Oh, Joy! How excited I am to finally share the news of my Ashley’s surprise baby shower!

Not sharing what I was up to for the past three weeks in an effort to not spoil the surprise has been tough, man! My daughter reads my blog so, I wasn’t sure if she would see my Instagram or Facebook posts.

Pulling off this shower has been equal parts exhausting and fun. Thankfully, everyone in my family pulled together and even put up with a short season of me binge shopping, DIY’ing, and consequently, not cooking much. When my teen kids would ask me what’s for lunch or dinner, I’d tell them, “Painting pumpkins!” More on that below. 🙂

I’m grateful to say that all of our effort has really paid off. My little Ash-Cat Kitty Kitty Meow Mix was super surprised and ecstatic about her shower. YES! Touchdown for Team Holmes!

I’m tellin’ ya now – this is a long post, but a good one! If you love sugar and spice and everything nice, you’re in for a treat! If you enjoy DIY’ing, you gonna be smiling. If looking at precious memories in the making is your thing, this post will make you sing. 

You can shop almost everything in this post by clicking on the links at the bottom of this post. And if you’re pressed for time, feel free to just scroll through the pics and smile!

My Ashley was falsely led to believe that she was being treated to an Off Broadway show by Angel, her sister. I knew I had to give her a special enough reason to show-up ON TIME with her hair and make up done. So when she walked in she looked like this…

(Where does she think she’s going – eight month’s pregnant with four inch heels?!)

Of course, I purchased a dress for her to change into, along with a coordinating flower garland. Her husband was in on the scheming as well, and he did an excellent job of smuggling a matching pair of shoes from their home. Here’s what she looked like after a quick change…

Every good plan starts with a vision of what you want to accomplish, and this beautiful picture below (which my Angel found on Pinterest) served as the inspiration for the entire baby shower.

From the moment I saw this picture I swooned over it. I fell in love with it. Angel and I also thought the timing couldn’t be more perfect for throwing a pumpkin-themed shower – the very week before Thanksgiving.

After I searched Pinterest to investigate how to replicate this look, I ran out and purchased about 30 pumpkins in various sizes. I looked for pumpkins that were more horizontal than vertical in shape. When I saw these baby pumpkins which fit into the palm of my hand, I nearly fainted…

I knew that I would be using those babies in a variety of ways, but I was especially happy considering that I planned to use them to adorn my tablescape.

Now it was time to give the pumpkins a soap and bleach bath to kill any bacteria prior to painting them. This would also help lengthen the life of the pumpkin.

Most of the pumpkins were painted courtesy of my youngest little pumpkin, Alexis. We painted the smaller pumpkins in three shades of matte pink. The stems were painted in a metallic gold.

But the most fun of all was creating the beautiful pumpkin bouquet centerpiece, the mac-daddy of all pumpkins on display at the shower.

To achieve this look, I painted fairly large pumpkin with matte paint in an Antique color. Next, I chopped off its top, removed its guts, and placed a cup of water inside of it. Then, I added some greenery, pink and white roses, and baby breadth in that order…

…and voila! I love it!

This photo (below) was the inspiration for my backdrop…

While I kept the Oh Baby sign, I opted to go with a balloon garland instead to cut down on the expense of fresh flowers. (No artificial flowers were used.)

Below you can see Angel and I attempting to get the party started. We had two pink, white, and rose gold balloon garlands to put up using two different hanging applications.

And since this was a baby shower brunch which started at 11am, I used the backdrop for our pastry and Mom-osa bar. The backdrop also happened to be the focal point when you entered my home. It turned out beautifully. The mom-to-be was quite pleased.

At the “Mom-osa” bar we served an assortment of fruit and fruit pastries, croissants, granola and fruit parfait, and miniature fruit tarts.

At the hot food station we served french toast casserole with warm maple syrup (So delish! You have to  make it.), an assortment of pork and turkey bacon and sausage, mini egg quiche, fried apples, and potato tarts (all homemade, minus the tarts!).

You wouldn’t believe that Angel and I didn’t start making the french toast casserole (which had to sit for 8 hours prior to cooking) until 1:00 am Saturday morning. (I’m sure it had something to do with balloon garlands that kept falling and a variety of live flower arrangements that had to be crafted.)

At 1:30 am we started washing and cutting strawberries! (I’m certain we were channeling the spirit of my bestie, Shadell, who was unable to be there. She’s the only one crazy enough to do stuff like that with me.)

At one point we became so tired that we were delirious with laughter, and I started to wonder how I ever signed up to host an 11am event. It was the best kind of mother-daughter bonding ever. 

Our desert station featured designer pumpkin cookies, white and pink pumpkin themed (not flavored) cake pops, and chocolate covered strawberries.

The strawberries were courtesy of my Autumn Joy, the little cutie in the middle.

And those “designer” cookies I mentioned…they were so expensive that if one of my guests would have dropped one of them on the floor, or thrown one in the garbage, I would have slapped their face! I’m not playing (mostly). I totally splurged when I purchased those cookies. But take a closer look and you’ll know why. THEY. WERE. GORGEOUS. (And tasty, too!) 

They looked so perfect that no one wanted to eat them. I sleep with the left overs under my pillow. 🙂 

I wanted this event to be so special, and I knew that I couldn’t pull that off unless I transformed my home. I don’t just decorate, I seek to transform spaces so, I completely gutted my kitchen and school room and placed everything in my basement. There was walking room only downstairs; stuff was piled sky-high to the ceiling. I don’t know how my kids survived it.

Below are two special elements that I incorporated into the shower. The first was a framed baby shower invitation. Whenever I throw a surprise party I like to display the invite for the guest of honor. The other special element was the display of miniature pumpkins on a two-tiered desert stand.

Peep these rose gold baby shoes, housed in a glass bell jar, which sit atop iridescent paper shred.

I scored the jar at Homegoods and I used this for my coffee table’s centerpiece. This pic below served as the inspiration, but I reversed the colors because I wanted more bling. 

 

There’s so much more that I could share, but I’ll stop there.

This shower was so near and dear to my heart. I’m in the season of life where every other year is a baby or bridal shower. My kids (and nephew) are getting married and having babies. Our family is growing. My dining table is exploding and I’m starting to pressure my husband to buy a larger home, even though it’s ill-timed. It’s only the Lord who keeps reminding me that this little house on the freeway has been sufficient to raise a large family in, and it will be sufficient to enter whatever phase of life is next.

Thank you for allowing me to share this special mommy milestone with you. I certainly hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed sharing it. And now that it’s over, I’m having the hardest time taking down the beautiful decor. I guess this will be the pinkest Thanksgiving ever!

From my home to yours,

Tiffiney

for pinning!

Come and check out where I party

---

Shop the Shower

Maternity Maxi Dress: Pink Blush Maternity

How to Paint Pumpkins Tutorial: Lombard and Fifth

How to Create a Pumpkin Bouquet Centerpiece: French Country Cottage

Oh, Baby Rose Gold Glitter Wood Baby Shower Sign (36″): CompletelyCraftIt via Etsy

Baby Shower Welcome Sign: The Paper Wildflower via Etsy

Mini Fruit Tarts: Alliotta Pastry Shop

Pink, White and Gold Pumpkin Themed Cake Pops: Canarsie Cupcakes

My Little Pumpkin Cookies: Mizz Deserts via Etsy

DIY Balloon Garland Tutorial: Jamboree Style via Youtube

A Little Pumpkin Is on the Way Baby Shower Guest Book and Keepsake: Amazon.com

Twinkle Star Backdrop Lighting: Amazon.com

Chair sashes, cloth napkins, table runner, tulle table skirt, etc: Efavormart.com