Love (Nesting) Birds Baby Shower - a sweet yellow & grey gender neutral baby shower for super special friends!!

I am proud to say that this party was featured on "Sweet Designs" by Amy Atlas.  Check it out here!

If you like the party printables, you can purchase your own set at my Etsy shop HERE.

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Wow, so much happened since the last time I posted about a homemade party I hosted... Among the major changes is the fact that we've moved (and are still in the process) and I started an online business selling digital custom partyware kits (check it out here if you haven't yet, or just click on the "SHOP" tab on the menu bar above.)

Considering our already pretty full days (and life, thankfully!), I really don't know how we are managing to do it. There's truly a lot more power in us than we give ourselves credit for :-)

Besides not having our beloved "stuff" and furniture with us yet (again, we are still in transition...) I managed to organize and style a few simple and yet beautiful parties that I'm now happy to share with you.  I'll start with a baby shower I styled for one of my oldest and closest friends here in the US.

This baby shower was a joint effort of a few friends to celebrate and cherish our dear friends' baby on the way. I was in charge of the decoration and party favors, and inspired by the tastefully decorated nursery, I set the tone with yellow and grey colors. One of my favorite pieces from the baby's room is a lovely blanket with birds imprinted on one side and stripes on the other, so a "nesting love birds" concept immediately came to mind. 

This charming baby blanket was my inspiration for this party

I used bird references throughout the party - yellow and white ostrich feathers as a table centerpiece, mini bird's nests holding Jordan almonds and yellow-coated chocolate, ceramic egg crates, bird houses, wood branches and distressed bird cages.

Here's the party "mise en place": food cards attached on absolutely adorable metal bird place card holders...

 ...wine charm markers to identify each guest's glass. This is a great concept if you are like me and keep forgetting where you left your drink... If you think you won't be able to remember your chosen pattern by the end of the night, you can always write your name on the marker as well :-)

I took my yellow console table to the host's place and set the water bottles there. For decoration I added grapewood branches, wood and metal birds from Michael's (which I adorned with a polka dot patter patina), dotted yellow and grey drinking paper straws, customized water bottle labels and pennant flags (both available at my shop.) Above it all, I hung a large ornate frame from Ikea that I spray-painted in white (which was such a challenge, since our small rental apartment has only a tiny balcony area that I could work at without intoxicating the whole family with paint fumes...) Inside I framed a piece of grey and white dot fabric and added felt cutouts of birds and hearts. This project took way more time than I ever expected, but it was all very worthy at the end. I simply love, love, love the result!

I included some "Baby Facts" on the water label, a play on the nutritional facts box :-)

A closer look at the patina birds. I used the same easy technique for the wooden letter "K" I used at this vintage baby shower. I painted the birds in grey and yellow and let them dry completely. Then I traced their shape on the polka dot paper from my collection, cut around and glued on the birds with mod podge. 

I offered a fun and whimsical welcome drink - I put pieces of pink cotton candy (it's a girl!) inside glass flutes and poured champagne over, melting and blending the candy with the bubbly. 

I stuck wooden skewers on the cotton candy inside the champagne flutes.  I adorned the sticks with little birds I punched out of glittery silver and metallic gold craft paper.

Note cards for guests to leave baby and parents-to-be a message.  Holding them on the "birdcage" are mini clothespins embellished with grey and yellow washi tape.

I baked these chewy and moist brownie bites (recipe at the end of this post) and used my cutout birds again on top of the toothpicks.

This event was an evening affair, so we had lots of delicious savory treats to please every palate :-)

Ostrich feathers, straw nests holding candy coated chocolate and Jordan almonds, a custom "welcome sign" and a couple of painted wood "love birds" with polka dot heart "wings"

The centerpiece - a framed "welcome sign" leaning against a vase with yellow and white ostrich feathers. I added pieces of yellow and grey lace to the sign, as I did "digitally" with the shower invitation.  The glass candle holders (found at a Goodwill store) got a band of lace as well.

A white tablecloth is a great blank "canvas" to any party, and a timeless piece that you can reuse over and over. Just add your colorful décor elements to bring the party theme to life.

An overview of the main table

I cut and glued silver and golden glittery tape on the handle of wood ice cream spoons and we used it to serve the passion fruit mousse, a very common (and yummy!!) Brazilian dessert.

Framed graphic art displayed throughout the main table, plus a painted wood bird house and an adorable yellow ceramic egg crate.

