As my regular readers know... the month of November was a super-crazy month for me. Filled with two baby showers, hosting Thanksgiving dinner and having Ella's 2nd birthday party two days later. I was able to post details in December of the "She's Going to POP" bubbles-themed baby shower... following the feature by Amy Atlas events that totally rocked my world. So here we are... going into the 2nd week of January... and today... I'm finally going to share the details from the "Love You to the Moon" baby shower... (which happened to be featured on Amy Atlas the same day as the "Bubbles" baby shower - WOW!!) Let me preface this by saying... The planning and details? They were a complete collaboration between the fabulously creative sister (Ally) of the dad-to-be and myself. Celebration type: Boy Baby Shower Theme: "Love You to the Moon and Back" Inspiration: The term of endearment the couple says to one another and the dad-to-be's love of plaid Color Palette: blue & white Pattern: blue & white plaid Ally came to me with the theme pretty much already chosen... A theme based solely on the phrase the expecting couple exchange to one another on a daily basis... "Love you to the Moon and Back". So sweet...right!? I absolutely LOVE personalizing events/parties by centering the theme around something specific to the guest(s) of honor... so this couldn't have been anymore perfect!! First step for me is always creating the invitation. We knew we wanted plaid incorporated into the design due to the dad's love of wearing plaid. And we referenced the baby's nursery bedding which also had plaid in it. We battled between two different designs... with the mother-to-be finally deciding on this one: (available for purchase here) Aside from the expecting mom (Nicole) saying she wanted her shower to be as spectacular as the one I helped host for Ally... she wasn't privy to any of the planning and details. Everything was going to be a surprise.... the dessert table the hand-painted canvas I created to match the invitation (and to be used in the nursery) the moon letters were cut from 8.5x11 sheets of coordinating plaid cardstock I designed mini cupcakes from Cupcake Delights displayed on cake plates filled with white sugar even the fondant moons have some "sparkle" to them mini "MOON" pies with powdered sugar stars (recipe) the filling was tinted light blue and the edges were rolled in white nonpareils custom designed sugar cookies from The Flourish Sweet Shop $8 grocery store "crater cake" decorated with coordinating party tabs and a star custom origami stars featuring the baby's name from Origami Delights moons cut from styrofoam centerpieces created with a variety of clear glass bottles filled with white sand and glitter party favors included these 2" glass "wishing" bottles filled with glitter (bottles from The Glass Connection ) bad picture... but here's a large glass bottle on display with the favors... intended to be part of the nursery decor following the shower. YUMMY gummi-sugared star candies from Fahrenheit Goods The mini bottles used were from The Shoppe at Somerset and the adorable charms attached were from a variety of vendors including: I Like Pie, Island Sunset Jewelry and Gathering Splendor. (see Vendor/Sources at bottom of post for specific details) sugar cubes spritzed blue for use with the "lunar lemonade" (and sliced lemons in the back...representing half-moons) "wishing star spinach dip" "crescent-moon" chicken salad sandwiches I was "over the moon" with how everything turned out. It couldn't have turned out any sweeter and I SO appreciate the help of everyone involved... ...especially Ally!! She put up with my ongoing additions to the "to-do" lists I created... and did all of the running around to collect and find the supplies for the shower. And I mean EVERYTHING. She was also the mastermind behind the centerpieces, favors, table & chair rental and was responsible for finding the adorable personalized origami stars, star-shaped candies and coordinating mints. And... a huge congratulations to Mike & Nicole... their sweet baby Maxwell arrived just a few short weeks ago. And he. is. precious!!! Here are even more details for those of you looking to recreate this shower: Key Decorating Elements: • invitation - used to create the painted canvas backdrop & the foundation for decor/details • plaid • moons & stars • star dust (in the form of sugar, white sand and glitter) • glass jars Extra details: • customized origami mini paper stars (with the name of the baby) • sugar cubes for the lemonade spritzed a light blue color • hand-painted canvas used on the backdrop for the dessert table - also doubled as wall art for the baby's nursery. • using styrofoam to create crescent moons • using white sugar on the serving vessels for the cupcakes and cookies. Dessert Table "theme-appropriate" food items: • "shooting star" sugar cookies • mini "moon pies" • "moonbeam" mints • "star-dusted" donuts • "celestial crater" cakes • mini "cosmic" cupcakes • "moon rock" candy • custom made star-shaped gummi candies Menu also included clever savory "theme-appropriate" food items • "crescent moon" chicken salad croissants • "wishing star" spinach salad • "star-kissed" fruit salad • "lunar" lemonade Favors: • glass bottles filled with "stardust" • "shooting star" sugar cookies As usual...I've got to give a shout out to the wonderful vendors who contributed significantly to the outcome of the baby shower.... Vendors/Sources: Pen N' Paperflowers - invitation, mini cake bunting, table labels, dessert table design, hand-painted canvas, mini moon pies, event planning, cake toppers, photography The Shoppe at Somerset - mini glass bottles Cupcake Delights - mini cupcakes Flourish Sweet Shop - custom sugar cookies Fahrenheit Goods - star gummi candies The Glass Connection - 2" glass bottles for favors Origami Delights - custom mini paper origami stars I Like Pie - wish charms (rectangle and small star) Gathering Splendor - wish charms (oval style) Island Sunset Jewelry - large star charms used on 2" bottles JoAnn's - the PERFECTLY matching plaid fabric used throughout the decor Orlando Party Rentals - table and chair rentals (407-601-5924) KEEPING IT REAL The adorable canvas used on the backdrop.... I got up at 3a.m. the morning of the shower to paint/create it. And those table labels.... Did you notice the extra space at the top of each card? I left space to accommodate a coordinating ribbon...but ran out of time for assembling them. *wink* Side note: Clara was without a fever all day yesterday. (after almost 6 days of up and down temperatures). I'm happy to report she was up at 5 a.m. this morning and is officially off to school. Here's to what I'm hoping will be my first "normal" week of 2011...*wink*