Country Boy Baby Shower

Description

I hosted a Country Boy Baby Shower for my sister-n-law.  The location was a restaurant on the hills of the Missouri countryside over looking the Mississippi River.  It could have not been a more gorgeous view.

Design Inspiration

My brother is a down home country boy.  When him and his wife found out they were having a baby boy I knew I had to do a Country Boy Theme.  I added a Country Chic vibe to it so it wasn't all rustic and boyish.  The shower was attended by all women so I wanted there to be some feminine touches to the shower.

 

Decorating Style

I am a DIY at heart and budget shopper.  I usually lean more towards a traditional style, but try to make everything myself.  Or rope in family members to help make things.

Project Details

I designed, printed, and assembled these invitations.   My cousin Karmen is a writer so I gave her all of the shower information and she composed a sweet poem which I used as the text for the invitation! 

Guests were greeted by a welcome table filled with my grandma's vintage tablecloths, trucks, and carriage filled with blue hydrangeas.  I took my cork-board and filled it with an eclectic mix of baby boy papers.  Recycled brown paper that I hand stamped with a cowboy boot hung on long lines of twine.    Guests were asked to take a card and leave our mom to be some advice and/or words of encouragement!  I made this guest book to hold all of the advice cards, pictures, regular cards, and there also was a copy of the invitation.  I ordered blue hydrangeas from samsclub.com in bulk and they came right on time and worked out great.  They were HALF the price than purchasing from a florist, double great!!  Tucked inside some soup cans they blended in nicely with myCountry Chic theme.

I had in visioned burlap tablecloths but I went with burlap squares instead.  These are more versatile and can be used on any shaped table!  I actually used them for my sons Dinosaur Party the next weekend. Mason jars served as our cups topped with blue straws and country boy party circles.   Place-mats where "Question & Answers with the parents to be!". 

My favorite game was "MY WATER BROKE".  Each guest was given a clear glass with a mini baby frozen in an ice cube.  The first one whose baby melted out of the ice won!  

My grandma made the mom's to be favorite dessert, "Iced Chocolate Chip Cookies".  Does that tin look familiar???  NO I didn't pay tons of $$ from Pottery Barn.  My cousin made that for practically free from items she found around her house!!!!!! I made blue chocolate covered popcorn and filled little brown paper bags I had hand stamped with a cowboy boot.  My cousin Julie also made the wood plattersthat the bags are sitting upon. The show stopper was my Aunt's cake.  Made to resemble a basket full of baby toys!  How adorable.  She even broke off a handle of an old basket and stuck it in the top of the cake.  In person it actually looked like a real basket.  

 My cousin Julie set up a photo area by hanging a rustic frame from 2 trees.  The rustic frame was made from recycled wood she found.  She had country props that we had a little too much fun with!   

I sent guests off with nap sack favors I made from scraps of fabric and sticks.  My cousin Katy put her blood, sweat, and tears into making this cute mini apples pies!

Favorite Items

The frame my cousin made for the photo area.  She found some old wood out by her barn and nailed them together to form a frame.  It looks like a cook vintage frame you would see in Pottery Barn, but she made it for free!

Advice

Shop flea markets, re-sale stores and at your grandma's house!  Old toys, mason jars, and cans are great accents to achieve that Country Chic look. Purchase your own burlap and cut into squares to use as tablecloths.  Cover a 3 ring binder with coordinating fabric and fill with pages to use as the guest book and then fill it with pictures from the shower for a keepsake for the mom to be!