EtsyMom Monday ~ Show Some Love

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As part of my Handmade Baby Shower Series, I've highlighted some of my favorite EtsyMom gift ideas for baby as well as
expectant parents.

This week I found some wonderful ways to thank the shower guests for participating!

Moddiapercakes has a cute twist on the diaper cake idea with
these chocolate and blue "cupcakes".

If you're just looking for packaging, try ShabbyNChic's assortment of
handmade patterned paper boxes to hold your treats!

Your guests are sure to "oooh" and "ahhh" over these
gorgeous glass tile pendants by laktjohnson. She has several styles to choose from and
offers a "buy 3, get one free" special on some.

Or give your guests one of these
jumbo clips by kuteklipboardsbyamy to hold baby's photo!

And sweetdreamsboutique has something special for the sweet tooth! Send guests off with some of these gourmet cookie bites available in flavors like Red Velvet Cake, Chocolate Raspberry, Lemon and many more!

Handmade Baby Shower Part 3: Banner and Favor Tins

Did I mention I will be FLYING in for this shower???

So, yes, that means I've had to finish up certain items
like the banner and the jelly-bean filled favor tins

and ship them to Maryland!

Remember the banner in it's early stages here? Its almost ready to go in this pic...made a few more changes that you'll see when I get back!

I created a template (mine are 6 inch base, 9 inches in length) for the colored triangles and mounted them on a slightly larger white triangle.

After decorating the pennants, I punched holes on either side

at the top (about 3/4 inch in).

You can then ink the edges or add trim.

Lastly, string your ribbon or twine through the holes for an adjustable banner.

Found the palm trees and the whimsical wooden lion (already painted)

at Michael's! Perfect for the King of the Jungle theme!

And don't let me forget, the guest count for this co-ed shower is now at 100! Needless to say, ordering favors can get pricey, so I went with a fairly inexpensive option.

I already had some of these 2 oz. metal tins with clear lids in my stash, so I just ordered more.

I bought coordinating ribbon, ran strips through my Xyron >

The ribbon-wrapped tins would work well, but to give them a personal touch, I added punched circles in coordinating colors and stamped them with a lion (to match the theme of course), added thank you and adhered them to the lids!

They will add nice splashes of color to the treat table!

Handmade Baby Shower Essentials

Need some fresh, new ideas for a baby shower?

1. Opt for a "destination" shower:
My girl, Kelli, and I hosted one for a really sweet friend of ours today. Like me, she's having her 3rd baby and didn't really want a traditional shower with a lot of people; so we went for something more intimate and held it a cute little tea house, McDuff's Team Room and Emporium. It saved me on time and money because I didn't have to clean my house or buy and prepare all the food, decorations etc.

2. Focus theme on the guest of honor:
Instead of a baby-centric theme, we wanted this luncheon to be all about the mommy-to-be, so I went with this cute, but stylish pregnant lady because she fit Julissa to a T! Little bitty arms and legs and nothing but belly! Create your own invitations to match your theme. Need a little help in the wording department? Try Birth Announcements Galore for free ideas.

3. Handcraft or buy a handcrafted gift:
I wanted to have as much of the shower items made by hand as possible, so I purchased this beautiful diaper cake from my lil sis Aisha over at Gifts for All NC. For the DIYers, here's a tutorial for making your own: http://cinnamonspicecrafts.blogspot.com/2008/04/baby-shower-bliss.html

4. Create a babyshower keepsake book:
And I made my first babyshower memory book, where there's room the invitation, for photos and a place for each guest to write a message to the mom-to-be. I blinged it up a little and I think it turned out well. I am so lovin' the brown, green and pink "Spumoni" colors!

5. Give the guests party favors they can eat or will actually use! Let's be honest, sometimes we leave the shower with some cute baby-oriented momento that we'll never use again... I used take-out boxes and accented them with the expectant lady, a circle tag stamped thanks, curling ribbon and color-coordinated satin ribbon. I filled them with hershey's kisses.

6. Last, make sure you leave the mommy with a set of thank-you cards. These are a pocket-style card, stamped thanks but they can be monogrammed with a stamp or on the computer. Instead of purchasing cards, you can make your own inexpensive ones by using textured cardstock and scrapbook paper. Each guest can self-address the envelope for mom so all she has to do is fill out the card! Got any great tips? Leave 'em here!