Throwing an (Eclectic) Virtual Baby Shower...

My sister-in-law and her hubby are expecting a baby soon but had to move far away from many friends and a good chunk of family recently. Thus, as we could not be there to throw a real shower for them - I decided to throw a virtual one instead!

There are many ways to do this, but for the sake of time I will just focus in on what I did in hopes that it will inspire and encourage others out there who might find themselves in the same boat! I will be posting the details in a week or so - check back often! :)

Joining the C---- Camp - A Girl Baby Shower/Sip-N-See

Despite a couple of setbacks in the planned launch of our maternity t-shirts in our Etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/natureofgrace?ref=si_shop, we have not given up nor have we been idle as you will see in this post... :)

One morning recently, I sat down with a couple of ladies from our church and proceeded to help plan a baby shower - now that doesn't sound unusual, does it - except that this celebration was to take place in less than a week! A bit daunting - yes! But along with some other ladies, I rose to the fun challenge and we managed to throw an adorable shower! Given that this baby shower/sip-n-see had to be planned AND executed in less than a week - I think it turned out beautifully! :) And now for the details...


Theme:
CAMPING... I arrived at this idea for a theme when considering the family who had just welcomed a sweet baby girl into their lives. They are wonderful, fun, and share a love of the outdoors, camping, and many sports/activities. I was pretty sure it wouldn't be long before this little baby "joined" right in! Thus, I came up with the theme idea of "Joining the C------ Camp. Welcome Morgan K..." and although it was very camping oriented, I wanted to "girl" it up with feminine sweetness. Enter pink, pink, pink and lace!!! :)


Food:

The ladies of the church provided the edibles which consisted of piles of yummy finger foods and, in keeping with the camping spirit, a Make-Yer-Own-Smores Bar. (Suggested possible toppings for anyone else wanting to do this: peanut butter, butterscotch chips, coconut, fruit, jam, white chocolate, caramel pieces, etc.).

The cake was made by one of the talented ladies of the church - an adorable camping trailer pulled by a "Morgan" car (apparently she carved these out of rice krispie treats) on its way to the campsite. Didn't she do an incredible job?

Decor and Activities:

Painted faux wooden signs showed guests the way to the "campsite". Outside, these signs also acted as guides for activities for children who attended the shower. A small campsite had been set up with items for the children to enjoy while the adults ate and chatted. A "Camping To Do List" offered suggestions for the children - make a tent (sheet had been set out for this purpose), cook food (play dishes had been placed near a faux campfire), go fishing (fishing hole consisted of blue fabric, paper fish with paper clips attached to them, and magnetic fishing rods), etc. They could also choose to go on a nature walk. Lists of animals to look for on the nature walk were provided for the children as well (pictures of these animals had been placed around the yard for the children to search for and find on their "hike").

A pink sign inside the hosting family's home pointed the way to the "Camp Munchies" which were set out on a table draped with a garland of pinecones, twigs, flowers, and lace. I found this adorable idea from another camping shower here - http://www.jesihaackweddingsblog.com/2011/02/camping-baby-shower/ (and I just added the flowers and lace).

Wanting to portray a rustic feel to the meal without losing feminine charm, I settled on using mason jars and tin cans as vases for beautiful miniature pale pink roses and white flowers (mimicking little white wildflowers one might find on a hike). I dolled these up with lace, jute twine, and pale pink ribbon and added a small sign warning the "campers" not to feed the bears. I also scattered pine cones around the bases of some of the jars/cans but this was after I took the pictures above. (I wish I had thought to wait to take pictures until after I had placed the pine cones because they really added a cute "camp" touch to the table).

A sign in the background spelled out the baby's name using twigs and sticks on a pink background with a pink ribbon bow accent on top.

Over the hosting family's fireplace mantel, I nestled a paddle that I had painted pink (adding the baby's monogram in a darker shade of rose) and tied with pink ribbon and lace. Leaning against the handle are large letters made from twigs/sticks - the baby's initials - and accented with a little bit of lace and ribbon as well. A real camping lantern graced the coffee table where small dishes of nuts had been placed for the guests. A small pink tent was also set up in one corner of the room under which presents were placed.

Another cute idea (which I did not get to) was to place stuffed teddy bears around the area (perhaps near the sign warning against feeding bears). Could also have had a little bear stuffing station where children/families could make-n-take stuffed bears.

Favors:

Before leaving, guests were invited to "take something for the long hike home...". The "something" consisted of rolls of toilet paper wrapped in pink ribbon with a twine bow and trail mix (complete with pink malt balls - or you could use pink m&m's) labeled "Morgan's Mix" in individual clear bags tied with more pink ribbon and twine.

