Another Operation Shower Event!

Today I'm happy to share that I'm heading out to help with another Operation Shower event in Camp Lejeune, NC!  If you've been around a while, you know I've been lucky enough, and proud to be able to volunteer my services for this great cause.

 

I'll be spending these next 2 days setting up and helping pull everything together to shower a group of 40 expecting moms-to-be (wives of our soldiers) and can't WAIT to share the specifics afterwards (you can read a preview here).  Until then, I'll leave you with their most recent shower held in San Diego - Welcome to Sunshine Farms!

The San Diego event had some top-notch talent helping out: Marie of  Sweets Indeed created the incredible table above, Jaclyne of Heavenly Blooms provided all the gorgeous flowers, and Jenn of  Hostess With The Mostess designed the graphics & printable paper elements!  Amy is the shower coordinator and her events just keep getting better!  To see more, visit the Operation Shower website.  See you Thursday!

Party For A Cause

This blog is for inspiring you to create your most fabulous parties and celebrations at home.  Now you can do that with an even bigger purpose thanks to Operation Give Thanks, and 5 wonderfully talented designers/bloggers. 

"Operation Give Thanks is a nation-wide fundraising campaign to help Operation Shower continue our mission to throw amazing baby showers for military families, to ease the burden of deployment."

Here's how it works:  We are asking people across the nation to host a party, big or small, between now and the end of the year to raise money for Operation Shower.

It's a pretty simple, but brilliant concept.  You collect donations from guests during your event and forward them on to Operation Shower.  You can use the printables below to help you get started...for free!  Please read all the details and ideas at the Operation Give Thanks page.  Just to help you start brainstorming:  host a "Give Thanks" Thanksgiving dinner party; host a weekend pumpkin carving party; collect donations as part of a 2nd or 3rd baby shower; host a party at a local Mom's Group...

Here are the Free collections, but if you are not using them as part of a fund-raising event Please be kind and make a donation.

 Always modern and cool, Jenn of HWTM created a collection for any Fall event.

Another beautiful collection to use for any occasion from Kim of The TomKat Studio.

Kori of Paper & Pigtails created a wonderful neutral collection to use for a baby shower, sip & see, or "sprinkle."  This would even work for a budding actress' birthday, or "Hollywood" themed party!

Another collection for baby showers is this adorable set by Kira & Abigail of Paper & Cake.  You can choose a blue set or pink!

Last, but certainly not least is this super sweet collection from Jenn of Parties by Hardie.  It comes in 3 color ways (for male, female, or neutral) and is customizable so you can use it for showers or birthdays (or any other celebration)!

"A Star Is Born" Baby Shower {Operation Shower}

Here are the photos from the Operation Shower event I worked on a couple of weeks ago in D.C.  The theme was clever and cool (as is everything Amy comes up with), "A Star Is Born" complete with red carpet, velvet rope, and movie premier signs. 

Operation Shower joined forces with the March of Dimes once again, to shower 40 'expecting' moms(either wives of military men or serving in the military themselves) with boxes loaded with goodies, car seats, bouncer seats, diapers, and more!  They literally needed rolling carts or 2 or 3 extra people to help them carry out all the loot.  The joy, gratitude, and suprise they show is incredible.  They come in thinking they will receive a small gift bag of items but leave with so much more, including a better realization of how much we appreciate the freedom they assure us each day.   

We set up 13 large dining tables, each with a unique centerpiece arrangement.  The colors were classic red, black, and white, but the addition of the zebra and pops of yellow gave unexpected drama.

The dessert table was home to cupcakes by Georgetown Cupcakes, and Candy Skewers by Sweets Indeed.  The skewers were such a hit with all the guests as most have never seen them before!  We also had wrapped candy bars, nuts, and of course, boxed popcorn.  

I have to admit this experience was made that much better by the fact that I FINALLY got to meet in person and spend 2 days with my online BFF Amy of Stem.  Also joining in the fun were "super model" Sarah of Sheek Shindigs, Lindi of Love the Day (our 2nd meeting - we're ready for a slumber party next!), and Ashleigh of Posh Parties, LLC (great mind for business!). 

It is so true that when you are doing what you love (and with people you adore) it never feels like "work."
Stay tuned for another post on how you can Party with a Purpose too! 

The Good Ole Red, White, And "Coo"

In honor of our Independence and the good ole' Red, White, and Blue, I want to share the latest group baby shower event given by Operation Shower, in conjunction with The PGA Tour, and the March of Dimes.  This "Red, White, and Coo" shower, designed by Amy (of Stem & the Chief Event Organizer) was held just before Memorial Day and combines some of the cutest vintage toy decor, with the classic American colors.   

