Friday Freebie!

As I am sure you know, October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month This year the tag line is:

Celebrating 25 Years of Awareness, Education, and Empowerment

In honor of this month Latisha at Eccentric Design Studio has put together an adorable printable freebie for everyone.

 

Head over and pick up this beautiful set on Eccentric Designs and leave her a note to say thanks. 

DIY: Tissue Paper Pom-Poms

We've all seen these cute little balls floating above party tables.

So I found a tutorial by Martha Stewart and began making some.
First, fold your tissue.

I used 8 sheets for the large one, 6 sheets for the smaller ones. For the large ones fold full size sheets. For the medium size I cut the full size sheets in half and for the smaller ones I cut the half sheets in half again. Once you have your fans folded cut wire to wrap at the center of your fan.

Once secure, cut your ends. Some cut points and others round the ends. I chose to round mine. With 8 sheets it is rather thick so I made my cuts by taking a few folds at a time. Once done I was able to trim so they were all even. The medium and smaller ones weren't so bad to cut.

With that done, you are ready to fluff. Be careful as the tissue tears easily. Start with one side and make your center. Pull it up and out carefully. The next layers fan around the center. Turn it over and do the other side the same way. I learned that by how you placed your wire determined how they hang. I like the wire coming out the center of one side. If you place it on the side, your pom-pom will look like the one on the left of our beverage table. I guess it's a matter of preference, so play around with it.

I used two mediums and 2 small to transform our chandelier over the table.

I added raffia to cover the wire and pink daisy's to accent. It still needed something else so I took some ribbon, tied it to a rubber band stretched between the chair.

Once I had them tied on I bunched them up.

I then tied the two ends of the rubber band around the top of the chandelier and let the ribbons drape down.

It really created a very beautiful table.

Rock Baby, BaBy-Q Shower

This shower was a challenge. Our son didn't want us to go all out, but my daughter and I just can't seem to do anything simple. You may remember that we started collection our inspiration and planning out the party. This week you have also seen some of the DIY projects we worked on before the shower. Here is your first look at how everything came together.

The Candy Buffet was my favorite as it was with all the kids in attendance. The kids were all really good about not putting their fingers in the candy jars. I can't say the same thing for my sons! As we started setting up where the candy buffet would be set up I thought I was running out of table space. Then I remember this 2 tiered corner table my husband made me. It fits perfectly under the three windows in the corner of my dining room. It was originally made for my Christmas village, but it is the perfect table for our candy buffet.
For the back drop behind the table I used the comforter from the nursery bedding's the mom to be had picked out. I also used dollar store table covers to drape the table. (Goal-to someday make covers for this table that can be used over and over again)

We started prepping the candy jars and the treats between other family events during the 3 days before the baby shower. I love how the chocolate marshmallow's came out.

Amber made all the candy labels that coordinated perfectly with the invitation she designed.

I also love the record bowls that held the pop rocks.

One thing I would have changed is the size of my table. We had it extended prior for all the family dinners. I think if we had taken out the leaf, the table would have looked a bit better.

I love how the diaper cake came together and was the perfect centerpiece on the sweets table.

I can't say I am in love with our outside table. I love the album place mats. Amber made both the record labels and water bottle labels (she is so talented). I had planned to add raffia, rolled utensils and a few other embellishments but the wind was not working with us. Plus, for the first time in all my party planning, I didn't create a centerpiece. How did that happen?

I loved how the beverage table turned out though. This arch has been used for Amber's wedding, our 1st annual Halloween Boo Bash and now the baby shower. It is so simple to change out the flowers for any occasions. Something we will be using again this Halloween and for a friends 25th Birthday a few week before.

Pink and Brown Dessert Buffet

During our planning we have decided to add more than just candy to our buffet. We started with a list of the Mom-to-be’s favorite candy:

Sour Patch Kids (we found the Sour Patch Green Rind Watermelon so they are mostly pink)

Swedish Fish (yes, they are red not pink, but it is close enough)

M&M's

Strawberry Laffy Taffy

Reese Peanut Butter Cups – We wanted to find the pink wrapped ones, but they are only available at Easter. I did find this idea of making personalized stickers for Hershey Kisses, and the 3/4” stickers should fit on the Reese Peanut Butter Cups as well.

Hershey Kiss stickers

Jujubes – not sure how we will work these into the pink and brown color scheme. If the small Halloween “fun sized” boxes are out in stores we could wrap them in pink and brown paper.

We found a few extra kinds of candy that match our pink and brown color scheme:

Strawberry Milkshake Whoppers

Good n' Plenty

Jelly Belly’s (straight from the factory!)

A&W® Root Beer

Bubble Gum

Chocolate Pudding

Strawberry Cheesecake

Toasted Marshmallow

Plus we have seen some great ideas from a few of our favorite blogs:

Swiss Rolls from Grey Grey Designs

Dipped Marshmellows

Brownie Pops

Dipped Oreo’s

We are not doing to get a cake, we thought cupcakes would work a lot better with the buffet. We are trying to decide which kind of cupcakes to make. My inspiration started with this Neapolitan “cup”cake on Beat Until Fluffy!

