Real Baby Shower: Pretty Paper Chic

We're on a little bit of a paper design kick today -- as in we can't get enough!  But, I mean really, can women ever have too much pretty stationary or paper hiding in their inspiration files?  One look at our closets and you'll know that we're big (paper hoarding) fans! So, when we heard that Steph from Steph Modo used Japanese chiyogami paper that she bought in San Francisco's Japantown 2 years ago (yes, 2 years ago!) as the inspiration for a baby shower  she put together -- we knew we had struck baby shower pretty papery gold.  Let's just say that the invitations Steph created are a-maz-ing. And, the photos she took at the shower are just as elegant and fresh looking as the beautiful banners and party tags she created for the water bottles.  Every detail of this shower is so thoughtfully created -- and we're l-o-v-i-n-g the simplicity of it all.  It's the perfect breath of fresh air we needed for our inspiration files -- don't you agree?  :)







From Steph... I recently threw a shower for my friend, Marin, and just in the nick of time too...she gave birth two and a half weeks early! The inspiration for the color theme was a pretty Japanese chiyogami paper I bought in San Francisco's Japantown two years ago. I've been saving for the right occasion, and this was it!

The shower was an evening shower so I served a mix of sweet and savory plates (mostly sweet!): Lemon Cupcakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting, Baguette slices with store-bought dip--Alouette Artichoke + Garlic, Gingerbread Pumpkin Mousse Trifle (deserves it's own post...soon), Crudités with Herb Buttermilk Dip and Fresh raspberries and Milk shots with Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Decorations for Marin's shower were simple...white tulips...a garland across the fireplace...and mini-pom-poms hanging over the table. Less is usually more, right? When it comes to games I am always torn. I like the idea of a little mixer, but it can be challenging to find a game that isn't silly. I loved Brooke's idea of a little questionaire, so I went with it and loved it. I'll definitely add that to my list of shower "musts". One last note on details...with all of us holding identical water bottles, I wanted to make sure there was a way to keep track of our drinks. I decided to make each guest a little nametag to wrap around the neck of her water bottle. It worked...no mix ups!

Design and Photography: Steph Modo