Here are some pictures of my newest Etsy project from when I hosted a sock monkey baby shower for my little nephew. This is probably when I first realized that maybe what I was previously just playing with could actually be worth something. One of the guests told me it was the most Pinterest-worthy baby shower she’d ever attended. That filled up my brag-jar right away!
When the guests enter, this table is waiting for them. There are raindrops for guests to write a nice word or two for the mother-to-be, name tags that say who they are and how they know the baby. There’s a coloring page off the internet (sorry, don’t remember where I got it. I just googled it, feel free to do the same) for the little guests, a jar full of baby socks we had everyone guess how many socks it had, and yarn we used all over the room because not only did it add color, but it tied everything together. You know, because sock monkeys are made of yarn. The folded papers have all the portions of the games that guests will need to write. There’s a game where guests need a letter, so the Bananagrams game is there for them to draw a letter. It’s fittingly… a banana. Each of the bags has a baby item in it. I wish I could remember what I included, but I did a lot of google searching for that, too.
I know, bad luck to open an umbrella inside, but it was so cute hanging these raindrops from it. I wish we could have hung it from the ceiling. Not bad enough to stick tacks into a place that’s not my own, though.
I made this quilt just like one I made for my niece (hers was an owl), the back was red, orange, brown, green and blue stripes, no kidding. How lucky that I found such fitting fabric!
Aside from the casual gathering and visiting, my favorite part of baby showers is most definitely the food! At the beginning of the food table, we placed all the utensils we’d need for the meal. Straws in varying shades of brown and red, utensils all bundled together with the napkin rings, and plates (Walmart. Once again, lucky purchase. The colors are perfect).
We got the sock monkeys from Oriental Trading company.
The baby-momma said the only thing she really craved during her pregnancy was chicken, so we had little chicken salad bites.
and chicken pinwheels (sockful of monkeys is also from Oriental Trading)
we also had trail mix (Jungle mix), banana bread, nachos, salad, and…
these cheesecakes. Seriously, guys, these cheesecakes were amazing! I’ll have to post my own version of this recipe. I tweaked it to be corn-free. Seriously, guys. It was so rich! It tasted sooo good! you could only eat about one at a time (which is fine), but ohhh, while it lasted!
At the end of the shower, each guest got a cookie mix with M&M’s in it. We typed the instructions on the top. We had a few jars left over at the end. My family did not complain the random cookies for as long as the extras lasted.
Signs made by me. Monkey from Oriental Trading, again, but I’ve seen him elswhere, too.
So, what’d ya think? Like I said, this shower really gave me the confidence to think I could maybe design stuff to sell on Etsy. It’s there, now, if you’re interested. I should sound all cool and “I-got-this,” and say I’ve always known I was this good, but… sometimes it takes a push. If any readers buy the kit and use it for their own party, I’d love to see the pictures!
