4th of July Hostess Gift Tag

All of my favorite blogs are full of ideas for hosting your own 4th of July party this weekend & I am loving it! There are so many cute red, white & blue ideas out there! 

However, if you're not playing hostess this weekend, I found something cute for you too!

Attach one of these tags to your hostess gift and you will be the most polite guest at the party! 

Available for free download at Vale Design.

Invitations: Black Lace Bachelorette Party

My friend Lindsay (my best crafting partner) & I spent our Sunday making some invitations for an upcoming Bachelorette Party. 

We are so happy with the finished product! 

 Drea is using purple as one of her wedding colors, so we started with deep purple paper. 

We folded it into three panels, and added a little black lace.

We punched holes down the sides and wove shiny black ribbon through.  

The final touch were the little purple rhinestone stickers-- a little bling to tie in the purple color.  

The insert slides out and contains all the details of the evening.  

We hope they'll get all of Drea's friends excited for the party!  
Thanks to Lindsay for taking pictures for me! :) 

Birthday Treats & A Giveaway Winner!

Today we attended a 1st birthday party. 

I made cake pops for this friend's baby shower last year, and she asked me to make them again for her son's party today.

I love the way the yellow chocolate looks. So bright and cheery!

And then I added little tags to the sticks.

 Another friend made a cute and tasty cake.  This is the smash cake, and there was a larger one also that I didn't get a very good picture of. 

 However Alex is very dignified, and helped Dad cut a piece rather than smashing it. ;)

Happy Birthday Alex! 

And...drum roll please...the winner of the soft & comfy gift basket is...
Joanne Kennedy! 
Random.org must be random, because I've never seen it pick the very first comment before! 
Congratulations Joanne! Thanks to everyone who entered!

New Sponsor: Amazing Music Boxes

I'd like to introduce you to the newest sponsor of Oh Baby! Shower Decor...the blog: 

Amazing Music Box Company! 

The owner Marina contacted me recently and wanted help in getting the word out about her beautiful, high quality music boxes. 

What a lovely gift for a little girl (or a grown-up girl!). I still remember my music box that I had as a little girl...do you?

The company offers music boxes to fit many special occasions. 

Click on over and check it out! 

Cookies & Cream Cupcakes

I made some cupcakes for my husband's softball team, who had a play-off game tonight.

YUM!

I usually think that chocolate cake is dry.  However, this recipe was very moist, so I thought I'd share it.

I used a Devil's Food cupcake recipe from this book:

(I received this book as a Christmas present last year and I love it! Thanks again Aunt Terry!) 

 They made delicious cookies & cream cupcakes. 

Devil's Food Cupcakes 

Sift together 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, 3/4 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt

Beat 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar (firmly-packed), 4 tbsp butter until light & fluffy

Add 1 tsp vanilla extract and 1 egg and mix until combined

Add flour mixture, alternating with 1/2 cup lukewarm water and 1/4 cup buttermilk

Mix until just combined 

Bake 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees

Makes 12 cupcakes 

 I used these sprinkles for the topping: 

Combined with cream cheese frosting, they made the perfect Cookies & Cream Cupcakes!

I am Loving: Ice Cream Sandwiches

It has definitely been ice cream eating weather around here! 

We made some of these a few weeks ago for a barbeque.  Yum! 

They are especially cute if you roll them in sprinkles.

image via

We used "break & bake" cookie dough to make ours. Delicious & easy!

image via

I've always made these with chocolate chip cookies and vanilla ice cream, but next time I think I will get a little more creative.  Here's a little inspiration: 

Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream Sandwiches by Paula Dean. Recipe is here. 

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches by Martha. Recipe is here.

Chocolate Caramel Ice Cream Sandwiches by About.com.  Recipe is here. 

Which to try first? 

Don't forget to enter the giveaway! Its a good one! 
Entries accepted through Friday!

I am Loving: Paper Lantern Vase

I've been browsing for ideas for simple centerpieces for the 4th of July, and I came across this cutie:

image via

A paper lantern as a vase!  Festive & simple.  Perfect for a backyard barbeque. 

I think this would be pretty easy to recreate in red, white, and blue. 

I might hit up the dollar store to see if they have any lanterns. 

Has anyone tried this? Have any tips to share? 

Fabulous Giveaway: Soft & Comfy Gift Basket

Remember the pictures I shared of the celebrity baby shower earlier this week?

The baby shower was sponsored by Cottonelle  and I was drooling over the "soft & comfy" gift baskets that served as party favors for guests. 

Well, Cottonelle has graciously agreed to give one of these gift baskets away to a lucky reader of Oh Baby! Shower Decor...the blog!

 (I have to say - I am completely jealous!!)  Party girls & mom's deserve some pampering & you will definitely find in this basket!

The winner will recieve:

A wicker basket

A bathrobe & slippers from Restoration Hardware

Philosophy's Grace Moisturizer

A Cottonelle Puppy Plushie

Coupons for free Cottonelle products

You can enter up to 3 times:   

1. Leave a comment on this post

2. Become a follower of this blog & leave a comment telling me you've done so (If you're already a follower, leave a comment telling me so!)

