showering babies: the in's & out's

so details details details...

invitations: by miss andrea.  i spent a good chunk of time trying to talk andrea into going into business.  she is incredibly talented & creative.  she can basically do it all.  give her something to go with and she will run wild.  lucky for us this sweet girl is also my cousin's roommate and helped so much to make the shower special.  much like the frame cutouts she made as decoration & as a gift {seen here} she also made individual ones for the invites.  each one was hand crafted and unique.  so perfect.

andy was also responsible for hand-drawing the tags attached to the favors.  steph & andy hand-dipped about a billion animal crackers half-way in chocolate.  they were delicious.  i know you're thinking...it's too simple.  but i'm telling you..i wanted to steal everyone's favors and eat them all myself.  i didn't.  but i wanted to.  i would definitely recommend this little treat! and tell me those tags aren't darling!

i was responsible for a fabric bunting for the buffet table & a mini bunting for our library crate.  it was my first attempt at anything like this and let's just say that it was interesting.  the mini bunting was a piece of cake.  a few snips here & there and ta-da!  perfect.

i used a few different shades of linen fabric and a cream cotton binding for the top.  i've seen people use all kinds of things but that seemed to be the most simple place to start.  i first cut a template to trace on thick paper. 

then used that paper template to trace onto my fabric.  at the time i wasn't worrying about pen marks because i thought i was doing two-ply flags.

so... i cut two layers of each triangle but only to find that when i tried to stitch the tops of the flag it was really difficult for me to keep them lined up. i ditched that idea quickly and went with a one-ply flag in both the big & mini versions. hopefully no one noticed that they were a bit thinner. my next attempt i'll try and iron that out.

here's my cream binding.  it was thin but perfect.  i saw online that other people sometimes use fun fabric for this but i don't have the slightest clue how to make my own binding out of fabric so that will have to be another lesson for another day.

{the finished product}

my other main responsibility was 'finish the sentence cards' stolen inspired by ashley ann {here}.  they basically were little notecards made from cardstock {printed at home} that began sentences that could be completed with advise from party-goers.  {when i comes to dirt..., when he brings home his first girlfriend..., when you send him off to school...} we hope these love notes will serve as sweet reminders to sarah & josh of thoughts from loved ones for many years to come.

i stitched a strip of fabric across the bottom of the card with the widest stitch i could find on my machine. i secured the first stitches and last stitches and everything in between i just ran as usual, just bunching, pleating the fabric as i went along. my strips of fabric were about an inch wide and i think they turned out so sweetly. not to brag, promise anyone could do this. i know sometimes people on blogs say that & i never believe them. that's not true of this blog. if i tell you it's easy that means it really is. i am not a master-crafter.

my only other sewing venture was to provide a rice bag {homemade heating pad} as a game gift.  i didn't take a picture but i had to share something i learned!  a fat quarter {those squares premade for quilting} are basically the perfect size for making one of these little wonders.  no need to guess, measure, cut, or trim.  it is just as simple as folding it in half.  fat quarters cost about $1 at walmart.  cheaaaapness!  i just had to share that little tip.

momma steph made pom pom jungle flowers for the centerpieces.  aren't they precious!?  made of pipe cleaner and tissue paper these little guys were inexpensive and cheery.  exactly what each table needed.  we also alternated chex mix & assorted nuts between tables and had a dessert dish filled with m&m's in our theme colors of course {hint: i just took out the red & blue ones...ta da...jungle m&m's}.

and i feel the need to highlight these cuties once more.  i didn't get to participate in the cupcake decorating party but it must have been a blast.  they turned out so well!  just a warning...i did hear that they were time consuming little devils {but how can you resist those faces?} i also heard that it was difficult to get the icing to cooperate on top of icing.  their inventive solution was to ice the vanilla wafers whenever possible.

i'll drag this out just one post further...games, hostesses & family pics to come.

oh sweet showers.  the blessing of babes!