Our Family Is Growing - A Baby Girl's Shower

Some of you might remember a post from back in May. My niece, Sarah, and her husband found out they are going to be the proud parents of a precious baby girl. The reveal was so much fun that my mother, sister and I hosted a family baby shower in honor of Sarah and to celebrate baby Adalind's arrival (which is scheduled to occur next month).

A baby girl!  Let there be pink?  Well of course there would be pink, but then I remembered a quote from the movie Steel Magnolias where M'Lynn says - "The sanctuary looks like it's been hosed down with Pepto-Bismol." I pictured my mother's dining room in my head. Hmmm...perhaps pink should be the accent color NOT the primary. Easy enough! Or so I thought. What color palette should we use? After much discussion and changing my mind a half a dozen times we finally decided on gray, white, black and pink. The nursery decor uses gray, white and pink so that should work nicely! And there are so many patterns of gray and white from which to choose. Not to mention shades of pink.

The invitation was designed based on the color palette, baby Adalind's monogram, and a pretty pink bow.  We decided to sandwich gray card stock between the front and back white card stock used for the invitation itself. It was a nice highlight. 

Theme or no theme?  That was the next question. I happened upon the answer quite by accident while on a scouting trip to Joann's. I found a piece of fabric with a sewing/clothes/dress form theme. The color palette was perfect and I realized I could possibly incorporate some of Sarah's own baby clothes into the decor.  Yes, there would be a subtle theme.

Once the color palette and theme were in place and the invitations mailed, the three of us began working on the details. My mother made a table cloth from gray fabric coordinated with the theme fabric.  From the theme fabric she made runners for the serving areas. The metal dress forms were found at Hobby Lobby. The bow on the larger dress form was painted pink to mimic the invitation and theme fabric.

I shopped my house and found some wooden pedestals and square vases. These would add some height and be great for the silk flowers. The plaster bows were an impulse purchase several years ago. (I KNEW I would use them one day!)  My sister painted them in three different shades of pink to match the color palette. Gray and white polka dot ribbon was used on the vases as an accent and to hide those pesky flower stems. Two white baby dresses - one, an antique, worn by both Amy (the grandmother-to-be) and Sarah, and another, Sarah's first Easter dress and bonnet - were carefully placed at the base of the pedestals. Each was accented in pink and added not only softness to the centerpiece, but lovely memories as well. Pink votive candles were the final touch.

Prior to the shower we invited out-of-town guests to a light crab bite salad lunch. On the serving table we used a variation of the shower color palette based on some really cute plates we found. Black and white polka dots with pink and white stripes and scroll work.  The flowers and candles were able to pull double-duty and tie both the lunch and shower areas together.

The final detail was a favor bag for each guest to take home. Inside the bag were a delicious, beautifully decorated cookie - cut out in the shape of a little girl's dress ("Thank you, Jackie!"), a lightly-scented, pink votive candle, and a paper doll with two dresses that we adhered to magnetic paper. We modified the dresses to coordinate with both the lunch and shower decor. Some white shred was dropped into the bags for a softer effect. To close the bag a topper was designed and printed on card stock.  We placed one on each bag so that the handles slid through a small opening cut into the top of the "tent". The bags were placed on the entry hall table under a wall mirror on which were hung painted, wooden letters in baby Adalind's initials. Sarah plans to use the letters on the hospital door hanging when Adalind is born.

My mother, sister and I make a very good team, and I was quite pleased with how everything came together. A special day for a special young woman about to become a mother.  Love you, Sarah!  We can hardly wait to meet little Adalind. She is certain to be our newest "Beckman Girl".

Our family is growing!

A LAKehouSe Tea

Inspiration for Tea began with a tea set given to me by Amy and Sarah.  Once that element had been chosen I needed to give the table setting an English flavor. With the color palette established on the tea set I knew I had to go in a Victorian direction. And in this case inspiration ended up being two-fold. The second layer of inspiration caught my eye as I was looking for images on Google. Vintage cards - each with the illustration of a Victorian-era woman. Perfect!

It was a simple table. No tiered stands - no silver tea service. A yard of lace fabric served as an overlay. The napkins were tied with lace as well. Simple white plates with pretty cups and saucers. An informal arrangement of silk flowers served as a centerpiece - the flowers picking up colors in the cards.

                A menu card was designed around the invitation and theme.

           

           

The last element was a "thank you for coming" bag. Each bag was decorated with one of the vintage cards, a lace doily, pearl trim and a lace bow. In each bag was a set of teapot charms, clips made from embellished clothespins, teapot-themed tissues, and just for fun...bubbles!!!

The food was delicious, and we enjoyed our time together. The four Beckman granddaughters together again! 

Tea at the lake.

How civilized.