Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Butterfly Baby Shower

This shower theme was chosen by the mom-to-be, really by way of her nursery choice. All Sarah and I had to go on was "purple butterflies" (we were trying to surprise the guest of honor with the theme!) and it ended up working out that we chose the exact colors she was using for the baby's room! That is always fun, because we make lots of things that transition to perfect nursery decor. It was really providential.

Pinterest provided a lot of inspiration as usual. (Also a couple of flops- I tried this butterfly kissing ball-it was *not* easy or cute! I will have to figure out what I did wrong.) The lighting at the church was abysmal, so please excuse my less-than-stellar photos. Oh florescent lights, how you plague me!
I wrapped the vases with two strips of scrapbook paper-and simply used my butterfly punch (Martha Stewart Monarch Butterfly from Michael's) to cut an outline. Sarah decorated branches from her yard with butterfly punch-outs, (she had a smaller plain butterfly design, from Hobby Lobby) and they turned out *so* cute! This was definitely a good time and money investment versus return project. It took the place of much more expensive fresh flowers, but didn't look any less pretty.
Sarah had these moss balls on hand, and she used a white tray (I think it is an olive dish?) and once she put the butterfly punches on the balls, they were adorable! We covered the table with a "runner" of wrapping paper from the dollar store, over a purple tablecloth, also the from the dollar store!
Sarah made this "specimen" art with more punches and used glue dots to stick them on a burlap covered canvas. She tied it off with tulle and used scrapbook stickers to spell out the baby's name.
I made the pennant banner from scrapbook paper and stickers. I embellished it with rhinestones to make it even more girly. We used the wrapping paper as a runner on this table, too.
This was my "piece de resistance" so to speak. I modeled it from an idea I saw on Pinterest. This girl is selling her's for $60- and they are worth it! I worked long and hard on that thing-would you believe there are almost 100 butterflies on there? And transporting it was beastly! I used sewing thread to hang the butterflies (I am guessing the Etsy seller used more "quality" supplies!). But the guest of honor loved it, and that made it all worthwhile. I glued two butterflies back to back on each thread and then folded the wings to make them 3D. I used an embroidery hoop as the base, and painted it then covered the outside with ribbon.
 I bought the nets at the Dollar Store (love that place!) and glued some punches in them to make them more festive. I stuck them in a vase, and was pretty happy with how they added height to this particular area.
I used the baby's name to make an acrostic, and the smaller frame holds the verses from Philippians 4:8. The acrostic is two separate printings that I glued together, I used printed paper for the name, to make it "pop". I used more punches to add some interest. The verses ended up being so perfect.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." Philippians 4:8

I did a devotional at the shower based on it, and it was straight from the Lord. It was a stressful pregnancy for the mom, full of worry, and I just felt like He was telling me to use this verse as a starting point to cover most of that chapter in Philippians, which is chock full of good advice for how to turn our burdens over to the Lord, and receive His peace!
I used a Dollar Store foam wreath and covered it with ribbon and used this free printable template to make the butterflies. I stuck them on with some straight pins-so easy!
I used this tutorial to make the flower on my present-I always wrap my gifts to match the decor. It is so much more fun that way! I also usually use actual wrapping paper. I'm so over bags-it is so much more fun to rip into paper!;)
My friend Christy made the cupcakes. I purchased the frosting dye at Hobby Lobby (so cheap-$0.70 with a coupon) and that stuff is wonderful! It works so much better than regular food coloring.The toppers: my fave trick of punches glued to toothpicks. A sweet friend threw these together while we were putting up the decorations!
Sarah made this framed decoration. It was one of my favorite things. She glued the punches to the front of the glass with worked out really nicely, I think they showed up better that way.

All in all, it was one of the less expensive showers we've done, but I think the creativity and effort we put into it more than made up for that. It was a pleasure to bless the mom, she was so sweet and grateful. She gave me a hostess gift, which made me cry! Very few people do that anymore, and it wasn't the gift so much as the thoughtfulness behind it. As much as I stress over these parties, I absolutely love the opportunity to flex my creative muscles! I think with each one Sarah and I become an even better team. And sometimes the financial limitations lead to better, more creative solutions. Although, I would love to see what we could do with a bigger budget...;)

My Pinterest Inspiration Board: Bump Bashes

8 comments:

  1. You're such a great party planner. I love the purple :) Gorgeous!

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  2. Clare, everything is beautiful. You should really become a party planner!

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  3. Clare, everything is beautiful. You should really become a party planner!

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  4. I read & comment {most of the time on your posts}. Great party decor...you really do make the most of the themes!!

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  5. Loving the theme AND the color - purple HAS to be the BEST color out there. ;)

    ~ Jen

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