Happy Monday, everyone! Phew – how was your weekend? Ours’ was consumed with the little man’s 4th birthday party (and recovering from it!). I have a few projects I want to get through before I show you pics of his Planes-themed party – but it was a great day, and he was oh-so-happy, making all the late night crafting I did (while sick!) in the days leading up to it totally worth it!

One thing I learned in my reader survey from last year is that some of you don’t like it when I drag projects out over multiple posts. I get that, I really do! But sometimes I just have too much I want to share to jam into a single post. And while I pinky-swear promise I will not drag this Sweet Pea shower out too long, I did have a few more things I wanted to chat about in regards to how exactly (and simply!) I (with the help of a friend!) pulled off this little party!

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Last week, I revealed to you this Sweet Pea Baby Shower – you can see the full reveal here! I kept saying over and over again how simple this little shower was to pull together. It occurred to me that I am often saying things are “super simple”…and some of you out there might be saying “yea – simple for you, Megan!” Today, I really wanted to show you how I took off-the-shelf products and added just a few simple DIY touches to create a really unique and special party!

Once my girlfriend suggested the Sweet Pea concept, we were immediately off and running with both a color palette and a theme. As I mentioned last week, the foundation to the entire party setup was achieved with really cute party supplies. My friends over at Party Pail graciously offered all the plates, cups, napkins, tablecloths, balloons and candies featured at the party! I took care to select the right mix of patterns and solids to give the party a whimsical feel without feeling too busy…

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With those elements selected, I wanted to create just a few decorations that would drive home the pea theme and give the whole party a unique/homemade feel. I knew we’d have three candy displays that would need something in them. I then also found some cute pea graphics I wanted to incorporate in various ways. Using the Cricut Design Space software, I sat down and (in one sitting) designed everything we’d need. I find that by designing everything all in one step keeps me from running back and forth between the computer and my machine and having to re-load same colored papers over and over again to make more and more items. I ultimately landed on the large Sweet Pea sign, two small pea signs, two large pea pods and a bunch of smiley faces that would be cut from vinyl and applied to anything and everything! With the files designed, everything was cut and assembled within an hour!

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Assembling the candy arrangements was so simple and really took no time at all once I had all my supplies gathered! (Over the years, I’ve stocked up on a variety of glass dishes and display canisters, making it a snap to create centerpieces without spending a lot of cash! I use these, and others, over and over again in a variety of ways in all of my party throwing. If you host a lot of parties, these are a worthy investment!)

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While these green gum balls were adorable and a great price, I didn’t want to load up on bags and bags of candy just for cute displays, so I did what I always do for displays like this: put another glass bowl (upside-down) into the bigger bowl and then pack the gum balls all around it. From the front, no one is the wiser…and my single bag of gum balls was just the right amount to “fill” my display!

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I used the same strategy for the small canisters of peas! A cup upside-down (and even packed with a bit of tissue paper in the back), ensured that a single bag of candy filled up both display jars.

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I used the green-striped straws to support all the signs. Why not add cute little doses of pattern and color where you can?!? For the small signs, I poked holes in the paper cups, slid the straws in, then hot glued the signs to the straws. Extra chocolates covered the tops of the cups!

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Besides the three little signs, I cut some pea pods from cardstock for the corners of the tables; and then made a long garland with super-sized links. I cut every shade of green cardstock I had into 3×12″ strips and then linked them together with a stapler one night while watching The Voice. By using a variety of green cardstock, everything at the party from candies to the cupcakes to the table linens instantly coordinated. Everything was hung at the party using clear packing tape! #beststuffever

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The morning of the party, we blew up all the balloons and went around putting the vinyl faces on everything. I didn’t worry about transfer tape or lining anything up…just peel and stick, friends!

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And that was really it! See? Simple!!! A single night of crafting yielded some adorable projects that came together in a flash. A few smartly planned and coordinated details like these go a long way in making basic party products look like a fully custom party!

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Thanks for indulging me in chatting a bit more about this shower. I do want to show you the neat way I made the invites, but that will wait until next week! On Wednesday, I have another quick craft tip to show you that will really help out those of you with die cut machines!!! See you then!

Megan

I did not receive compensation for this blog post; however Party Pail did provide the party supplies for me to use and review. Please remember that I only work with brands and products I fully support and that make sense for my home, my family, and this blog. All opinions are 100% my own!

See You Soon!
Megan