Over the Moon Baby Shower

3 amigos--Vicki, Stacie (Mommy-to-be), and me

My friend Vicki and I have decided that we could go into business as party planners.  That is, in addition to the bakery and gift shop that we are going to open.  Winning the lottery or finding some generous financial backer would be essential to any of these businesses actually coming to fruition.  I tried to talk Vicki into marrying a rich older man, but she didn't like the idea of that too well!

This past Sunday, we had the opportunity to plan a baby shower for our friend Stacie, who is expecting her 2nd baby, a boy who shall remain unnamed until birth, on July 15th.  She chose bedding from DwellStudio for Target Space Baby Bedding Collection to decorate her nursery.  That was all the inspiration we needed to start planning.

Everyone wanted to know where we got our ideas for the shower.  Honestly, most of them came from reading blogs and finding bits and pieces of similarly themed parties that we liked and bringing all the elements together to make the shower that we wanted for Stacie.  The activity and major decorating element were ideas that Vicki and I came up with ourselves though.  We're not totally unoriginal!

The white circles on the rocket will be filled with photos of the family's faces after baby is born!

The guest book was a memory board that will be framed (and hopefully hung in baby's room).  The focal point is a rocket surrounded by stars that all of the guests wrote their names on made by Becky of revelationart on Etsy.  I sent her an extensive custom request based on a rocket item she had listed in her shop.  She gladly accepted the challenge and went above and beyond on my request at a fantastic price.  If you need any die cut work done, please go visit her shop!  A starburst with the family name and year is in the corner of the board.  The final touch will be 4 small pics of each member of the family to place in the white circles in the rocket.  Obviously, this cannot be completed until Baby Boy Nelson actually arrives!

Here you can see the blank quilt squares we decorated.  Make sure to mark out your seam allowances.  We learned the hard way the first time around when people decorated right up to the edge!  We used puffy paint and fabric markers both.  Fabric markers are much less mess!

 So many baby showers have a number of games, which can be fun, but when the guest list has a big age range and contains a variety of people from different backgrounds, games can sometimes make people uncomfortable.  We chose an activity to entertain guests instead.  With Stacie's first baby, we decorated quilt squares at the shower that were later sewn into a quilt for her daughter, Leah, to match her bedding.  We didn't want Baby Boy Nelson to feel left out, so we decorated squares for him as well.  Of course, a lot of guests say, "I'm not creative enough to do this."  To that I say, "pffft".  It doesn't have to be a work of art.  Once some of the guests got going it inspired ideas throughout the room.  Cute sayings for baby or just a kind sentiment are easy things to do with fabric paint pens or fabric paint.  You can always suggest the theme of the party be incorporated too.  The kids at the shower also had fun decorating squares, although it can get messy as the paint will NOT wash out of the fabric.  If children will be participating, I recommend having aprons and disposable tablecloths or newspapers handy.

The major decorative element at this shower was the paper lantern solar system that was hung above the food table across the room.  The paper lanterns were purchased at JustArtifacts.com and were very affordable.  We tried to choose sizes and colors that would represent each planet and the sun too!  And yes, we included Pluto even though I know it's not really a planet.  We're old school like that!  A few of the planets had foil wired star garland wrapped around them that was purchased at a local party supply shop.  We used fishing line to hang them so they appeared to be suspended in midair above the table.

Here's the best shot of the cakepops and the other ultra cute cupcakes at the shower!

The centerpieces on the tables were done with a dish of solar system cake pops with a rocket for good measure.  The cake pops were inserted into floral styrofoam pieces, surrounded by granulated sugar decorated with chocolate rocks edible candy purchased at the Wal*Marts.  The idea for the solar system cake pops was seen at Neatorama.  We modified ours a bit to make them our own.  The Earth turned out fantastic!  Some of the planets were finished off by applying edible luster dust which gave a really cool effect.  If you are interested in learning more about how to make cake pops or balls, visit Bakerella's blog for tons of ideas.  Believe me, if you make them once, you'll want them all the time.  They are delicious!

Vicki did the cupcakes with a buttercream icing to match the green and blue color theme of the shower and used a Meri Meri cupcake decorating set for the papers and picks.  Super cute and easy!  Even the punch matched the theme, blue with white clouds, and was equally yummy.

The punch was so yummy, but definitely not figure-friendly!

The final touch for the shower was the favor of a Moon Pie (purchased at Cracker Barrel's gift shop) that Vicki made little fold over tags with a piece of clipart that stated "Thank you to the moon and back".

If you have internet access, ideas to have a fantastic party are right at your fingertips!  I provided as many links as possible to help out if you want to plan a rocket or robot themed party for someone special!

Custom Toddler Quilt

My friend asked me to make her 2-year-old a quilt with fabrics she chose from Moda's Frolic by Sandy Gervais line for her new "big girl" bed.  I love to do custom quilts and don't get the opportunity very often (they are a bit time-consuming, so probably a good thing!)  Since my quilting experience is limited, we decided on using charm packs to do the design layout.  Mom chose the coordinating sashing, binding, and backing colors.  The goal was to be girly without going pink and purple.  I think this fabric line accomplished the goal beautifully!

Since doing my very first quilt, there has always been some type of applique, usually done as the quilt tag, but sometimes just for fun.  It's kind of my signature now when doing a quilt.  Here's a little secret...if you're not the perfect quilter (and who is?) appliques are a great way to cover up mistakes where things just don't match up perfectly or turn out like you expect them to.  Yes, I know a seasoned quilter would probably cringe when reading this, but it's how I roll!  And so far, the results have turned out super cute each time and add to the charm of the finished quilt.  I think it makes them unique and special.