Tuesday, October 11

Baby showers don't have to be pink


This weekend I had the chance to host a baby shower for my dear friend Rachel. She's expecting her first baby, a little girl, in November.

I love baby showers, and I was delighted to host this one. I've been out of town a lot lately, though, so my co-hostesses and I devised a plan: I would provide the house, the shower decorations, and the paper products. They would do everything else. These were some awesome co-hostesses!

I was excited about decorating for the shower, but I had trouble deciding what to do. Somehow all those cute little napkins with rattles and stuffed animals on them just didn't seem right. Maybe because it's autumn. . . maybe because Rachel is not a frou-frou or cutesy kind of girl. Her principal nursery color is marigold, so I wanted to use that somehow. To be honest, I was stumped for awhile. I went to five different stores looking for inspiration. Finally, a helpful saleslady said, "Why don't you just go with something that matches your house?"

Yes.


I spread a cloth on the table and then layered on some wheat-colored burlap. I also swirled on some wheat-colored tulle for a little extra texture. Into the tulle I nestled some bird's nests--I didn't realize I owned so many!




In the largest nest I placed a single pink egg to symbolize Rachel's baby girl. Now then. That's some pink. Even though the shower took place during the day, I added some little candles just for sparkle and fun.


The large flower arrangement I created myself using grocery-store flowers (see this post for an outline of how I arrange flowers). Since Rachel's color is marigold, I added lots of goldenrod to the arrangement. I found the goldenrod growing by the side of the road, so I just cut a bunch and tucked it in with the other the flowers.

Now, just to prove that it really was a baby shower:


The sunshine was awfully bright that afternoon; sorry for the glare. That's the darling honoree sitting in front of the windows in the striped dress. It took her quite awhile to open all those presents!

There you have it. Proof positive that it doesn't have to be pink (or perfect) to be beautiful.

I'm joining these fun parties:
Inspiration Friday, At the Picket Fence

20 comments:

  1. I love baby showers and all of you did a great job putting this one together. It's about honoring the mom and that shines in this post.

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  2. *wink. What a beautiful shower!! I LOVE. I am Pinning it on Pinterest now...

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  3. you created a great look - really love the little bird nest.

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  4. I think it's beautiful! Love the pink egg idea. :) You are hostess with the mostest. :)

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  5. I think it's beautiful! Love the pink egg idea. :) You are hostess with the mostest. :)

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  6. So lovely! Everything looked wonderful, Richella. :) I don't really like the standard baby shower decor you find everywhere anyway.

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  7. What a pretty table you set for this shower! I like the nest and adore your pretty flower arrangement. I always find it hard to get an arrangement "just right" and you hit the nail on the head with this. Your friend sure got a lot of gifts!

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  8. I would always prefer beauty over pink or gender specific! You did great! I am sure you were a wonderful hostess!! The flowers are gorgeous!

    Suzanne

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  9. Beautiful & simple! LOVE the flowers & the nests :-)

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  10. Lovely! And that is an awesome flower arrangement!

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  11. Okay, I have to know...WHERE did you get those adorable candles? Yes, I did notice everything else but since I'm always on the lookout for cute candles.... :)

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  12. Heather, I found the candles in a pack on clearance at TJMaxx. Seriously, I think there were 15 candles in the pack, each in its own little glass. One of the glasses had broken, hence the clearance price of $3.00. I snatched them up!

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  13. This is so pretty! Hope to see you at My Dream Canvas.

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  14. Hi Richella, The little nest are so cute and you did a wonderful job on the flowers. I know the mother to be was really happy with the shower. Thanks for linking to The Open House party again this week. I do appreciate your support.
    Hugs,
    Sherry
    .

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  15. Beautiful and classic, Richella! It's all about the wonderful people and food anyway...oh yea, and the baby :)

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  16. I LOVED this sentence: Proof positive that it doesn't have to be pink (or perfect) to be beautiful. That reminds me of our lives. It seems we're always striving to be perfect, but in fact, we don't have to be perfect to be beautiful. (especially in God's eyes ;)

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  17. Hopping over from Open House Party. What a great party. Fresh flowers make everything better, don't you think?

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  18. Look at all those presents!! I think you did such a great job with this Richella. It still looks shower-y and feminine and that flower arrangement was amazing! Thanks for sharing this at Inspiration Friday this week...you know we always love having you! :-)
    Vanessa

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