A little minion is on his way! {Baby Shower}

Jessica, a dear friend of mine is expecting her first little baby and I had the honor to throw her baby shower.
This past Sunday was the big day and it turned out pretty great I might add. For the theme, we went with Minions (from Despicable Me) which is quite unique and so much fun! Since I couldn't find minion baby shower decor ANYWHERE, I had to think "outside of the box" and decided to make just about everything.
Since my son was a minion for Halloween last year, I used his costume to hang from a clothesline as part of the main decor and for favors, I used Twinkies (now from Sara Lee) with minions on them. Now when I see minions, I swear I see Twinkies! lol

For games, we played The Price is Right, measure momma's belly with ribbon and who can change the baby doll's diaper the quickest-blindfolded (SO FUNNY)!

I received lots of help from Jess' sister Stephanie and her friend Kelly who took care of all the yummy food (seriously YUMMY) as well as placing decor. I am so thankful for all their help!

Jess looked oh so beautiful and had that mommy glow to her. Only 1 more month and little Blayze will be here soon!

A little minion is on his way!

{enjoy}

For the cake, I went with an ombre effect and made the toppers. Thank you Janette for baking the cake and creating it even better than I imagined! She did a lemon cake with raspberry filling and a yellow cake with strawberry mousse. SO GOOD!

These were my favorite yummies-cold grapes dipped in caramel and peanuts! LOVE!

 I used this template for these adorable wish cards.

 I used this template for the Price is Right.

Baby Colton showing off his "tattoo."

 Congrats momma to be! Can't wait to meet little Blayze and give him {BIG} hugs! :)

Event Styling + Photography: Love Sparkle Pretty
Cake: Janette Espino
Game Templates: Confetti Sunshine

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{Don't forget to enter the giveaway to WIN a cute chevron clutch from PaperFlora!}

Paperflora- An interview with a small biz owner + a GIVEAWAY!

Recently, I have had the pleasure to meet a sweet creative artist-Natalie of PaperFlora. She contacted me to sign up for a bridal workshop and when I saw her shop, I was in love! She creates beautiful pieces from clutches to bridal sashes as well as makeup brush rolls and even ring pillows!
I asked her to share a bit about herself because there is such a greater experience when you get to know the person behind the pretty pieces. Speaking of pretty pieces, she wants to give a handmade chevron clutch to one of you lucky readers! Awesome right? I told you she was sweet.
Without further ado, I give you Natalie...

Tell us a little bit about yourself (outside of the crafty world).

I live in sunny California and have for my entire life. I'm blessed to have 2 beautiful grown daughters, 1 great son-in-law, 1 perfect grand daughter and the same loving husband for the past 33 years. 

When did you start being so creative and how did PaperFlora come about?

I have always been the creative type. I love all the needle arts, crocheting, crewel work, embroidery. I started sewing at a young age when my mother taught me to sew on my grandmothers petal Singer sewing machine.  I've made my own clothes, accessories & home decor.

My daughter got married a few years ago. It was an amazing day (http://paperflora2.blogspot.com/2012/03/blog-post.html)!  After planning that event, the wedding bug bit me and I decided to open an Etsy shop and feature personalized wedding accessories. 

Where does your inspiration for new "pretties" come from?

I am always looking at color trends and following the forecasters to see what is coming up. But I have to love it too so a lot of my color combinations are things that please me and hopefully others will find them pretty too. 

What are your favorite colors and prints to work with?

That changes as the seasons change. Right now I'm obsessed with the citrus colors, lemon and grapefruit. I'm working on new line for the shop titled Sweet and Tart which combines the lemony yellows with pink grapefruit and a subtle green. I'm also seeing a lot of pink and teal with a splash of gold. I love that too.

Where do you see PaperFlora in 3 years from now?

I love creating and working with beautiful fabrics, colors and embellishments... I know that will never end. I'm not sure exactly where PaperFlora will take me in future but I'm ready for where ever we go!

Win this super cute gray chevron wristlet with any flower color of your choice (or $30 shop credit-winners choice)!

This wristlet is the perfect size and is a convenient way to carry your essentials. Great for storing your cosmetics, cell phone, camera, keys.....

Made from a home decor cotton, chevron stripe in gray. It is fully lined with a coordinating print, It has a padded interfacing for added strength and closes with a zipper for security.

The wristlet features a detachable wrist strap with a swivel clip which loops around your wrist so you can keep your hands free. It is embellished with a handcrafted fabric flower with a pin back so you can use is on it's own. 

Measurements:
approx across top 10" across the bottom 9.5" height 4" 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A maternity photo shoot + a minion themed baby shower

For the past couple months, I have been planning a friends baby shower to welcome their little "minion" who is due in July. I told them that I would also help by snapping some maternity photos to use at the shower (which will be-you guessed it-a minion themed shower). It was a lot of fun being behind the lens and capturing such a cute couple! Here's a few that I took and I can't wait to use some of them within the decor of the shower next month!

Here's a little inspiration board I came up with for the shower theme.

I've never seen a minion baby shower before so it's a bit of a challenge but I have some pretty creative ideas to tie it all together. I'm pretty excited for this one! :)