Little Cowboy on the Way

 This past weekend, we hosted a baby shower for Mr. Welder's little sister.  I haven't been a part of many showers, but when I am, I always look for economical (Ok, cheap-ya'll know me by now) ways to decorate, invite guests, all the stuff that goes into throwing the party.  That way, you have more funds to put towards the gift.  That's the point of a shower, right?  First, I went shopping at just the right time.  Michael's was clearing out it's summer picnic napkins and plates, which worked perfectly for a little cowboy baby shower.  As you know, our house is country/rustic, which definitely helped.  (Next month, we're having a shower for my friend.  Hers will be more modern with patterns and shapes...crossing my fingers we can make it work!)

 My sister-in-law, who was another hostess, sent me an example of a cute invitation she found online for a cowboy baby shower, which I used as inspiration (some call it copying).  She also had the idea to use a photo and adapt it in Picnik.  I used a photo of our front door.  I'm pretty sure most of you are friends, but just in case the creepies are here, I blocked out our address and contact information...If you want to try using Picnik for your next invitations, here are a few hints for you.  Skip to the next photo if you could care less.  I cropped the picture of our door to where you could just see the wooden slates, changed the color to Sepia, and added the words, and symbols (which are in the "stickers" section of Picnik.)  Another hint, before you start adding words or anything, in the "crop" section, there is a drop down menu that says "no constraints."  Change that to 4x6 or whatever size you are going to print your invitations.  I did not do that the first time and had to start over in order to not have any of the wording cut off when it was printed.  It was really easy, fun, and economical to do invitations this way.  Picnik is very user-friendly, but if you have any questions about it, I'd be happy to try to help.

We (as in my mom) picked Sunflowers from the ditch, which were perfect.
She had a big bunch of them spotted all week, and the day she went to get them, they were mowed!

I really appreciate her hunting for another bunch.

We served lemonade with floating lemon slices.  I also froze a tray of lemonade ice cubes to help chill it without watering it down.  Everyone raved about the lemonade and drank several cups...probably because punch cups are so dang small. 

My cake stand has a purple edge so I knew that would not work.  I've seen online where people use stumps-ha that sounds funny, but I can't think of another word right now.  Earlier in the week, I asked Mr. Welder if he could cut me three stands in varying heights out of some of our firewood. He said he could...so the day of the shower, the chain saw breaks...ugh.  So I pouted for a minute and then remembered this stump that was laying against one of our trees.  Sometimes it helps to be the nutty lady always taking pictures of memo boards, pillows, and picture frames in the yard.  You just become so familiar with the land.
So mom washed the stump, laid a hanky on it, and we stacked the cupcakes with paper horses on toothpicks around on and around it.

Gifts were stacked on the fireplace and the mom-to-be opened them from my hippie rocking chair acting country for the day.

Mom put together this blue jean and burlap bunting for another country touch.

She also crafted this blue jean, bandanna, and burlap corsage.  Basically I just take on parties, projects, gift shops...and my mom makes all my dreams a reality.

Here's the lovely mom-to-be.  This horse bag and stuffed horse were hers when she was a child.  Her mom gave it to her along with these cute burp cloths that she crafted from a towel.  She also sewed her a really cute quilt.

She got lots of gifts.  Isn't it exciting to help someone get ready for the arrival of their little one?!

All in all, I'd say it was a simple, successful shower.

And we can't wait to meet our newest nephew.