Baby Shower for Bentley Kate

My friends and I finally got to host a baby shower this weekend for our very pregnant friend Brooke. I have known Brooke since the 8th grade and I was just thrilled when I found out she was having a little girl. I feel so blessed to have her in my life and can't wait to see her embark on the journey of motherhood.

My wonderful friends gave me the honor of being in-charge of the invitations and shower decor. They know how much I love coming up with party decor. Seriously, I go a little crazy sometimes. Of course I thought of using the color pink, but how boring is that. Since Brooke has always been a very bubbly and outgoing gal, I decided against using pink and went with red, black and white polka dots; and boy I am so glad I did! All and all, I think the decor turned out really cute and different. The pictures are below and I hope you enjoy! By the way, my friend Kelli took the pictures and I think she is talented!

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These cute cheesecake bars were made by my friend Amber. They were really tasty and I loved the way she included the letter "B" for Bentley.

I actually saw the words of encouragement cards on the baby gardner website and decided to make my own version. I think they turned out pretty cute!

Brooke's Baby Shower Invitation

Recently, I was given the honor of co-hosting my friend Brooke's baby shower. I have been put in charge of invitations and decor, which my friends know are my favorite things to do for a party. The baby shower is not for a couple of more weeks but I recently mailed out the invitations and thought I would dedicate a post to them since they turned out so cute.

Brooke is having a little girl, so of course the invitation needed to be extremely girly. At first I thought of using the color pink, but then I remembered Brooke's bridal shower invitations had been pink. It was back to the drawing board. I needed something different and cute, so I selected a red, white and black polka dot theme.

After the invitatins had been designed and printed, I felt they needed a little extra something. I decided to make little, fabric diaper sleeves for the invitations to slide down into. These were made from polka dot fabric I found at Hobby Lobby. I just used a diaper template and cut out each diaper sleeve. Once all the diaper sleeves had been made, I added an embroidered B to the front of them. Why the letter B? Brooke has decided to name her little girl Bentley, which I think is just adorable and perfect. I thought it would be sweet to have something on the invitation which represented Bentley's name, hence the embroidered B.

Photos of Brooke's baby shower invitations are below, and I hope you, guys enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed creating them.

Our Easter Bunny Breakfast

Whether you're hosting a brunch, lunch, or dinner, Easter is a time to celebrate the return of warmer weather with fresh, festive decorations.

This year, I decided to host an Easter Bunny Breakfast for my kids. The theme for the breakfast was simple really. I wanted them to feel as though they were sitting in the grass having breakfast with the Easter Bunny himself.

For the table decor I used yellow placemats, which I topped with fake, green, grass mats. The yellow placemats I found at Target, and the grass mats at Hobby Lobby. The grass mats are really what inspired the breakfast in the first place. The carrot shaped utensil holder was extremely easy to make. I just rolled orange paper napkins into the shape of a carrot, and added green pipe cleaners for the leaves.

For the centerpiece, I found three really cute flowers at Kroger. I had originally planned on making a centerpiece but the time just got away from me. However, these flowers are really easy to make, and later on this month I will show you how to make them.

Now for the menu. I served pancakes in the shape of an Easter bunny. I added blueberries and thinly sliced bananas for the whiskers. My kids loved the pancakes so much that they almost didn't want to eat them.

Overall, the Easter Bunny Breakfast was a hit. The pictures are below for all to enjoy.

Adding To Their Nest Baby Shower

I promised more details and photos from the baby shower I hosted this past Saturday for my sweet friends Ashley & Brett Altman. Here they are.

I wanted to incorporate feathers into Ashley & Brett's baby shower decor, especially since the invitations had included feathers. The guest were greeted with a beautiful, white feather wreath. I added a blue, silk bow to the wreath and instantly the tone for the baby shower was set.

Because Ashley and Brett are so close to their family and friends, I knew they would enjoy having each guest write a message to them. These words of encouragement and advice cards added a special touch to the baby shower, and their guest had fun filling them out.

My goal for the baby shower décor was simple elegance with a touch of nature. The decor was made from recycled paper and a few little things I picked up here and there.

My favorite décor at the shower was the centerpiece I created. A tall and beautiful vase held tree branches and bird seed. To dress the centerpiece up, I created two paper birds from recycled paper and hung them from the branches of the centerpiece. Located in the middle of the centerpiece was a nest holding a single blue egg. To add one last touch of elegance I made three flower balls using white daisies and carnations, and I hung these from the other branches. My friend Laurie actually helped make the white carnation flower ball and I think it turned out beautiful.

We enjoyed a buffet style lunch with lots of yummy items for everyone to try. My favorite item was Ashley and Brett’s baby shower cake and cupcakes. These were created by Nadia the lovely owner of YumYumCakeDesigns in Lawrenceville, GA. I simply gave her a drawing of what I wanted the cake to look like and she created it. It truly was beautiful and Ashley and Brett loved it.

Here are the wonderful mommy and daddy to be. I feel blessed to have Ashley and Brett call me their friend and hope they enjoyed their special day as much as I did putting it together.

I would also like to thank all of the wonderful people who helped to make Ashley and Brett's baby shower so special.

Ashley & Brett's Boxed Invitations

Finally, Ashley and Brett's baby shower invitations are finished, and are on their way to the invited guests.

Set like a present in a box, the printed invitation is placed on top of white delicate feathers. Attached to the inside top of the box is a handmade sleeve holding Ashley and Brett's baby registry information and map directions to the baby shower. The outside of the box is wraped in recycled grocery bags, and contains a handmade label addressed to each recipient.

Sure, I could have mailed the invitations out in regular envelopes, but what fun would that have been? I wanted their guests to feel like they were getting a present themselves. I just thought it was a neat idea, and added a little extra special feel to Ashley and Brett's baby shower.

Overall, these invitations were pretty labor intense, but worth every moment I spent creating them. The pictures are below, and I hope you guys like them.