“B” is for: Burlap, Birds, and Baby!

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BURLAP, BIRDS & BABY!

This “Burlap, Birds & Baby” themed baby shower for my newest granddaughter.  Its been six years since the last baby– a boy – -and all of the baby items have been either given away or just plain worn out (except for the beautiful cradle and sleigh crib that my husband made).  This precious new little girl needs some new things.

The invitation with had a burlap background and two sweet little birds, making the theme for this shower easy–Burlap,  Birds, and Baby!

Here’s how it all came out!

BUNTING WINDOW DECORATION

Supply List for Bunting:

•  Burlap Bunting (pre-cut and some already strung together)
  You can cut the string to remove ones not needed or tie another set on to make it longer
  
• Sharpie Permanent Marker in the color of your choice
• Alphabet Stencils  be sure they are the right size for your bunting
• Fabric Flowers

OR you can cut your own from burlap and use jute twine to replicate the way I made them below!

What better way to welcome guests to the shower than with an adorable bunting announcing  the soon to be arrival of our new baby girl!  I’ve been wanting to make a bunting for a while, and the shower was the perfect occasion.  In keeping with our theme of Burlap, Birds and Baby, we used burlap triangles and stenciled the letters (with a sharpie permanent marker) to spell out Baby Girl .

 I cut a long piece of jute twine (long enough to hang it where I wanted it) and placed the burlap triangles on the twine, folded it over the twine and hot glued the back of each triangle  into place.   After that,  I took a  strip of fabric (from the roses)  and tore it to make the edges fray, cut it to fit across and wrap over the top of the triangle and hot glued it into place.  A burlap triangle with a fabric flower was placed between the words “Baby” and “Girl” and our bunting was complete.  To hang it I simply used safety pins and pinned right to the valance.

MASON JAR BEVERAGE CUPS

Supply List for Mason Jar Beverage Cups

• Mason Jars 
• Burlap Ribbon
• Striped Paper Straws
• Fabric Flowers
• Hot Glue Gun
• Scissors

We loved the idea of using Mason Jars for drink glasses!  I found the prettiest fabric flowers online and ordered 60 of them.   I purchased a 100 ft roll of 4 inch wide burlap ribbon and cut pieces enough to fit around  the jar and slightly overlap itself.   Then I  folded each strip in half and cut into two 2 inch strips ( the 4″ width of the ribbon was too wide for one jar).  I frayed the edges, wrapped it around the jar and hot glued it into place. Then I glued one of the ribbon flowers in the center.  The finishing touch?  Pink and white striped straws–the result was adorable!  They not only held the guests’ drinks, they made adorable shower favors (the lids were in a pretty basket for guests to grab on the way out!)

TABLE DECORATIONS

Supply List for Painted Bottles

• Bottles of Varying Sizes–You can purchase them or collect them ahead of time to paint:  wine bottles, beer bottles, vintage bottles-once painted  and decorated they all look great
• Spray Primer
• Craft Paint in complimenting colors
• Polyurethane Spray
• Burlap Ribbon
• Fabric Flowers

We needed something pretty for table centerpieces and I just happened to have a box of old bottles waiting to be used.  I cleaned them, primed them and painted them a soft green, pale pink and white.  Then I used a clear polyurethane in a matte finish.   I have a simple tutorial to show you how to make them here.

Next step is to add the decorations.  In keeping with the theme I decided on some burlap, a pretty pink, green and cream vintage looking rose print fabric (I made the roses with this too), jute and some ribbon flowers and got busy with my glue gun.

Pretty, right?  Some were filled with roses and others were just corked and placed on the tables with some of the handmade roses on the table around them.  They were a huge hit!

THE FAVORS

Sweet Little Burlap Bird Magnets

Big sister’s (my granddaughters) Emilie and Ashlynn helped make these.  Nothing like crafting with my girls.  Along with taking home their Mason Jar Mugs, we wanted a little something to help them remember the day.  In keeping with our theme we made burlap birdie refrigerator magnets!

Supplies for the Burlap Bird Refrigerator Magnets

• Chipboard Birds
• Magnets
• Small Ribbon Flowers
• Modge Podge
• Brayer
• Hot Glue Gun

I purchased some chipboard birds, a little more burlap, a roll of self adhesive magnets, and I used the smaller pink flower (on the green bottle above) tied in the middle with some jute. We made the sweetest little Burlap Bird Magnets!

We cut squares large enough to completely cover one side of the bird plus a bit of excess.  We painted the Modge Podge onto one side of the bird and glued the square to the chipboard bird.  Then we rolled over the burlap with the brayer to make sure it was adhered all over.  After it dried we cut around the edges leaving about 1/8″ overhang so it would fray a little.  Two little pink flowers or one large flower pinched the middle and tied with a piece of jute twine–it looked just  like a bow–were glued where the neck of the bird would be!  A dab of hot glue held that on.  Magnets were cut and hot glued (sticky back didn’t stick well) and voila—the sweetest little Burlap Bird Magnets for guests to take home!

THE CENTERPIECE

• Burlap Birds (from above without magnets)
• Lollipop sticks
• 10″ Grapevine Wreath
• Floral Foam blocks 2-3
• 10″ paper plate or cardboard circle (large enough to use as a base for the wreath
• Burlap Ribbon
• Spanish Moss
• Fabric Rosettes (optional)
• Floral Wire
• Hot Glue

Now I had these adorable little bird magnets for our guests to take home with their mason jar cups, but I still needed something to use as a centerpiece on the food table.  The girls got a little carried away, so we had some extra birds and I decided a nest full of these cuties would be a perfect centerpiece.  I just had to figure a way to make it.

I took the 10″ grapevine wreath and glued the paper plate to the bottom-this will keep the floral foam from falling through the bottom, since the wreath will be used laying flat.  Then trim the floral foam blocks and kind of jammed them inside the wreath, on top of the paper plate. Cut the burlap into 5 inch strips and make loops out of them by folding in half (cut edge t0 cut edge) and twisting floral wire around the bottom.  Hot glue these randomly to the grapevine wreath. the fabric flowers I made, some ripped strips of the same fabric and a little bit of green moss and a few other supplies were gathered up and this is how it turned out.  If you want directions on how I made this let me know and I will do a post.

SOME IDEAS FOR UTENSILS AND PAPER GOODS

Supply List Utensil Holders

• Tin Containers  (I found mine at the dollar store)
• White Spray Paint (matte finish)
• Chalkboard Labels
• Chalk Marker

I found these metal floral tins at the Dollar Store.  They were perfect for holding the utensils except they were a bronze color.  I brought them home and spray painted them flat white with a matte polyurethane spray to seal them.  Chalkboard labels were placed on the front and a chalk marker was used to write SPOONS, FORKS, & KNIVES.  I had purchased some linen fringed squares to make pillows, but decided to line the tins with them instead.

I love to use baskets and have this wooden basket from my husbands grandmother.  I lined it with some painters drop cloth (left over from my valance project) and used it to hold the plates, napkins and a mason jar filled with straws.

There are literally hundreds of shower themes and decoration choices.  It can be pretty overwhelming but, once you decide on your theme it doesn’t take a ton of money or expensive items to make a shower, birthday party, or any other type of party special.   Develop a theme and run with it.

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience.  Click “here” to read my full disclosure policy.

The post “Burlap, Birds & Baby” was first seen on The Decorated Nest and was written by Karen Ploransky

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