sweet summer soiree baby shower

my friend debran, and i have been planning our friend, rachelle's baby shower for months now.

it's been so much fun to plan and watch come to life.

we knew we wanted to surround the theme around summer.

here's what we came up with...

debran made the cute invitations...

and this adorable wreath...

the cute collage by sarah from itsy bitsy photography

one of the games included guessing how many fruit were in this 3 tiered stand...

how cute are these cookies?!! by kati's kookies.

i made the banner out of burlap and fabric..

we set the tables...

the shower was held outside on the patio...to enjoy the perfect late summer afternoon...

i made these onesies from iron ons..

we bought 6 packs of flowers and cut them up and wrapped them in fabric for the favors...

the petite diaper cake ;)

debran picked up ice from sonic. did you know they sell big bags of ice?! i didn't!  it's the best ice around!!

the hostesses...debran and me ;)

our friend, maria, made the cute cake! and i made a simple pennant banner to top it. ;)

maria also made all of this yummy goodness!

strawberry lemonade cupcakes!

maria, rachelle, me and debran :) just so you can put a name to a face ;)

debran made all of the fabulous food!

one of the other games was a water balloon toss. perfect summer game, right? ;)  it was so fun and funny to watch how intense the girls got! haha!!

as the sun set, we lit all the candles..

and gathered around the fire..

the next game was to go around the circle and suggest a girl name that began with a different letter of the alphabet.  1st person suggested a name with "A"..2nd person said a name starting with "B"...and so on.  rachelle wrote down the names she liked and her favorite won!  i guess that didn't really help since she still hasn't decided on a name!! haha!! we tried! ;)

dessert was served

we lined up candles in mason jars along the fence of the entire backyard

carlie won the cute apron! ;)

we hung out into the night...

can you see the little lights to the left?  those were the mason jars. it was hard to get a pic of them.

several of us girls went in and surprised rachelle with a stroller.  i think she was pretty excited. ;) among many of the other great gifts she got!

happy shower, rachelle!  we can't wait to meet your baby girl!! xo

jon's bon voyage party

my sister, melissa, wanted to plan a surprise bon voyage party for her husband, jon, who will be deploying in july.  she wanted a patriotic theme.  i took care of the decor and a couple of friends took care of the delicious food!  he was definitely surprised!  and everyone enjoyed visiting with him and giving their well wishes!

everyone was given a flag for the surprise.  when he walked in everyone yelled, "BON VOYAGE!!" per melissa's request ;)

 i made a couple of banners....

 and a bunting..

 and attached a few pics to it.

 i couldn't help but pull out my sailor doll...since he's in the navy ;)

 i set out a little notebook so friends and family could leave him a note.  i thought it would be nice for him to take with him when he gets homesick.

treats and drinks :)

 a couple of his favorite treats are mint and oreos..so naturally i had to provide both ;)

 i hung stars all over the patio

 it was an italian based dinner with canilonis (sp? is that right debran? haha) and lasagna, garlic bread, salad, fruit

 and for dessert (i forgot to take a pic :( ) there was an mint oreo ice cream cake and turtle trifle.

guests mingled into the night..

and the kids made s'mores around the fire.

thank you, jon, for all that you do!  it was pleasure to help plan this party for you!  hurry back safe!