Hunter's Hunting Baby Shower

Back in the spring when we had three baby boys born at church within a month, I was super busy planning baby showers. I had a lot of fun planning and throwing a shower for baby Hunter using a HUNTING theme! Everything was decorated with camo greens & browns and orange!

Instead of buying tissue paper poms, I finally learned to make my own! Here are the steps:

 1. Fold 8-10 pieces of tissue paper back and forth like a fan/zigzag.

2. Tie tightly in the center. (I had to tie some twice because the thread I used snapped.) Add a string that you will use to hang the pom. 

3. When securely tied, cut the ends. You can make a spikey pom or a soft pom with rounded edges. 

4. Very carefully, open and spread the sheets of tissue paper. (Hint: By my 4th pom I learned to hold it on my lap and spread out the sheets, moving back and forth between each side.)

Be VERY careful or the sheets will tear!

5. Show off your pom! Woohoo!!

Here is my final set up of the center party table, showcasing the homemade poms!

For the background, I used strips of extra orange fabric (from Christine's quilt!) and green ribbons tied to a picture frame. Jon loved that his deer antlers were a centerpiece!

 I LOVE potlucks! Thank you to everyone who brought something! We had a lot of great food and a delicious dinner. I only had to make dessert (as you all know is my favorite part of a meal!)

 

I made mini chocolate cupcakes and topped them with marshmallow creme, Hershey's chocolate bits, and teddy grahams. They tasted like bites of extra chocolatey s'mores. The only problem was that the creme gave into gravity and almost melted off the cupcake. 

But everyone's favorite part were the games! We had several different games/activities: Pin the Antlers, Diaper Candy, ABC Book, and Color A Onesie. 

Pin the Antlers: Kids chose one animal at a time: a moose, deer or caribou and were blindfolded. They had to place the antler in the correct spot. 

Diaper Candy: I melted 10 different types of candy in 10 diapers. Participants who guessed correctly received a candy from the candy jar. This was a hit, especially with the boys/men since the baby shower was all family-inclusive.

ABC Book: Hunter's mom was really excited about having an ABC book for Hunter to use when he learned the alphabet! It was also fun to see everyone's artistic talents and ideas!

Color A Onesie: While the adults colored/decorated the ABC book which Hunter's mom kept, the kids colored/decorated pictures of onesies!

All in all, we had a GREAT time! Here are several more pictures of the shower:

Blue Kool Aid decorated with a duck!

Super cool diaper cake made by Angela Oleson! She has some awesome skills!

Fun straws!

We had a great turn out and everyone enjoyed themselves! There was something for everyone...

...including my Ben who used a spoon for the first time!! (He really likes whip cream!)

Jeremiah's Frog Baby Shower

With so many baby boys being born at church, we celebrated with another baby shower! Jeremiah was born March 23. His baby shower theme was frogs!

I decorated in green, with some blue. I found some awesome chevron fabric for cheap at Walmart for the backdrop and plan on using them again as curtains for Ben's room when we get a house. 

The reeds were dry decorating flowers and grass. 

I used scrapbook paper to make Jeremiah's name and taped it to a frame with ribbons. 

The decor hanging off the table was the clear plastic toys kids can paint. Those were also a gift for Jeremiah's older brother and sister. 

It's kinda hard to see the ceiling but I hubg two stuffed animal frogs upside down and looped green crepe paper behind them to look like they were hopping. The table decor was a big hit with the kids and men! Some even had frog races. I bought green kool aid mix to look like pond water but the taste was awful! It tasted like liquid jolly ranchers...way too sweet! 

I love having potlucks because there are so many different types of food and I can focus on dessert. (I don't like cooking...but I love baking sweets!) 

Since Jeremiah is the fourth child, his mom said all she needed were diapers. We had a diaper raffle and prizes! 

For the kids, I bought bubbles and set up a game where they threw "flies" at the frogs. If a raisin landed on a frog, they got to eat it! Both activities kept the kids entertained, but there were raisins and bubble juice 😋 everywhere! 

Lastly are the desserts! The cupcakes are chocolate with mint buttercream frosting and chocolate flies. I don't like mint but these cupcakes turned out delicious! Sadly the Swedish fish in the green jello list all it's color but the kids still ate them! My favorite part was the cake!!

I knew I wanted to make a small cake baby Jeremiah's family could take home but I didn't have the right cake pan. But guess what works? A glass Pyrex dish! 

The cake is chocolate with lemonade buttercream tinted with blue food coloring. The grass, flowers, and lily pad are chocolate. The hardest part was making the baby frog. I used Wilton's 3D Edible Modeling Clay. It starts off really really hard but I had to knead it for half an hour to get it to mold right. After added green food coloring, I molded the body, arms, legs and head separately and then stuck them on by moistening the ends with little bit of water. 

🎂 I would like to end this post with a delicious cake announcement! Since I love baking...and decorating...I am considering starting a hobby business making baked goods. I don't know if this is just a phase that will fade out or if it is something I would enjoy doing as a real business. So, for friends on the Kenai Peninsula, just let me know if you would like me to make a cake or cupcakes for any event you have! Please let me know at least a week before you need it and what flavor & filling you would like. The only cost will be for the supplies. (We'll see who actually reads my blog, lol!) 🍰