A Blue and Yellow Country Shower

This past weekend was my best friends Blue and Yellow Country Bridal Shower. After months of planning and organizing the day had arrived. I spent the evening before helping her mom get organized and set up, and the next day my mom and I arrived early to begin the day. We set up all the rest of the tables and got the food organized. The Bride-To-Be's little bro and father were the only males in attendance because we needed somebody to take photo's and to do the heavy lifting, but we all enjoy their company so having a little testosterone around wasn't a big deal. I helped K-Mo with his camera to get all the settings right for the day and even was able to get a couple of shots of my own.

Once all the guests arrived we took our mason jars and filled them to the brim with Sangria or Spiked Sweet Tea and proceeded to pile the plates with wonderfully yummy food. We chatted and shared lots of memories and funny stories. Once lunch was over, it was game time. We had a variety of fun loving games including the music game and the toilet paper wedding dress fashion show. We giggled and had a wonderful time. Even the bride got in on the action with her own special "How Well Do You Know the Groom" Game. Every time she got an answer wrong she had to eat a bubblicious bubble gum. I wont let on to how many she got wrong, but she wasn't a happy camper at the end of it as she slightly resembled a chipmunk! Teehee. It was all in good fun though. She then opened gifts and we played bridal bingo. After thoroughly exhausting every piece of wrapping paper and ribbon (she didn't break a single one!) we then had cake. The ladies that were still left moseyed outside to sit under the twinkling lights and the beautiful summer sky. I personally think that it was a wonderful day, a little warm but that was to be expected in late August. The Bride-To-Be was stunning and we had a wonderful time. I hope that it was everything she expected and more.

Here are some photos that I got:

It's all in the details - Country Shower Decor (Part Two)

As you read in part one, a party is all about the details. This is the continuation of all the crafts that I have accomplished for the upcoming Blue and Yellow Country Bridal Shower. The next task on my to do list was the banners. My original thought was to make them pennant style similar to this, but after careful consideration of wording and layouts I decided a distressed look with a black background and jute rope to hang them would be best. With my moms handy dandy Cricut machine, the cutting of the letters was a breeze and I went to work distressing, gluing, hole-punching and hanging them

Some of the letters

The wonderful Cricut machine!

Letter attached to card stock

Distressing and black backer card

All done and ready to hang

The next item was to figure out a way to make the silverware seem a little more inspired. I took a simple clothespin, and tied some curling ribbon to the end. I will clip the silverware together with the clothespin either to the bandanna napkins or just lie them on top. How we will set it up is still up in the air.

Clothespin with Curling ribbon

All of them

The next couple of tasks were completed by my friends mother. She took raffia and wire ribbon and tied them around the mouth's of the mason jars to add a pop of color and dimension. She also tied fabric ribbon around the flower filled mason jars that we will use for the centerpieces and various items around the space.

In process of being ribbonized!

Centerpieces done!

Then of course was the assembly of the S'more kits. I knew I could get the hubs to help because he would get a s'more or two out of it. So we went about wrapping the chocolate and and assembly line of stuffing, putting on the Thank you tags, and the raffia bows. I am so excited as to how CUTE these babies turned out!

Of course will all the yummy goodness that is going on, I had to make some signs for the guests to know what is what. (not like they wouldn't know, but again.....all about the details!) Again with my trust Photoshop and cutter I went and I distressed them too!

Everything is coming together! I can't wait to see the house decorated and the bride to have the shower of her dreams! Stay tuned!

To see the completed party please visit my recap post! 

It's all in the details - Country Shower Decor (Part One)

As most people know....when it comes to party planning its all about the details. Whether they are purchased or handmade, that extra little touch usually goes a long way. My girlfriend really lucked out when she asked her mother, our good friend Mrs. R (a fashion designer) and myself (an interior designer) to be in charge of planning her bridal shower. She thought that having a "country" inspired backyard barbecue would be something easy to plan and no stress involved....but little did she know to what extreme the 3 of us were going to take it! Add a little of my mom and you have a creative explosion! In need of some necessary tools, the hubs and I made a trip to my parents house to have a crafting extravaganza weekend!  My mom calls it "Creative Clutter."

I awoke Saturday morning bright and early with many ideas buzzing around in my head and the thoughts of all the tasks that I needed to accomplish. First off was to trim and fold all the inserts for the S'more kits that I had layed-out in Photoshop. My friend saw this idea on the internet, so I took the idea and ran! I mean it was the perfect Thank You gift for those who attend the shower.

Next was to take on the task of the table runners. Our original thought was to hand-make blue gingham tablecloths, however there was a supply-demand issue....we had a demand, but no supply. So my creative wheels started to spin. What could we do? I contacted my local commercial fabric rep to see if she had any discontinued  memo samples that I could take and make table runners out of. She of course agreed and let me raid her storage unit! I felt like a kid at Christmas, well you know the strange kid that gets excited for getting socks! I got a variety of blues, teals, yellows and golds. My mom and I went to work laying out the fabrics and piecing them together. They turned out AWESOME (in my opinion!) We made a total of 6 table runners to go throughout the event.

The LOOT!

Cutting

Completed

Next item on the to-do list. Thank you tags to go on the thank you gifts. (S'more Kits) My mom has this ah...mah...zing machine.....I don't know if you have heard of it. It's called a Cricut machine. It laser cuts any shape you want! I was able to cut 30 tags in under 3 minutes! I mean seriously! Made my life so easy. With a little distressing and a Thank You stamp, Viola! Instant Tags!

You know when you go to a party, and you get to talking to someone and you put your drink down. Then you walk away forgetting your drink, then you have to get another glass because you don't remember where you left it. Well my next craft project were drink "Flags" with all the guests names on them, that doubled as drinking straws. Some cardstock and a little time with Photoshop and assembly. Now everyone will be able to keep their mason jars nearby at all times!

Stay tuned for part 2....more details to come!

To see the completed party please visit my recap post!