Party circles glued to toothpicks

Another friend made this beautiful cake sprinkled with silver and yellow sugar pearls. I made a mini pennant bunting out of the straw flags from my collection, twine and wooden skewers and used it as a cake topper.

I was lucky to find these beautiful distressed metal birdcages in the party colors.

Polka dot paper rosettes/pinwheels with a party circle from my party kit in the center. It was a little challenging to style a party that wasn't hosted at my own place. I wasn't sure about the space I had for the decorations (I usually set up the table at least the night before a party, sometimes a week or a couple of days before the event!) or what I could do for backgrounds.  At home, I will hang decorations on the wall using tape or nails, but at my friend's house I knew she probably wouldn't appreciate it :-) So to make sure I wouldn't damage her walls or windows, I figured out a nice way to display my paper rosettes: I hot glued a bread twist/tie behind each one of them and secured them onto a vintage framed piece of chicken wire.

 

For the party favors, I put a single cupcake inside mini birdcages (from Michael's) for guests to take home and enjoy for dessert or breakfast the next morning. 

It was a lovely evening among much loved friends and I feel blessed that I could be part of this celebration and make it a bit more special for the happy couple.

 Cherry Walnut Brownie Bites

yields approximately 16-20 mini brownies

(I adapted this recipe from another one I found online. Unfortunately, I lost the source to give its proper credit...)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dried cherries, chopped
• 1 tablespoon Amaretto liqueur  (or apple juice, for a non-alcoholic version)
• 3/4 cup chopped unsweetened baking chocolate
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (I prefer European-style butter, such as Plugra or Kerrygold)
• 1 cup raw sugar (demerara, muscovado)
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
• 1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
• 1 15-ounce can pitted dark, sweet cherries, drained (chop them if you want smaller pieces in your brownie)
• 1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips 

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2.  Generously butter/oil a mini muffin tin and set aside.

3. In a small saucepan, combine the dried chopped cherries and the Amaretto and simmer for a couple of minutes (you want to infuse the cherries with the liqueur)  Set aside to cool.

4. In a saucepan over low heat, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring frequently until smooth.

5.  Add the sugar and salt, whisking continuously.  Set aside and cool to room temperature (about 10 minutes) 

6.  Once cooled, transfer the chocolate mixture to your standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or do it by hand as I did, since we don't have our beloved stand mixer with us yet...)

7. Add the eggs, one at a time, to the chocolate mixture.

8. Add the flour, baking powder, soaked cherries, toasted almonds, canned dark sweet cherries and chocolate chips. Mix well.

9. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared muffin pan.

10. Bake the brownies for 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester (or knife) inserted into the center comes out clean.

11.  Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature before removing them from the pan.

12. Dust them with 10x powdered sugar or coat with dark chocolate ganache on top.

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Gender Neutral Yellow & Grey Baby Shower Invitation

This is what I have been working on lately: a gender neutral love birds baby shower for dear friends. A complete post about the party details is coming soon, but first I wanted to share part of the new printables collection available at my Etsy shop. 

4"x7" (10x18cm) printable invitation

 Thank you card and invitation

Printable folded thank you card - the back has yellow and white thin stripes like the body of the invitation.

Also part of this new collection are 4x6" poster art depicting birdcages, hearts and birds, all against graphic patterns in white, grey and yellow. Polka dot patterned digital paper is also included.

You can purchase these items separately at the shop.  Invitation here and thank you card here.

Thanks and stay tuned for the baby shower post!

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Vintage Afternoon Tea Baby Shower (+ the all gluten-free challenge)

If you like this party and want to throw your own "vintage tea party" and accessorize with charming party printables, head to my Etsy store here or to the blog's shop section here.

I'm happy to finally share this intimate and beautiful "shabby chic" vintage afternoon tea party I put together for a very dear friend who is expecting her first child. I briefly describe how the idea for this baby shower came to life here, if you are interested.

As I mentioned on this post, the guest of honor is gluten-intolerant and I wanted her to be able to sample all the food she wanted without restrictions... well, minus the alcoholic welcome drink, sorry! Thus, everything served at this baby shower was gluten-free. Gluten is a protein found in all types and forms of wheat (including spelt, kamut, faro, durum...), rye and barley.  It is mainly present in breads, crackers, pasta and beer (oh no, not the beer!! Don't worry, there are a few GF versions on the market now... Phew!)  It can also be hiding in commercial salad dressing, soy sauce, mayonnaise, processed meats, packaged soups, vanilla flavoring (not the real extract), ice cream... That's because gluten can often be disguised in the form of artificial flavors, fillers and thickeners (another reason to eat natural and homemade!) and even in some toothpastes, hidden under "natural" flavor!!  Here's more information on gluten, gluten sensitivity/intolerance, wheat allergy and celiac disease.

