Celebrity Safari Baby Shower

When Faith Vera, better known as FaVeMom, contacted me to design a unique and custom safari themed baby shower invitation for celebrity couple, Christie Lynn Smith & John Fortson, I was thrilled! Yes! Of course I would love to do it! She said Christie Lynn wanted something clean and simple that incorporated giraffes and elephants and was not a cookie cutter invitation. I had a few ideas but the one that I was hoping she would love was my boarding pass idea. I was thinking along the lines of a safari and passport to adventure. When Faith told me she loved it I was overjoyed. The boarding pass invitation set the tone for the rest of the event which we called the Wild Adventure. Over the next couple weeks my dining room was taken over by giraffes, monkeys, and elephants – oh my!

The baby shower took place at The Coop in Studio City and was catered by Artisan Cheese Gallery. Since the shower was also benefiting Celebrate the Military Child a number of vendors generously donated financially as well as with products like car seats, strollers, high chairs, and toys. I wanted to keep costs as low as possible so I browsed the aisles of my local Dollar Tree to find some things that would work for decorations. I ended up with centerpieces for the tables that were less than $4 each which I think looked great on the tables. Faith & I took a field trip to my local Party City and found brown plates and gold napkins and cups as well as favors for the kids that were less than $2.00 each. We were pretty pleased with ourselves.

I surprised Christie Lynn & John by creating a four page passport for them and their guests. I have asked Christie Lynn & John to send me a little message for their guests but wouldn’t tell her why I needed it. She tried to get Faith to tell her but she wasn’t budging! Inside were the messages from Christie Lynn, John, & their daughter, Abby, a message from Celebrate the Military Child, passport information about Baby Fortson, history of CtheMC, an Animals & Their Babies game, Help Name the Baby Game using Christie & John, a place for a keepsake photo, and on the back the list of vendors who donated. In each passport I placed a Wishes for Baby Fortson card that guests filled out as a memento for their baby boy.

All of the printed decorations I designed, printed and put together. I used a lot of animal prints but my main print was giraffe since I had used that on the invitation. The juice boxes were wrapped in animal print scrapbook paper and adorned with a piece of raffia which I had used throughout. The burlap tablecloths and moss runner were provided by The Coop which I loved since it brought everything together.

The souvenir stand was created with limbo sticks, two cardboard boxes, two vases, and rocks from the Dollar Tree. The limbo sticks were purchased at Party City but the other items were from Dollar Tree. I cut the bottom off of the boxes and cut a slit in the tops of the boxes for the pole to go into. The bamboo covering the box was paper I printed using a bamboo graphic. The vases and rocks were used to anchor the poles and keep them in place. I cut out vellum tropical leaves with my Silhouette Cameo and placed them at the base of the poles to add color and to hide the “hole”.

Favors were donated by my best friend, Beth Brancale, who is an Independent Consultant for NYR Organic. If you haven’t tried this product I promise you will love it. It’s all natural, organic, great smelling, and just all around good for you! They have a full line of beauty products for women, men, and children and would be perfect for holiday gifts…hint hint hint. Give Beth a ring and she can tell you all about it. You can also check out her site.

The animal facts posters were placed around various tables at the party. I didn’t take a picture of the backside but I created the “easel” by cutting a strip of cardstock, folding it at the top and bottom, and sticking it to the back of the poster. I will create a quick tutorial and put it on my blog. It’s a very inexpensive way to make your tabletop posters stand up.

This Cargo Hold box was made with an empty diaper box, brown wrapping paper from the Dollar Tree, and letters I created with my Silhouette. The vases that I used throughout the party were also created with items from the Dollar Tree. I wanted something that would be inexpensive and give some height.

The cupcakes were created by my friend Vanessa of Heavenly Layers. They were not only beautiful but they tasted fantastic!

Some pictures from the set up outside…

Thank you to all of these generous vendors for their donations benefiting Celebrate the Military Child…

The Coop in Studio City is a great place to hold a party and I would love to work with them again. The owner, Lucinda, and her staff jumped into action as soon as we walked in the store and wasted no time in getting to work helping me set up. A party for 65 people was put together, decorations, food, favors and all, in 30 minutes. If you are in the LA area and are looking for a nice, clean, friendly, and “hip” place to host an event – give them a call.