Wisely Planned Baby Shower: How Tweet it is....

It seems that there is a running trend going on in baby showers! Birds, nests, feathers, chirps and all things bird-related have been brought to the forefront of baby shower themes......and why wouldn't it?!  It's just adorable and can easily be made SO chic.

A couple weeks ago, one of my really close friends, Yuri, threw a baby shower for her sister, Paola.  Unfortunately, I was unable to attend, as I, too, was hosting a shower that day, which you might have seen here not too long ago.  When I got the invitation, I knew it was going to be nothing less than fabulous {nothing Yuri ever does is less than FABULOUS!} So, when I finally saw the pictures last week, I was not surprised at how great it all looked.  Everything was detailed, and everything went together with such cohesiveness.  The color scheme was perfect. Sage green, light brown with burlap textures throughout.

All the floral arrangements were made by Yuri herself.  She took a little trip to the L.A. Flower Mart and got right to work! {they look SO professional!}

The linens {table cloths and napkins} were rented from Yuri's friend's company, Creative Touch Linens.  They even custom made the ruffle tablecloth used on the gift table.  So impressive!  The burlap she was able to find in downtown L.A. at $1 p/yard!  AMAZING!!!  I'll be using a lot of that for Caden's Cowboy party!

She bought all the little ceramic birds, birdhouses and mini pots at The Dollar Tree.....yes, The Dollar Tree!!!!  Paola then brush painted the birdhouses and mini pots white, to go with the rustic color scheme. 

The bird cages and green porcelain birds were purchased at Michael's. The big bird nests were found at a flea market.  The tulle curtains were bought from Ikea and used as color for the side walls of the tent.  LOVE this idea!!!!  The cake stand, candy jars and chalkboard sign were purchased at Save-On Crafts.  The gold stands used for the baby's breath arrangements (my favorite) were purchased at Tuesday Morning. 

Yuri started planning this shower the second Paola knew what theme she wanted.  She spearheaded the production of the theme, but it was a family effort, as all the women in the family came together to carry out the final look. Yuri, you and your family should be so glad.  The shower turned out BEAUTIFULLY.....and Paola, you look stunning!  Congratulations!

{I apologize now for having so many pictures, but I couldn't leave any out.  It was all too pretty!}

{majority of photos courtesy of Carlo Sanchez Photography}

Wisely Planned Sip and See: Feather Her Nest!

Ever since I saw her Circus themed party, I've been in love with Brittany's blog, Grey Grey Designs.  And now she's struck again!

Brittany helped host a Sip and See for her friend Meredith {another blog follower and whose blog I follow as well}.  The theme was Feather Her Nest and everything turned out so lovely!  I LOVE the wicker wreaths used as nests, the chocolate dipped Peeps and the homemade feather wreath!  FABULOUS!

Head over to Grey Grey Designs to see all the details of the beautiful day.

Custom Inspiration Board: Peacock Themed Wedding

As I mentioned yesterday, my brother in law is getting married and as a result, I've been asked to create a couple inspiration boards for his fiance.  Yesterday I posted one of the color schemes she showed interest in:  Black & Yellow Damask.  Well, today I'm displaying a few more boards for her.

Annie mentioned she liked deep purples and pinks together.  During my research I came across a lot of Peacock themed weddings with deep purples.  I decided to create a board using this theme {and secretly hope she liked this one more than the black & yellow}. I began compiling images on this stunning color combination.  However, this morning, I came across 2 boards that I just fell in love with.  The boards even had links to access some of the items shown.  The boards are FABULOUS!  I ended up sending Annie these two boards I found on The Peacock Brides.

