DIY Cupcakes and a Baby Shower

I've been meaning to post these photos from my good friend Brooke's baby shower for over a week now! A handful of us hosted a cupcakes and champagne party in honor of Brooke, which to me was a lot more fun than the traditional afternoon shower. I mean who doesn't like champagne?? Instead of just baking a bunch of pre-made cupcakes, we let guests pick and choose their cake and icing flavor, plus special toppings. I think my favorite was the strawberry cupcake with vanilla butter cream frosting....it was delicious! You can check out more photos from the shower on Brooke's blog, and you can even see a sneak peak of her nursery here!

Baby Shower Recap

The baby shower last weekend turned out fabulous, so I wanted to give a quick recap today in case you find yourself planning a baby shower soon. My friend Kathryn hand-made the invitations...how adorable are these? And, so cost efficient!

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We decided to tie in a "bird" theme with the invitations and wishes tree. The bird stamp used on the invitation was also used on the wishes cards that we tied to the tree.


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After we ate lunch, we all grabbed a wish off the tree and read them aloud to the group. Allison the "mommy to be" loved it...and we did too! I think all of us had a tear in our eye after hearing all the wishes.
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We then went back to the house, drank some champagne and enjoyed these delicious petit fours from my favorite bakery in town.

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Last but not least, here is the "oh baby" sign I made with help from my good friend Brooke. She printed the letters and I assembled! It's now hanging in the baby nursery and I think it looks great! .

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Last week I posted this "oh baby" sign (the source for my inspiration) and mistakenly gave credit to Martha Stewart when the credit actually belongs to Paula from Two Ellie!! I love Paula's blog...its one of my favorite sources for design inspiration...if you haven't seen it yet, go check it out!

Happy Planning!

DIY Project

My goal tonight is to tackle making an "Oh Baby" sign for my good friend Allison's baby shower this weekend. I purchased some fun paper from Hobby Lobby and am going to try to write Oh Baby in my very neatest hand writing...which will be a challenge for me! Thankfully my roommate has the best hand writing ever so I may get her to do some touch up work if it turns out awful. Another fun idea we are going to incorporate as the centerpiece for the table is a wishes tree for our mommy-to-be. I've seen this used at weddings before, but thought it would be perfect for a baby shower too! I'm just hoping the vision I have in my head will turn out!!

Photos via Two Ellie and Style Me Pretty

It's A....

BOY! Today, my sister gave birth to her third child and once again she had another boy! Bennett joins his two older twin brothers Turner and Sam, and he is simply perfect! We didn't have an "official" baby shower this year, but in Bennett's honor, I thought I would throw together a little inspiration for those of you who may be in the planning stages of a boy's baby shower. I found this picture on The Newlywed Diaries and fell in love. I know most boy baby showers involve pale blue colors, but I love the sophistication of the rich blues in this picture. This table setting, designed by Carolyn Roehm, gave me the idea to tie in a nautical theme. Since its summer, I thought it would be a fun twist on a traditional baby shower.Which led me to find this invitation design by William Arthur. I love its simplicity! Wouldn't it look great with a navy envelope?It isn't necessary to have placecards for a casual lunch, but I saw these shell place cards by Martha Stewart and thought they were a must! Sometimes its the small touches that make your party unique.

One of my favorite parts of party planning involves picking the menu. I LOVE food! Especially seafood, which fits in nicely with my nautical theme. The picture below does not do Ina Garten's Shrimp Salad justice. I would serve this on a bed of lettuce with some fresh fruit and a glass of sweet tea.


and for dessert.....Martha Stewart's blueberry tart...YUM!


I think favors are a thoughtful way to thank guests for attending, especially if its a shower when gifts are involved. I think this "Sea Salt Neroli" candle from Caldrea would add a nice pop of color to the blue and white tablescape.
Good luck to all of you planning baby showers!!

Photos via Veranda, William Arthur, Martha Stewart, Food Network and Caldrea