Christine's Baby Shower

Here are some photos from Christine's Baby Shower! We are starting with dessert, just because we can.

Christine knew she wanted Sprinkles cupcakes and chose red velvet and dark chocolate. We adorned them in Lu Lu black and white damask Bella Cupcake Couture wrappers.

The mommy-to-be also knew she wanted a modest candy station for guests to make their own favors. There were only 16 guests so we offered a selection of licorice, chocolates, taffy and jelly beans. Enough, but not over-the-top.

Pink candy was not difficult to find in October, thanks to Breast Cancer Awareness month!

Favor labels were custom made for the occasion by Sarah + Abraham and were also used on the cookie favors used for guests' place settings.

A pink and black damask table full of sweets.

When seated, guests were treated to onesie-shaped sugar cookies with pink royal icing. Each favor contained one large onesie, one mini-onesie, and one mini-heart shaped cookie. The large onesie cookies had a black polka dot design and the "F" on the mini-onesie stood for the guest of honor's last name.

Centerpieces were clusters of pink gerbera daisies in white vases surrounded by damask votive holders. (We'll show you the secret behind those DIY votive holders next week!)

We always go into an event knowing things may not exactly happen "according to plan" and this baby shower was no exception. Although when we finalized details for the party with Christine, her mother (who was the gracious hostess of this event) had other ideas about how the tables should be arranged. Instead of using two long rectangular tables situated beneath a canopy for guest seating, she wanted to use these three round tables (shown above) and use the rectangular tables and canopy for the buffet line for the food.

We made it happen-- even if it meant plastic table cloths on the round tables. Sometimes you just have to go with it!

Regardless of logistics, Christine had a beautiful baby shower that was made even more special by the attendance of her family and friends. The party lasted well into the evening and we are pretty sure not a single Sprinkles cupcake was left over.

Feature Friday: sarah + abraham

We are on a bit of stationary kick lately at Pear Tree. There are just so many great vendors out there! We mentioned them briefly in last week's Feature Friday, but one of our absolute FAVORITES is Sarah & Abraham. Sarah & Abraham is an online boutique specializing in children's stationery, birth announcements, and invitations for baby showers and birthday parties.
One of the main reasons we love Sarah & Abraham is they are a small business that got started on just an idea and has worked hard to grow. PLUS... Sara Tams, owner of Sarah & Abraham, shares her experiences running a small business on their blog!
The Sarah & Abraham blog chronicles Sara's adventures in starting and running a small business, answers questions, features other Etsy sellers, announces special promotions, and hosts occasional giveaways. We have been stalkers, um, I mean followers of her blog for quite a while now. Not only are Sarah & Abraham's designs cuter than cute, but they do custom orders! Check out these adorable invitations she created for a "Horton Hears a Who" birthday party. Take a look at their website and read through the Sarah & Abraham blog for all kinds of inspiration.

P.S. There are tons of items in their Etsy shop that make awesome birthday gifts. One of our event coordinators actually just ordered these for a friend's birthday... and may need to order some for herself too!

Feature Friday: Paperless Invitation Providers

Today's Feature Friday is a bit unique in that we are not actually featuring a small business, rather we have chosen to highlight an often overlooked means of inviting guests to your event: with an online invitation. Using online invitations can save you a significant amount of your event budget while still setting the tone for your party. Then there is the obvious benefit (which we LOVE at Pear Tree) of being environmentally friendly!
Most people are familiar with Evite, which offers a collaborative website to users that has a design unique to their event. Evite's services are also free, which is helpful in questionable economic times. Guests can write notes and RSVP directly on the site. Evite designs tend to be on the cheesy side (although they have made improvements, check out these designs by another Pear Tree fav, Sarah and Abraham) so there are a couple of other option we wanted to share.
Pingg is similar to Evite however they have a wider selection of "designer" invitations and provide the option to have announcements sent directly to your Facebook or Twitter accounts. Pingg has quite a variety of beautiful wedding invitations that are worthy of even the biggest budget wedding. Most Pingg invitations are free but you can purchase "Premium Plus+" invitations for $10.

Lastly (but couldn't be farther from least) is Paperless Post (pictured up top.) While this service isn't free, it is so cheap you can't help but spend entire lunch-hours designing the perfect invitation-- we know from experience! "Stamps" on Paperless Post are $5 for 60 (we said they were cheap) and you get credits for inviting friends. Sign up today, but don't forget to eat your lunch.