Please feel free to "snag" any of these ideas and add some creative flair for your own shower! If you would like to post this shower or pictures on your blog - please feel free to do so - I just ask that you mention where the ideas and pics came from! Thanks a bunch - hope you had fun looking and leave with some inspiration of your own! :)

Michelle

Joining the "Camp" - Girl Baby Shower (Sip - N - See)

In between organizing and participating in the production of some of our maternity t-shirts for our Etsy shop, I recently had the fun opportunity of helping to plan a baby shower/sip-n-see for a baby girl in our church. And had less than a week to get it all together! Very short notice on this one, but I was up for the challenge and I think it turned out well considering how little time there was to prepare! The ladies of the church did an awesome job with providing food, cake, location, etc. and it grew from the idea stage into such a charming shower!

The family who had just welcomed this precious baby girl into their midst is very "into" the outdoors, camping, and different kinds of sports/activities. Thus I thought up the theme of "Joining the C------ Camp. Welcome Morgan!" and worked to incorporate a camping theme, lush with pink and feminine touches of course! :) I will post more details in the days to come but hope you enjoy the sneak preview above.... :)

Michelle :)

Pink & Chocolate Baby Sprinkle

Is there anything better than pink in a variety of shades mixed with dark chocolate (and I DO mean the kind you eat as well as the color...) to celebrate a baby girl? I know, I know... It is a color scheme that has been used over and over for showers and weddings - but hey, it works - and quite beautifully I might add! Why mess with a classic, right?

My friend really liked the colors AND she has a sweet spot for dark dark chocolate (nice because it worked so well with the color scheme). So what is a girl supposed to do when her friend expresses such desires? Why, throw her a baby "sprinkle" she hopes her friend would be proud of!!!

I held a brunch for her and several friends and family. The handmade invitations had the underlying theme of "a blossom of love from the Father above". Thus, I had roses and rose petals scattered all over the place - including the walk up to the door where guests were met with a pretty pink feathered boa and welcome sign. I also interspersed ribbons in the pink and chocolate theme with blossoms on them in different places.

Once inside, guests were invited to fill out a name tag, write in a handmade advice book for the baby, as well as sign the guest "book" which was the mat surrounding a maternity photograph of the mother. Then the guests could help themselves to a "Momosa" - non-alcoholic version of Mimosa (basically just orange juice and ginger ale mixed together, and I added a drop of pink or red food coloring to add some intensity and "rosiness" to the color). I also had "Baby Soft" Sangria (non-alcoholic) and a water bar (with slices of lemon and cucumber) available.

Games (My friend is a game fanatic so I knew we had to have some):

Baby Scrabble - paper scrabble boards for each guest made up of the baby's name. Guests were then given envelopes of paper tiles and given time to come up with words associated with baby, pregnancy, etc. Highest score wins!

Who Has the Best Ducky? (my friend has a soft spot for rubber ducks...) - basically a game of luck. I would ask questions like: who was born on their exact due date, who weighed 10 pounds or more at birth, etc. and the women who fell into those categories would get an opportunity to fish around a small tub of rubber ducks. I had predetermined which duck would be the "best" duck each time so that no one duck would be the "best" in a row. Then if they picked the right duck - they received a prize. This was an ongoing game throughout the shower - we would just stop and I would ask some questions and the ladies would take turns picking out a duck and hope to win a prize.

Candy Bar Game - Thanks to http://simplycreativeinsanity.blogspot.com/ I learned of this game. If you visit her blog, she can tell you more about it! :)

The baby "sprinkle" brunch menu:

Petite four cheese and cheese/broccoli quiches

Breakfast parfait (layers of granola and yogurt and whipped cream)

Apricot and mustard glazed sausages (find it on epicurious.com)

Cranberry apple chicken salad on top of homemade honey walnut bread

Fruit stems (think fruit kabobs)

Dark triple chocolate cake (find it on epicurious.com under "triple chocolate celebration cake") - this also doubled as my Charm Cake (more on what that is later in the week).

Baby "sprinkle" decor:

In addition to those items and pictures shown above, I had vases of roses in pink and slightly orange pink shades. I added some pink food coloring to the water for a "rosy" touch.

A slide show was playing in the background showcasing maternity pictures of the mommy-to-be taken by a local photographer.

A fun "blackboard" hung over the fireplace and on it was written in pink chalk the quote:

"Little girls are precious gifts wrapped in love serene. Their dresses tied with sashes and futures tied with dreams."

Prizes for games were located on the mantel and tied with chocolate or pink ribbon or located in a pink gift bag nearby.

What does a girl do when she does not have any nifty little card holders to showcase labels of food - and little or no time to make some? Why she buys foldable placecards of course! Mine had a pink border with flowers and I added a chocolate bow after I had run them through the printer. Voila! Cute labels for food that did not cost me a fortune - I think I got them for a dollar on sale!

And for the grand finale: In honor of my dark-chocolate-loving-friend, I had a dark chocolate treats bar set up where the women could choose from such eye-opening delights as dark chocolate truffles, dark chocolate coconut clusters, dark chocolate walnut truffles, etc. - you get the picture - it was YUMMY!!! But isn't dark chocolate always? Once they chose their treats, they could place them in a cute little pink box and tie it up with pink ribbon - or they could just eat it right there... Honestly now, what would you have done? :)