Baby Shower Guest Tree

Hi All-

Here is a great little project to create for a baby shower, wedding, bridal shower, or really any party you want.  It's a tree with leaves for guests to write their names or wishes for the baby/bride/birthday girl, whatever!

I created this one in particular for a friend's baby shower.  I started with a large piece of watercolor board.  I found my board at Michaels.  I had never used this kind of board before but wanted something sturdy but also something with the option of framing. I prefer ink and watercolor, but you can use whatever medium you prefer :)

I started by sketching the outline of a tree with pencil.  I then outlined everything in ink and erased the pencil.  Then watercolor!  Be sure to check that your ink will not run when you start painting with watercolor.  I have made this mistake before and it is not fun.

For this particular tree, I added the baby's initial in a heart on the tree trunk.  Depending on whether you already know the name, you may want to omit this or add another detail. 

Finally, cut out leaves from thick cardstock for the guests to write on.  I chose colors that will coordinate with the nursery because I know they would like to hang this in there.  I also chose to outline each leave in black to help it pop a bit. 

I didn't get a picture at the party of the finished tree because I'm awesome like that.  The guests had a lot of fun writing wishes for the baby on their leaves and then I used a heavy duty glue stick to attach.  Be sure to bring extra leaves because people will mess up and want another one.

Baby Shower Projects

I recently hosted a baby shower for a friend who is also pregnant.  Her little boy is due next month and we had a blast celebrating him.  Here are some pics from the event.

For her gift, I made her a onesie that said "lil bro" and a shirt that says "big sis."  She has a two year old daughter already.  I used freezer paper stencils to do the lettering; you can see an awesome tutorial here.  I decided the onesies would also make cute decorations.

You can't really see it, but I also made some little clothespin airplanes for decoration.  Her nursery is decorated with teddy bears flying planes so that's what we did.  My friend also found some teddy bears and gave them little aviator scarves.

Finally, I made some tissue paper puffs.  These were much easier to make than I thought.  You can see a tutorial here.

Birthday Party Recap

My birthday was a week ago and we celebrated with a party on Saturday night.  Some friends were kind enough to host it and it was a wonderful night.  We started with both cheese and chocolate fondue.  And yes, we had way too much food.

To top it off, my sweetie of a husband made me a TARDIS birthday cake.  He always makes me fun shaped cakes and this year he was inspired by my Doctor Who obsession.  It's a little droopy on the edge, but that's just one of the hazards of time travel.

Here is a picture of Eugene and I together.  You can see my new bangs and awesome bird shirt.

One of my friends gave me this beautiful vase as a gift.  I love it!  I added some fake grass from Michaels and put it in the front entry way.

I like the way it contrasts with my scarf tablecloth.  Now the only question is how long I can keep it there before the cat starts chewing on the grass and I have to move it.

How was your weekend?  Did you do anything fun?

Tea Party Favor Tutorial

As promised, here's a tutorial on how I created my tea party favors.  These would also make great wedding favors or even teacher gifts.

To start, you will need some glass jars.  I found some in the wedding section of a party store.  Start by removing all of the lids.

Now, cut small squares from your paper napkin.  You can also use tissue paper, but use a thinner kind if you can. 

Cover the top of each lid with a layer of Mod Podge.  Attach a square of napkin and add even more Mod Podge on top.

Once this is dry, fold the napkin down around the edge and trim off the excess.  You will then use Mod Podge to adhere the napkin to the side.

You will now notice that your edge looks a little messy. Using a craft blade or rotary cutter, trim the edge of the napkin off.  Add a bit more Mod Podge to seal it.  Can you see the difference once the edge is trimmed off?

The lids are now basically done, but I recommend giving the inside of the lid a careful cleaning since it will come into contact with tea.  Once that is done, it is time to create the tags.  I created a template in Microsoft Word and then printed them onto a sheet of shrinky dink.  Cut out the pieces and bake them until they are hard. 

Gather all your materials.  It is time to assemble the final piece!  Start by filling the jars with tea.  I was worried about having enough, but this tin of tea could have filled twice as many or more (I made 12).  If you are having a hard time getting the tea in, use a funnel and a chopstick to help work it through.

To add the tags, cut a length of baker's twine and thread it through the plastic tag.  Tie a knot to keep the tag in place.  Now, wrap the twine around the top and tie a knot in the back.

That's it!  All done!  The favors were a big hit.  I hope you have fun making your own tea party favors.

Tea Party Wrap-Up

My friend and I hosted a tea party last Saturday and I wanted to share some pictures with you.  It was a wonderful day; good friends, good food, all around wonderful.

For favors, I made little jars full of loose tea.  I'll show you the step-by-step of how I made these later this week.

I found some adorable napkins at the party store and couldn't resist.  I think I may use the leftovers to decorate a wooden tray or else some glass plates.

My husband bought me these lovely lilies when I got back from Kansas and luckily they were still in full bloom for the party.  I bought that tea pot a few years back at a flea market.  In case you can't tell, those are bunnies dancing.

Shockingly, my set of 100 cookie cutters did not have a shamrock.  However, green flowers made a pretty good substitute. 

We set out as much tea as we could and all the possible tea fixings.   Later, we added lemon slices as well.

I loved having an excuse to use my fancy tea set.  The set was a wedding gift and I absolutely love it.  I tied little ribbons onto the handles to help tell the cups apart.

Finally, here's a picture of me.  I've gotten so in the habit of photographing the things I make and bake that I often forget the people.  I didn't get any of the girls hanging out, but at least you can see me :)

I hope this helps inspire you to throw your own tea party!  Enjoy!