Sarah's Baby Shower

Good Morning Everyone ~


On this past Sunday, I decorated "A Star is Born" baby shower for Sarah and Wes! The party was thrown by Vibrations Dance Company and I had the pleasure of creating all the cute decorations!! We had the baby shower at a place that is very familiar to all of us... the dance studio!! Since we would be having the shower immediately after dance rehearsal, it only made sense to use this space! We used the "meeting room" and front waiting area for the bulk of the party! I told Sarah in the beginning that since she was having a girl... the party was going to be pink, Pink, and PINK!! And that's exactly what she received. "A Star is Born" theme was picked since the party was being thrown by her dance family and we would be inviting other friends who are part of the theatre community. It only seemed appropriate that we celebrate a STAR!!


Let me just say... that I was nervous that the games would not be "stimulating" enough! BUT to my surprise... everyone had a ton of fun playing all the games. I didn't know that grown men would take trying to guess a belly size so seriously! AND we actually had someone be SPOT ON for guessing the mommie-to-be belly size. The "big" game that was played was the funniest of all!! So everyone had to pick a partner... the object was to dress a naked baby (put on the diaper, shirt, and pants)... then put the baby in a shower go down the dance studio around a chair and back across the finish line! The catch though... one person had to be blindfolded and the other had to direct their partner on where the clothes, how to put them on, and get them down and around that chair without killing themselves. And in honor of March Madness... we had a bracket... we went through 4 rounds until we got to 1 winner. Congrats to Ashlee and Will for being the winners!! The whole thing was HILARIOUS!! I have never laughed so hard and actually was able to participate in this game. Who knew dressing a baby without your eyes closed could be so hard. We had babies that got thrown out of their stroller, diapers falling off, people almost running into the wall! There will be post on just this game with a video and photos, just so you can get the full impact of this game!! 

This area was used for the food.

This was the welcome sign. I just love this picture! The mom liked the board so much she took it home! YEA!

On the table are the shower favors.

The mobile over the main table. Tissue  tutorial here. 

Wider view of the main table.  Draped fabric from ceiling to soften the feel of the room. Table without flowers on table. 

A bonus to the baby shower is... Wes the daddy-to-be made a video of the day and here it is!! Click the "here" to watch the video!


MORE PICS TO COME NEXT WEEK!!

Wine Bottle Arrangements

So I drink my fair share of wine and have friends who drink their fair share as well.   So when I saw this project on Hostess with the Mostess I knew that I would be trying this out and knew I had to share this project!! DIY projects work for me!! Wine bottle arrangements are simple to make and inexpensive. Plus... someone has to empty the bottle and that may be the best part of the process!!

Materials Needed:
– 5 Green Wine Bottles... Clear bottles will work as well.
– Adhesive Remover... Goo Gone!
– 5 Wine Corks
– 18 Gauge Floral Wire
– Floral Pick
– 1" Sheer Green Ribbon
– Scissors
– Floral Knife or Floral Shears

Step-by-Step Instructions:
1. First of all, enjoy that wine! Once those bottles are emptied soak them in hot water and scrub off the labels. You may need to use adhesive remover (Goo Gone) to get the more stubborn labels completely off.

2. Fill the wine bottles 3/4 of the way full with room temperature water. Mix in a little "flower food" to each bottle. This usually comes in a powder form in little packets with each bundle of flowers you purchase.

3. Choose your flowers. Make sure you have a variety of heights, textures, and bloom sizes to create interest within the arrangement. Keep in mind that the openings of the wine bottles are small so make sure the stems of the flowers you choose are not too big. There will be about 5 stems in each bottle.

4. As soon as you get your flowers, cut the stems at a deep angle with either your floral shears or floral knife to allow maximum hydration once they are inserted in the water.

5. Make your floral arrangements. The flowers are intended to look like they are spraying out of the wine bottles as if you just corked a bottle of champagne and BOOM the flowers started shooting out instead. Achieve this by staggering the heights of the stems, leaving enough space between each bloom, and angling the stems slightly outward.

6. Next take your floral pick and pre-poke a hole in each cork. Then insert your 18 gauge wire and place in your arrangement so that it looks as if it is shooting out of the bottle along with the flowers.

