Western Baby Shower on the Bella Bash Boutique

Cupcake wraps for both mini and regular size cupcakes!

Cupcake picks

Favor box and napkin wrap used on a water bottle

My second party from my premiere collection is probably my fave (might have something to do with the principle color?).I kinda have a thing for pink, and a pretty major crush on western fonts, so this theme was a no-brainer for me. I've got this party ready to go for a baby shower (or baby birthday) but it can also be used for a bridal shower or birthday party.

For those who may still not quite get this printable party concept (like my mom), I've included an example template to check out. Feel free to save it, print it, and test it out for yourself (make sure it fills the page completely so you don't get a teeny tiny little favor bag). Score the folds first with a ruler and knife and it will fold much easier and prettier!

The Western Party Includes:

Invitation & Envelope
Thank You Card & Envelope
Cupcake Wraps (for Regular and mini cupcakes)
Cupcake Pick Toppers
"Oh Baby Shower" Banner OR "Bride To Be" Banner
Napkin Wraps
Candle Wraps
Favor Box
Favor Bag
Gift Tags/ Place Cards/ Labels
Bingo Cards & Bingo Markers
Gift Log
Patterned Paper

Some DIY ideas for your Western Party:

1) Instead of using the favor bags for favors, try filling with snacks and treats like popcorn, nuts and bolts, chips etc.

2) Playing baby shower games, like chugging the juice out of the baby bottle? Use a napkin wrap to customize your baby bottles.

3) Make yourself some pretty, fluffy tissue paper pom poms. Hang from the ceiling, extending the string down through the pom so that you have a piece of string that hangs about 6 to 10 inches underneath. Attach a star label to the string hanging from the pom. Once you have a bunch of them done it will look like a pretty mobile or baby chandelier.

Check out my Western Party on etsy right here!

Hello Kitty, Hello Baby!

Erin, the mom-to be, and Tracy, the Hello Kitty loving hostess with the mostess!

I love a good challenge ( a country rooster themed wedding would certainly be an unfortunate challenge), but I also love a theme that takes advantage of things I have a penchant for.

When Tracy asked me to help design a pink and brown Hello Kitty baby shower for her friend Erin, I was over the moon. HK and I are pretty good friends. She hangs out with my house keys, she adorns my notebooks, and helps me keep things organized in folders. Much to my husband's dismay, HK is a rather permanent fixture in my home (more specifically, and to appease the hubs a bit, in my office). I thought I was HK crazy until I rolled into Tracy's house. This girl has more Hello Kitty than the Richmond Night Market, possibly more than Japan.

Although she had lots of Kitty goodies that could be used throughout, I decided to take a more custom approach and designed the HK labels which were inspired by the storefront sign of the Hello Kitty Sweets Shop in Japan. Tracy was the PERFECT client, as she was very hands on and made pretty much every suggestion I gave her come to life. I sent her a picture of adorable hello kitty cupcakes- so she made them. I introduced her to Bakerella's cake pops, so she went out and got the necessary supplies, and we made them. She literally constructed an army of tissue paper poms that were hung throughout her home, and her creative touch made the shower really come to life. Did I mention she made her famous almond roca recipe for the take home favors? Yup, she's Martha Stewart. Or shall I say Martha Kitty?

Pink Wedding. Does it get any better than this?

While I continue to work on my little *surprise* project, I thought I would share some eye candy with you. From a pink girl's perspective, this wedding photographed by Our Labor of Love is just devine!

Pink Eye Candy ... or is it Eye Cake?

I just HAD to share this adorable cake from Martha Stewart. It's pink, it's ruffled, and it's cake, so it pretty much doesn't get any better than this!

Pink Party for Breast Cancer Awareness: etsy Tuesday

Another week has come and gone, and here I am again with an etsy Tuesday post and nothing else to show for the last week! The "rush" of my wedding season has come to a close, and blogging daily is back at the top of my list! I can't make any promises, but at least I can try.

For those of you who've read my blog for a while may remember another feature I did on Paper and Cake. I absolutely LOVE this company, and I think it's ingenious that they sell their designs electronically and allow you to print your own party ware. It's not QUITE homemade, but at least you'll feel a bit more creative than if you had walked into a store and bought everything premade. And who doesn't like to feel a little bit Martha Stewart every once in a while?

