Baby B Shower (Part V)

All the decisions have been made for the Baby B shower!   Woo hoo!

Today I thought I would share some tips on how to make a table runner.  There are a lot of great tutorials out there, so I'm going to post those rather than writing my own.  The best tip I can give you before starting a project is to use a fabric with straight lines - whether it's stripes, a plaid or a pattern in a straight line.  The lines make it soooo much easier to make sure your lines are straight, too!

Here's a couple links  to tutorials:
Martha Stewart Crafts: http://www.marthastewart.com/268741/table-runners
Elle Decor: http://www.elledecor.com/home-remodeling/punch-list/how-to-make-a-tasseled-table-runner-48593

If I can do it, you can too!  Give it a try today!

Baby B Shower (Part IV)

Pulling the Tablescape together

Remember our inspiration photo?

I'm on the hunt to recreate the look and feel of this photo, while tweaking it to fit this event.  I've decided to stick with the gerbera daisies and sunflowers.  And, to keep costs down, we'll make use of some things that are already on hand.  My client has both solid white and clear glass plates.  She also has solid white table cloths, and stemmed water glasses. We can certainly make good use of those items!

With those items in mind, I've decided that we'll use a table runner instead of a patterned table cloth. To pull in other pops of color, there are plenty of opportunities: vases, using multiple floral arrangements,  napkins, napkin rings, ribbons around the stems of the glasses, favors placed on the place setting, etc.

JoAnn Fabrics had some wonderful fabric options for the table runners:

1.  I love, love love the navy on turquoise trefoil pattern. As much as I would for this to work as alternative honeycomb pattern, this is saying more "Noah's Ark" to me than it says "Bee."

2.  Our inspiration photo has a turquoise table cloth, but we are working with a bee theme, aren't we?  I really think this yellow could work - and that it could be the winner.  The motifs printed on the fabric look like a nod to bees.  I do want to pull in some turquoise accents, so will plan on doing that with other items that will do on the table if I decide on a yellow runner.

3. I pulled this fabric because I initially thought it looked like a combination of a honeycomb and the polka dots from the invitation.  I really like the pattern and color, but I don't think it's right for this event.

So, we have a winner!  Option #2, the yellow + motif fabric is "IT"! I'm thinking we'll pull in the turquoise with polka dot napkins, and possibly turquoise chalk paint vases.  We'll use the white table cloths, white plates, flatware and water glasses from my client.  The last thing that I want to pull in is the "b" from the invitation.  I'm going to swing by the local chocolate company to see if they'll make me some "b" chocolates to place on each place setting.

I can see the total package now!  Can you?  Stay tuned for photos to pull the whole look together!

Making Memories

Good morning everyone!

I wanted to share a great quote with you this morning.  It applies to life in general, but it sums up my thoughts about why I think entertaining - and being prepared to entertain -  is important,

How does this apply to entertaining?  When you celebrate with those you love, you create opportunities to make memories.  But it will NOT be the events themselves that you will remember.  Instead, you'll remember the how the chocolate cake got totally demolished at the first birthday party, how surprised your mom was when your dad surprised her with an anniversary party, or how your little cousin stripped in the middle of the family Christmas party because she couldn't wait to try on her new outfit.  So celebrate!   And don't get stuck in the kitchen while those moments are happening!

Baby B Shower (Part III)

Hooray!! We have a winner!  I spoke to my client today, and she loved the idea of the sunflower and gerbera daisy arrangement.  And, she really loved the LilSproutGreetings invitation.  Remember that one?  Here it is again, this time personalized for this event:

 



We loved the idea of the "b" in addition to the bee graphic.  The mom-to-be's last name begins with B, so it is just too perfect.  Because my client also loved the sunflower/gerbera daisy arrangement so much, LilSproutGreetings graciously changed the color for us.  How great is that?

 

Now that I've seen the invitation in this color scheme, my mind is spinning with thougthts about the sunflowers and gerbera dasies.  Bright blue vases? Polka dot table runner? Oh wait - I think I've seen a blue, trellis-patterned fabric at JoAnn's Fabric that could pass as a honeycomb pattern.  That may just work!

 





Baby B Shower (Part II)

Ready for the next step? What is the next step? Finding items to translate the invitation to the shower itself.  At this point, you may be tempted to try to literally copy the invitation.  Resist!  You'll only get frustrated, or will spend too much money.  Plus - I really hate when things are super-matchy. 

