Tea Party Baby Shower

I have this problem with optimism....


Every time I have the opportunity to throw a party of any kind, I cheerfully and confidently sift through Pinterest, saving scores of gorgeous images of professionally planned parties, thinking: "I can do that!! It'll be perfect!"

Then somehow down the line it ends up being blue letters on paper doilies in front of crocheted blankets...hmm.

 Don't get me wrong, the shower could have been much worse. In fact, I might even say it was lovely, in it's quaint little way. But in my mind it was going to be fabulous beyond belief, so, I was a little underwhelmed by the end result. :o)

But! Since most of you probably aren't professional party planners, perhaps you can take away an idea or two anyway.

I used my silhouette to cut the letters for the banner, but you could use stencils, too! I glued them to the doilies and stapled them to antique white lace trimming.

 Side note: I thought I invented this idea, but apparently it's all over Pinterest. Story of my life.


Little paper flags--not a new idea, but nice and easy! We drew "R"s on them for "Ryan". Just cut a long(4"?) rectangle, fold in half and snip a triangle out of the side. Then glue to a toothpick.


We put them in the cupcakes that baby Ryan's sister made. 


To fill a big space on one wall, I tied little blue gift tissue squares to some string and looped my crepe paper into bows. This actually was a pretty good idea, but perhaps a little poorly executed. We did this about ten minutes before the shower started, so they weren't as neat as I would have liked. It's seriously embarrassing to post this photo! But you get the idea.

 And of course, being a tea party, we had our tea things. I didn't get a photo of all the different tea cups, but they were pretty!
 I didn't like the ugly tea bag packaging so displayed the different teas in a cute basket. I used pinking shears to cut fabric labels marked with the names of the different teas and pinned them to the basket with vintage earrings.
 I also printed out a few verses about children to put into frames. :o)
So that's it. Bleah.
The next one will be better, right? Right!! See? My optimism is already back. :o)

I realized the other day that I have never done a girl baby shower. How crazy is that? Every single one I've done was for a boy. Maybe that's why they never turn out as well as I imagine. I am too girly to do boy parties! :o) We have two more pregnant women at church, so maybe if one of them has a girl I can help with that shower. :o)

Anyhoo. Whew! Another week gone, and now we start another. Can you believe it's almost April? I'm in total denial. I've been thinking that I need to schedule at least 5 minutes every morning to sit with Paige and just be still; look in her eyes, talk with no distractions about what she likes and how she feels. Just be in the moment, if you know what I mean. Life is going too fast these days...I don't know if I like it. :o)

I hope you guys are doing ok. I hope you're doing great, actually! :o)

Love you,
-Disney

Comments

  1. I love that Bible verse... "For you created my innmost being....". The baby shower looks amazing. :)

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  2. Your decoration looks absolutely gorgeous!
    your ideas are always so wonderful, just by themselves, and as I don't spent much time on pinterest, it looks new to me :-) be happy of your accomplishment, I am sure you made a future mom very happy! In my eyes, sites like pinterest are not only there to inspire, but also to advertise, so of course people only show the very best. with photoshop & professional photography.
    Have a very nice second-to-last week before easter,
    Julia

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  3. It. Wasn't. Perfect?? ...What kind of crazy, mountain-high expectations do you have?!

    Girl, it all looks so gorgeous. You did great.

    xoxo,
    Jessica @ Diary of a Beautiful Soul

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  4. From the pictures you've shared, your decorations look a whole lot better than what I would've done (^_^)

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  5. Disney, it's looks great! We are always our own worse critic. I am a total party optimist, so I know how you feel! But, it looks wonderful!

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  6. Eh.. "it" looks great! Whoops! haha

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  7. i think you are too hard on yourself. #1 i think this looks so good!!! and #2 perhaps the pinterest parties didnt have budget restraints.

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  8. Adorable!! You're way too hard on yourself! I love the verses you used, too!

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  9. I think it turned out darling! Very creative! Much better than I could ever do!

