A Nautical Shower for Baby Oliver

I joined forces with three friends to host a baby shower for our dear friend Lynne and baby on the way, Oliver. It was a treat to co-host with such a creative bunch.

My friend Jen kicked off our nautical theme with homemade invitations. They turned out so cute. Even the envelope had a great nautical detail with a stamped image that was personalized and read "Baby Shutt" (their last name).

We had planned to send "message in a bottle" invitations but it got too tricky so we used the corked bottles for the place cards. We stamped out the names of each guest on beautiful card stock, placed them in the bottle with some sand, and then tied twine around the neck of the bottle to finish it off. They were too cute for words.

We also used the bottles to label the food. Our menu included:

• Three types of quiche from Volunteer Park Cafe (delicious)


• Pastries from Volunteer Park Cafe


• Raisin Brioche Twist from Macrina Bakery (toasted with butter - so good)


• Fruit salad


• Mixed greens with Orange Dijon Vinaigrette


• Mimosas, coffee, white wine


• Cupcakes from Trophy for dessert

For favors we filled navy boxes with salt water taffy and tied them with a traditional nautical knot (that our friend Lauren assembled on her plane ride to Seattle, bless her heart) and topped with an anchor detail. We put them out on an old map with starfish "crawling" all over them. It looked great.

We had a guest book for everyone to sign with a word or two of advice for the new mom. We will attach a photo of each guest near their message and give it to Lynne when the baby arrives. A wonderful keepsake filled with notes from all her guests and photos from the party.

We found these adorable garland centerpieces by googling key words for a nautical themed party. We copied the idea with our own color/pattern choices, using the sand filled vases with rods on each end of the table to hang the garland. We used small wooden boats for the centerpieces under the garland and gave the table a little light and texture with tea lights placed in sprinkled sand on each side of the boats. The napkins were wrapped around silverware and then twine was tied around it in the same nautical knot. We used the same twine to tie little brass nautical charms around each of the wine glasses.

The event was a hit and we all enjoyed celebrating with the glowing mom-to-be. Now we just can't wait to meet little Baby Oliver.