I usually start out with floral arrangements.  I love the Better Homes & Gardens Pinterest boards for inspiration.  The colors are amazing.  What's funny is that I usually come up with ideas totally unrelated to flowers when I browse arrangements. And wouldn't you know it, I started to think about sunshine, summer and bar-b-ques.  That made me think about throwing a towel over my shoulder as I cook, needing to wash my hands, looking out in the yard at sunflowers (only in  my imagination - I have a black thumb), seeing the season's first lighting bugs, smelling citronella candles...you get the picture.  I just let my mind wander...and I follow it...

So, where did it lead me this time?  To some really wonderful things!


 Honeybee Tea Towels from Etsy Seller ZenThreads




 Honeycomb Candles from Etsy seller beerealco

 

 













Beehive candles from Etsy seller ApisCandles

 

Sweet little coin purses from Etsy seller EmenGeeDesigns

 

 

 Lovely arrangement found on Pinterest (origin unknown)

 

 

 

Another Pinterest inspriation (origin unknown). 

(This is too formal for the Baby B shower, but I find the apples interesting!)

 

 

 Love this honeycomb soap from Esty seller BubblesandButters

 

 

 

 

Wow - there are some really great choices here, aren't there?  How do I choose?  I need to remember that this is a baby shower, that the mom-to-bee is not super-girly (she wore black converse shoes with her wedding dress), but many of the attendees really like cutesy stuff. 

 

Hmmm...what should I do?  I think the sunflower/gerbera daisy has the most appeal for the varying tastes. I will need to tweak it a bit - you can draw inspiration from people, but you shouldn't outright copy them - and need to talk to the invitation designers to see if we can inject some additional color to the invitations.  Lastly, I need to talk to my client to see what she has on hand before I make any final decisions. 

 

I'm getting excited!  I think we're on to something good!

 

-------------------------------

Source Recap:

Tea Towels:ZenThreads 

Honeycomb Candles: beerealco

Behive Candles: ApisCandles

Honeycomb Coin Purse: EmenGeeDesigns

Sunflower-Gerbera Daisy Arrangement:  Pinterest (source unknown)

Sunflower-Granny Smith Apple Topiary:  Pinterest (source unknown)

Honeycomb Natural Soaps:  BubblesandButters

 

 



 

Baby B Shower (Part I)

Welcome to my first series on planning a baby shower!  I'm going to walk you through may planning process during the next few posts.

Step One:  Determine if you will have a theme. This shower will have a "Bee" theme.  I love Bee themes because they can range from being cutesy to vintage...and this shower will be a mix of the two.

Step Two:  Find your invitation.  The invitation is the first thing your guests will see, and will set the tone for the event.  As you get to know me, you'll learn that I buy most things (that I don't make myself) from Etsy sellers.  When it comes to invitations, I buy almost exclusively from Etsy.  I narrowed the pool of great options to these three:

PapierSanctum offers a couple bee-themed options.  This one caught my eye because of its vintage feel:

LilSproutGreetings offers a couple invitations featuring the letter B.  I really like this one, but because we had settled on a bee theme, this one made the final three: 

PrintSmitten also offers some great options. I was really drawn to the crispness of this particular bee themed invitation against the natural backdrop.

Which one did I choose?  Not so fast...I can't make that decision yet.  My next step is to look for other coordinating items.  Note that I said coordinating - I didn't say matching.  Matchy matchy is no bueno in my book.  I think it spells disaster - if you look like you were trying to match colors/shapes, and you don't quite pull it off, it looks bad.  But, if you coordinate items, your event looks like a million dollars - even if you only spend pennies.

So, what specifically am I looking for?  For a shower I need food, decorations and gifts/favors, at a minimum.  Because of the bee theme, anything honey-flavored or made from beeswax is a possibility. But, what I really do at this point is pull from each invitation to create the overall look and feel of the shower. I'm inspired by the vintage hive, the sweet simplicity of the "b," and the honeycomb shapes.  I know I'll find something!  Once I have found some items to pull the shower together, I'll make a final decision on the invitation.

Stay tuned!

----------------------------------

Option #1: Vintage beehive via Etsy seller PapierSanctum  

Option #2: B/Bee for Baby via Etsy seller LilSproutGreetings

Option #3: Honeycomb Pattern via Etsy seller PrintSmitten

Hi!  Welcome to Party Prep!

My name is Anne, and I grew up throwing parties.  I come from a large family - lots of aunts, uncles, cousins - who partied together ALL THE TIME.  I'm excited to share some of our stories, as well as some of our tricks and tips.  I hope you'll enjoy them!

Anne