7. Wrap each wine bottle in your choice of ribbon by using this "wrap & twist" technique: Cut 4' lengths of ribbon. From behind each bottle take the center point of the ribbon and wrap the bottle once around. When the ends meet in the front of the bottle twist and wrap around the bottle again only twisting in the front. Repeat this step up the whole base of the bottle. Knot and trim the ends of the ribbon on the backside.

8. Cluster your group of wine bottle arrangements in the center of your dining table at a wine and cheese party or use them as decor on your food display table. The great thing about these arrangements is that each guest can take one home easily at the end of the night.

All photos from the blog Hostess with the Mostess

Love Organizing?

I must say that I am a little OCD when it comes to everything having its place in the house! Well I have found a great blog that shares numerous ideas and tips on how to organize your life. I want to put a spotlight on the blog IHeart Organizing! Jen, the writer of the blog, posts a new blog Monday-Friday and I have found numerous posts that I can use in my house.  She gave me the inspiration to get my crafting area in order.  I must say that I did take a moment this past weekend to get my crafting area a little more organized, especially after this baby shower. Spending less than $40, I was able to buy some storage containers and baskets that work perfectly to hold my crafting items!!  And I have learned that decorative paper is a tool I will be using for the rest of my LIFE!! It is cheap and can really dress up things!!


Need to know how to make labels? You can find it on this site... just need some inspiration on how to organize spaces in your house... You can find it on this site!! Definitely check out this site. She has free printables as well!! 

You Don't Just Have To Drink Out of Them

WINE GLASSES... You can do more than just drink out of them!! If you find yourself with a mismatched collection―or without bubbly―flip thick-walled glasses upside down to create a beautiful grouping of candle stands for a shelf or a mantel. Use heavy wineglasses for table centerpieces, as the wider mouths will provide more stability to withstand bumping. 

I know MANY (and you know who you are, including myself) friends that have various types of wine glasses and all we do is drink out of them! Nothing wrong with that... BUT... wine glasses are beautiful to use as decoration. And because you may have mismatched glasses, the varying heights and shapes make an interesting tablescape. You can also use wine bottles as candle holders. I did a post last week on how to cut glass using household items and this would be a great project to work on. 

How To Make Inexpensive Favors

 

So for the baby shower this past Sunday, we had a limited budget, so doing DIY projects and finding items on sale was a MUST! Creating these party favors was not only fun, but friendly to the budget!!

Here are the labels before I hot glued them on the bag.  They were layered. I used a craft bunch to cut out the labels, which made them the perfect shape and size every time.   I used large 12 x 12 sheets of paper to cut out the labels. The sheets of paper were on sale for 16 cents!! I got extra sheets for future projects. Just could no pass up that price!  Craft punches are a great little investment! They come in numerous shapes and sizes and at  Michael's and Hobby Lobby they are usually on sale and both stores offer 40% coupons, so getting some of those is a MUST! For what I used inside... chocolate of course. What woman doesn't love chocolate! 

So these bags I got from the DOLLAR STORE! They came in a pack of 12 and all I had to do is put them together and that was pretty simple. I actually put them together one night before dance rehearsal, while sitting on the floor talking to friends.

On the inside of the bags I put a little  of the plastic grass! It's around Easter and got the grass for 1.33 a pack. I got two packs, but really only needed 1.  Those packs were able to pill up my bags, but have a TON left over! If  have green in your color scheme... the green grass was only 33 cents! 

The inside of the bags with the candy inside. Just so you know... You can't put too much candy inside of these and it close correctly. :-(

And here are the bags completed! I decided to use black ribbon because more pink would of been too much!! So in total to make this treat it cost roughly 25 cents per bag!! Can't beat that!!

SNEAK PEEK: Sarah's Baby Shower

Today was Sarah's baby shower and I can say it was a success!! Everyone had a great time and the mother-to-be and father-to-be really enjoyed it. And pleasing the parents was my goal! Because it's late and I am dog tired... here is sneak peek of the decor!! 

Enjoy and Good Night!! Where did the weekend go?! 

GO GREEN

HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY!! 

Here is a little treat that is quick to make and definitely goes well with the St. Patrick's theme. Make a fruit rainbow!!

Everyone Be Careful and KISS ME I'M IRISH!! ;-)

Oh yeah side note... baby shower tomorrow and I have been taking various pictures of the things I have been creating over the past week. Can't wait to share with everyone!!