After I sent her these, I decided I would go ahead and use the images I'd already found and make a compilation board with all the images.  Here they are, links and all:

1. Peacock themed bouquet {Brides.com}
2. Centerpiece {source unknown}
3. Peacock Feather Chair Decor {Brides.com}
4. Peacock Feather Wedding Invitations {Baron Cards}
5. Vibrant blue wedding shoes {Wedding Bee}
6. Peacock Themed Ring Pillow {Zimbio}
7. Peacock/Orchid Boutonnieres {Hawaiian Wedding blog}
8. Peacock Feather Cake {Wedding Paper Divas}
9. Peacock Clutch Purse {etsy: LaVitaLola} Great as a bridesmaid gift!

 

1. Peacock/Lavender colored bouquet {Wedding Wire}
2. Traditional Purple Swirls cake {Just Temptations}
3. Lavender Flower/Candle Centerpieces {Pryor Events by Julie Pryor}
4. Deep Purple Tablescape {True Colors Events blog}
5. Themed Cocktails/ Champagne Glasses {source unknown}
6. Midnight Calla Lilies Bouquet {With This Ring Weddings blog}
7. Pink Paisley Invitations {Annie & Pip}
8. Pink & Brown Cake {Super Weddings forum}
9. Pink Ceremony Venue {True Colors Events blog}

 Annie, you have a hard choice to make!

{Whimsy & Wise Etsy Feature}

I often surf through Etsy and find myself LOVING so many things there.  I always think there are some stores people should really know about.  My friends would love some of this stuff. As a result, I've decided to feature these awesome shops on my blog, every once in a while.

Today, I came across a Wedding Tree.  It's a tree composed of thumb print leaves.  In lieu of the old fashioned guest book, the bride & groom put out a Wedding Tree.  Each guest is asked to leave their thumb print on the tree and sign their name next to it. By the end of the evening, the couple has a beautiful tree to frame, instead of the often forgotten guest book or the framed picture with the different color greetings on the side.

It's so beautiful!  I showed it to my brother in law's fiance and I think she's getting one!  :)  Head over to Lovliday to check out all their items!

Custom Inspiration Board: Black & Yellow Damask Wedding

My brother in law has officially decided on a wedding date.  April 30, 2011  I was talking to his fiance, Annie, today and she didn't seem to have an idea of what she wanted to do, so I offered to create an inspiration board for her.  She told me she has 2 different visions in her head.  One of them is black and yellow, so I naturally thought of damask as well.

I scoured the internet for images that would apply to this color scheme and found numerous ideas. I'm still trying to put the links together, but for now, here are the two boards that resulted. 

***If you're interested in a Custom Inspiration Board, I can make one for you to include full ideas on how to execute the theme and pull together a complete party.  Links to various How-to's and DIY ideas would be included as well, all for $20. Contact me for more information***

BaByQ Baby Shower

I have been SO BUSY last month and have started May off on the same foot, as well!  I'm not complaining....I LOVE it!  :)

Yesterday, I acted as event planner for my very good friend Becky's baby shower. I've known her since 7th grade and we have traveled all over the world together!  {We even have matching tattoos!} We went with the BaByQ Baby Shower theme that The DIY Showoff came up with.  I featured her a few months back and Becky really liked it.  She wanted a co-ed shower and this seemed like the perfect theme for it.

The invitation, she had custom made, on etsy {however, I don't know which store.}  Mason jars were everywhere and we even had them as favors.  The great part is that people actually drank their lemonade out of them!  They were so cute!  {I'll be using them for my little man's birthday party, also.}  Another favor was hot sauce.  We personalzied the labels {And Becky's finger nails almost fell off trying to get the original labels off!}  The banner and favor tags, as well as the food labels, are Whimsy & Wise.

I want to give a special shout out to my best friend {and event photographer} Jennifer of J. Nicole Photography.  She helped me so much last week making poms!  We made so many and with her help the shower looked great!!!  Thank you Jen!!!!

All in all, the shower turned out great and everyone had a great time {and mom and dad made out with some pretty awesome loot!}

***Many of you have asked and we finally know where we got the invitations!  We got them on etsy from Anders Ruff***

Congratulations Becky!  Can't wait to meet Baby John!