When we were pregnant with Montgomery, I had four amazing baby showers! I know, I know.. that's a bit excessive, but what can I say? I have some amazing friends and family members! :)
Now, two years after my four wonderful showers, several of my friends are expecting precious babies of their own. So, I knew I had to throw my friends a baby shower of their own! I am so thankful that I didn't have do any of these showers alone! My sweet, lifelong friend, Margo, helped plan and carryout both of these showers. Plus, she helped throw one of my baby showers!
One of my friends, Jana, is due around the same time that Montgomery was, late September-early October. This will be her and her husband's first child and its a little boy! They are doing his room in a John Deere theme so I knew a John Deere themed baby shower would be perfect.
I love party planning. My poor family and friends who help, though, probably feel differently about my obsession with the little details. So I'm admittedly saying that I know I am annoying to work with when planning at event! Apologies to my children's committee and helpers at church too! :)
We found this cute invitation on Etsy.com.
If you can't tell yet, I LOVE Etsy!
So anyone who knows me, knows that Ben and I are not really into the John Deere thing. BUT Jana and her hubby are so we went with a decked out John Deere baby shower! Thankfully, Margo comes from a family who also likes John Deere and had a lot of little Die-cast tractors we could use for decorations. We also turned to our trusty friend, Pinterest, for most of our ideas.
I LOVE that I have access to an embroidery machine!
Isn't this appliqué so cute?!
Example of my OCD.. I made a John Deere wreath for the front door!
The wreath above was super easy to make! I simply took a $4 grapevine wreath, raffia, colored burlap, pre made burlap flower from Hobby Lobby and a John Deere toy from Tractor Supply Company and Ta-Da! Instant John Deere Wreath that isn't tacky! :)
This banner was made using a Cricut machine. Easy!
Water bottle labels are always a hit and SO easy to do! They are also very cost effective. Don't waste money on expensive labels made specifically for water bottles. You can make your own WATERPROOF labels for much cheaper! All I did was find an online water bottle label template (so I'd have the right size) and purchase digital scrapbook paper (I used Etsy again). Then I designed my own labels using Microsoft Publisher and printed them at Kinkos for about $7 (I think I did 10 sheets of paper). (I have since learned that printing them using my home printer is just as effective). Once I cut each label out, I used clear shipping tape (perfect size for this project) and placed a label on the tape, leaving enough tape at both ends to wrap around the bottle. I then stuck my label where the original label used to be.
Tractor Supply Company had these apple bushels for under $6! And the burlap bags I used were a $1 a piece! I can use the bushel basket and burlap for fall decorating around my house, so I think these were great finds.
Hay bales for Rice Krispie Treats!
I LOVE Mason Jars and will probably use them at almost every party/event I plan.
Almost exactly a month later, Margo and I hosted another baby shower! This shower was for our friend Catherine who is pregnant with her second child, a little girl. This is her first little girl, so wanted to make sure she had a shower filled with pink, pink and more PINK! Catherine also loves fall and since her little girl is due in October, a girly fall themed baby shower was perfect.
Another cute Etsy invitation find!
I saw an inspiration for this wreath on Pinterest, and knew I had to make a similar one with my own twist. I love how this turned out. Another grapevine wreath with burlap and raffia! After I cut out my burlap and fabric triangles, I used spray adhesive to hold them together. I then painted the letters onto the burlap. Once dried, I hot glued twine to the back and tied the two banners onto to the grapevine. A simple burlap and ribbon bow with raffia and you're done!
More embroidering! I'm so upset that I didn't take pictures of
everything I embroidered for this shower. These are
precious little bloomers :)
More water bottle labels!
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0Ib76ZDuJWKdEw2Rm80dkVwelU/edit?usp=sharing
And of course more Mason Jars!
There's that Bushel basket again :)
One of the things I was most excited about was having a hair bow making station! We had soft, stretchy headbands, ribbon-covered clips, fabric flowers, bows and ribbon available for guests to make sweet baby Elaina a headband or bow! I think this was the cutest part of the shower!
