What Are Little Boys Made of? - "Little Boy" Baby Shower

My niece's last name is Little.

She was having a baby.

It's a boy.

The poem about "What little boys are made of" seemed to be the perfect fit for the theme of her baby shower.

The invite

I really wanted to send out something that could be repurposed.  I like to be green when I can, you know, keep the world lookin' good.  Some guests said they framed this little card.  Great Grandma kept it as a mobile on her lamp.  I thought it could be used as a baby card for someone.  I've been accused of being "the creator of clutter", so I thought I would give guests the option to dispose of the invite responsibly.  

The spread

I used paper mache painted mushrooms, preserved moss, silk daffodils and lily of the valley stems, moss rocks from the dollar store of all places, some paper tulips and foliage I made from crepe paper and paper ribbon, fresh wheatgrass from the grocery store and some mums I had received a couple weeks before that managed to stay alive long enough to really get some mileage out of their freshness.  I also added some feather wired butterflies to the composition and gummy frogs and worms in a couple candy bowls.  They just seemed to work.  And actually, the guests ate them all, so they must not have just been for the aesthetics, turns out the kids liked them better than the freshly baked goods.  

The happy favors of primroses and bright little flags

The Happy Mommy-to-Be

A 'Round the Clock Bridal Shower Invite

One of 4 poems available on the link posted below.
I hand-lettered it for the invitation.

All lined up for envelopes

Machine zig zag sewn, back of invite detail shown.
The sewing machine saves so much time for me, here I got 5 layers attached with one zip on the machine.

an insert for gift ideas and contact information for those throwing the shower,
background is watercolored

My darling friend, Megan, is getting married in a couple weeks.  When my little Junebug saw her invitation to her wedding, she turned to me and matter-of-factly stated, "That's the right guy for her Mom."  I don't know how June knows that, but she said it with an undoubtable confidence in her voice.  I actually think she's right.

Some mutual friends in the neighborhood are throwing her a shower and asked if I could help out.  The theme is "A 'Round the Clock" in which guests bring a gift that coordinates with the hour of the day that the hostess has assigned them on the invitation.  So in the invite pictured above, the clock is set for 6 p.m..  Whoever receives this invite could possibly bring something that is to be used in the kitchen at dinnertime.  My friend sent me a link HERE for ideas to help me create these invitations.  I thought there were darling poems and ideas available and wanted to share them with you.

Relief Society Birthday Party Invitation

I was asked by the Relief Society president of our ward to create 125 invitations to announce the Relief Society's birthday celebration. She prefaced the favor with, "I'm so sorry Aimee, but we have no budget for invitations." That always presents a "fun" challenge and an expectation to rely more on the labor end rather than compensating with expensive materials. My 8 year old daughter and I hand stamped 16 separate images on to the 125 invites. Hmmmm, do the math...that's 2000 stampings. I got out my trusty Bernina sewing machine and stitched the top and bottom of the text to the cardstock. I wanted it to look like the old time cut ornaments from the newspaper presses. It didn't quite have that exact look, but it was cheap and fun. I figured out they cost $12.00, we won't talk about the labor though.

Note: The Relief Society is one of the oldest and largest women's organizations in the world. All women 18 years of age and older, as well as women younger than 18 who are married or are single mothers, are welcomed into the sisterhood of Relief Society. There are approximately 6 million sisters in Relief Society. Since its organization on March 17, 1842, by the Prophet Joseph Smith, Relief Society has spread throughout the world into nearly 170 countries. Joseph Smith was quoted regarding the organization's purpose, "Relief Society, whose object is the relief of the poor, the destitute, the widow and the orphan, and for the exercise of all benevolent purposes. . . .[W]e feel convinced that with their concentrated efforts, the condition of the suffering poor, of the stranger and the fatherless will be ameliorated."