Circus Baby Shower

This weekend I helped throw a baby shower for my dear friend Julia. It was a circus themed shower using her nursery room colors: red and light blue. The party was held at the church where Julia is a children's pastor. Aren't the decorations cool? (Thanks to my co-hosts Shannon and Amanda). They were inspired by some of the links above.

Amanda made these cute little circus tags for all the food with circus stickers.

Strawberry, Nutella, and Vanilla cupcakes with animals on top.

These are so easy and yummy to make: cherry tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, fresh basil, and a little balsamic vinaigrette on top right before the party.

The pretty pregnant lady: Julia Goolia!

Our craft activity was to have everyone make a quilt square for a crib quilt. I cut flannel into 8x8 inch squares and the ladies traced stencils and die-cuts into shapes on fleece. Then they pinned them to their quilt square.

A few finished squares. I'll post the finished quilt when it is done.

Guacamole, Artichoke dip, Italian Skewers

Fruit salad, cupcakes, cookies, lemon blueberry trifle

To make the Lemon Blueberry Trifle:
For the lemon mixture: Mix two 3.4 oz boxes lemon Jello pudding powder with 2 1/2 cups milk and three 6 oz. containers lemon yogurt
Layer 1 inch cubes of angel food cake, then lemon mixture, then blueberries. Repeat two more times. Top with Cool Whip and blueberries.


Tissue paper flowers

The guests filled out wish cards for the baby.



I just love this silly lady and can't wait to meet her baby!

Curious George Baby Shower

I am a bit late in blogging about this Curious George "Sprinkle" that I threw for my cousin's wife Lindsay. Her baby is now 5 months old! But I wanted to show off the party anyway. I figured out how to make a diaper palm tree by using a coat hanger to fashion a hook shape. Then I slid rolled up diapers onto the coat hanger and wrapped a ton of brown yarn over it. I made the leaves by painting thick paper with green paint and used 3 brown beads for coconuts.

Fabulous monkey cupcakes

Fresh fruit kabobs went well with our cook-out.

Monkeys love banana pudding.

Decorations


Guess the number of animal crackers in the container. We also played baby pictionary.

Babies love baby showers!


She was ready to pop!

Sneak Peek: Owen

Five week old Owen was a pleasure to photograph. He was so quiet and content to be cuddled up in blankets. He didn't even cry until the very end when he started getting hungry. You could tell his older brother was smitten with him and they were so sweet together!

I also had fun using my new favorite prop: my vintage suitcase. It makes a cozy little bed for babies!

Sneak Peek: Winston

Newborn Winston was three weeks old when we took these portraits a few days before Christmas, but he was still a tiny 7 pounds. He and his Mom were such troopers. The power went out in my studio and we had to move our session to my house instead. It was so easy to shoot them though, because they are both such cuties! I had a great time meeting them. Winston's Mom is a fellow art teacher like me!

Christmas Card Sessions

I'm having a super deal on Christmas Card Sessions. During the month of November you can get a 30 minute portrait session, online gallery of your images, 25 Christmas cards, and one 8 x 10 print for only $100 (value $150). Contact me for more info: shutterstitch@gmail.com

Baby Quilt: Little Golden Books

I recently had a pregnant, soon-to-be-mama see my pillows for sale in Helix ( in downtown Athens, Ga.) and bought one for her nursery. She also ordered a custom baby quilt for the room as well. I used red and brown fabrics to coordinate with the really cute Little Golden Books fabric. It even has the Saggy Baggy Elephant on it! It looks like her daughter is having fun playing on it!

Best Halloween Costume Ever!

I could not stop laughing when I saw what my brother came up with for his Halloween costume this year... a Travelocity gnome! He just may be the tallest gnome of all time measuring in at 6 feet 4 inches!

Sneak Peek: Christina and Justin's Wedding

Christina and Justin were such a fun couple to photograph during their wedding at the State Botanical Gardens in Athens, Georgia. The location was special to them because they had their prom together back in high school in the same conservatory where their reception was held. So sweet! Christina was an elegant bride in her lace gown and Justin just may be the funniest groom I've worked with to date. He definitely had the craziest dance moves!