I am betting that you totally forgot that I promised you a full reveal of the "You are My Sunshine" shower I helped plan. But I didn't! And what could be a more perfect theme for these hot summer days? I loved working on this shower (It didn't hurt that I teamed up with my incredibly talented family for this one-my mom is the original "hostess with the mostess" and my aunt has thrown many a fab party herself!).My youngest sister was also invaluable.
This theme was so fun-I decided on suns for my motif and the color scheme was orange, yellow and gray with liberal doses of white. It was definitely "sunny" and so cheerful! This shower was a little different than a traditional shower. "Sip & See" is a great southern term for a shower that you throw *after* the baby is born. This particular sip & see was for four moms. Definitely four times the fun!
The lighting in the church basement is less than ideal for photos, but I think you can still appreciate the cuteness. The largest element was one of the cheapest: the giant sun backdrop is white wrapping paper (from the Dollar Tree) and then I traced a giant circle on yellow poster board and made the "rays" from streamers in yellow and orange.
The giant jar full of lemons and tangerines was another great inexpensive element. The church owned most of the glassware that I used which significantly reduced the cost. I whipped up the pom-poms from cheap yarn, and wasn't sure what I wanted to do with them. In the end I put them around the jar on a white cake plate and it turned out to be one of my favorite things. A sweet church member carefully re-created the fruit stacks
from a pin I sent her. She had never made melon balls before-but didn't they turn out great?
My sister, Kelly, made these great Oreo Cloud Cheesecakes. I will try to get her to post the recipe. We liberally sprinkled them with orange sugar and topped them with a Sixlet pearl. The "cake stand" is just a white plate balanced on an overturned orange planting pot. Use what you have, I say! My mom already owned the fantastic chalkboard table signs, they added such a great touch. The table runner was flannel cloth from Joann's- it was a great price, and I thought it was reminiscent of baby blankets. And *chevron*-need I say more?
One of the biggest challenges was making this enormous institutional space feel homey. I brought in a white book shelf and styled it with a variety of orange and yellow items collected from my mom's and aunt's houses. The vintage blocks are one of my favorite things! My daughter drew the chalkboard sun for a touch of childlike whimsy. My aunt put together the pennant out of scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby. The majority of these things are mostly unimpressive on their own, but when you group them together by color they create a vignette that feels casually intentional. The sun in the frame was created by Kelly.
I balanced the bookshelf with this little "reading area" on the other side. The Beatles quote was a fun little last minute choice. My mom owns so many fabulous chalkboards, and this window pane one is probably my favorite. And overturned bucket served as a little table for a basket of vintage Little Golden books. The
printable is a freebie from here.
The grouping of pom-poms and lanterns anchored the seating area. They are mostly from Hobby Lobby. I know how to make giant tissue poms, but it was basically the same cost-wise (and a lot easier effort-wise) to buy them. It is a lot harder to make things look "effortless" and not planned than you would think! Basically my strategy is hang a few, re-arrange, hang some more, look for bare spots, leave, come back and continue to re-arrange until the last possible moment...easy, right? ;)
Balancing the food table on the opposite side of the center seating area was the gift table. I added balloons (use a marble to get them to stay down). This was where the
fabric garland ended up-it added wonderful texture.
It was so easy, I would make another in a heart beat.
My mom asked the guests to bring $5 and under small unwrapped gifts for
each mom. She arranged the gifts in these great metal baskets she found
at Fred Meyer. She tied ribbons on and attached tags with each honoree's
name. They were a huge hit. So much more thoughtful than a gift bag!
Can I just say how much I love this window frame? I used it at my sister's wedding. Go forth and buy an old window frame-you will be shocked at how often you can use it! My mom has such a great eye for this kind of thing. I made the sun on the back side with paper from Hobby Lobby. My aunt added the garland. The
adorable print is from here-I added the chevron paper strip to tie it in a little better.
Each guest received a unique Scripture verse as part of their gift. I typed them up in Word and embellished with various ribbons, papers and jewels that my mom had. Since there were four, each major area of the room had one. I choose verses that focused on the sun or light. Oh, how I love Scripture! It is always so appropriate. I wrapped the tea lights in washi tape.
This mini candy buffet centered the coffee area. Peach rings, lemon drops and orange slices were too perfect for the color scheme. And anything you put in a glass jar is just going to look cuter. A simple sheet of scrapbook paper and some mini scoops completed the display.
Another scripture and some more lemons made a cute display with a vase of the most perfect orange Gerbera daisies I've ever seen. Everyone thought they were fake!
More flowers on the beverage table- along with another chalkboard, more tea lights, another scripture, a cute metal bucket for the straws and cups and a perfectly matched bottles of Martinelli's cider (from Costco). The statement piece here? A handcrafted stained glass piece, my sister's senior art project. Is that not *too* perfect?! You can't pay for that kind of matching. I love how this shows that you can repeat elements but switching them up around the room keeps it from feeling too matchy-matchy. I propped the chalkboard up on an overturned bucket to give it some height. Lemonade filled the glass beverage dispenser.
I don't advocate procrastination, but I truly make some of my best decisions last minute. My mom purchased these yellow mini legal pads for a game she planned. We quickly ran washi tape across the top and stamped the top page and poof! Instant favor! We filled a bucket of them and they looked so cute. The stamp is from Hobby Lobby.
I was thrilled with how it turned out! Every time I am asked to plan something like this I completely freak out. What if the inspiration well has run dry? What if I abysmally fail? What if the guests make fun of it? What if I forget something really important? And then I remember the real reason for these things: to bless someone by showing love.
"Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people." Ephesians 6:7 NIV
And honestly, as cheesy as it sounds, you can't really go wrong. No one really has expectations, and usually any effort you make is met with gratitude. This one was definitely a success!
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