Sugar & Spice and everything PINK!!!

Beautiful weather, great friends, and the celebration of a new life to be!!!  We spoiled Mommy-to-be Mel and baby MJ this weekend with a lovely baby shower brunch. 

***warning! Post is picture heavy!!***

Because I had a lot of time to prepare, I really thought about what details would make this shower over the top. 

Invitations: 

I used this template for the diaper. 

http://bitsofmimi.com/2013/02/13/diaperbabyshowerinvitations/

Supplies were from Michael's, JoAnn's and Hobby Lobby. The vellum is stitched on the cardstock with pink metallic thread. 

I used white ink for the calligraphy. The last name was sprawled across the envelope and the first name/address was done in the bottom right of the front of the envelope(which is not shown for privacy reasons). I used a label for my return address on the back flap and bought the forever floral stamps to go with the girly theme. 

DECOR

Walkway: 

I had envisioned this...

But we ran out of time so we ended up with this...

The balloons(pink and white of course) are tied to golf tees and anchored in the grass. 

Some of the decor was already up for Easter/Spring. But I think the 'April Showers Brings May Flowers' door decoration fit perfectly with a shower theme and it was pink! (Target umbrella & pink fake tulips from Michael's)

Food table: 

I put Silver and white striped wrapping paper on the wall. It took 2.5 rolls, each of which was found in the dollar section at Michael's(this was a recurring theme for this shower). 

Using this inspiration photo, 

I used scraps to make a frame and stained it my favorite Kona finish. 

Then I loosely used a  'Martha' tutorial and pearls from Michaels to create a wire script monogram

I added dollar fans from Michaels as base for monogram, hung using grosgrain ribbon, et voila! 

Finished product!!

(Diaper cake by Grandma-to-be Jane poodle)

Menu was simple and lovely. We had everything from Mel's favorite pigs in a blanket to gorgeous cupcakes from Mad Lily Cakery. 

How cute are those?!?!

All I had to make was 2 kinds of cookies. I went with tried and true Strawberry gooey butter cookies (http://s415.photobucket.com/user/sjaronsky/media/IMG_6548.jpg.html)

And chocolate covered Strawberry cookies(http://www.laurenslatest.com/chocolate-covered-strawberry-cookies/)

And of course we had pink lemonade, mimosas, coffee, tea and water. 

I found big clothespins in the dollar section which were so appropriate for a baby shower and also used dollar frames to label food and drinks. 

Since spring weather only lasts a few weeks in the south, I knew I would want to have the option to eat outside. I had previously shown this inspiration photo for planter boxes and knew I wanted to make these just to have for the house. 

Inspiration...

Using pine and Dollar Tree Vases and of course, my trusty Kona stain....

I love hydrangeas! Had to make a special trip to Kroger to get 12 bags of them, but it was worth it!!

I'm totally into the dip dye look! It was my first time using Rit Dye, but how beautiful is the finished look? And the 'fabric' is just 2 king size white flat sheets! 

And what little girl shower would be complete without a tutu somewhere? I use the pre-cut tulle rolls from Hobby Lobby. I pinned the elastic used to an old sheet I had cut in a circle and dyed. 

My favorite floral tip is to use a pitcher as a vase. It adds a cool vibe to any gorgeous arrangement and is a lot nicer than most of my Grocery vases. 

Kudos to Whitney for her mad-flower arranging skills

If you hadn't noticed, I put lanterns and tissue paper Pom poms on each ceiling fan and the dining room chandelier. It was a great way to cover the dated fan and chandelier that we haven't replaced yet. Tissue paper poms are my new go to decoration for sure. Super easy!!!

And the finished mantle. (Onesie garland by Hostess Erin A. The onesies and other items she made were to die for!!!!)

The floral topiaries were made with thrifter candlesticks that were painted and glittered. I bought the fake flowers from Michael's and used styrofoam balls. 

The bunny picture was a last minute Easter mantle addition. I traced an outline on stained wood I had glued together and then hand painted it. One of baby MJ's nurseries is Beatrix Potter themed so it worked. 

I just refinished the chalkboard we had bought for our wedding, so this was a great occasion to customize the message. 

I also framed the shower invitation for the mantle as a filler. The M was a dollar section find which I spray painted but will hold into since we can reuse that for everyday use. 

Check out this last minute thing I threw together that became my favorite decoration....

I used another roll of pink wrapping paper found in the dollar area to run the gift table and the drink table. It's a great inexpensive fix if you don't have enough table cloths. 

My gift was a crocheted blanket(how lovely is that pattern)? It was slightly modified by me. http://moderngracedesign.blogspot.ca/2012/09/baby-blanket-free-pattern.html?m=1

And a gorgeous sign which has been my go to gift for babies. Unfortunately, my guy is not making these anymore so I'll be attempting to do the next one by hand. 

I'm also giving her the Maggie sign which is cardboard letters glued together and the pearl monogram. 

The last thing I handled was the favors. I'm a sucker for a good party favor though I don't think they are by any means a necessity. I knew from the beginning of starting to plan this shower that I wanted to make macarons. They are lovely, elegant and (most importantly) delicious. I think edible favors is always the way to go. 

I decided upon strawberry lemonade macarons. I made my own almond flour( this is truly the cheapest route to go), as almond meal at Fresh market is $13/bag. 

The tutorial I used was this: 

http://celebratingeverydaylife.com/pink-lemonade-macaron-recipe-the-great-sucre-macaron-challenge-of-2014/

I packaged them using(dollar section) cupcake wraps and plastic cups($1/10 cups).

I found bags from Target and labels and ribbon from Michael's. 

We all refer to each other as poodle, hence the recurring poodle theme. 

Frame a paper explaining what they are, throw a great floral arrangement up there as the centerpiece and you've got yourself a fabulous take home treat! I

Congrats to Mel-poodle and little poodle to be Maggie. This baby is loved beyond belief already!