I have made layered cupcakes with just colored white cake, so I think I could make these in regular cupcake liners, the layers would just be smaller. Then mom found this this picture of a cupcake turned into a rattle:

Again it is just a standard cupcake that I can easily transform.

We are down to just 2 more weekends of “prep” time before the party weekend! I can’t wait to show off the whole party.

Party Planning: Pink and Brown Co-ed BaByQ Shower

Pulling together a co-ed baby shower is challenging! Add to that a BaByQ/Rock Star theme and we have our work cut out for us to stay on budget. Here are some of our ideas in the works with some money saving DIY tips for throwing a co-ed baby shower.

The invitations:

Like all of our past parties we save money by designing and printing our own invitations. Amber really has a gift for creating some awesome invites and this one will surely challenge her!The inspiration for the invitation will be a combination of this invite from The DIY Showoff. We loved her original BaByQ shower and pulled a few ideas from her fantastic baby shower to use at ours.

Since we are adding in the Rockabilly/Rock Star theme to our baby shower I also found this invitation on Zazzle that is almost our color scheme as well.

The invitation will include some of the following wording:

Maddie will Rock Their World.

Come celebrate with us at a BaBy-Q for the parents to be.

Bring your swimsuits and prepare to splash and have fun!

Decor:

For our placemats we already went to the second hand shop (Goodwill actually). Every other Saturday they have a 50% off sale (did you know that? It is a great money saver on top of low prices) and we were able to pick up vinyl record albums for .50 each. Amber will make a new party label for the albums to match the decor. Since we plan on using round tables and don't want the table to look too crowded, we will opt to use one album at every other place setting. Guest will be allowed to take home the albums if they choose.

In addition I have also been busy DIY tissue paper poms to hang from the ceiling inside. It had been years since I had made them, but it came back to me quickly. The poms are all the rage in decor right now and they are so inexpensive, and give a great splash of color to the room. The package of 20 pieces of tissue paper that I bought made 4 poms total: 2 large, 1 medium and 1 small. I will grab another pack or two of paper to have a nice variety of sizes and shades of pink.

Candy Buffet:
Of course we also are planning to have a Candy Buffet and maybe even a Cake Buffet. Again a trip to the second hand shop and we bought all our containers for less then $10.00! This was a HUGE savings over buying them brand new at Joann's or Michael's where they are typically $10-$15 each. I will use the Mother to Be's nursery bedding for the back drop. It is not only perfect for the decor, but she will get to take it home with her! We have a list of the Mom to be’s favorite candies and have been on the look out for the most pink options possible. Here are some of the pink and brown candy buffets we have been inspired by for the set up:

Food & Drinks:
It is a BaByQ after all, so our menu will consist of BBQ pork ribs and chicken kabobs for the adults with hamburgers and hotdogs for the kids. Along with traditional sides like corn on the cob, baked beans and a pasta salad. This is menu that is easy to prepare and can stretch your food budget while also giving guests a variety of food to eat. No co-ed party is complete without a few adult refreshments. To keep costs low and on budget we plan to have 2 signature drinks. The alcoholic cocktail will be Strawberry Margaritas and we will give it a fun name (any suggestions?). For the non-alcoholic signature drink We will have pink punch or pink lemonade. I also found RockStar beverages. My hubby wondered if we really wanted to serve energy drinks, but I can't resist that the cans fit our theme! I have been watching the grocery store sales to get a good price on them.

Outside Decor:
Outdoor decor always has special considerations to take into account. We never know when the wind will kick up or even if a slight drizzle will occur during Monsoon season. To take that into account I have become a pro at using the Dollar Store plastic tablecloths to my advantage. They are a great low cost way of adding color, hiding unmentionables and transforming a room for the cost of a few dollars. For the coed baby shower I plan on using pink and brown plastic tablecloths to make swags on the back patio fence, and to make a flags for the front by the driveway.

We will also be using some of the paper lanterns from Amber’s wedding around the edges of the outdoor area. Even if we don’t light them, they will add some interest to the areas around the house.
Games:
We haven't narrowed down our games ideas but these are on our "possible" list:

"Bun In The Oven." Make felt dresses with a small slit cut into the back which allow a cotton ball to be inserted into the dress (looks like a baby bump!). Female Guests are asked to take one dress. When everyone has a dress, they pulled out the cotton ball looking for the "bun" (made from play dough and painted with white icing and glitter). The person who found the bun wins the prize.

"Stroller Obstacle Course" Testing the new dad's ability to take care of a child while adding a fun twist. Place a baby doll in a stroller and set up obstacles for him to maneuver around. Time him on speed and his ability to keep the baby safe. Test other guests to see who is the fastest.

"Don't break the water!" This is an outdoor game that works great for a co-ed party! Start with an aluminum bucket full of water balloons. Guests need to hold the water balloon between their legs and run from one point to another without breaking their water.

The centerpieces will be taking on double duty to save money and will be the prizes for the games. They'll be numbered and winners from the game will draw a number to receive their prize.

BBQ Bibs:
I thought that since we are incorporating the BBQ theme and serving BBQ ribs that it would be a nice touch to have some plastic bibs. I am going to use the Dollar Store plastic tablecloths to cut out ones that will match the decor.
Only three more weeks till the big party weekend!