Vintage Baby Shower

This Vintage Baby Shower is probably my favorite party ever.

It was in honor of my cute sister-in-law and the anticipated arrival of her first child.

There is oh so much I could say about where I got the inspiration for various features, how I shopped for months to find the perfect accessories, and how I drove four hours on the day of the shower with all these fun things packed into my car.  I would also need to give a huge shout out to my talented friend, Mickelle, who helped sew pillows, baby aprons, an adorable pennant, and lots of onesies   She's amazing.  Now I hate to spoil the beautiful pictures with too many words.  So, simply, enjoy! (I'll save the d.e.t.a.i.l.s. for another post).

Remembering Grandma

Funerals are a great time to come together and remember loved ones.

My father's family is spread throughout the United States and we don't see them that often.  As a result, its a real treat when we can get together.  I believe my grandmother would be pleased with her funeral and the efforts made on her behalf.

I was asked to create what I call a "Tribute Table" of my Grandmother.  I am the oldest grandchild and I feel very close to her.  I was able to record my grandmother sharing stories of her life a few months before she passed, and during that visit she gave me some of her journals to read through.  That meant that I had most of the pictures of her and I was honored to be asked to help.  

I worked diligently to find accessories that would help tell the story of the various chapters of her life.  She lived in a couple of places on the East Coast, and then around the world in places including Australia, the Philippines, Malaysia and then the Philippines again. I displayed photos and copies of her scrapbooks, clustered in specific areas to represent this places.

Grandma loves flowers.  She loved the seasons and the beauty each season brought.  

As a tribute to her I ordered flowers and told the florist to arrange them in a sequence from Spring to Summer and then Fall to Winter.  I wanted to flowers to represent every season.  It turned out beautifully.

In addition, to the flowers and the Tribute Table, I wanted each person who came to take something that would remind them of my Grandmother. She loved an inspiring thought.  Her journal is full of thoughts.  It just made sense to share some of her quotes.  To do so I had Aimee Ence of Paper Celebrations make 200 individual quote cards that people could take home as a remembrance of Grandma and her funeral.

 Grandma is buried next to her husband in a mausoleum in Salt Lake City, Utah.  When I think of her spunk, her hard work, and her determination to the very in, I just have to smile.  What a woman. She left us an incredible legacy.

I am so grateful for family.

I will miss Grandma very much, and I hope I can keep her memory in my heart always.

Scooter Party

For Christmas lots of the neighborhood girls got electric scooters.  They are a blast and I thought they could be the inspiration for a scooter-themed birthday party!

The first thing we did at the party was invite the girls to decorate their scooters.  We had parking spots for each scooter which helped individualize their rides.  Afterwards, we had a training course and then a relay.  The girls really enjoyed riding on the park's open paths.

We served box lunches with deli sandwiches, a piece of fruit and a cookie. Box and bottle wraps were designed by Aimee at Paper Celebrations.

For party favors we gave each girl the choice of a riders' sack. We also gave them sunglasses, a decal with their name, a scooter neckless, and a bag of pink treats.  The scooter cake was made up of cupcakes and worked beautifully.

 At the end of the party I always like to make a quick analysis of what worked well and what I might do differently.  This party was a bit tricky because we were constrained by who had a scooter.  There were other girls who had scooters, but not everyone in the larger group did.  I guess the real question is, who do we invite?  This year we opted for a more intimate group.  Unfortunately, some girls found out about the party and were sad not to be invited. In the future I would invite the larger group of friends.  Even the birthday girls seem to feel sad that the group was so small.

For next time...

7 Year Old Bounce House Party

Some boys are easy to please. 

All this kiddo wanted was pizza, a Backyardigans cake, and a bounce house.  Easy.  We were very careful not to invite a large number of friends, because we didn't want him to get too overwhelmed.  It all worked out beautifully and Jacob had a great time.