I hope you get to do something fallish this first weekend of October… don’t let any rain stop you.
- Colleen

{for more of my apple picking images, check out my Flickr}

{images shown belong to Hip Hip Hooray}

{image shown belongs to Chris Rooney}

{image shown belongs to Bird & Banner}

So how was it possible to top of such a great afternoon?  To go to the hospital where my sister had her first child and meet my third nephew.  Such tiny hands, such little eyes, but so much excitement and love for this new life.  Regardless of all the everyday to-do’s and worries, having a weekend with close friends, a simple swim, and the experience to be present for my new family member’s entry to the world makes me realize how perfect, rich, and full my life truly is.

Congrats to my sister and brother-in-law!  Good thing the baby shower was LAST weekend, and not this past one!

{for more of my outings & experiences photos, check out my Flickr}

Today is my last post on the details on my sister’s baby shower.  With the color scheme, theme, invitation, and menu already shared, all that’s left is showing you the decorations, table settings, and favors.  When I was searching for inspiration on decorating, I turned to the very talented Chelsea Fuss and fell in love with her Orchard Wedding Table.  We decided to have the “picnic” tables on the back porch that would allow the red, white, and green colors to pop as well as add to the summery outdoorsy feeling.  I hung cherry red and green apple paper lanterns from red and white striped bakery string near the ceiling and covered the tables with white tablecloths.  I found a perfect red and white pin-striped fabric and made the table runners for each table.

I loved Chelsea’s use of bottles, so I found vintage milk bottles on Etsy and eBay to act as vases and filled each with white, red, and light green flowers.  I wanted the flowers to emphasize the picnic setting, looking simple and relaxed, like I had the milk bottles on hand and cut the flowers fresh from the garden.

On every table I scattered several Richard Scarry characters driving in cars and vehicles, as well as baby and childhood photos of the parents-to-be.  I also was inspired by Chelsea’s use of fruit as centerpieces and places several bowls of Bing and Rainier cherries on each table to add to the late summer atmosphere (as well as adding more red to the color scheme).

The favors were also inspired by the Orchard Wedding Table design, but instead of apple butter, assorted jams (blueberry, cherry, apricot, and plum) were topped with green apple gingham fabric, tied with red and white bakery string, and finished with a tag (with of course, a Richard Scarry character).

It was a lovely day and we were truly lucky to have absolutely perfect weather.  Sunny and warm, but cool enough to leave the glass porch doors open for a soft breeze to flow through the room.  Absolutely perfect summertime picnic weather.  I had so much fun planning this event with my Mom for my sister and wanted to make this event as special as she is.  I am so excited for her to be a Mom and can’t wait to meet baby James!

{for more of my perfect parties photos, check out my Flickr}

For beverages we served homemade raspberry ice tea, fresh lemonade, sparkling juices and several Italian sodas.  I also found three Richard Scarry toys on eBay to keep the refreshments company.

The menu was capped off by a fresh strawberry shortcake, assorted cookies, and vanilla cupcakes.  I created a simple and inexpensive cupcake tier (or as my Dad called it, a cupcake pyramid) using gift boxes of different sizes wrapped in brown kraft paper.  To bring the shower design elements to the desserts, I bought striped cupcake paper cups and designed Richard Scarry flags for the tops.  The entire day was full of yummy and delicious food (that also left plenty of leftovers for midnight snacks!).

Tomorrow, I’ll wrap up the posts on the shower with the details on my favorite part, the decorations, table settings, and favors.

{for more of my perfect parties images, check out my Flickr}

When my Mom and I originally started thinking of a shower theme, I remembered my friend Renee’s baby shower last year.  Her dear friend Jacki threw her a Very Merry Un-Birthday (a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party) and it was such an amazingly designed event.  Since her shower was based on a book, I asked my sister what her favorite childhood book was, to which she said anything by Richard Scarry.  I started brainstorming about how to pull this off, and once I saw this inspiration board via Snippet & Ink, I knew an August Picnic would be perfect.  So the theme was a “Richard Scarry Summertime Picnic.”

I designed and letterpress printed the invitations myself, scanning Richard Scarry characters in cars, bicycles, and airplanes from several of his books for the invite.  The colors of the invite were to reflect summery fruit: strawberries and raspberries for the inks and a warm, green apple envelope.  I was worried my sister would perhaps see the invite on a family member’s fridge or someone might “spill-the-beans,” but luckily she was completely surprised when she arrived to the party.

More photos and details on the shower to come this week!

{for more of my letterpress work images, check out my Flickr}

Till then, I’ll leave you with the Snippet and Ink inspiration board that started it all… the color scheme… (da-da-daaaah).

{image shown belongs to Snippet and Ink}