No baby yet, but I have more pics of the shower last week. Earlier, I showed you the bright colored dining tables set up in the studio. In the house, I used the dining room to set up a dessert buffet and decorated in there with pink and white.
Not all the treats are set out yet in these photos, I had a pumpkin cheesecake to join the brownies and strawberry shortcake. I'd made home made whipped cream for the first time in my life, and sadly, I fell madly in love with the stuff. I want to make it all the time, and my previous fave, low fat CoolWhip will never be good enough again.
For the centerpiece, I scanned old photos of babies and turned them into shower fairies by giving them wings and parasols.
The are hung from spray painted and glittered branches potted in my pink gum ball machine. I just took the top off of the machine, wrapped a chunk of oasis floral foam in pink shredded paper and slid it in. Then, stuck the branch into the foam and started hanging fairies.
A pink toy trunk from my studio was used to set the fairy tree on. And Sugarwing's doll bed was lined with old doilies and used to hold napkins, plates, and silverware.
Her room got raided again for a doll bed to use for dispay too.
I turned the dining table sideways and pushed it up to the window, then sat the chairs around the room in seating groups. This vintage bedspread was used as a table cloth, but it was too short and both ends of the table were open and naked. So, I draped two lace curtains across the ends of the table.
All of the flowers were from my garden, or a friend's yard, and all of the decor was stuff I found around the house or made in the studio. So it cost me nothing (but the price of the food) to make the room pretty for the party.
And yes, the friend said I could pick her flowers.
The poor tree branch that I used for the fairies is from my dearly departed Weeping Pussy Willow that died this summer. I snapped the top off of the tree to keep, since it was such a pretty shape, and it was ideal for spray painting and filling with fairies. (if you count the $60 tree, I guess my display was not cheap after all!)
Here is a little tip from me:
If you decide to make a banner to hang behind your table for a party, you should probably do it BEFORE you have everything set up.
I was all done with my table and felt like I was missing something, so ran out to the studio to make this banner and had to squeeze behind the table and tippy toe stretch to hang it.
The banner is 4 squares of chipboard covered in old wallpaper, with a crepe paper ruffle across the bottom. I then used a decorative punch to cut out ledger paper shapes, glued those down, and wrote the letters B A B Y in glitter on the centers of the shapes. It still looked bare, so I popped a millinery bloom in the center of the crepe paper. Very fast and simple. Holes got punched in the tops and I hung it from a length of pink tulle.
It was a lot quicker to make than to hang on the window! Of course, if I'd hung it before setting up the table, it would have been a heck of a lot easier.
The tree confused my poor husband who only asked me a couple of times who all the babies were. He seems to think that anytime I use a cabinet card for making something, it must be a relative. Because why on earth would you have pictures of strangers in the house?
Of course, he is the same guy who was showing photos of our house in a magazine to his mom. When I looked over his shoulder, I saw it wasn't even my article, or our house. If it was pink and white, he figured it must be ours.
Its amazing that he can be so good natured about me working in the studio so much, since he really doesn't get what I do at all. In his mind, I must be out here just playing demented paper doll games and painting everything I can get a hold of white.
Luckily, I have my Sugarwings, who thinks that everything I have is the COOLEST. And soon, I'll have Mayara, and I'll start teaching her to have fun in the studio with me. Its nice to have some one who GETS ME. Like my fairy baby and my blog friends do.
Hey, if you'd like to come and play in my studio world,too- I'm planning a workshop out there on May Day weekend of 2011. I've got a couple of great instructors lined up and am still working out the details.
My friend, Lisa and I were chatting back and forth this weekend, and one of those, "wouldn't it be fun if" conversations turned into "Lets do it on May Day and have a Spring party!". I emailed Carol and she is in too. (if you get a chance, go by and tell Carol Happy Birthday, she is celebrating this weekend)
This class will be small, less than 20 people. (if I'm lucky enough to get 20, that is!!) Simple, casual, fun, and laid back. Just the way I like things.
I'd love to see you here in the studio next spring…. I meet the nicest people in blogland. Rachael sent us a doll she made of Sugarwings, inspired by my paintings in the Grumpy Fairy book! Isn't it adorable?
