I'm finally back from among the missing in blog land! I'm sorry for my absence, but I'm back and hope to be posting regularly. I've been super busy and have a lot to share!
On Saturday I decorated for a Raggedy Ann themed baby shower for a dear church friend. The location was the upstairs of an old building full of charm and character! I've been working on the shower decoration ideas for a while, but this past week I had to ramp it up to production mode! I love to decorate for any party and this one was a lot of fun!
When guests entered the building, they had to go up to the second floor. This was the little display at the entrance at the base of the stairway. The highchair was my father's. This large Raggedy Ann was loaned to me by my friend, Cindy. She is a handmade Raggedy and was perfect to greet everyone! I made the chalkboard from a cupboard door panel and draped a small banner of hooked rug hearts to the top.
The focal point of any baby shower is the gift table.
I covered a long table with a patchwork quilt and on one end placed my mother's rocking chair. The Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls were again loaned to my by Cindy. The Raggedy Andy was her husband's as a child and was unlike any I have every seen. He had a leather-look belt and shoes with real laces! The tin star at the base of the rocker was made by a local craftsman from a Lancaster County tin roof. The vintage metal "Toys" sign had been mine when the boys were little, but I passed it on to the mom-to-be for her Raggedy themed nursery.
I made the "Heaven Sent" banner from a denim shower curtain. The top banner triangles were cut from the top of the shower curtain. Each triangle was attached with torn strips of fabric tied through the shower curtain's grommets. There were only enough shower curtain grommets for the word "Heaven", so I used the bottom of the shower curtain hem for the word "Sent" and fed jute twine through the hem casing for hanging. Gingham and calico print fabric was used for the letters. I fused the fabric to interfacing and once they were cut, I ironed them onto the denim banner pieces. The final touches are just scraps of matching fabric and red ric rac trim.
Alicia and Daniel decided not to find out if they are having a boy or girl, so I wasn't sure what words to use for the banner. Most baby shower banners are either "It's a Boy" or "It's a Girl". I googled "baby shower banner" and came up with a few ideas, but decided on "Heaven Sent".
I made a clothes line using jute twine at the front of the table and hung simple white onesies that I stenciled with little "I Love You" hearts on the chest - just like Raggedy Ann.
I used my Silhouette cutter to design and cut a stencil from Contact paper and filled in the stencil with red fabric paint, so the onesies can be washed. I love the way the heart outline is like stitches!
Some of you may remember this large dresser frame from a previous post. I found it at a yard sale earlier in the year for $5 and it has been in my garage just waiting for the perfect opportunity to make it into a chalkboard. Here's a pic from the day I found it.
And here it is transformed with a little homemade chalk paint on the frame and chalkboard paint on a thin piece of plywood attached to the back.
I found the image of the Raggedy Ann and Andy on the internet. It was a coloring page. I printed it out on a transparency and with an overhead projector, I traced it with chalk onto the chalkboard. I wrote "It's a Boy or Girl?" at the top. After I had the basic outline done, I made all the lines darker and then did some shading and highlighting with the chalk. This made a big statement, but was so easy! We had pieces of red and blue paper for the guests to vote for boy or girl. At the end of the shower, we counted the votes and - can you believe - it was a tie! The small Raggedy Ann and Andy dolls are ones I purchased for the new mom.
On that note, if you are looking to buy a Raggedy Ann doll, good luck! I called the local big name toy store, four small independent toy shops, a doll shop, as well as WalMart, Kmart, and Target. None had a Raggedy Ann doll. I finally found these little ones at a Lancaster County tourist gift shop thanks to a tip from one of the other stores!
I used Dollar Tree red gingham wrapping paper to cover the table and draped a rag banner to the front of the table. I purchased coordinating fabric remnants and my son's girlfriend and I spent an entire evening ripping the fabric into strips and tying them onto jute twine. We made so much that we were able to use it in several places! Thanks for helping, Sarah!
For favors, I filled small bags with kettle corn and attached a tag that said "ready to pop" that I designed, printed, and cut on my Silhouette.
I had to share the Raggedy Ann and Andy cupcakes made by the shower hostess, my niece Kala, with the help of my sister-in-law, Connie! Aren't they adorable!
They also made Raggedy Ann and Andy round cakes! I love Ann's eyes - made from miniature Reese's cups!
Here's a pic of the glowing Mom-to-Be, Alicia! It's a little grainy because it was taken with a cell phone camera, but I think it is an adorable shot of her!
We all had a wonderful time at the shower and Alicia got some great gifts for the baby! Thank you, Kala, for asking me to help!
I'll be back tomorrow with a little DIY decorating tip! Thanks for hanging in there with me!
Blessings,
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