Operation Shower is an amazing non-profit organization that showers the pregnant wives of our hard-working military men who are deployed, with wonderful gifts for baby and mom-to-be.

There were many generous sponsors and donors who helped shower expecting moms with large boxes full of gifts, as well as food and flowers for the day: Kmart, Tiffany & Co., Build A Bear,  The Global Fund for Children, Tiny Prints, and Whole Foods, to name a few.  

You can read more about this shower here, and to learn more about how you could contribute in ANY way, visit here. 

Photos donated generously by Velia Roldan Photography

Blogging With A Purpose

I'd like to take a moment to say THANK YOU to our Military Personel and their families for the sacrifices they make and all that they do. Also a big THANK YOU to Operation Shower for doing their part in making the lives a little easier for the pregnant wives whose husbands are serving and deployed.

On behalf of Amy at Stem (also Chief Event Planner for OS), I'd like to direct your attention to this blog post to raise awareness of their great cause. Please take a moment to read and do what you feel in your heart, wheather it is saying a prayer or making a donation.

Thank you all for reading. XOXO

"A" Is For Apple-Operation Shower

 Here are the pictures from the Operation Shower-March of Dimes event that I designed & styled on Sunday. Operation Shower gave a "shower in a box" as well as a car seat to each of 25 new or expecting moms, who have husbands serving in the military. This shower was a little different than the usual ones, in that many women had their babies prematurely thus missing out on a traditional baby shower. Kmart was the major sponsor of this event and donated so many wonderful items for the boxes, prize giveaways, and the 25 car seats! We even had a special guest MC the event. Wendy Davis from Lifetime Television's Army Wives was the hostess for the day.

The theme was "A is for Apple" and combined flash cards with apples and pears. The colors used, and the choice of fruit was inspired by the fabric used by Resa Designs in creating bibs for all the babies. The bibs were draped over the backs of the mother's chairs. I framed a piece of the fruit fabric to be displayed as part of the decor, and made 27 napkin rings with more of the fabric, and attached them with a diaper pin.

Generous Donations:

• All the flash cards, invitations, box stickers, and place card circles were designed and donated by Kim at TomKat Studio. They were all 'pear'fectly adorable!
• Adorable "baby" cupcake wrappers provided by Plates and Napkins.

• We had a fantastic photographer, Stephanie Beaty of Lifeography, offer her services for the day, as well as donate a photo package to one lucky mom! Check out her blog post and The Give Ten Project.
• Another great prize was a custom art piece donated by Inspired Design, which can be hung in the baby's nursery.
• We had 120 red and green apples generously donated by Turkey Knobb Apples...the best apples grown right here in Virginia! These were used in the decor and then gathered by the guests in there eco-friendly bags, to take home. Great way to save the Earth and your budget!
• Delicious chocolate ganache covered cupcakes topped with white chocolate fruit pieces were another wonderful donation by one of our readers, Jenifer Helton. She also follows our Facebook page if you'd like to contact her for your own cake needs.

Design Details:The tables were done with a contemporary fruit centerpiece.  The mother's napkin ring was an apple-shaped teething ring given by Kangaroo Boo, while the guest's was the fabric rings I made. Small flower arrangements were set in baby food jars and flanked the centerpiece boxes. Each table had it's own monochromatic color scheme.

You could use this type of decor yourself with a theme such as "Fruits of our Labor," for a baby shower, or "Apple of my Eye," or "Perfect Pear(pair)."

You can see even more pictures in our Facebook Album.

To see video from the local news coverage in Portsmouth, go here.

I am honored to have been a part of such a special day. Big, big thanks to all who donated their items and their time!!

Big Event This Weekend!

Here's what I've been working on :

I'm so honored and excited to have the opportunity to work on this Virginia event with Operation Shower and March of Dimes, this Sunday. You must know that gal pal Amy at Stem is the Chief Event Planner for Operation Shower. Unfortunately, she is unable to attend the Virginia event at the Portsmouth Naval Hospital, because of a previous commitment. That's where I come in! I'll be taking over and playing "Amy" for the weekend and styling this event. Above is a sneak peak at what is to come. Inspiration comes from the apple and pear fabric used by Resa Designs, who is donating those cute bibs for the new babies. Kim at TomKat Studio is the talent behind the flashcards and invitations we're using.

I can't wait to show more and tell you about all the other great sponsors we have for this. Stay tuned...