We call it “shower by committee.”

Which means, there’s a ton of friends who are excited for one little baby on the way and we all want to help celebrate!  And let’s face it, it’s an excuse to get crafty and party with friends!

So a few months ago, some friends and I threw a nautical themed baby shower.  I helped with some decor and some food.  However, my old camera was on the fritz and I got very few usable pictures to show you.  :/  Shortly after, I got a new camera and took some shots of some of the decorations I still had, so I could at least share a few tidbits with you!

I made these “buoys” out of 4×4 scrap wood.  I think it’s usually used for fence posts.  I had seen really cute buoys in the Pottery Barn magazine a while back and I tried to recreate that.

I also made an extra wide table runner with wide navy and white stripes.  This is the project that sent my sewing machine to the graveyard.  It danced it’s last dance right at the end of the runner.

My friends Cindy and Brittany made the cutest favors!  What could be more “little boy” than paper boats?  They made a little “thanks” flag and filled them with Cherry candies.  They sat all around for decor and served as the take-home gift too.  They were perfect!

And my other genius friend Melissa, did the cutest games.  That weren’t really group games, but the kind that you could just go over and participate in on your own, between mingling and eating.  This was her “message in a bottle” where she had a place for guests to write notes of love/advice/encouragement to the expecting mother.  This darling idea alone makes me want to throw 9 more nautical themed showers.

Then she made these picture collages of baby pictures of her other kids (and the mom and dad) at different ages of babyhood.  Then you had to match the name and age to the pictures on a piece of paper.  This was particularly hard as all of her babies look really similar.

The food was a collaborative effort and really yummy!   Lots of friends brought a yummy treat.  A little spray paint for my boxes, the table runner and rope “tied” it all together for our nautical theme.

I also made some royal icing transfers for cupcake toppers.

I’m sad I don’t have a copy of the digital invitation that the hostess, Trista designed, but it started the theme off perfectly in the beginning.

The “shower by committee” thing is so fun and takes any major stress off one single person.  I’m glad I was able to help and party with these girls.  And the best part of the story is that the baby boy we were celebrating is now here and is just a yummy bundle of snuggle!  Congratulations Lauri!