It is important to note that when preparing foods for people with certain food restrictions or allergies, you must watch closely for proper food handling.  Make sure there's no cross-contamination with other red flag ingredients by clearing your workspace of any possible allergens and washing your hands often. Read labels for foods manufactured in a facility that also processes wheat/barley/rye products and its derivatives such as (barley) malt, semolina, grain alcohol and vinegar.

Be mindful that some celiac people might have reactions to oat products as well, since they are commonly grown near crops of wheat and rye and can suffer cross pollination. Be sure to ask your guests how they feel about it and if you need to, check if the oat is certified gluten-free.

I made all the food myself (minus the bread - I used Udi's whole grain sandwich bread), and even though I haven't baked exclusively with gluten-free flours before, I was pretty confident that, if something didn't go so well, I had a great back up plan: there's a wonderful gluten-free store right next door to my apartment building (it's actually the only dedicated GF Grocery Store in all of San Francisco!) Not only they offer a great selection of products, the whole staff is adorable, knowledgeable, very helpful and makes you feel like a special friend :-)

It's tea time!!

To start our "travel in time",  I went on to work on the music selection, rotating a few different CDs. But I kept going back to this one I love: "Stylish Songs for Unforgettable Gals" (fitting, huh?), with performances by  Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald, and other great lady legends.  I think it set the mood perfectly and transported all of us to another era...

For the buffet centerpiece I arranged together a few items I already had at home. My first advice for anyone planning a party? "Shop" at home first. I always find new ways to use old pieces or find inspiration in forgotten objects around the house.  So here's what I found: 

1. a big letter "K" from my son's bedroom (my friend's first and last name start with this letter, so it was a homage to her and to her "baby K.", since I didn't know his name yet);

2. my good old pregnant wire dress form all dressed up with a hair flower band and a blue ribbon;

3. a silver mint julep cup (found at Thrift Town when I went looking for my baby's highchair) holding a pearl necklace and gerber daisy napkin holders;

4. an antique silverplate tray from Goodwill I repurposed by painting the center in chalkboard paint;

5. mismatched tea cups under a glass cloche;

6. blue tablecloth used at the Elvis Presley theme party and a lace table runner (a gift from grandma);

7. and many, many paper butterflies!

I have this pregnant wire form since my first pregnancy and I like to think it brings good fortune to future mammas... Here's another way I accessorized it to match the décor.

 I gathered a few antique tea cups and piled them up under a glass cloche for visual interest

These paper doily hanging decorations are so adorable, fun and whimsical!  I love their ethereal beauty and the ease it was to make them! 

1. Just measure the circumference of the doily area you want to cover (in this case, the uncut space in the center, where is just plain paper, without "lace" decorations).

2. Cut round circles of pattern paper to these dimensions and glue them to the doilies.  

3. Lightly fold in half and set aside. Do this to as many as you want to be clustered together.  I used 3 "composed" doilies/paper per hanging mobile.  

4. Glue half of one back side to the other half back side of another doily. This is where the fold you previously made comes in handy, marking the center and highlighting where you should glue them.

5. Attach a nylon line, hang, and admire :-)

Mismatched textured glass bottles with cold drinks: coconut water, limeade, orange juice and filtered water.

Antique utensils printed napkins and holder. The holder is actually a recipe book display I got from Anthropologie many years ago. A good polish brought it to life again :-) Here's a good way to naturally clean silver using salt (or baking soda), aluminum foil and boiling water: line a large pan, baking dish or kitchen sink with aluminum foil. Pour really hot water mixed with the salt/soda and arrange your silver utensils on the dish. The aluminum attracts and removes the tarnish like magic! There's a nice visual guide here.

I cut strips of the patterned "shabby chic" digital paper collection by fellow Brazilian Kika Esteves and then cut the edges using a doily lace paper punch from Martha Stewart Crafts. I wrapped them around champagne flutes and added a delicate butterfly cut from the same papers. 

