Princess baby shower (the devil in the details)

Hi everyone! I did want to share with you some of the details of the baby shower. Since we worked on setting up right up until the very last second (and beyond a little).
So I'm going to breakdown some of the different tables. The picture above of course is the guest registration table and was on the right hand side as soon as you walked thru the door. We used a table that the venue already had (hence their sign) I thought that it worked perfectly.
The tablecloth was found on clearance at Michaels and I actually purchased 2 of them. I'll save them and use them again for some other event or gathering I'm sure because they were so pretty. The white lantern that you see is actually one that I've reused from our wedding. I just added the little tutu at the bottom of it which was purchased from Michaels and was also part of their Easter clearance. Along with the gold rose in front. The little baby book wasn't one that I had made (I ran out of time but you know that many will be made for our precious bundle of joy), I actually found this on clearance at Michaels as well. Then the white basket....well I've had this white basket for so many years that I have lost track. I did make the little tutu ruffle for it by making strips of tulle and tying it to bakers twine. (pssst....if you're planning on doing this be sure to allow A LOT of time) I had originally planned on using it for a game for the shower but since the Covid thing and all, we decided that games was something we would steer clear of. But since I had already spent so much time on making the basket we just popped some flowers inside along with some pink tissue paper and left it as is.
Its sad that as a paper crafter I not only didn't have time to make a baby mini album for her but I also didn't have time to make a guest registry either. But I did find this little gold journal at Walgreens of all places along with the pink furry top pen to use. I figured that it would slide in the back of the little store bought mini album and our daughter would be able to not only remember who all came to her shower but would be able to see who bought what since one of her best friends sat beside her and made a list. She was really helpful in helping decorate and take notes. The other things on the table were borrowed from the venue. The balloons were purchased from Target and I had found some little pink buckets that I placed white tutus on to dress them up a bit. Then to fill the bucket, I used pink Easter grass that I had found yet again on clearance along with all those little store bought tutus.
**just a little note about that. If you can find them store bought and inexpensive like I did, then save yourself some time and grab them.

Lets talk dessert table! YUM! So we felt like the table needed a little more than just a white table cloth and since this venue was so big we needed to make an impact anywhere that we could. My son's girlfriend was my right hand in decorating and helping with this shower. She let me borrow some of her table sashes that she had left over from her sisters wedding. I knew that we would use them on some of the food tables and such but wasn't exactly certain how we would use them. I wanted to keep them protected from stains so this is what came up with. Please remember that we were all in a mad rush to get everything done and didn't have time for final tweaks and touch-ups before guests started arriving. (sadly) But I had tossed some silk flowers in my decorators bag prior to shower day...thankfully. Because we felt like it needed something else. So this was the end result. Olivia (my son's girlfriend) was so resourceful, she took her ponytail holders to gather the center of the scarf and then we used pins to hold the flowers as well as the scarf on.

Like I said before, Olivia was my right hand and so helpful. She even made these chocolate dipped pretzels as well as the chocolate dipped oreos. I'm not sure if you can see the details but she's added sprinkles AND little crowns to them. How precious is that???

Moving on the cupcakes. These were red velvet cupcakes and they were so good! Our daughters friend made these for us. I made the 3 tier trays. They flanked either end of the table. They are nothing more than painted plate chargers from the Dollar Tree and little glass votive candle holders for risers. What you can't see in the pictures is that I added some table scatter where the candle would have sat. Because I didn't want a void and felt like it needed some detail. I thought that I had taken a picture so that you could see that detail but obviously I did not. I don't even have the stands any longer because our daughters friend was wanting to use them for a Mary Kay party. The little roses that are placed on the tiers are some that I made. I didn't make a tutorial on them but will gladly do that if you're wanting to see how it was done. I wound up making 96 onsie cupcake toppers using a Fiskars punch and added little gold punched hearts.

So as I said earlier, my right hand Olivia made chocolate covered oreos. Look how pretty they are! She even added little baby feet to them! They tasted even better than they looked too! So the center tray???? Like I've said before work was happening right up til the last minute and to be quite honest I do not remember what placed there in the end.

Here is what our drink station looked like. We used the dispensers from the venue and the choices was water, sweet tea (we're Southern here ya'll), pink raspberry lemonade, and unsweetened tea. We used the same decor on this table as the we did on the dessert table.

Lets talk food!! The event was actually catered by the venue. The food was so good (what I was able to eat) I completely missed the spinach dip that everyone was raving about sadly. But what I did manage to eat was so good and I loved how she laid the table out.
You'll notice to the left of the picture, there is another table. That table had all of our plates and utensils on them. I made up all of the utensil with pink and white polka dot napkins and made little gold crown napkin rings for each one. I believe that there were close to 100 of those that I had made up.