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  10. Everything looks lovely. I'm also very curious about your black wall...is it chalkboard paint?

    ~FringeGirl

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  11. Haha, my sister and I do the exact same thing. I threw her baby shower last month, and I lamented, "Is it too much to ask that we be able to pull off a Pinterest party???" Pinterest has absolutely given me unattainable expectations lol.

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  12. It's a beautiful baby shower Disney, I wish you could have thrown me one, they are not so big here is the UK so I threw my own minus the beautiful decorations.

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  13. I agree, the days are flying by and I know I dont like it. My baby is about to be 5 in June.... 5 can you believe 5yrs old.. cause I can't. Not to mention girly #2 is due June 1st and Before I know it I wont have as much time to spend just one on one with her.... But I am excited to add a new little one to share in our "pamper parties"...lol

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  14. It looks great and even better than a "designer" party. It has heart and soul and love - especially the cupcakes make by the baby's sister. I'm sure the new mom was absolutely thrilled to have her precious baby welcomed with such love and care!
    Pam F.

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  15. Disney, your party was beautiful.

    I am sure that the new mama was blown away by it and felt very cared for and that is what really matters!

    I have three boys and have spent the past decade doing boy parties. Hoping for some granddaughters some days so I can smother them in pink tutus and baby dolls! It still baffles me that a girly girl like me as all boys!!!

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  16. Amazing, wonderful, amazing, wonderful, am...

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  17. It's still absolutely adorable and lovely. It looks much more "real life" than the pinterest ideas. You can tell a real person threw your shower, instead of some Martha-Stewart-clone-robot. Or a team of hundreds of professional party planners with thousands of dollars in the budget. :) But I completely understand, I love to do research on Pinterest and then I'm befuddled when my event doesn't look the same. I just console myself that everyone had more fun at my real event than their pretend picture-perfect event. :)

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  18. What a gift you gave that mama! The sugar and tea basket are so lovely. I think the wall decoration is beautiful! And the verses made me choke up. Babies are SUCH a blessing. As you were to Ryan's mother in your thoughtful party planning. xo

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  19. I totally thought the ribbons on the wall was a Pinterest photo until you said something. And I LOVE those sugar cubes too!

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  20. It was a pretty good imitation of the picture above. It's not as good, but it is not suppose to be since you put your own spin on it and 'cause you copied it for a reason. I'm sure that baby's mama was grateful regardless of how the party looked. It's obvious you spent time doing it. So be optimistic and you'll do a better job when you finally do a girl baby shower.

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  22. Seriously........so stinkin' adorable!

    http://lexmallabooks.com/

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  23. That's soo me! I do exactly the same thing every time. I think your party turned out lovely though. The little sugar cubes are adorable!

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  24. I completely and 100% feel exactly the same way when I want to do a party! It is never like what I pictured in my head..but..it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful! (Nester)They all probably had a great time-that's what she'll remember. Thanks for posting -love the ideas!

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  25. I completely understand what you went thru! I do that to myself ALL. THE. TIME. I have these HUGE expectations, and bust my behind trying to execute what is envisioned. However, between lack of time & money it almost never turns out completely how I've planned.

    On that note ... I have been able to plan both boy & girl showers, each one a different theme, but I really LOVE what you've done here! I never thought to make ties for garland, let alone to have a tea party. It's nice to remember the mom too. From the pictures you shared, it appears that you planned a very quaint and nostalgic type shower. It was dainty enough for a group of ladies, yet still very boy for a baby. A very nice mix. As a few of these ladies have said, we are our worst critics and definitely harder on ourselves. Just remember, everytime you have the ability to throw a party (whether shower or any other) the thrill of excitement & gratitude on the Honored Guest is the greatest & best feeling!

    I am actually going to borrow a couple of your ideas for a shower I have the privilege of throwing. ♡♡♡ I really LOVE the bible verses in frames & on display! ♡♡

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