The baby shower I styled for my friend Beth is finally up on TheKitchn.com! A fun collaboration with Anjali at the beautiful home of Jen. Custom paper garlands, tissue flags and rope installations created for this event by Rebecca Simms of Wylie West Creative. All the stunning photos by Leela Cyd. Make sure to read the full post for recipes, set up details and all party resources.
I paint dipped some baby food jars for a article we wrote about How to Host a Sip & See Party and am now obsessed with the technique. Baby food jars make darling bud vases for any baby related celebration. Dipped in a thick layer of latex paint they look elegant and sophisticated, like grown up vases. Below is a step by step “How To” tutorial should anyone want to try this at home.
Use a strong cleaner to get the labels and glue off the jars. Wash and dry well.
Place your chosen color of latex paint in a shallow disposable container.
Dip the base of the clean jar in the paint and start swirling it around.
I like them to look a little uneven so I made some sides higher, you can easily go for a uniform look.
Place the jars upside down on a paper towel and allow to dry for 24-36 hours (this much paint takes awhile to dry.)
The finished product! I love the drips and imperfections.
Repeat with any other colors. For the mint green I added some water to the paint to get more coverage on the jars. A little water goes a long way so be careful to add a teaspoon at a time.
photo by Beth Liebetrau
Once totally dry, fill the jars with water and a few simple blooms.
photo by Beth Liebetrau
Simple white flowers looked fresh in the mint and gold jars.
Photo by Beth Liebetrau
I can’t get over how pretty they look all lined up (credit goes to Beth Liebetrau for the excellent pictures.)
photo by Beth Liebetrau
The only problem with latex paint is it will come off if washed in warm water so be very careful not to get the outsides of the jars wet! I learned that lesson the hard way…
xo,
Lydia
Beautiful hostesses and one mama-to-be (Halie, Lydia, Marah, me, Julie, Sarah, and Jenn)
Where to begin? Saturday was my baby shower and my girlfriends collaborated on what was the most stunning and thoughtful event I’ve ever seen.
Recognizing each of the girls in the little details- sweet invitations, whimsical (and snuggly) centerpieces, a totally original baby game and guest book, my dream dessert display, homemade cupcakes and favorite childhood treats, a fun music mix, and custom menus- reminded me how lucky I am to have such creative, generous women in my life.
My sister, me, and our beautiful mom
Sarah posted her gorgeous DIY macaron towers, my sister’s pictures went live this morning, and Lydia will be here later this week to give you an in-depth tour of the planning and details.
Instagram album
For now, one great party tip from the hosts: have guests hashtag their photos on Instagram to create an immediate, collaborative on-line album. To see ours, use Instagram on your iPhone and search hashtag slshower (#SLSHOWER).
My edible baby niece.
If you’re not an iPhone user, I hope a snap of Ruby in her party dress will tide you over until Lydia is here to share more. Ruby loved being with all the big girls.
Thank you to my talented friends and family. I can’t wait for this baby to love you like her mama does.
xxSarah
Invite in true Miami colors
Thanks for all your kind words yesterday, my friends. Both me and my little GIRL are feeling very loved! Here are some pix from the pop-up baby shower my mom, sister, aunts and cousins threw for me last weekend in Miami.
My aunt Nancy pawed through hundreds of antique baby block beads to make us all an adorable name necklace.
I got three: one for me, one for Baby Lagro Fletcher and a bracelet to bring home for Angus. They’ll look cute layered over the corner of a family picture in the baby’s room!
Poufs, baby bottles filled with candies and amazingly good sugar cookies. The girls brought everything with them to Miami and transformed the restaurant table in minutes.
Shamrock tissue paper covered an Irish sweater
…exactly like the one Angus wore in 1977.
Happy cousins. Katie on the left is responsible for actually getting me to the party. I wanted to sleep through what was supposed to be a family cocktail hour (pregnant ladies are tired!), but she texted my sister, who was about ready to kill me for ruining all their hard work, that Martha Stewart was in the bar. I was only about 10 minutes late and very surprised to see a party and, alas, no Martha. Clever girls.
Thank you, ladies, for such a beautiful and thoughtful surprise! I loved it!
xx Sarah
Last week my sister and I hosted a baby shower for our sister-in-law. The “guestbook” was a thumbprint tree from Bleu de Toi. There’s even a baby bird snuggled in between the mama and the papa where the parents can stamp the baby’s thumb. Adorable!
We set the bar with striped straws, snapdragons and baby pictures of the parents-to-be and their mothers.
Fresh tangerine and ruby-red grapefruit juice plus prosecco for making your own mimosas. We also had iced bottles of French lemonade, sparkling fruit sodas, homemade peach iced tea and sparkling water. The bar tablecloth was pink and blue because we don’t know yet if the baby will be a boy or a girl.
Recognize those nuts?
My mom made her now-famous crab dip which we served with homemade potato chips. For lunch we had 4 kinds of quiche: a classic Lorraine, spinach and cheddar, broccoli and cheddar and sweet potato with Swiss chard and goat cheese.
Goodies for the mom-to-be.
Goodies for the guests: mini English toffees my mom smuggled in her suitcase from FoodStuffs, our favorite gourmet foodshop back in Chicago.
Next week, the games and prizes. Hint, the theme was the word “baby.”
Tell us, do you have any experience throwing baby showers? What worked well and what didn’t? More importantly, are you an aunt? I’m getting very excited about that!
Have a wonderful weekend!
xo Sarah
xoxo
By Sarah Lagrotteria
This is not an Apples & Onions original (sigh) but I wanted to share with you the beautiful floral arrangements photographer Tory Williams made for her sister, Lancey’s baby shower at the end of September.
Such a mix of textures and colors. The arrangements look casual and handpicked in that way that only an artist’s handiwork can. And they in no way scream baby shower, which I love, but are simply part of the happy whole. See more pix, including the joyful tablesetting here. I love her use of thistles. And, as Tory explains on her inspiring blog, the pitchers that look exactly like heavy ironstone are from, where else? Ikea.
Make sure to check out all of Tory’s sites, she’s an incredible wedding photographer and portrait artist.
xoxosl