Small paper doilies dyed in blue food coloring served as coasters for the welcome drink "Bubbles & Blue". Simply combine equal parts of chilled champagne & Hpnotiq.  Cheers, saúde!!

I even dressed the Hpnotiq bottle with a vintage crochet lace.

As table confetti, I used two different sizes of butterfly paper punches, both from Martha Stewart Crafts as well.  The ones resting on top of the flutes are the larger ones.

The day before the shower I realized I didn't have a bowl that would be "retro enough" to serve the quinoa salad in. A quick stop at Out of the Closet solved this problem, as I found this gorgeous glass and silver bowl.  It did create another "problem" though - I found 2, and not just one bowl and just had to use them both :-) So I went with a mixed greens salad and whipped a quick raspberry-champagne vinaigrette.

My friend Paula (also on a GF diet) brought her delicious leek quiche in a gluten-free crust. Thanks!!

With leftover paper and doilies plus a few drops of food coloring (from the "Time Flies" party), I made these simple decorations for the wall.  Here's how you can do it too:  

1. dilute food dye in water and stain the doilies by submerging them for a few minutes and very carefully removing afterwards;

2. let them dry over a kitchen towel (a bunch of paper towels would work too);

3. in the meantime, cut circles of design paper matching the circumference of the inner part of the doily;

4. once dried, glue them together (you might want to weight them down with a heavy book to flatten.)

They were stuck to the wall with double-sided tape, but you can thread them on a fishing line, ribbon or baker's twine and hang like a garland if you so wish.

Each place setting consisted of a mismatched dinner and salad plate; teacup and saucer; fork, knife, dessert spoon, demitasse spoon and butter knife; a crochet doily; cloth napkin and ring; a blue Fleur de Lis drinking glass (Pottery Barn) with a paper straw (from my son's Soda Shop & Diner party) on an antique glass and silver coaster; and a side dish of European butter sprinkled with fleur de sel.  This "butter dish" is actually a tea light holder. As I said before, "shop" your own home and you'll be surprised at how many different ways you can use a single object.

For my guest of honor, I offered a special set of "baby-boy" blue handle utensils.  I know sometimes it is frustrating to be planning a party and not be able to find exactly what you have in mind. But it compensates when at other times I'm not even looking and then spot things like this fun set of fork, knife and spoon.  For $0.99 cents a piece at Target, of all places.  Such a joy!

 Pick your favorite :-)

Lovely details inside these two teacups

Almond "thumbprint" cookies with raspberry jam and "doily" shortbread cookies.  Notice how I decorated the glass candle holders with white lace?

And this is how you make the romantic crochet doily-imprinted cookies: just press the doily down and roll with a rolling pin. Then tear off the excess around it or use a large round cookie cutter to do so. 

I wrapped the tea sandwiches with the same strips of paper I used for the champagne flutes. The food pick tags have scalloped edges and a vintage picture of tea cups, teapots, china plates and ornate utensils on top of the design paper.

Feta, Roasted Red Pepper & Walnut (recipe at the end of this post); Homemade Pesto with Smoked Mozzarella & Heirloom Tomatoes; and Smoked Trout, Horseradish & Watercress (using GF mayo.) All super tasty!  

It's all in the small details: mini chair place card holders

Pão de queijo is a Brazilian delicacy made using tapioca starch, eggs, oil, milk and cheese. They are crunchy outside and gooey and cheesy inside. I'd say it is a distant cousin of the Hungarian flaky pogácsa and the French gougère (which uses regular wheat flour, and is a bit drier inside.) There are countless versions of the recipe, but I have yet to find someone who doesn't like this treat, specially when is just fresh out of the oven! Parmesan-Black Pepper Biscotti: I adapted my tried-and-true savory biscotti recipe using Bob's Mill GF flour mix (and a little leftover of King Arthur's GF version as well.)

I finally got to use my toast rack from Pier 1.  I knew it was an essential item to have handy ;-)  Cherry and apricot jams were served in a white porcelain dish nested inside antique glass and silver coasters.  I thought the plain white dishes were "too contemporary" and added the little vintage touch with the coasters.

Lemon wedges, demerara sugar cubes, stevia packets, hot water, fresh flowers and milk on a footed antique tray.

Just in case we needed more options to sweeten our tea... agave nectar, maple syrup and mesquite honey inside vintage syrup dispensers from Etsy.

Sweets & Tea table. Unfortunately, the Hazelnut-Chocolate Tart is missing in this picture. I promise I'll make it again, post pictures and share the recipe. Think "rich Nutella cheesecake with a ground almond crust."  Divine!

I made customized envelopes for the tea bags and labeled each of them. Inside this old box lid I displayed the invitation that was sent out to guests. Teapot graphics from the Graphics Fairy (thanks, Karen!)  On the invitation I asked the ladies to "get in a vintage mood - and outfit", and they did so very elegantly :-)

The flower vase is an old hand soap pump from the bathroom. The screw top became very rusty, but the beautiful cut glass work prevented me from tossing it.

Blueberry "Cheesecake" Macarons. Remember my somewhat frustrated experience with my first homemade macarons? This time I used blanched almond flour instead of the almond meal I used previously and the texture was slightly smoother.  I think I might be getting somewhere...

I found a guide on "English Tea Etiquette" online, printed and framed it for display on the support table.  It offered some peculiar advice, from an extensive and detailed description on how to hold a tea cup, to the proper way to stir and sip it. My favorite one was "Tea sandwiches and treats should be eaten in delicate bites. Remember to smile and chat between bites." Since this was in no way a formal gathering, I told the ladies they were not required to follow any of these rules. Besides of course, to “smile and chat between bites.”

I made my friend a découpage "K" using paper, glue (mod podge) and a clear waterproof acrylic sealer.

In case you are wondering... these fantastic food card holders are nothing but repurposed hand-bent mismatched antique forks. Give it a try!

I made these whimsical gluten-free cupcakes filled with mixed berries and hazelnuts. I frosted with a simple recipe of buttercream, lightly sprinkled with blue pearlized sugar and for the grand finale, edible rice paper butterflies from Sweet Dejà Vu. Yep, that's right, edible :-)

It was the first time I frosted cupcakes using a pipping bag and tip. I watched a couple of video tutorials, but that only confused me even more (some recommend that you start at the edges and work inwards, others offer advice on how to start in the center and continue in a outward circular motion...)  I admit I had to scrape the frosting off a couple times on the first one, but then it was a breeze (well, sort of) once I got a hang of it!

I know it sounds a bit crazy, but I made this pastry stand the morning of the party. After I made the cupcakes - frosted and all -, I realized that the wire stand I had wouldn't be able to hold them all or be easy to transport (I actually lost a couple of the sweets when moving them to the table...)  So I "hired" hubby for the job of drilling through these antique plates and then I assembled the rest. I already had all the materials I needed, just never had the time before to actually execute this project.  I'm so, so glad I did it! It looks gorgeous, perfect for the occasion, and best of all - homemade! There are several tutorials online - go ahead, you can do it too :-)

I found more vintage accessories and decoration pieces that I thought I would, so at the last minute I decided to put together a photo booth and use these items as photo props, just like I did at my son's birthday party a month before. Antique rotary dial phone (I also used it at our Halloween party last year), perfume bottles with atomizers, gloves, tiaras, fascinators, pearls, feather boas, shawls and lace hand fans.  A floral Ralph Lauren tablecloth served as a "shabby chic" backdrop.

I displayed the party favors by the side of a framed ultrasound of the baby which I copied from my friend's social network page to surprise her.

If you missed the post about the baby shower favors and the tutorial on how to make them, check it out here. I offered the ladies chocolate-covered spoons wrapped in delicate blue organza drawstring bags with a tag attached reading "Stir your hot milk with this chocolate spoon for a real treat!" An easy and charming party favor that goes beyond flavoring your hot drink, since they can keep the spoon for many other uses after that.

Roasted Red Pepper, Feta & Walnut Dip

I adapted this dip recipe from Bon Appétit Magazine into a Roasted Red Pepper-Feta-Walnut "Pesto" to fill my tea sandwiches.  Here I share my take on this garlicky red pepper spread (for the pesto recipe, click here.)  Enjoy!

Ingredients: 

4 red bell peppers

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled

2 cups crumbled feta cheese

1/2 to 1 cup toasted and chopped walnuts (use more for a thicker, more spreadable consistency)

salt & pepper

Method:

Char peppers directly over gas flame or under broiler until blackened on all sides. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic, letting it "sweat" for 10 minutes. Peel, seed, and quarter peppers. Purée peppers, oil, garlic, cheese and walnuts in a blender or food processor. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Chill at least 3 hours or overnight.  

Here's a lovely portrait of some very distinguished ladies :-)

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