Ashley's Shower

My sister-in-law and I hosted a baby shower last weekend for my sister, Ashley, which turned out to be 4 days before her baby was born. Whew! Close call! She had an excellent turn out and got some much needed baby items as well as some really adorable clothes. I just love baby showers and after having hosted her bridal shower a year earlier, I've decided I love hosting baby showers more. Not that getting married isn't a special time, but there are so many more fun, crafty things you can do for a baby shower.

Knowing that I was going to throw Ashley a shower, I had been bookmarking tons of things I wanted to make- HOPING they turned out as cute as the blogs that I took them from. One of my faaaavorite blogs is Homemade By Jill, who is super creative when it comes to all things baby (and gives tutorials for everything she does!). When I saw the diaper cake that she did for a co-worker, I was blown away and knew it would be the perfect centerpiece for the food table. Below is my version, but you can find her tutorial by clicking here. *Hindsight: I would make sure the diapers I bought were all white and not ones with purple trim. Hindsight, Hindsight: I would make sure I didn't take my 2 yr old with me so I could pay attention to this little fact.* The color of the flowers and ribbon look kind of red, but are in fact hot pink. Anyone who knows Ashley, knows no other shade will do.

Another blog I love is Bakerella. I swear if I made every yummy looking dessert on her blog, I would weigh 300 pounds because anyone that knows we well, knows I don't share dessert well. But I pretty much think she is a genius so when I needed some inspiration for cupcakes, I naturally started with her blog. As soon as I saw these cupcakes, I knew I wanted to do something similiar. Now, I am no Bakerella, or anything remotely close, but I do think they turned out pretty cute (especially being that this was the first time I ever used a tip and bag for icing), and even better, they tasted soooo good. I used her buttercream frosting recipe found here.This is the entire food table pre-guests. I was only responsible for the desserts (I also made chocolate chip cookie truffles- you've gotta stick with what you know) but the rest of the food was excellent as well. Many thanks to my sister-in-law, my grandmother, and a good friend of Ashley's.

Some other pics from the shower...

Ashley and mom

My grandmothers

Me and my sister-in-law, Robyne.

Me and my sisters

In addition to the diaper cake, I made Ashley some burp cloths...

and a tag blanket, which I have seen on several blogs out there. It was so easy to make and I think turned out adorable! I used tutorials from Mama's Doodles and The Creative Homemaker, making adjustments to get the look I wanted. The pink swirl fabric is flannel and I already had the white minky fabric so I went with it, but in hindsight, I wish I had used a light pink minky fabric. But I love it and am already making more for upcoming baby showers.

Hopefully, Ashley had as much fun as Robyne and I did at the shower. Now, I get to sit back and hold that sweet little baby while Ashley puts all of her wonderful gifts to good use.