On A:

• Green Halter Dress – J Crew
• Orange Halter Top – BR Outlet, borrowed from S.
• Brown Sandals – Steve Madden
• Earrings – F21

To read more about how we did it, click through the jump!

We had such a fun time planning and hosting a backyard baby shower for E. and her husband N. that we wanted to share this event with you and to also show you some neat decorating how-to’s and recipes.

When hosting a baby shower, there are many things to consider: guest list, invitations, decorations, and menu. For such elegant parents-to-be, we knew that a sophisticated, co-ed shower would be the way to go. For us, this meant foregoing traditional baby shower games, pastel colors, and any gender specific references, in favor of simplicity, bright colors, and a relaxed backyard atmosphere.

The first thing we chose were our invitations. Unhappy with the selection of baby shower specific invitations, we went to one of E’s favorite stores instead, Anthropologie, and picked up these blank note cards, featuring an aesthetic we associate with E:

From these invitations, we pulled out our color scheme for the party, one of E’s favorite combinations: turquoise and mustard yellow. We then chose paper products in these colors and then used a variety of bright colors in the rest of our decorations:

Instead of balloons and streamers, we used an abundance of fresh flowers and these playful paper flowers (see how to make these yourself):

We placed vases of fresh flowers and hung our tissue paper flowers both indoors and outdoors:

For our menu, we planned appetizers, a main course, desserts, and drinks.

Appetizers:

• a selection of cheeses and crackers
• A’s homemade guacamole, salsa, and tortilla chips
• hummus and pita chips
• salted chocolate covered almonds (a favorite to all of us!)

• summer corn salad and fresh mozzarella dish
• tofu, vegetable, shrimp, and chicken skewers

• beer and wine
• Champagne Punch (non-alcoholic, aka “preggers”, and spiked)

But be careful to doubly mark the “preggers” version! We used some of our sticky notes and spare ribbon:

• strawberry and brownie skewers (we put these out with the appetizers)
• ice cream cupcakes

These were prepared especially for N., who is a big fan of ice cream cake. We chose a more backyard friendly version by making them in muffin pans, following this easy recipe. We think N. looks pleased:

Overall, we had a blast planning, hosting, and attending and we think our guests enjoyed themselves as well. We love both E. and N. and are so happy to have gotten to throw this special party for them.

Good luck, E. and N., as you get ready for the arrival of your little one! A & S.

Layer four to eight sheets of tissue paper (the more paper, the denser the result):

Fold the tissue paper accordion-style, creating about two inch wide folds:

Cut the folded tissue paper into two equal length pieces, which will yield one flower each:

Set one folded piece aside and begin work on the other. Take a long piece of fishing wire and tie one end around the middle of your folded paper. You do not need to cinch the tied fishing wire around the paper, just tie it securely in place:

Trim the fishing wire to be long enough to hang the flower at your desired length:

Once you’ve tied the fishing wire around the middle, round out the edges of the folded paper like so:

Now start fanning out the folds on one side of the string and then carefully separating and pulling apart all the single sheets of tissue:

After fanning out one side, do the same to the other side. Lastly, fluff out both sides to create uniformity:

Once you have made flowers of varying size, color, and density, hang them and enjoy the colorful display: