Birds and Bunting: Sutton Baby Shower Reveal

 Birds and Bunting:  The theme for Julie Sutton's Baby shower.  This party has been in the works since early May when Julie's friend since pre-school, Lindsay, asked me to co-host the party.  Since then, we have thrown around ideas, colors, food and everything else you can think of to come up with the perfect party for Julie!

We decided the theme should be birds, with orange and grey with accents of teal, as this is what Julie was thinking of for the nursery.  The bunting (triangle banner) part of the theme just evolved as I used it on the invitations, thank you cards, created a bunting banner for the shower, and created the bunting quilt you see here.

This quilt was definitely my favorite gift to Baby Sutton.  It was truly a labor of love!  I had never quilted before so this was quite an experience.  I would say it is priceless, as many, many hours and late nights were spent hunched over the sewing machine, troubleshooting, and shopping (lots of materials went into this that I purchased in waves, as I only realized I needed them as I reached that point in the process.).  I love the vibrant colors and the cute bunting pattern.  This will look lovely in Baby Sutton's nursery no matter what colors they go with! 

Back of bunting quilt

Back and front of quilt together

These burp cloths were probably my favorite project.  They are made of cloth diapers from Target and you simply sew a strip of fabric to them.  They are so cute!  I may have a blog later about how to make these, as I documented the process with pictures.  Baby Sutton will be stylish!

 Thank you notes for Julie...she has too many things to do to worry about buying cards and sending them.  She is in the middle of starting a new job and moving.  These match the invitations and I pre-addressed the envelopes!

Hand made bibs!  I would have like them to match the burp cloths, but that was an after thought :)  I will plan better next time!

 All of the gifts for Baby Sutton.  I like how all the colors go well together.

Welcome sign!  This is what welcomed guests to Providence Baptist Church, which was gracious to let us use their lobby for the shower.  Here is the kitchen all set up for the party.  Below is one of 3 birdhouses I hand-painted to match the theme as well as the bunting banner hanging from the bar.  All of these things will be going home with Julie for the nursery.

These glasses were a HUGE hit!  I had Mrs. Davis save me her Frapuccino bottles, washed and removed labels and there you go!  I ordered striped grey and orange straws to match.  I ended up giving these to Lindsay for her little girl's birthday party.  I'm glad they are being used again!
 I made vanilla cupcakes with home-made chocolate buttercream frosting.  These are topped with toasted coconut and baby birds!  These were not difficult, but very time consuming.  Below are sugar cookies frosted with Royal icing.  I created a paisley-shaped cookie cutter by straitening the top part of a heart cookie cutter.  These cucumbers are from the Bolton garden :)  I thought of the topping myself:  8oz cream cheese mixed with 8oz sour cream, stir in a Ranch dips packet and sprinkle with dill!  Very yummy and refreshing.

 Katy graciously brought chips and dip.  Amanda brought cheese and crackers.  These girls are life savers!  Sam brought fruit and dip.  Lindsay brought the punch and delicious crock-pot meatballs!  Everything was delicious!

And finally, here is the proud mom-to-be with the cutest onesie from Katy!  She will have to strategically transport a huge loot from the party back to her new home in Iowa.  I'm guessing some of it will have to be shipped.  One thing is for sure, Baby Sutton is loved and I am blessed to be able to help throw such a wonderful, beautiful party.  The quilt may be cute and the cookies might be yummy, but God has given me the talent to bless others.  He alone has also blessed Julie and Josh with their growing family and I praise him for this!