Baby Shower Planning

These months are flying by in my pregnancy! I cannot believe how fast time has flown since I found out I was expecting.  I know it'll go much faster when my little bundle is here, but I'm already staring at my 3rd trimester in the face-crazy!

Right now I'm in the planning process of the baby shower.  I'm really excited for it!  Normally most moms-to-be aren't included in the planning process, aside from being asked what they want at their shower, whom to invite, and whether or not there will be games. I, on the other hand, am way more involved in this planning process, because I love to plan parties, and hope to do this for a living down the road.  So why not start with my very own baby shower, right?

I have chosen a very sweet theme for my shower, and I am so over the moon excited for it! The theme will be "Cute As A Button"!!! I love this theme for a few reasons.  One reaon is that I love buttons! I go to antique shoppes and thrift stores in search of buttons, because they are cute, and I love turning them into unique home decor pieces, like a button bouquet.

Since buttons are cute, and my baby girl will be "cute as a button" the theme really works.  Once I decided my theme, I started designing the invitation, the first item which the guests will see and will set the theme nicely.  Of course I immediately looked to Pinterest, Craft Gawker and Google to get some ideas, and there are tons to peruse and inspire!

As the weeks boil down to the shower, I will unfold bit by bit what I'm creating to have as decor and favors.    What is on my agenda, you might ask?  Why white chocolate buttons, of course! I cannot wait for this project to begin! Other items will be button bouquet centerpieces, pennants, and a few other projects.

What I will share with you now is what my invitations will look like.  I'm really happy with this result:

I created this with the help of Photoshop, and a great scrapbook website called Two Peas in a Bucket.  They offer digital scrapbook files, amongst materials for scrapbooking, which is perfect if you're planning to design your own stationary or online scrapbook.  I've used Photoshop for many years for my photography projects, and this week I learned how to use it for "designing" purposes.  Two Peas in a Bucket has an online tutorial video to share how to create a baby shower invitation, and I used this as a guide to help me, which I so needed! If you're interested in this, click here for the link.  You have to know your way around Photoshop in order for you to pick up on it easily, and I benefited greatly from this.  

My invitations will actually be postcards, to save on money.  I use Zazzle.com to sell my photography, but also to mass create things like stationary.  I did this for our wedding "Save the Date" postcards, and it made an impact.  So people will receive the postcards, and hopefully stick them on their fridge as a reminder.  

I cannot wait to share with you how I am going to create the white chocolate buttons and other details! Until then, thanks for stopping by! 

Hangers with Words

One of my favorite projects I sought out to create were hangers with words.  I first learned of these through the bridal blogosphere, as nearly every single blog had them in bridal gown images.  The hangers with wired words are more attractive than the plain plastic hangers, a fact a wish I had known 3 years ago!

All is not lost, though, the hangers aren't just for brides, they can be for any occasion actually.  Since I am a mom-to-be, I thought why not make one for my baby girl?  Here is my little tutorial for making Hangers with  Words.  It's rather simple to do.

Supplies:
16 guage floral wire
hanger (for shirts/dresses)

Directions:
1)  Start off by writing your word onto a piece of paper.  Write it rather large, and in a cursive style that will be easy to trace with wire.  Remember the old school days of writing in the form of D'Nealian? Kind of use that reference to writing your big loopy letters.

2)  I chose 16 guage floral wire, as it is easy to bend and work with.  I started with the end section, went in about 1 1/2" and then bent it-this will be the part that wraps around the hanger.

3)  I then wrapped that end around the slot on the hanger, wrapping twice to make sure it would hold taught.  Once I had the end piece secured, I aligned the wire to the width of the hanger to figure out where my start point would be for the word.  With the word "baby" already written down, it helped guide me to where that starting point would be.

4)  To really work with the wire, I removed it from the hanger, keeping the form bent where the end section was, so I wouldn't lose track of it.  Then I started in tracing the wire around the letters as best as I could, holding the wire firm with my left hand, and looping with my right hand.  As I mentioned 16 gauge wire is rather easy to work with, and is quite bendy.

5)  From this point it is up to you on how to maneuver the wire around the wording.  Play with looping over or under with each letter if it looks off.  With the "Mrs" wire, seen at the top of this post,  I really had to figure out the r and the s to make it look the way I liked it.  Having the word printed as a guide truly helps!

6)  Once you are happy with your word, then take your wire after the last letter, hold that tight, and section off another 1 1/2" and wrap that around the opposite slot on the hanger.  I made sure that the end piece would not be seen from the front facing hanger, so when I wrapped it around, the end nicely fell to the back side.  And there you have it!

It's so cute, and makes a great gift to give someone, or even yourself!  You can be as simple as pictured here, or doll up the hanger even more with a pretty bow, wrap the hanger itself in yard or silk, the possibilities are endless.  Have fun and enjoy this project!