So I’m starting this week off by wrapping up my Kitschy Little Man party recap. Last week I covered the party overview + inspiration and the food + drinks, and today I’m sharing the decor + favors followed by the last post tomorrow with some photobooth and candid party shots.

A red, aqua and chartreuse color theme kept this kitschy birthday shindig coordinated, along with a few splashes of mustache, tie and “man” elements. The table centerpieces were kept playful, with framed Jonathan Adler mustache and tie graphics and pom-pom table cloth overlays.

I made these heavily starched men’s shirt cuffs to hold all the menu cards labeling the food and drink, which were nicely complimented by the necktie napkins  .

Since the party would go until dusk, we also had aqua and chartreuse paper lanterns hanging overhead which all the little ones loved to see.

For the party favors, my über-creative girlfriend Jen,of Shop Snug Haven, made the most adorable t-shirts for our Little Ladies and Gents. I picked up each child’s shirt size and Jen used her stash of fabric (which coincidentally was leftover men’s dress shirt fabric from back in her NYC days) to make ties and lips for our little guests. How cute are these?

The favor tags for the little kids said “Bye Gorgeous” for the little ladies and “Bye Handsome” for the little gents, followed by their name so they could identify their shirt.

We used also used that fabric to make the little cake bunting for Hudson’s cake and the fabric garland for the photo booth. The other guests (who outgrew the 12 – 18 month size many, many years ago) took home Dapper Little Gingerbread Men favors.

That’s it for today…check back tomorrow for the Party People shots!

Alright, here we go with Part 2 of the Backyard Baby-Q Bash breakdown! Today I’m focusing on the decor, favors and games. I’ll share the menu cards and food displays in tomorrow’s “Food + Drink” post, even though it’s kinda all part of the decor. If you missed it, be sure to check out the invitations and party overview! click on the But back to the breakdown…the shower was in the backyard, with the best way to get there through the front door. So we had paper luminaries lining the walkway up to the door and a sign directing people to the back.

There were about 60 people attending the couples shower, and there were three spaces for the guests to gather. I had three round tables with 12 chairs each for people who wanted to grab a seat, there were two cocktail tables for the standers and in the very back there was a heated white tent with lounge seating which was perfect for the loving grandparents who attended. It was pretty chilly that day, and a family friend was sweet to set it up the tent for us earlier in the day. I had a few different pieces pulled together for the shower (vintage pieces for serving tables and rented pieces for seating), so to tie it all together I used lots of burlap.

I used one of their baby gifts (the navy crib) to house all their other baby gifts. It was a fun way for the guests to see where the baby would be sleeping, and everyone was totally in love with the idea of a navy crib.

Next to the gift “table” was the antique writing desk holding the party favors and one of the games. The party favors were “S’more Kits for Two”, inside each box there were four graham crackers wrapped in bag sealed with a navy sticker and delicious dark chocolate squares and marshmallows in a bag tied with jute. The special part of these favors was the instruction card for heating the s’mores in the oven WITH the a note about giving “s’more love to baby” by signing up to bring the dreary-eyed new parents a meal via MealBaby.com. I love MealBaby and knew the people they loved were at the shower and would be the ones interested in bringing them some food once baby arrived!

My sister and brother-in-law preferred no “traditional” baby shower games, so I designed a Mad Libs style advice card for guests to complete. It was a great way for guests to be involved (the guys even liked it!) and we had a blast reading them back the next day!

Since it was a couples shower I wanted to make sure there was an activity for the men who attended, so off to the side we had a game of cornhole. If you’re not from the Indiana, it’s a Midwest lawn game staple where players take turns throwing cornhole bags (bags filled with feed corn) at a raised platform with a hole in the far end. I promise it’s way more fun that it sounds…and it wasn’t just the men getting in on the cornhole action!

In addition to vintage furniture pieces, lots and lots of burlap and tons of heating lamps, we used lots of mood lighting for after sunset hours. There were globe lights strung around the party area, lots of mason jars filled with candles on the tables and even handmade mason jar lanterns hanging from the trees (thanks to my sweet dad who hung the lights and even made the lanterns).

That’s it for today. Hard to believe I still have more to talk about for this party…but I do! Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post on the Food + Drink.

I was in one of those “blog rabbit holes” the other day and stumbled upon a clever, unique gift idea…A Bourbon Infusion Kit.  Each kit is a bit different and contains an infused-bourbon along with all the ingredients to make the specialty drink noted on the enclosed hand-made label. I love this idea for a groomsmen gift,  as part of a couple’s shower gift (pair it with glasses from their registry), or even as holiday presents (it’s just around the corner!). DIY Instructions are just below the pictures.

To makes these kits, you’ll need the following:

• Kraft boxes from Uline
• Infused bourbon of choice, here’s an easy orange-infusion recipe
• Small glass flasks (for infused-bourbon)
• Small jam jar (for vermouth or mixer)
• Orange (or the other cocktail components)
• Labels for your ingredients
• The specialty cocktail recipe, here’s the 1974 cocktail recipe

This can be really personalized to a cocktail that your recipient loves or perhaps you’ve shared together. Not a bourbon drinker? Infusions can be done with any liquor, just follow the same steps listed for the orange-infusion recipe above. During the summer I make cucumber-infused rum for my mojitos, and I just pour equal parts rum to sliced cucumber and let sit for 48-hours in the fridge. Good luck!

{Source} Photographs are copyright of Victor Sizemore, who makes this as gifts for his friends and family.

I was in Anthropologie and spotted an adorable sewing kit in a mason jar. Such great presentation, I couldn’t help but think it would be a great favor idea for a bridal shower or baby shower. It would even be a sweet hostess gift or college graduation gift.

The one at Anthro retails for $48 each (wow!), but it can be made very easily for a lot less money – which would come in handy if you’re planning to give multiple. If you have some time (or a couple girlfriends to help) below is what you would need for each kit. If you made a set of 12, you could do it for under $8 a kit!

• Mason Jars (check your local retailer to avoid shipping cost, I found at a local target for $9/12-pack)
• Mini-scissors
• 2 Wooden Spools of Thread for a more vintage look, or  2 Spools of Thread of standard thread
• Sewing Needles, attach to a piece of felt cut in a circle
• Vinyl Tape Measure
• Metal Needle Threader
• Thimble 
• Glass Pin Heads, placed in a Window-Pane Mint Tin
• Pin Cushion – burlap or thick canvas cut into two-3″ circles, hand-stich edges and stuff with poly-stuffing. From the inside, glue to the outer-lid of the mason jar.
• Twine
• Safety Pins