3. Write about this giveaway on your blog, and comment with the link

Good luck!

Submissions will be accepted through midnight on Friday June 24th.

And thanks to Cottonelle!

Winner will be chosen by random.org.

The winner will have 3 days to respond with their contact information, or a new winner will be chosen. 

DIY Idea: Father's Day Food Gifts

Father's Day is almost here!

I am loving this idea from Martha:

Foods that Dad loves, dressed up in customized labels. 

My Dad is a coffee connoisseur and a hot sauce fanatic, so this would be a fun way to honor him for a future Father's Day!

Martha even offers the labels for free download here. Thanks, Martha! 

 I know some of my talented party girl readers out there could make their own labels, just as cute!

My Dad recieved his Father's Day gift early this year!

Today, we did this:

And he loved it!  See his big smile? :)

DIY Idea: Soccer Cake

Just in time for the World Cup...

...a cute idea for a soccer ball cake!

A soccer ball could be a nightmare to try and recreate with fondant or icing.

That's why I love this idea from Parenting.com!

Using Oreo 100 Calorie Pack cookies is sheer genius! They are the perfect shape.

Check out the full how-to details on this cute cake here. 

New Sponsor: The Age of Paper

I'd like to introduce you to Oh Baby! Shower Decor...the blog's new sponsor: The Age of Paper!

I was so excited when Kristen contacted me.

She sells beautiful hand-made invitations from her Etsy store and wanted to get the word out to all my party-girl readers!

 How gorgeous are the fabric and paper flowers she's using? 

And the antique embellishments?  I think I'm in love. 

I hope you'll click on over and visit Kristen's store.  

And keep her in mind for your next special occasion!

Real Party: Red Egg & Ginger Party

This weekend we were invited to a Red Egg & Ginger Party.  This was a first for me.  We ventured into Chinatown to attend a luncheon honoring a friend's new baby.  You can read more about this tradition here.  In short, its a Chinese tradition to have a party to introduce a new baby to friends and family.

 

We ate yummy Chinese food and met the adorable baby girl.  

And I snapped some fun pictures of the craziness of San Francisco's Chinatown on a sunny Saturday afternoon.     

Welcome Baby Kyla!

Real Party: Celebrity Baby Shower

I always enjoy seeing celebrity baby or wedding showers featured in magazines and on TV. 
(And I like to dream of having a party budget like some of these affairs!) 

I was recently sent some pictures of Catherine Bell's (of Army Wives) baby shower to share.   

The event was sponsored by Cottonelle, and the cake featured their signature puppy. 
Isn't the pool-side setting with soft blue linens & flowers beautiful?
I can't quite imagine a shower where bathrobes are given as party favors!
A party girl can dream though...:)

I am Loving: Dessert in a Jar

My mother in law recently gave me a bunch of Mason jars.  (Which I love!!)  I've been using them to hold candles and flowers. 

When I saw the newest issue of Nesting Newbies I realized that I need to start using them hold dessert!

Yummy & Cute-- One of my favorite combinations! ;)

There's lots of ideas in the magazine for what to put in the jars....my favorite involves chocolate pudding, peanut butter mousse, graham cracker crumbs, and toasted marshmallows.  Yes, please! 

Check out the the 3rd issue of Nesting Newbies for more delicious ideas.

We've all seen Bakerella's adorable Cowgirl Cookies in a jar. These make such a cute gift.  A friend of mine received four different types of cookies in jars at her bridal shower with other cookie-making supplies.  It was such a thoughtful gift. (Don't you love themed gifts?!)

I think I need this book:

Today, We Are 2...

Happy Anniversary Danny!

Cowboy Cupcakes

This weekend we had a girls night out for a friend's birthday. We went to one of only a very few classic "country" bars in our area. 

I made some cowboy cupcakes for the occasion.  

(The hat we made our friend wear is in the background!)

It was my first attempt at red velvet cupcakes. 

I was quite worried that everything in my kitchen would be red with all that food coloring (2 tbsp!), but I managed to keep it all clean.  

I used this recipe, and was very happy with how they turned out.  

The cowboy hats were made from pre-made fondant, which I rolled out.  I made a little pattern out of thin cardboard and cut each hat out with a sharp knife. 

The red trim was made with Wilton Candy Decorating Pens.   I haven't used these before and I really like them for something little like this where you don't want the detail to smear like icing would. 

I didn't want to carry a bulky cupcake carrier around with me, so I put the cupcakes in a shoe box lid and lined it with a bandanna.  When we finished at the restaurant, I stuck the bandanna in my purse and threw away the lid.  Easy!

Croutons!

Whenever I have bread (or hamburger buns) that is on the verge of being stale, I make croutons. 

Simple Steps:

Cut the bread into bite-sized chunks.

Toss with Olive oil and seasonings.  (For these, I used salt, pepper, chives, oregano, and parsley)

Broil until crisp. 

To make it even simpler? Just toss with Italian dressing. 

I think wheat or white bread work just fine. 

I store them in my freezer so I always have some on-hand. 

Perfect for summer salads!