Yes I did make that decorations flanking the wood installment. These are jumbo roses the same as the ones that I used on the floral backdrop and then I made a 12" rosette along with some smaller ones and added more of the palm frond leaves and little green leaves. These were attached using Zot glue dots so that it didn't damage the wood in any manner.

 This is another little spot that I wasn't real sure what to do with. The shelves and planter box was already there and permanent fixtures. Had I had loads of money to throw in this baby shower I would of probably hung lots and lots of draperies up to hide some of the electrical Filled this planter box with gorgeous roses and ivy draping over....but I had to work with what we could afford. So this is the outcome. I actually assigned this little area to one of our daughters friends who is super creative. I had everything that I thought I would be using here in a box. I handed it to her told her to put her magical touch on it. She wasn't certain what to do with the little dresses and clothes so I suggested a clothesline. I actually had the little dress hanging on the right hand side all prepared to have a balloon inside and sitting. It was really cute when I tried it at home but I think this worked wonderfully as well. The large rose in the corner is one that I made. I actually had thought about tossing it because it just didn't look exactly right to me and it was the first jumbo rose I had made.....I didn't like the size or shape at all but wound up keeping it and on its side looks cute on the shelf I thought. The E was a clearance item I had found at Michaels and the little baby block is left over from the gender reveal party. It's actually an exploding box that I need to get back from mommy so I can put a mini album inside it for them.

We didn't know if "daddy" was going to be here or not. You know now its quite common to see fathers at the baby showers. But this little table was set for the two of them just in case. And if you're wondering...he didn't show up until right at the end of the shower so this table was never used.

So the tables don't look anything like I had planned prior to the pandemic. I was planning on putting pink tulle on the tables on top of the white linens and setting each place. Yes they were going to be paper plates but I had planned on setting them with the pink and gold place settings and the little wrapped utensils. This would of made the tables look much more put together. However, we had to accommodate for and be thoughtful of keeping everyone as safe as possible and the tables looked sparse. I'll show you a little "mock up" that I did at home prior to the shower.

Since the pink tulle was going to be out (because of time restraint more than anything) and that I wasn't going to be able to set each place setting the way I had originally planned either. So I grabbed some pink cotton napkins from home, opened up some cute little paper gold crowns and used the centerpieces that I had made along with some of the table scatter. It was sparse and not at all what I had envisioned but it is what it is.....

Here is another picture of the little crepe paper flowers that I made and used Dollar Tree vases (painted) with tulle and ribbon attached. I also filled them with some more pink Easter grass and added the little baby blocks as well by puncturing a small hole in the bottom of them and gluing a skewer in them. If you're interested in making these little crepe paper roses here is the link where I did a tutorial on them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQRjzztOXKg

This is the area where all the gifts were sitting and where mom-to-be would be sitting to open her gifts. I'll show a picture of the giant baby blocks when they were still here at home so you can see those better but they are 12x12 blocks that I made from scratch using chipboard, wrapping paper, decorative precious moments scrapbook paper and I used my Cricut to cut out the jumbo letters. I did cut them several times so that they would have some depth to them.

So here is the area where she sat and opened her gifts. She wound up doing this part virtually so that those who didn't feel comfortable to come to the shower could still feel like they were part of it. This is another one of the jumbo roses and rosette clusters that I did. I did 3 of these in total not including the backdrop. Then I also wanted a little something hanging from this mantle so I made more small rosettes and simply glued them to ribbon. There is another one of the re-used white lanterns with a little tutu placed in the floor for a little more color.
So now, if you'd like to see the short video tour of the shower decorations you can find it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8mZcsi4bYY
I also found more pictures on my phone of some of the things that I didn't realize I had until now....in it you will find detailed pictures of the table scatter I placed in the cupcake stands and a variety of other pictures that I took while I was making everything....I want go into detail on them...they will speak for themselves.

 This was how we had to work on getting the flowers on the foam core board correctly....it was only at 4' at the time but of course raised at the venue to 8'

 what the little balloon in the dress looked like....

and last but not least....here is my little Zoe. She loves wearing tutu dresses but I couldn't make her understand that this tutu that I was making for the table was just entirely too big for her. LOL
Thanks for stopping by everyone! I hope that you're having a wonderful day and enjoyed the baby shower.

MacKenzie Childs inspired baby girl dress stands

Welcome back everyone! So lately I've been extremely inspired and almost obsessed by Mackenzie Childs. During this newly obsessed time I had been working on the baby shower for our daughter. I had seen a picture on Pinterest of some little dress stands that I thought were just absolutely adorable so I shared that picture with my husband and he made the stands for me. Then it was time to put my newly inspired obsession to work!

