Pretty Wonderful

We love this beautiful baby shower Vanessa Iti organised for her best friend.
So pretty with a touch of vintage, a salute to Spring, and a wink to Alice in Wonderland.

Vanessa says... Inspirations really came from the colours that I chose - the teal and yellow. I wanted to create something really special for my best friend. A vintage/sweet/spring and a little Alice in Wonderland high tea. Gorgeous teacups and teapots. Dainty sweet treats and sandwiches. Beautiful whimsical flowers, pretty ribbon, delightful pompoms and of course, doilies.

Craft ideas:
The pompoms are super easy and only cost me $1 to make. There are some great tutorials on the web. {I used the Martha Stewart tutorial}

The "drink me" labels another great idea and super easy.
1. Grab your choice of scrap booking paper
2. Cut out tags {I used my cuttlebug, however if you don't have one, you can do it freehand}
3. Using a stamp set -stamp "drink me"
4. Wrap twine or ribbon around jar
5. Add paper flowers {sourced from Spotlight}

What I did:
Once I decided on the theme and style of baby shower, next thing I needed to do was to create the menu. I wanted lots of yummy sweet treats and savoury goodies. I really wanted to make everything myself, so a few weeks beforehand I did a lot of experimenting - just to make sure I could get them right, especially the macaroons!

Now came the fun bit - sourcing all the decorations, chairs, cake stands etc...  I did a lot of online research to find all my stuff. Trademe is great place to source everything - old bottles, tea cups etc... or you can just hire them too. {This can save some money, depending on the size of the baby shower}

Buying flowers and making decorations {ahhh i'm in heaven} Baking and preparing all the food was fun too! A lot of hard work and very sore feet, but it was worth it.

The ultimate was putting everything together, as you can never quite visualize how it will really look and I was so pleased with how everything turned out.

I got huge oooooo's and aaahhhh's as the guest arrived. I don't think it was quite what everyone was expecting.  Maybe they were just expecting something casual, some tea and cake? My best friend got the shock of her life! It was so lovely to be able to do something so very special for Ping - she really is like a sister to me.

All in all it was a fantastic afternoon! One that we won't be forgetting anytime soon. Lots of laughter and baby talk with a group of wonderful friends.

Special thanks to Vanessa Iti from Bella Cupcakes.
Published with permission, 10 August, 2012