raffia and a button.

Among the buttons we scattered some yarn balls. And we had menus lined up down the table in the popular {$.99!} Ikea double-sided frames.

Lastly, a take out box for the dessert bar {which I will share later this week} sat on each plate. The label read "Sweet Baby Girl".

We strung garland over and around the tables.

I have been planning to do a doily garland for quite some time, and was so pleased with how it turned out. We could only find heart shaped doilies in pink, but I think the off-center half-circles actually looked quite nice when strung together.

When guests arrived, we had some light appetizers and drinks out.

We served fruit skewers, and hummus and spinach dip with veggies and crostinis.

A large ice bucket held assorted soft drinks, lemonade, and white wine. Guests helped themselves, using mason jars as glasses. Is there anything cuter than a mason jar with a striped paper straw? I'm doubtful...

The way some people were raving about their lunch, you would have thought we'd done something more complicated.

We had two kinds of sandwiches: turkey club & roasted veggie. They were wrapped in parchment and pink & white twine.

On the side we had potato chips. We bought small white bags and fancied them up a bit with a label and some rafia.

We also had 2 salads: Caesar & spinach. Yum!

We had guests write advice or wishes for Janelle and put them in a little scrapbook. I also couldn't resist having people sign the inside of a kid's book {if you are a regular reader of this blog, you know how much I love this!}. We choose Corduroy, one of my favorites, about a bear searching for a missing button.

One thing is for sure...this baby girl is going to have lots of great shoes!

Just like her Mama! ;)

Come back tomorrow to see the dessert bar! It'll be worth the trip, I promise!

Now is when I say a serious round of thank you's. All my girls that flew in for the occasion were such a HUGE help with set-up and clean-up: Linnea, Megan, Marci, & Morgan. And Deb & Drea showed up early and got right to work too. THANK YOU to all of you! This would not have come together without all of your help!

Real Party: Camping Sip and See

2011-04-18T09:43:00.000-07:00

One of my readers, Michelle of The Nature of Grace, recently shared her pictures of an adorable Sip and See with me.

If Michelle had told me she was going to put together a camping-themed event to celebrate a new baby girl and use predominately pink, I would have probably been a little skeptical. But she definitely pulled it off! Especially when you consider how quickly this party was thrown together: one week!

There are so many cute touches. Here...I'll let you see for yourself:

Faux wood signs were found throughout to welcome and guide guests to different areas.

A "nature walk" was set up in the yard for the smallest guests to participate in. Too cute!

I love the pretty pink blooms in mason jars & rustic looking cans, and of course the humorous little sign.

A handmade sign with the baby's name in sticks helped set the stage...My mind is spinning with how many ways this idea could be used!

And bundled sticks for her initials too! Love!

You can't have a camping party without s'mores! {I believe those are even pink marshmallows!}

Party favors consisted of {dolled-up} TP, and trail mix. Toilet paper has never looked so good!

There are some fun ideas here that would be appropriate for many other kinds of parties: kid's birthdays, couple's shower for an outdoorsy pair, etc.

What a cute shower Michelle! Thanks so much for sharing it with us.

Real Party: Bridal Shower Photo Booth

2011-04-14T05:24:00.000-07:00

I showed you the photo booth we set up at the recent bridal shower that I helped to throw. I just had to share some of our pictures. The maid of honor, Michelle, had so many fun props for guests to use! It was a BLAST...as you can see:

Real Party: Pink & Gray Cherry Blossom Bridal Shower

2011-04-13T16:59:00.000-07:00

Before I could even finish telling you about my crazy 3-parties-in-3-days weekend, I had another shower to throw and went MIA for a little while. Phew...exhausted.

But I think my party calendar is empty {for now}, and its time to finish sharing all the details.

To review...a few weeks ago, I flew up to Seattle and helped to throw a Bachelorette Party for my bride-to-be friend Kelsey, and Sip and See for my friend Shannon, and then a Bridal Shower for Kelsey over the course of 3 days. I am finally able to share the bridal shower with you!

Kelsey & John have decided to do a cherry blossom theme for their wedding, using the colors pink & gray. We did the same for her bridal shower luncheon.

I was in charge of the centerpieces. I punched about 1 million paper flowers out of different gray & pink papers and packed them in my suitcase.

The maid of honor, Michelle, had glass vases and several branches, so I attached them when I arrived using glue dots. They were quite easy and wallet-friendly. Kelsey liked the look so much that snagged them to use them somewhere at the wedding!

Michelle made some giant party pom flowers which we hung in the dining area. They were made from napkins!

The food was simple, but delicious. We had a panini bar and several salads for lunch. We had all the fixin's, and 3 panini grills set up in the kitchen so people could grill their own. It was a hit! People loved this lunch and it made the set up very easy.

Per usual I was in charge of desserts...

I made cake pops and cupcakes.

The cupcakes were adorable, thanks to the gum paste cherry blossoms that I ordered from an Etsy shop called Tiny Diesel. Shirley was so easy to work with, and was able to make the center of each flower silver to match our decor. Guests loved these and they really looked beautiful.

Michelle created little quizzes about Kelsey and John that we used as a game. She spoke with each of their moms to get some fun facts about them. For example: "What was Kelsey's first job?" Many people were surprised that she had worked as a dishwasher! I still laugh about that.

