Nautical Baby Shower — The Prepping

Stay tuned for a big honkin' posting after the August 4 baby shower I was hired to design! It's a boy! And the hostesses asked for a nautical-themed shower to match the baby's nursery. My design presentation included lots of personal touches and will incorporate some fantastic nautical pieces that the family has in their home. It is so stinkin' fun to work on this event, I can't even begin to tell ya.

Here are two items that I "staged" for my presentation. The invite list was over 50 gals, and we expect 30-some in attendance. With a group that large, nametags are nice not only for the guests but for the hostesses, so I encouraged having them. The hostesses, Lee Ann and Dawn, were all for it and asked that I do ones for the guests and something different for the mom-to-be and the grandmothers-to-be. I handcrafted the fabric flowers as the special tags. Each will be in a different fabric. Lee Ann and Dawn asked that I use nautical buttons for the flower centers instead of the crocheted button pictured here. The names are stamped on a piece of card stock and hung from the center of the flower using baker's twine. Post-shower, the twine can be cut and the name card removed, so the flower pin can be used again.

The guests will get the wooden nametags. I found the painted wooden boat and anchor at a craft store. Embellished the anchor with red and white silk rope ribbon and wrote the name on with a fine-point Sharpie. For the boat, I made the bunting using baker's twine and paper pennants. Also added the paper banner flag at the top of the mast. The name is written using a fine-point Sharpie paint pen.

With social media taking event documentation to a whole new level, I like posting a hashtag and the mom-to-be user name. This blackboard will be designed a bit differently for the actual event, but I did this for my presentation, giving Lee Ann and Dawn an idea of what it will be like. The board will hang near the mom as she's opening gifts, a place where everyone can see it.