My son and his wife are expecting their second child (our 4th grandchild) in a few days, so my daughter and I recently hosted a baby shower for them.
As you can imagine, I love to decorate, but over the past few years I've
learned to make it easy... I still add my own special touches and make
quite a few of the decorations, but I don't mind admitting that I also
take advantage of the fun, color coordinated, special occasion decorations available at Party City. Check out the photos below and I'll share how it all came together:
Window:
The white tissue decorations - honeycomb balls, garland and fans in the window were part of a white multi pack for $9.99. The metallic twirly thingies hanging from the chandelier over the table came in a $4.99 pack which also included the "It's a Baby Boy" signs. I glued one of these to the center of one fan and clipped another to the top of the the 3-tier cupcake stand on the table. The romper embellishment at the center of the other fan was also part of the pack. I punched some stars from silver and blue glitter card stock and glued those to the center of the smaller fans.
Fireplace:
We purchased a helium tank and a package of white pearl balloons which we inflated about 3 hours before guests were due to arrive. I attached a length of thin, silvery yarn to each balloon then glued raindrop shapes, back to back onto the yarn to make it look like a rain shower - the balloons were the clouds. I cut the shapes from silver glitter card stock on my Cricut Explore.
To make the banner I created nine, 4" rosettes from blue card stock. They're easy to make. Score a 12x12 piece of card stock edge to edge at 1/2" intervals, then cut into 2" wide strips across the folds. Accordion fold each strip, then glue 2 strips together, end to end. Glue the opposite ends together to form a cylinder. Crimp the folds together at the top then push down to form the rosette. Glue a circle of card stock over the center to hold the folds flat - this will be the back. I punched a white, scalloped circle for the front, layered a smaller, silver scalloped circle on top, then added letters. You can either cut your own, or use alphabet stickers. (You can see instructions on how to make a rosette here: http://juliemcguffee.blogspot.com/2013/06/celebrate-red-white-blue.html if needed.) I punched a small hole at either side of a top fold, then threaded the rosettes onto thin sparkly yarn to hang. You can make three, 4" rosettes from one 12x12 sheet.
Sofa Table:
You can find complete instructions for the lighted "It's a Boy" poster on my blog here: http://juliemcguffee.blogspot.com/search/label/Chibitronics I also made the diaper cake. I started by gluing an empty snack container to the center of a silver, cardboard cake round. The newborn diapers are about 5" wide, so the container should be at least 4" taller than that for a 2-layer cake. The one I used was about 5" in diameter and 9" tall. Layer the diapers sideways, one on top of the other around the outside of the container. I hold each one of them in place with a small piece of tape. They can be rolled if you like, but I leave mine flat. I keep layering until the bottom layer is about 12" across then I add a second layer of diapers. I covered the outside of each layer with holographic white deco mesh and light blue satin ribbon, embellished with decorative washi tape. I pushed tufts of white tulle into the top of the diapers, and added a bunting at the top using blue and white striped straws with sticker letters strung between using tiny clothespins to hold them in place. The container was then filled with baby socks, a small hat, pacifiers, etc. then topped with a small, plush bear holding a Babies R Us gift card.
Table:
A celebration isn't complete unless there's food and drink. We had blue punch with little yellow ducks floating on the top, plus dips, fruit salad, mini quiche, my DIL's favorite - a Sprinkles cake and mini sprinkle cupcakes on the decorated, 3-tier Deflecto dessert stand, topped with color coordinated, blue wrapped Hershey kisses. The outer edge of each tier was decorated simply with the same washi tape used on the diaper cake. I topped the stand with the clip and added a dimensional stork sticker to the front.
My granddaughter completed the decorations with this cute giraffe which we anchored outside the front door.
Baby and wedding showers, birthday parties and more are occasions just waiting to be decorated - a great way to showcase your creativity. And remember, you don't have to do it all. Take advantage of inexpensive decorations and add your own personal touches. You'll save time, stress and $$$$$$$... how fun is that! Enjoy! Y'all come back now..........
Yours truly,
Julie :)
KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON CRAFTING!
