So a dear friend of mine, Kim, found out she was pregnant and because this is her first and probably last child (was not supposed to be able to carry full-term without the possibility of severe health risks to her and the baby), her cousins and I decided to go all out on her baby shower! And we did on February 26, 2012! :-) And you all know me,.. "Little Miss Crafty, Cricut User and Abuser" and let me tell you I definitely put a hurt on my Cricut for this shower! It was so much fun and I enjoyed making all the decorations, or nearly all of them with the exception of the banner in which I altered to match the theme we were doing and the table cloths! LOL The theme was "monkey's" and was inspired by some napkins (or so I think, it was chosen without my input but loved it!) that had the cutest little monkey on it! So Jennifer, Brandy and myself got together at my house and looked over Cricut Carts to see what kind of monkey's I had and we used 2 different monkey's off of the "New Arrival" and "Create a Critter". Check it out and I will tell along the way what I used and how it was done! :-) Here's the napkin that got the theme started and inspired the cake and everything else,.... Okay so obviously we used Cricut cartridges and there was one not pictured that I used to cut out the cake topper and Monogram letter for Spencer's frame (both pictured below) and that cartridge is called "Storybook", a really cute cart! I used the pieces to spell out his name on individual pieces and then the main square for the sign in,... so cute! Also pictured below! :-) Use "Glossy" paint in order to write on the wood pieces from the wooden frame kit above to be able to write on top of paint and it show up to look as though it is paint to write on... The board I painted with the green Gloss paint and brown trim. I cut out a paper "S" for "Spencer" using the "Storybook Cart" and then added ribbon along the sides and made it where she could stick mementos or pictures underneath it for more purpose of keeping it in his room! Oh the wooden monkey was from Wal-Mart in the craft section. This is the wooden frame I painted brown and glued green ribbon to it again to where she could insert pictures along the outside of the frame! The monkey was cut out of "Create a Critter" cart and the "S" was cut using the "Storybook" cart. This is the "Mommy To Be" pin I made using the same ribbon I used throughout the decorations (also were some of the gifts from me to her and Spencer)! ;-) Also using the Cricut cart. How cute is that?! I know right! So the 1st "Monkey" bank was an idea I had for two reasons, one for Spencer's 1st "monkey" bank to start saving up for him and then two,... to be used in playing a game! The ladies had SO MUCH FUN playing this game! I called it Spencer's First and I asked 20 questions of "How many of you,..." and if you answered yes with to yourself or out loud (out loud is so much FUN) you had to put in how ever much money you want to! In order to play this you can surprise people of how to play this and hope they brought change or bills in order to play or tell them on the invite to bring pocket change! SO MUCH FUN!! Even if everyone runs out of money, which they did during this one because we had some crazy questions, still continue the game as this is an excellent ice breaker! I was over the games for this shower and came up with 2 other ones very cute too! Had a blast doing this one! This banner was altered as the green paper and monkey was added using my Cricut because the picture of the baby zebra and baby elephant in pastel colors behind it looked awful! So I was able to make some more monkeys and cut out a circle of paper to make our own. Looks like we bought it that way huh?! I know! :-) Here is the complete banner and the food set-up! Did you happen to see the cutest "Popcorn" bags ever?! Yes,... I had some note paper Kayleigh had gotten me last year for Mother's Day in a basket of items she gave me and they were perfect! I had seen another popcorn holder on Pinterest that said "Ready to Pop" with a pregnant woman silhouette. The bags were brown paper lunch bags cut in half and fringed by Jennifer and Brandy and I made the labels! Too cute! Of course we filled them with popcorn! :-) These were cut of course on the Cricut and were the cake decorations! So easy and cute! Basically I cutout the "S" and monkey's and then glued the "S" to a piece of cardboard and cut it out gluing a monkey to the "S" and the other monkey's for the rest of the cake! Turned out really cute! Okay so these guys were so much fun to make and were inspired by Brandy's daughter, Gracie, when she brought home a monkey she had made in her preschool class last year that Brandy still had! I used my Cricut Cartridge "New Arrival" to make the face and parts of the face for the ears and "stomach with belly button". It was not on the cartridge and was extra pieces cut and so I seen a perfect opp. for a belly! Really cute! You can pretty much see how they were made?! If not message me and I can tell you! Super easy! So yes we made 7 monkeys,... 5 hanging as you can see below and 1 on the sign in table and the other on the gift table! We used green "lei's" as the vine with twine. The above picture is of the pieces of wood I painted and then ModPodged paper letters in alternating colors to spell out Spencer for his room using the wooden frame set previously mentioned! I glued ribbon to each one so she can hang them how ever she would like,... no the twine was just used in order to hang the for the party! Really cute. The final table where our guests' signed in,... A closer look at the "Monkey Bank"! Jennifer's idea for the banana baby food jars with tea lights in them,.. Brandy is allergic to bananas and therefore we could not get real bananas! LOL So I know she may kill me but in order to appreciate the decorations and the size of her "pin" you need to see her and it on her! She was absolutely glowing this day (February 26, 2012) and I LOVE this picture of her! I hope you all enjoyed the pictures and the items made! I love making my own decorations using my Cricut and seeing the joy people get out of what I think to be simple but yet "unique"! Oh and um,... the banana graffiti was also made by using the Cricut! LOL Oh by the way, Spencer was born early (35 weeks) on February 29, 2012, only 3 days after the shower! Talk about good timing huh?! :-) He was 7 lbs and 20 inches long. Spencer is now home with Kim and her husband, Troy, and is doing GREAT! CONGRATULATIONS! 'Til Next Time,....