This pink partyware is designed in honour of Breast Cancer Awareness Month which is right around the corner, but would be perfect for a bridesmaids luncheon, shower or tea party. Compliment your tablescape with gorgeous white candle holders (these ones look like they're from Ikea), some pastel blooms and pretty stands to hold your treats, and you're good to go!

For $8, you get ALL of this :

Invitation + Envelope

Notecard + Envelope
Door Sign “Welcome”
Pennant Banner “Pink Party”
Placemat
Napkin Rings (vase & candle wrappers)
Menu Card
Wine Glass Tags
Cupcake Wrappers
Cupcake Toppers
Party Food Labels (name tags / gift tags / place cards)
Handbag Style Favor Box
Bag Topper for Pink Lapel Ribbons
Full Sheet Patterned paper

Find the pink party printables from Paper and Cake here.

Circus Cowboy

All images from Oh So Beautiful Paper courtesy of Wiley Valentine.

Oh how the bloggers over at Oh So Beautiful Paper are after my own heart. Thank god there are people in the world who are more paper obsessed than I am, because frankly I was starting to feel a bit crazy. The new feature on OSBP is too die for. This stunning baby announcement set was designed by Wiley Valentine, and was inspired by a popcorn bag from Trader Joe's (Trader Joe, who are you? And why aren't you in Canada? I have a feeling we would be really great friends!).

I am currently wrapped up in a whirl wind romance with all things "Circus Cowboy". I call this Circus Cowboy, because the design elements are laid out like an old fashioned circus poster, and the fonts used are generally called "Cowboy something or another". I guess the fonts are interchangeably Circus or Western, and since they are generally from the same era I feel completely comfortable merging the two (sorry if I've offended any stationary gods using incorrect terminology!). I also give credit to the one and only Britney Spears and her Circus tour for bringing Circus Cowboy to the forefront of stationary design. Thanks Brit Brit!

Another of my favourite blogs is also featuring a backyard western style baby shower that incorporates some Circus Cowboy. Check out the post on Hostess with the Mostess.

Colour Fabulousness! Real Wedding and Dessert Table

Is it bad that I'm craving M&M's for breakfast?

I started off my morning falling in love with Jade's incredible dessert table spread worthy of the legendary Amy Atlas. Jade was a DIY bee on Wedding Bee and has since started her own DIY website that you can drool over here. She really actually did this dessert table all DIY style, making the cupcakes, petit fours and cake pops (courtesy of another of my faves Bakerella) the DAY BEFORE her own wedding. A little crazy, but she pulled it off!

I absolutely love the vibrant colours, and although I'm usually a fan of the more muted colour combinations for weddings, I think that Jade definitely pulled it off and her wedding is a great example of how to "do colour" effectively. I still can't quite get over how gorgeous the petit fours are either. The detail and design varieties are amazing!

Photography: Scott and Tem

Oh how I heart pink and grey!

Source: Weddings and the City

Photo credit: Amy Squires

Below: TopMax ruffle dress, Romeo & Juliet Couture Flapper Style dress.

Nothing quite gets my heart racing like a pretty pink and grey wedding. I'm not going to lie, if I could choose my wedding colours all over again, this is what I would do. I love how it so elegantly fuses the masculine and feminine, the industrial and the delicate. Grey may have been dubbed the new neutral, but it will forever be a favourite of mine, regardless of passing trends. It is charming yet practical(really, what bridesmaid wouldn't LOVE you for selecting one of these gorgeous dresses above that they definitely WILL wear again), and it pairs so perfectly with any shade of pink. I think the colours make for a gorgeous combo, and best of all they showcase your wedding without over-doing it (no orange, fuschia, purple and teal weddings for me!)

Introducing the new Mr. & Mrs.....Pink and Blue!

A "Tiffany" blue wedding theme is a classic, and pink, in all it's glorious shades, is perhaps the most popular wedding colour scheme of them all. What you won't see too often, however, is the two of them combined, which is why I am dedicating this post to the marriage of Pink & Blue. It's quite fitting for a wedding indeed because of the symbolic nature of the two colors (well, at least for weddings of the heterosexual kind!). But despite any symbolism here, the colour combo is just plain pretty! I definitely predict that you'll be seeing plenty more from this new "couple" in many weddings to come.

Photo sources: Top: www.theknot.com, www.wishspecialevents.com, www.weddingwire.com, Bottom: http://www.bridalbuds.com/2009/05/inspiration-board-pastel-blue-and-pink/