Little Birdie Baby Shower

I threw a baby shower for my sister-in-law a couple of years ago and I thought I'd share with you all of the decorative touches.  Her nursery theme is birds, so I went with that for the shower theme.  This was before Pinterest and I always think of how much easier planning would have been if Pinterest was around then!

The sign that hung on the front door was made from a scrap piece of plywood my husband had lying in the garage.  I used Mod Podge to adhere the decorative paper and the birds and flowers, then had hubby drill holes up top where I then secured the ribbon.

This is the food table (minus the food).  The "tablecloth" is actually a sheet that I picked up at a garage sale for probably $0.50 (shhhh, don't tell anyone).  I think it's much prettier (and cheaper and more multi-functional) than a paper or plastic tablecloth.  The pink lantern was a $1 garage sale find as well, and it now serves as a nightlight in the kids' room.  Topiary = garage sale.  Ok, I was on a very tight budget when this was planned.  BUT, just goes to show you that parties can be planned on the cheap, and the cheap can be found at garage sales :)

 Decorative handmade sign that reads "girls are tweet".

Clothesline birds inspired by Pink Peppermint Blogger.  *Love* this idea.  The clothes were ones that my little girl had grown out of.

The books were garage sale finds as well (I'm a big garage sale junkie), on morning of the party actually.  The lady used to work for a publisher and they would send her home with books with her for her kids, so she had all of these books in perfect condition, and they were ridiculously inexpensive -- something like 10 for $1.  I do think that children's books work very nicely as decorations for a kids birthday party or baby shower.  Wondering where to find inexpensive, used children's books? See my post "The Best Places To Buy Used Children's Books".

The tissue paper pompons were inspired by Martha Stewart.   I absolutely love them and hung them in the babies' room after the shower.

Labels for the food.

These great birdhouses were only $1 at Michael's craft store. They were unfinished wood that I then painted.  The ceramic birds were a Michael's find too, and were ridiculously cheap with their weekly 40% off coupon.  The knitted birds were made for my kiddos by my talented sister-in-law.

I got the idea for these adorable birdcage lanterns over at The Bride's Cafe. You can find directions and templates there.

I replaced photos on my fireplace mantel with cute bird art.  Get the downloadable PDFs here, here, and here.

I'm not sure where I got the idea for this "wishing tree" but I really liked it.  Guests could write advice or wishes for the baby on the birds (template here), then place them in the nests (another Michael's find) that I hot-glued to a real tree branch and stuck in a vase with some rocks that I... um, borrowed... from a house down the street.

Custom bird art for the baby.  Love how this turned out.  It actually says "Welcome Baby" and the baby's last name, but I've blurred the last name to protect the innocent :)

The straws were inspired by Martha Stewart.

The food table....yummmm.....
Those yellow-ish crispy things in the corner of the first photo? Those were supposed to be parmesan "nests" for guests to put their salad in. It didn't work out too well for me and ended up being parmesan crisps instead, but it's a totally cute idea that I'm sure would have worked if I didn't have two 7-month olds demanding my attention instead.

Love this custom bird art. Currently hangs in kiddos' room. I admire it every time I see it and it's probably my favorite piece from the shower.  Thinking of selling some in my etsy store... when I get an etsy store.

Best thing ever to put on a baby shower cake, thought up by my co-planner. 

Amazing cake. So yummy. If you're in the Denver area and need a cake, get it from Daniel's of Paris.

I'm not much into party favors but did one anyway.  Made puppy chow and put it in bags, because... who doesn't love puppy chow?!  Sign idea from Pink Peppermint Blogger.

Photos: A Musing Mamma