Art party baby shower!

Working backwards with past parties, we recently had another baby shower in my family.  My brothers girlfriend was expecting and she is a very artsy person and does not like to be the center of attention.  So my sister and I set off to have a low key, non traditional baby shower.  However I do not posess the ability to do anything "low key".  (it's that darn DNA kicking in again)    The best way to plan a party, divide and conquer.  My sister headed up the food and I the decor and activities.  After a few planning sessions it was all settled. 

For activites we settled on things that didn't put Mandy front and center, we made custom onesies for baby and played baby themed  Win, Lose or Draw, in teams.  As guests arrive we insturcted them that they could choose to eat or start working on a custom onesie for the baby.  For the onesies we had a table set up with fabric, templates,onesies in various sizes and of course a clothesline with sample onesies hanging on it.

 

They would choose the fabrics of their liking and then templates if they wished to use one.  They then trace their designs to the fabric and ironed it on to heat bond fabric adhesive, then ironed it on to the onesie, and completed their design with a "made by" tag.  After the shower we put fray check on all the raw edges to keep them from coming apart when they are washed.  I was a little nervous about everyone being comfortable enough with their creative side to get involved but even Mandy's grandma made a onesie. 

While the ladies were crafting we had a craft table for the little girls to create with.  Beads, pipe cleaners, popsicle sticks, glue, markers, paper, scissors and play dough were all available to keep the younger guests entertained!

For food we went with some of Mandy's favorites combined with the creative theme.  We did a create your own panini bar with lobster bisque and broccoli cheddar soup.  Guests went through the line and chose from a varitey of breads, meats, cheeses, sauces and veggies for their sandwiches.  When they got to the end of the line my sister cooked them with the press grills.  (unfotunately I don't have any pictues of the panini bar, it was very pretty and colorful!)  For Dessert we did top your own brownie and cheesecake bites, the toppings held in plastic squirt bottles made to look like giant crayons.  Of course the flavor of toppings coordinated with the bottle color.

We couldn't skip the cake though, Mandy's favorite Raspberry filled.  Courtsey of our favorite cake person, Melanie Davis of Melanies Pink Cake Box (links to her facebook page)

 Isn't that the cutest cake ever! Not to mention soooo tasty.  The cake pedestal tutu is so fun too!  Just 1/2 yard chunks of tule layered over the cake plate with the cake setting on top of it.    

Finally we get to the decor, after all it's the little things that make the party.  We'll start with the welcome banner above the dessert table.  Mandy's mom who is a scrapbooker extrodinaire took my idea for the banner and ran with it, and she did an AMAZING job!  It says "Baby you color our world"

The paint pallette's at the top coordinated with the party invitations and the words hung from the pallette on paint blobs.  The tule cake plate above was designed by my sister, and let me tell you, she is not a crafter so it's easy peasy.  She bought 1 yard of each color of tule, then she criss crossed them over the cake plate then put the cake on top!  SO easy yet so fabulous!  These are the little details that get missed when most parties get planned.  Something so simple that can make the party sparkle. 

Next empty paint cans purchased from a local home improvement store were hung from the ceiling and colored table cloths taped inside hang down to create a great backdrop and give the illusion of spilling paint.

No party is complete without centerpieces.  To anchor the centerpieces we chose the primary color dots squares.  We couldn't find a fabric we really liked for these squares so we found plastic flannel backed table cloths on sale and cut them up into table squares.  The centerpieces themselves were pint paint cans with various art supplies spraying out the top, we varied the heights and made them stand by wrapping floral wire and pipe cleaners around each item.  On each table was also a primary colored bowl of fruited popcorn for the guests to munch on while they crafted.  (I'll post the recipe later)



Lastly I always think above eye level, you don't want your decorations to stop at 5 foot.   From the ceiling we hung tissue poofs.  These poofs take very little time to make and are very inexpensive.  Don't waste your money on the store bought ones go for the custom look and make them yourself.  (poof tutorial anyone?)

So after everyone was done with their onesie making and having lunch we played one group game.  Baby themed Win, Lose or Draw, we divided the group into two teams and each team member took a turn choosing  a baby themed word from the deck of cards and had 30 seconds to draw their word and get their team to guess it.  However they could not write any words or use any hand signals.  The words included like "nurse, epidural and c-section".  In the end Mandy's team won and was rewarded with a selection of gourmet chocolates to choose from. 

My sister and I had a great time throwing this shower and I think it was an amazing success. 

Until we party again.....  Jenni