Congratulations Natalie!

August 1st, 2009

We had the wonderful opportunity of throwing a baby shower for one of my friends. Ashley used to work with Natalie and when she told her she was pregnant, we just HAD to do her baby shower! This was done on a very tight budget, but it turned out to be so cute! Natalie said she wanted bright colors.. That was a hurdle we had to overcome because (as it turns out) ALL baby shower decorations are pastel colors. But, we were really excited and started to think about making some things on our own. The first were these photo holders. Super easy, and super cute.

All they are…oversized clothespins and wooden cut-outs. The cutouts are already painted and ready to go at your local craft store. Just pick out a matching color and paint the clothespins. I think these photo holders are what got the most compliments. Although the centerpieces didn’t scream “baby” they were very girly and cute. Again, super easy. Crystals, tiny styrofoam balls, and silk flowers, all bought from an arts and crafts store. Bright colored ribbon, flowers, and crystals were put out everywhere to give pops of bright color.

The frame was from the same craft store and served as a welcome sign and to direct guests to the guest book.

We also made a diaper cake to dress up the gift table, which was surprisingly easy to do and will be the topic of the next blog! Decorating with the bright colored ribbon and some equally as bright baby items, allowed us to tie the cake in to the overall theme. We also got a lot of compliments on this. Big bonus…it’s a great present for mommy-to-be!

This whole shower was put together for a little under $400 (minus the cost of the facility). Making the centerpieces and some of the decorations helped to save a lot of money.

Also, invitations were do-it-yourself. While it does take a little time to print them out yourself (especially for detail oriented people like me) it cuts out a lot of cost. But, if you find good, quality cardstock, most people won’t even notice. In fact, everyone thought these were printed at a stationery store! As long as you’re willing to put a little work into it, you can throw a nice party with a tight budget.

Here’s what Natalie had to say about her shower:

The shower was beyond anything I ever imagined. Everything was so beautiful. Everywhere I turned there was something fun to look at, they put so much thought into even the smallest details. It was personalized just for me and I will never forget it!   ~Natalie