PartyCraft: Vintage Sports Baby Shower

So the day finally came...and went! What a whirlwind of a weekend, traveling all the way from Fredericksburg to Long Island and back in three(ish) days, and with a one year old no less. Exhausted is an understatement, but I wouldn't trade this feeling for anything because this experience brought nothing but good things.

I had a lot of time these past two months to second guess myself and work and rework different elements of the shower. Those anxious thoughts followed me up to the final moments of setting up, but I felt incredibly proud of the end product and loved how it all came together. My biggest anxiety was the backdrop, and while I would still have liked to tweak a few things, I thought the overall effect it gave was great and really tied everything together.

The cake was not my creation, but it went so perfectly with all of the decorations that everything seemed to come from the same place. The cake pops were adorable and delicious and also not mine, but they fit right in with everything else on the dessert table. I made a "concessions" sign to hang across the backdrop, and this is one of my top 3 most favorite creations. I love the pinstripes on the white banners, mimicking the classic Yankees pinstripes.

My paper fans also made their appearance on the backdrop. Deciding on their placement was my biggest neurotic moment, and I still wasn't totally satisfied, but it turned out just fine. The ribbon banner across the front combined all the color concepts into one: navy blue, grey stripes, burlap, and baseball and football patterns.

I tied paper straws to classic coke bottles using twine, and displayed them in a real vintage coke crate (an awesome antique store find) on the dessert table. I also bought cracker jacks, a baseball classic, and both the cracker jacks and coke bottles served as favors for guests to grab on their way out. Everybody loved them!

To add some height variance to the dessert table, I made two baseball columns from vases attached to mason jars filled with shelled peanuts, and tied a blue and burlap ribbon around each of them. I gave each baseball a vintage feel by scuffing them up on my sidewalk at home and submerging them in coffee to add color.

My #1 favorite creation was the personalized scoreboard, doubling as an interchangeable sign using hanging chalkboard tags. This sign was a labor of love and could easily be hung in the nursery as wall art. The tags were another great find and allow you to wipe off your old message and write a new one using chalkboard markers. I wanted the mom-to-be to be able to personalize the message over time, making this a functional decoration she could keep for years to come

The tables were set with burlap runners and hand-painted mason jar centerpieces made to look like footballs and baseballs. The large centerpieces were filled with shelled peanuts as another ode to classic baseball snacks, and each of them were topped with an assortment of fake white flowers.

Each place setting had a "mint-box" with an after-dinner mint inside, and they were decorated with a personalized sticker and tiny blue bow. I love the small personal touches like these - things you may not notice right away, but make you go "Oh, that's cute!" when you do.

I'm avidly against traditional baby shower games. Asking women to taste baby food blindfolded, or wrap each other in toilet paper to make a diaper is just not my idea of a good time. I do, however, LOVE baby shower "activities". These are the things that people can add their personal touch to and give to the mom-to-be or baby as keepsakes from the event. I ordered a personalized football to be "autographed" by the guests for the baby. I also hand-painted wooden blocks and brought paint markers for guests to decorate them with. The third activity was an "advice for mom" station with personalized paper slips and decorative box for the answers.

Lastly, my handmade pennant banner was prominently displayed above the tables and tied in more of the theme colors in an otherwise bare area. This was another decoration I thought about as serving a purpose other than party decor. It would make a cute addition to any nursery or bedroom.

My favorite part of creating decorations is tailoring them to the person being celebrated, and also making them with a purpose other than just a party decoration. After working so hard to create different decorations, I hate seeing them thrown in the trash or stored away in a box and never brought out again. Being able to recycle decorations as "decor" prevents waste and gives your hard work new life

This event was such a wonderful experience and gave me an enormous boost of confidence to continue pursuing my dreams. It was outrageously gratifying to be able to sit back and enjoy my creations during the shower, and to see all of the guests enjoying them too. I can't wait for my next opportunity to show off my creativity and bring someone else's vision to life!

Until next time!

xo Miche