*** Just a word to the wise.. if you plan on doing something similar, I would shop around online for the supplies. You will quickly find they are much cheaper online than at a craft store. However, make sure you order with plenty of time for shipping and also put your supplies somewhere safe once they've arrived at your house... or your husband may throw them away! Yes, Ben tossed the box that held the most adorable fabric flowers and chevron-printed headbands. I discovered this the night before the shower, but thankfully had enough time to make a run to HL before the shower started. We were also very lucky in that Margo's sister had some extra flowers and supplies that she let us use!
I apologize for the lack of quality of pictures for this shower. I SO wish I would have charged my camera before, instead of using my iphone. Oh well! The shower was still adorable and I think Catherine was able to get some better pictures, so that's all that matters! :)
If you can't tell yet, I LOVE Etsy!
So anyone who knows me, knows that Ben and I are not really into the John Deere thing. BUT Jana and her hubby are so we went with a decked out John Deere baby shower! Thankfully, Margo comes from a family who also likes John Deere and had a lot of little Die-cast tractors we could use for decorations. We also turned to our trusty friend, Pinterest, for most of our ideas.
Isn't this appliqué so cute?!
The wreath above was super easy to make! I simply took a $4 grapevine wreath, raffia, colored burlap, pre made burlap flower from Hobby Lobby and a John Deere toy from Tractor Supply Company and Ta-Da! Instant John Deere Wreath that isn't tacky! :)
My PDF files for the water bottle labels, food labels and the baby shower ABC game can be found here:
Pitchforks and Shovels for forks and spoons.
Chocolate donuts for Tractor Tires! I love this tractor and trailer toy that Margo brought. It worked perfectly!
Almost exactly a month later, Margo and I hosted another baby shower! This shower was for our friend Catherine who is pregnant with her second child, a little girl. This is her first little girl, so wanted to make sure she had a shower filled with pink, pink and more PINK! Catherine also loves fall and since her little girl is due in October, a girly fall themed baby shower was perfect.
I saw an inspiration for this wreath on Pinterest, and knew I had to make a similar one with my own twist. I love how this turned out. Another grapevine wreath with burlap and raffia! After I cut out my burlap and fabric triangles, I used spray adhesive to hold them together. I then painted the letters onto the burlap. Once dried, I hot glued twine to the back and tied the two banners onto to the grapevine. A simple burlap and ribbon bow with raffia and you're done!
everything I embroidered for this shower. These are
precious little bloomers :)
More water bottle labels!
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0Ib76ZDuJWKdEw2Rm80dkVwelU/edit?usp=sharing
And of course more Mason Jars!
There's that Bushel basket again :)
One of the things I was most excited about was having a hair bow making station! We had soft, stretchy headbands, ribbon-covered clips, fabric flowers, bows and ribbon available for guests to make sweet baby Elaina a headband or bow! I think this was the cutest part of the shower!
*** Just a word to the wise.. if you plan on doing something similar, I would shop around online for the supplies. You will quickly find they are much cheaper online than at a craft store. However, make sure you order with plenty of time for shipping and also put your supplies somewhere safe once they've arrived at your house... or your husband may throw them away! Yes, Ben tossed the box that held the most adorable fabric flowers and chevron-printed headbands. I discovered this the night before the shower, but thankfully had enough time to make a run to HL before the shower started. We were also very lucky in that Margo's sister had some extra flowers and supplies that she let us use!
I apologize for the lack of quality of pictures for this shower. I SO wish I would have charged my camera before, instead of using my iphone. Oh well! The shower was still adorable and I think Catherine was able to get some better pictures, so that's all that matters! :)
Both showers were successful and lots of hard work, but so worth it! Both mommas-to-be received so many wonderful gifts and hopefully felt very loved that day. Before I experienced having wedding and then baby showers of my own, I never knew how much of a blessing they truly are. Even though showers can be time consuming to plan and sometimes expensive to carry out, they are something that the honoree will forever remember. If you have the time and resources available, I urge you to jump at the opportunity to throw a wedding or baby shower for one of your friends! Browse Pinterest for crafty ideas and find a friend to co-host with you. You'll be so happy you did!
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