A Baby Shower…Thank You, Pinterest!

Almost three months ago (already?!?), I co-hosted a baby shower for a dear friend and her new baby son, Oliver. This is her fourth, so we wanted to keep it simple, but I still wanted it to be special. So, of course, I waited until that week to start planning anything ;) Pinterest saved me! I found all the ideas a gal could want or ever dream up, and then had to pick the ones I actually had time to do before the party :) Being the hostess, I didn’t get as many pictures as I wanted, but I did get a few.

Here are a few ideas I used. Some I got from other showers I’ve been to recently, including the one thrown for Shane and I (by Oliver’s mommy).

Name banner (using my cricut and paper I already had). The wolf painting was just on the wall of the venue.

 

Babies in a blanket (I just used lil’ smokies, crescent rolls, and cheddar cheese)

  Blue Butter Rich Spritz Cookies (L) and Chocolate Crèmes (R) (Scroll down on her post for recipes)

I didn’t get any pictures, but I also made delicious Iced Almond Joy Lattes ahead of time. Iced lattes are so much easier to make than hot ones!! They hold their flavor much better, especially when I used frozen latte cubes to ice it.

Here’s my original recipe for Iced Almond Joy Lattes with Latte Ice Cubes. This recipe makes a 1/2 gallon, so scale accordingly.

{Ingredients}

For the ice cubes

• 3/4 cup espresso or very strong coffee
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup coffee syrup in any flavor, I used caramel

For the lattes:

• 2 cups espresso or very strong coffee
• 1/2 cup white chocolate coffee syrup
• 1/2 cup almond coffee syrup
• 1/2 cup coconut coffee syrup
• 4 cups milk

{Directions}

1. Make the ice cubes ahead of time (obviously) by combining all ingredients and pouring into ice cube tray.
2. Mix all latte ingredients in 1/2 gallon pitcher and store in refrigerator.
3. Just before serving, put ice cubes into pitcher. When they melt, they do not dilute the drink any and they keep it nice and cold.

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Another idea that I used and loved, but didn’t get any pictures of, was a blessings board. Since Oliver was already here, this worked out to put his name on the cards., but you can really do it anyway you like. There are no directions about how to make one on the site I found it on, so I improvised. Remember, this was the week of, and I still have three kids. And no pictures of the finished product :( Imagine with me…

{Supplies}

• Fabric. Any size will do, but about 14” x 14” would probably be ideal.
• Cardboard. Just a little smaller than your fabric, so about 12” x 12” would be great. I used a smaller piece because all I could find that day was a small diaper box. Use what you have!
• Coordinating ribbon. About 2 feet.
• Glue gun
• Scrapbook paper. 1 or 2 12” x 12” sheets should be plenty. You could use plain paper too.
• Push pins

{Directions}

1. Hot glue the fabric onto the cardboard, wrapping around to the back.

2. Hot glue the ribbon to make a hangar.                               

3. Print scrapbook paper so that it says “Blessings for ____” either putting in baby’s name or just “baby”. I used Publisher to make this Blessings for Baby pdf. I cut the paper in half, so it was 6” x 12”. The tags were each 6” by 3” so that I could fit 4 on a half page. I’ll post the one I used, but it’s a “legal size”. This works for my laser printer, which prints from the middle of the page, but not my ink jet which prints from one side. I just want to give you a visual on what the cards look like, since I don’t have any pictures :(
4. Cut the paper and fold in half.
5. Use push pins to attach to blessings board.
6. Hang somewhere so that guests can write a wish or verse or whatever they desire for the baby and mommy.

Well, this post is getting long, and that’s all I can remember three months later! Hooray for baby Oliver! Thanks, Melissa, for letting me throw you a sprinkle :-)

~S