A Superb Saturday! Part 2 - Abi's Baby Shower

This post is part of a 31 day series about Trying New Things. (I know it is only a week left of the series, but I suddenly realized that "Learning to Try sounded way too formal and slightly pretentious so at least for future posts I'm going to TRY ;-) changing the name. Only time will tell if I make the name change retroactive :-D)

Day 24 - Day 26

Day 25 - Part 2 - Abi's Shower (Part 1 is here.)

Okay admittedly the trying new things portion of this is mostly just that I got lots of inspiration for things I want to try in the future! Such a sweet time of fellowship AND I got to color! ;-)

At the shower one of the party foods was build your own trail mix. I love how incredibly adorable and simple this is all at the same time! Brown paper bags with tags!  Abi and her husband Derek made all the little wooden chalk board signs together. Now I want some. Maybe a future project? ;-)

Abi was a full time nanny before she chose an early retirement to be a full time mommy, so she has already read more than a few children's books, and she decided she wanted something a little more unique and personal than your average board book. 

I loved this idea so much! I actually ended up staying later after everyone else had gone to help with finishing the extra letters so she wouldn't have half of an alphabet book. ;-)

Here is one of my favorite cheat tricks. Derek is from Alaska and so his mom who was there suggested it as an "A" word. Now I'm an okay artist but I'm not that good! Enter iPhone (or any other smart phone :-P). I first used this trick almost two years ago now to make a giraffe template for a different shower actually. :-) Anyway. The trick is just to find a high contrast outline of the shape you need using your search app of choice and ideally save the image. Make your screen as bright as you can.  Then put the paper on top of the phone and trace. This is the image I used to make Alaska. 

I also made a zoo picture for Z and I free handed the sign and the fences, but I needed a little help with the zebra and the giraffe. 

I ended up doing pages for the letters A, F, I, and Z, but I think the page I did for the letter F is actually my favorite, although it was also the most time consuming. 

I filled the entire page with a never ending rainbow of words that start with F. Until the last couple inches where I admittedly got tired and just did "...f...." Over and over and over again until I filled the page ;-)

And this doesn't have anything to do with the shower, but it is the cutest baby proofing idea I've ever seen! Won't work on everything, but I definitely want to try this someday! :-D

OH, but before I got to the shower I visited Half Price Books with my parents and got some ideas for things I want to try, I also saw this flyer for a film festival next week. I have no idea how much it costs or if it is full or anything, but it is definitely something I think could be fun to finish off my month, and if I don't make it this year, I'll just keep it in mind for next year! :-D 

HPB also gave me an idea for how to use the old fence boards my neighbor left by the street that I have been drooling over for almost a week. Now that I have a plan for them (vertical garden on my future balcony/patio) I didn't feel guilty about snagging a piece on my way home! Picture to come. 

And that is mostly the end of my Saturday adventures. Thanks for following along! :-)

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Things-come-full-circle side story: the shower was hosted by the fabulous Sharon Oneil.  One of my tries earlier this month that didn't make it into this blog happened when my friends Becca and Nathan invited me and Sharon and her husband Miles for yummy soup and great conversation. Sharon and Miles and I have several mutual friends so we keep ending up at the same parties, but this was the first time I got to see their lovely home.  So many cool and unique things.  They even have a secret room hidden by a revolving bookcase that Derek and his brother built for them!  It was a good reminder that letting your space reflect you and what you care about is more important than having everything coordinate perfectly. :-)

You have been reading Part 2 of Day 25. Part 1 is here.  Day 24 is here and tomorrow Day 26 is here if you're curious. ;-)