So if you know anything about MacKenzie childs you know that one of the things that she's most notorious for in the home decor world is her Courtly check patterns. So since I didn't feel that black or royal blue check would be appropriate for a little girl baby shower I used the colors that were appropriate. I started off my taping off my wood platforms using 1" painters tape and started working. This was a bit time consuming because after you had taped and painted one way...you had to take that off and tape and paint the opposite way. For someone in a bit of a rush to churn out as many baby shower projects as I had on my list at the time......it turned out to be more time that I could allow for and you'll see in following pictures. But back to this...working my way up the stand. I knew that I wanted some kind of floral design. Again, time restraint played a part of this. So I looked in my stash of pretty paper napkins for pink florals and I believe that it was just meant for me to use these on this project. A little decoupaging and the poles of the stands were complete in no time at all. And since MacKenzie Childs loves to mix and match patterns, I knew that I would be doing the same. So polka dots came into play for the wood cross bar that held these little dresses on. I'll talk more about the "finials" in a moment. But lets move on the stand number two for now.

 So here you will see that there isn't a check at all....but jagged stripes instead. That's because first and foremost, I was working on these at the wee hours of the morning and when I removed the first tape that I had laid out...I don't know how but I re-taped and painted and when I revealed the "masterpiece" this is what I saw. LOL I went to bed shortly after this big reveal to myself knowing that sleep was crucial....obviously. But when I woke with a fresh new perspective on the "situation" I found that I really liked it! It gave it yet another pattern in the overall scheme of things. So I just proceeded on.

In this last dress stand. You'll see that I left the base different as well. Instead of a full connecting check, I only taped and painted one time and called it done. By placing the jagged stripes in the middle it really gave them all their own little personalities. Or at least that's how I was looking at them. 

So now lets talk about the little finials on top of each of the posts. Need I remind you yet again that this is MacKenzie Childs inspired.....to me she is to home decor as Betsy Johnson is to the fashion industry. They are both bold and quirky. I personally think they would be great friends because they both seem to have the same style and taste. Who knows maybe they are.....but I digress....back to the finials.....since we were in the middle of a nationwide lockdown due to the Covid pandemic, I had to use what I already had in my stash. So starting from the bottom of the finial and working my way up. The black and white striped part is actually a wooden drawer pull that I turned upside down. The next one, the green one, is actually a wooden bead that I painted a shade of the green from the decoupaged napkins. Then the one on the very top is a wooden ball that already had been cut to have a flat surface. I had only a few of those leftover from a project I did last Christmas and so I put them to good use. I simply glued them all together using wood glue, let them dry overnight and then glued them to the tops of the stands which I let dry overnight as well. I think that they made the perfect addition of quirky whimsy to the little dress stands. 

If you're wondering how I kept my little shoes and accessories in the position that you're seeing them in here in the photos as well as the last picture of them at the baby shower...here is my tip. I used glue dots! Zots glue dots actually. I used those for almost everything that I hung for the baby shower..as a matter of fact, I used every last one that I had! But they are amazing and don't damage things when you pull them off. Of course the final step after painting these little dress stands was for me to spray them with some clear acrylic paint to protect them and that helped to keep things from sticking permanently to them. 

This last picture is how I used them as not only a gift but as decor as well at the baby shower. The whiskey barrels made them look even more sweet and precious I think. Of course these belonged to the venue but I knew immediately how I was going to utilize them. 

These were lined up right at the door on the left hand side to act as a barrier of sorts. On the right hand side, the registration table was set up long ways and just helped guide people into the venue. 

I hope that you enjoyed seeing these little dress stands. They were one of my favorite things that I made for the entire shower. My hope is that our granddaughter will use these for many years in her room....and YES they are signed on the bottom for her....her Papa built them and her Gigi painted them. 

Canopy Bed Diaper Cake (with tutorial)

Just as I promised, I have another diaper cake for you. This one is for a baby girl as well as you can see. So my inspiration from this one came from looking at children's furniture and to be honest, it's probably the easiest and most cost effective diaper cake that I have made yet. You will find links to my youtube channel where I did another "make/craft with me" type video. There are only 3 parts to this one. But in the meantime, I'm going to show you some of the detailed and up close pictures for you here. Also, please note that I decided to add an extra "poof" in the little drapes hanging down on each post. This I did not show in my video but I did it by simply adding some ribbon and fluffing the receiving blankets.

 I'm just going to explain to you what detail it is that I'm trying to show in each of the pictures. Please follow the links below for the video tutorial and you can revert back to these close ups as reference.
The above picture is the gold wire footboard that I created using 16 gauge wire. Its a little fussy to work with but just take your time and you'll get a design that you're happy with.

In this picture I was trying to give you a better view of what the wood crown headboard looked like.

 and this one shows what behind the headboard looks like. Remember that wood crown is actually another gift for the mom and dad to be. (you'll understand more when you watch the tutorial)

 I wish that I had checked this picture before now because it's a little blurry but I think you can still see the little mittens I've used as finials for the canopy.

 Here is a close up of the ceiling. I wanted you to see what it looked like inserted after everything is finished and some of these views would of been almost impossible to show you with the camera on the tripod. (Don't forget to take some scotch tape with you to the baby shower so you can steady your canopy top when you set it up at the shower. Since it is certainly easier to transport in 2 pieces.)

 When I was filming my video, the tiarra just wouldn't show up very well. The light reflection made it difficult. I do realize that it's sitting a little crooked here but I did straighten it back up.

 Here it is at the baby shower sitting on the other end of the table from the Princess carriage diaper cake. You can see the tutu skirt as well that I made and simply went over a white tablecloth.

Here is another view of it. I didn't bother to crop this picture and you can see (on the left hand side of the picture) the gift station where everyone dropped their gifts.
So if you would like to make one for yourself. There are 3 videos in this little series. You can see those videos here:

Video for part 1

https://youtu.be/nw1H3wu7Guo

video for part 2

https://youtu.be/VgpuqwZ7te4

video for part 3

https://youtu.be/DEZr77SfHqs

Thanks for stopping by and I hope that you enjoy this latest diaper cake creation. 

Diaper Princess Carriage cake (with tutorial)

Hi everyone! So I do have a couple more diaper cakes that I've made. This time for a baby girl and not just any baby girl but for our first grand child! We are so excited about her arrival.
In my previous post I explained how I created the backdrop for this table and so now I'll show you how I created this diaper cake. I actually watched a video on youtube from someone named Gifty making one of these but it was in fast forward and you really had to watch it numerous times to try and catch everything and she didn't talk while creating it. So I'm first going to show you some detailed pictures of the carriage while I still had it here at home and then I'll give you the link to where you can watch me making this carriage myself. It is a "craft with me" type of video and I leave in all of the bloopers and blunders so just know that ahead of time and if you're making one for yourself please watch the entire series before making one so you will know where I had to change and adjust some things. But for now, just enjoy looking at the detailed pictures of the carriage. The above picture is from the shower...the ones below are ones I took for you right after I created it. I do hope that you like it and that it inspires you to make one.

 Note the "tires" are diapers.

 The bed of the carriage is diaper as well as the pillow roll.....

 The "headboard" is diapers as well and I also needed to add some rolled diapers below the headboard so that it would stay higher than the pillow roll and fill the void so that the paper lantern would maintain it's shape.....

 I also tucked some diapers at the foot of the bed to fill in the void as well......The little roses are mulberry paper roses that I bought years ago and added as "tie backs".....

 The tires are wrapped with burp cloths and one is wrapped with a receiving blanket. The flowers in the center of the tires are ones that I made myself using crepe paper. I do have a tutorial on how to make these and you can find that tutorial here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQRjzztOXKg

 Here is the view of the pretty gold wire swirls...I found these to be the most difficult thing to bend and think that if I had used a little more pliable wire it may have been a little easier. And another thing that I learned and if I were to do it over is to go ahead and cover the "axels" with a burp cloth or receiving blanket BEFORE adding the tires. I think it would of secured the tires better and kept them from slipping and sliding. You'll understand what I'm talking about when you watch the video series.

 Here is the top of the carriage. Because every Princess carriage needs a crown on top...right?....

 This is just another view inside the carriage in case you wanted to see the ceiling of it and see that I did add the pearls and flowers on both sides....

 This is a close up view of the bottom of the carriage showing that I did use a second wire from the medium sized paper lantern to help support the bottom of the carriage.

And a sneak peek at the rolled diapers which are under the "headboard" and "pillow roll".
So if you'd like to watch me make this diaper cake here are the links for those. There are 5 videos in total. Part 2 has a continuation it which is why I've only labeled it as a 4 part series. But here are your links......and I give you a supplies list in the description of the videos.
Part 1 can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQeJIUoOpAQ
Part 2 can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00BscsGWfRU
Part 2 cont' can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLrk7EbUudE&t=16s
Part 3 can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VZ2kYTsIQc
Part 4 and final video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4On7dvV7Pl8
I said in the description of the video that I didn't record me making the little platform that the carriage sits on but in case you didn't read everything, I'll go ahead and tell you what I did. I used one more receiving blanket and a flattened cardboard box and just simply wrapped it. I did find that if you tape the box flat really good with some shipping tape that it makes it much more sturdy but you would want to transport this is a couple of different sections so that it survives the journey and then sit in on your platform.
I hope that you've enjoyed this post as well as the video. If you like these diaper cakes and baby shower inspiration type posts and tutorials I would appreciate it if you would subscribe to my channel and follow me here. I do have another diaper cake that I made for this shower and it will be coming up in the near future.
Thanks everyone for stopping by Candy Creek and for "flying" over to my youtube channel Robin's Feathered Nest.