Baby Shower, Bird theme for Baby Girl!

Wow, the trouble I had finding ideas for a bird themed baby shower that were pink! Seems like robins egg blue is the more popular theme.....and one more fitted for a boy. When I found out my brother and his fiance were having a baby, the first thing I thought of, besides the obvious happiness for them, was the Baby Shower! I stated my offer to host right away. I took the bird theme from the bedding they registered for at Pottery Barn Kids. The shower was at The Grotto in Oak Brook, IL

The invitations were beautiful. I ordered them from TinyPrints. They have so many cute invites. Most importantly they had one with a pink bird theme!

http://www.tinyprints.com/

Our sign in was a baby onesie. I put it over a piece of cardboard that was covered with pink card stock. I wrote the babies name across the front and placed on a table up front with fabric pens so that all of the guests could sign it. The onesie can then be placed in a shadow box or frame for a special memory.

The place cards were miniature nests filled with pink jordan almonds to look like eggs. I found some pink trimmed place cards in the clearance pile at Michael's and ran them through the printer. Also on the table when you walked in was a photo of the couple with a copy of the invitation.

To fill up the cake table I made a family tree with photos the couple the took while she was pregnant as well as pictures of each of them as babies. This was an easy project. I copied all of the pictures to wallet size and glued ribbon on the back of each one to hang on branches. I also cut out some birds out of different patterned card stock to do the same. The branches were placed in a cylinder vase that I covered with a paper lunch bag, card stock and ribbon. I placed one of the miniature nests on top with a little bird. Also, across the cake table is a banner I made out of card stock and ribbon. Just cut out and layer two different size circles. Place a letter in the center of each one to spell out your message. I used a hole punch to make two holes at the top of each one and then threaded the ribbon through the circles. Very Martha Stewart!

The Cake!! I loved, loved, loved this cake. Again, it is by Creative Cakes in Tinley Park. http://www.realbuttercreme.com/ I gave them a copy of the invitation and they were able to come up with a gorgeous cake to match. I have ordered quite a few cakes from them, but this was my favorite.....I just might like this one more than the one they did for my wedding! Also, on the cake table are the favors. The favors were individually wrapped bird cookies(CreativeCakes). I placed them all in a wreath I had at home to give the look of a birds nest. I ordered labels that matched the invitations and put a little thanks for coming on the back of each one.

This was my original attempt at a centerpiece for the tables. I bought bird houses at Michael's and cut out the roof. I spray painted pink and put a little bird on the front......added some flowers and ta da....centerpieces. I really loved the idea, but not having the appropriate tools for cutting, it became clear that making enough of these things was going to be quite a task. I ended up going to a florist who did an amazing job incorporating the birds into her design.

At each place setting I had a pink envelope. Each envelope had part of a game. We made little diapers out of paper that when opened revealed a winner. There were also raffle tickets and a scratch off card bought at a party store. The envelopes also had a pink and green pencil(Michael's) with a "what will mom think' trivia sheet. I had the new mom fill out and guests tried to match her answers.

The new mom was worried we would be wrapping her in toilet paper and smelling chocolates in diapers. She was not too keen on having games, but you know me. I could not host a Baby Shower without them. I promised her I would keep them simple. Instead of the toilet paper wrap and in keeping with the bird theme, we cut up different lengths of twine.....we wrapped each one with a small piece of brown paper stamped with a bird. Everyone took a string, but when they were unwrapped it was obvious only a few would fit. Those people were then asked to step up and wrap the string around her belly. Before the shower I measured one out to her exact size so we would have a winner. We did the baby food game. I matched the labels on the jar and the guessing sheets with the theme from the invitation. The Chinese take out box(Michael's) I covered with matching ribbon and placed cute mom index cards out. Guests filled out the cards with Words of Wisdom for the new parents.

Feather your nest with one of the fabulous prizes! I wrapped the prizes in tissue and twine and placed in a basket for that birds nest feel.

ok.....this diaper cake was a labor of love. I had seen them, but this was my very first time making one. I was determined to keep it simple. I did not want something covered with baby stuff, the diapers were plenty. I used newborn size diapers. You roll them up and wrap with a rubber band(you can see in picture).....those then get placed around a center anchor, I stacked a couple of sippy cups. You then use a bigger rubber band to hold them in place. You then use ribbon(I used two different ones in our color scheme)to cover the rubber band area. Keeping my cake simple and following my theme, I placed card stock birds and feathers on the cake. The topper was a little birdhouse purchased at Target.

I used the pink and green colors throughout the shower. Here I made a clothesline out of pink ribbon. Since the facility would not let us hang things on the wall, I used clothespins and attached across the front of the gift table.

Following the trend of a couples table at a wedding. The new parents had a couples table set up in front of the gift table just for them. Seating would have been too complicated with divorces on both sides of the family. It worked out well, they got to sit back and just enjoy the event.

This shower has to be one of my favorite events. Everything went smoothly....from the cake to the service at the location. I loved the way my little projects added to the theme. Baby Eleanor was born earlier this month. Plenty of time to start planning her 1st birthday party!!