Michelle was brilliant and used this cherry blossom invitation set from Target for the quizzes, printing on the back and front of the invitation sheets. They looked amazing!

We also had a little "wish book" for people to contribute to. The RSVP cards from the Target invitation set were perfect for this.

Our one mini guest was kept occupied with cherry blossom coloring sheets, and left over ring pops from the Friday night Bachelorette Party.

The last activity we had was the photo booth, which is always fun.

I'll show you some of the pictures later this week. We definitely had a great time posing here.
I got the idea of the tinsel heart from this Valentine's Day post at Hostess with the Mostess.

And last, but not least: party favors! Cherry blossom scented lotion and some pink-wrapped chocolates.

What a fun party! I've said it before, but I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE WEDDING! The official countdown is on!

Real Party: Hot Pink Bachelorette Bash!

2011-04-04T07:27:00.000-07:00

Kelsey & John are getting married in May.

We celebrated Kelsey with a night out last Friday. (Party #1 of 3 of my busy busy weekend!)

The night started out with dinner & drinks at a fabulous restaurant called Barrio in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. I highly recommend this restaurant for groups! They were so accommodating and let me show up early to set up the table. The food was delicious and the drink menu was incredible.
(The only problem with the restaurant was the dim lighting - pictures were difficult!)

My favorite project for this party were the centerpieces. I enlisted John (the groom's) help. I asked him for a few little sayings and incorporated them into the centerpieces.

I had 3 centerpieces lined up down the long table.

John gave me perfect things to put on them. One was a sweet message to Kelsey that he had said when they decided to get married: "I'm not asking you to marry me because we have no problems. I'm asking because we can solve every problem together." {melt...}

The other was a silly message: "I promise to have and to hold for rich or for tall, in times of sickness or extreme hunger." {Kelsey is quite tall & she has a tendency to forget to eat...and then wind up starving}. :) I love how well John knows her.

And the third was the first words they said to each other the night they met:

"Two olives and a twist?" "Yeah, so?"

This is so perfect! They are both so sassy, which is one of the reasons why they clicked so well. We were all convincing her all weekend that they had to offer a martini with "two olives and a twist" as a signature drink at the wedding!

The centerpieces were a hit, and Kelsey cried when she saw them! Mission accomplished!

Check back later this week for DIY instructions.

I purchased these fun & sassy drink coasters as Sur la Table, and had them at each place.

(Sorry, no good picture! You can kind of see them if you look closely here.)

And for party favors, I used my favorite bachelorette party favor: Ring Pops!

I tied them with a cute tag, and placed one on each plate.

These are always a hit!

We also played my favorite bachelorette party game.

All the guests bring a pair of panties for the bride-to-be. The panties should represent something about the giver. The bride-to-be has to guess who each pair is from. Each wrong guess led to a sip of Sangria for Kelsey.

I love this game because the bride gets tons and tons of new panties, ranging from sexy to cute & comfy. Its also a fun way to learn about other guests you may not know, and its definitely a great way to get people laughing! Plus, you have to embarrass the bachelorette a little bit, and holding up panties in a restaurant is a great way to do that! :)

After dinner, we headed to Havanna Social Club to dance (one of Kelsey's favorite activities) the rest of the night away!

This is another venue I would highly recommend for a night out in Seattle. They were also so accommodating. We were able to reserve a great table right on the dance floor, which really made the evening perfect.

What a fun night! I cannot wait for the wedding!

Disclosure: The makers of Ring Pops graciously sponsored the party favors for this party...however I was planning on using them anyway.

Inspiration: Hot Pink Bachelorette Bash!

2011-04-02T06:15:00.000-07:00

Friday night of the 3-parties-in-3-days weekend was a Bachelorette Party for my friend Kelsey.

I'm a bridesmaid in her May wedding, and I can't wait!

Here's the inspiration board I created when planning this Night-Out:

Photo credits:

Zebra Blume Box by Lemiga Events

Martini glass with baubles & feathers by Social Couture

Any bachelorette must: Champagne!

A feather boa is much preferred over a cheesy veil as far as I'm concerned

Fun, sparkly chandelier from Plum Party

Kelsey's wedding colors are pink & gray, so for the bachelorette party I wanted to play off that but add a little spice, so I went with hot pink, silver, and black.

Check back tomorrow to see the fun party details!

Real Party: Elephant Sip & See

2011-03-31T05:28:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I hosted a Sip & See for my friend Shannon. This party was sandwiched in between two other parties that were much more complicated, so I kept it very simple. I still wanted it to feel special for Shannon, so I sent invitations and had a few other touches on hand to make it feel like more than just a lunch.

I found these cute little wooden elephants at Michael's and just taped them to sticks and had them added to the floral arrangement. They looked adorable!

We had the flowers done here, since I am flower-challenged. The floral department is amazing! I am definitely going back there for flowers in the future.

I bought Horton Hears a Who! to use as a guest book.

I put a label on the inside cover and had everyone write a little message to the the new baby.

I made little place cards for each guest.

And labels for the party favors: Animal Crackers!

(I used Martha Stewart's downloadable red round gift tags for both of these things.)

And last but not least, I sprinkled some elephant confetti on the table.

Made with my Martha Stewart elephant punch.

What a fun little lunch celebration!

Congratulations Shannon, and it was so nice to meet you Baby Ethan!