Measuring up to the ideal

On Saturday we gave a baby shower for our friend who is having a baby with Down Syndrome. Smart Girl was the event organizer. She sent me a link to show me the party theme. She bought fabric for the runner and wanted to work together on decor. I couldn't jump when she needed me to, and then she was out of town for three weeks, so I got to figure out how to create the decor on my own.

This is the magazine version. Created by professional event designers.

Do you know how deceptively simple those decorations are? There were no 'how-to' instructions at the professional event designers' website. I had to look at photos and make up my own how-to.

I had blue sheets of paper that were 22 x 28 inches. When cut into 1.5 x 28 inch strips it took two strips to create one folded circle. At first I tried to just use Elmer's Glue (with paper clips to hold it until it set). That became untenable, so I had to invest in a glue gun. This one is a mini (which fits my small hands better) and has a low setting which is better for paper.

My big dilemma was what to use for the napkin ring underneath the blue 'fan circle'. I thought of gluing ribbon and then tying it around the napkin, but that seemed ungainly. I actually prayed about it and had that 'aha!' moment. Cut up paper towel holders and spray paint. Voila!


While it didn't look exactly like the magazine...


...it came pretty close!


The circles on top were cut from pre-existing paper that was embossed and had silver applied. Smart Girl bought 12 feet of the raspberry fabric and from that I made three runners. One 12' long for the picnic tables, another for the dessert table and a third to go inside for the coffee table.

Only Child had a great idea for the craft. We each decorated flowerpots with our hopes/prayers for the baby. Then we planted seeds in them. She invited us to watch the seeds grow and use them to remind us to pray for the family-to-be.


We had dessert and coffee inside and then prayed for her and the baby before opening the gifts. Intimate, supportive, filled with love--it was a perfect baby shower.