baby book shower

My brother and his wife announced over the Christmas holidays that they were expecting their first baby. After the initial screams, tears, hugs, and congratulations, I immediately began scouring pinterest for the perfect baby shower theme. Lucky for me, my sister-in-law is pretty much a super laid back chick and gave my Type A, OCD self free reign over the creation of the best baby book shower ever. 

I was drawn to the idea of a children's book themed shower. Pinterest was a wealth of pin-spiration for all things shower related from invitations and decoration to food and favors. This is an overview of the finished product. Over the next few weeks, I'll be posting about individual elements with some tutorials and freebies sprinkled along the way. 

So Welcome to Natalie's Baby Book Shower

Guest were greeted by this hand lettered chalkboard sign announcing Story Time. The window frame is a salvage from the family barn. 

The scene was set with many vintage toys and books from both new parents' childhoods. The check- in and thank you paper boxes were Target dollar aisle finds customized with hand lettering and mini paper pennants. I love the book themed sign in book that I found several months ago at World Market. 

These vintage blocks were a steal at one of my favorite local antique shops. My daughter and I spent a good hour searching through a huge wicker basket looking for the perfect mix to spell out the baby's last name. These are now proudly on display in the nursery.

The food for the brunch time shower was centered around our book theme. The menu was printed on coordinating scrapbook paper and displayed on the spines of brown paper covered books.

This little corner display is jam packed with family toys and vintage children's books. A quick look through my teacher stash of books helped to fill the shelves.

An old book was transformed into these paper fans and book wreath. A tutorial for the book wreath is in the works.

One of the biggest hits for the guests was the Mimosa Bar. The inspiration came from this pin from kojo-design.com.

This vintage family playpen was the perfect spot for guest to drop off their guests and books.

As friends and family headed home, they picked a custom bookmark from the Thank You box. Another tutorial is in the works for these simple favors. Several of the guest are teachers that are waiting to get their hands on this printable.

Photo credit for this post goes to my fabulous cousin, Heather Smith. Thanks for taking on the challenge of shooting this photo story. <3 

first {im}pression

they say you only get one chance to make a first impression and this super cute and simple Easter burlap carrot door hanger makes a perfect impression. Pair it with the perfect pink geraniums, a pop of teal, and this cute door mat from Target & you have a quite a statement. Hoppy Easter!

burlap door tutorial

Begin by creating a template for your carrot. In my very professional way (LOL), I cut half a carrot from old newspaper so that my shape would be symmetrical. Trace on to your burlap with pencil.

Using a rotatory cutter, cut out two copies of the carrot. I just doubled over the burlap & cut them out at the same time. The rotatory cutter makes it a snap to cut out rounded and irregular shapes.

Here's the finished cut out. Next comes the painting. I love acrylic craft paints because of the variety of colors.

Begin painting the base orange color. Let dry or blow dry.

Move on to the green leafy top and finish up with some fun sherbetty orange polka dots.  

Using a paint pen, add your phrase. I thought Hoppy Easter was a fun twist. 

Let's put this thing together. Cut several ribbons to length desired and knot loosely on both ends. Make sure to leave a "tail" to hot glue between the two layers of burlap.

 Using a hot glue gun, glue the front (painted) and back (plain) sides of the burlap together. Don't forget to add the ribbon hanger at the top.

Leave an opening to stuff your carrot. I love to use old plastic store bags- great way to recycle all those Target bags! Finish hot gluing the edges. Enjoy the finished piece!