Strawberry Themed Baby Shower!

September 20, 2009

The show stopper at the baby shower, strawberry fondant cupcakes

It’s been about two months since my first baby niece was born, Luna Zoe Marie. I am long overdue to share her baby shower, it was in June! But better late than never, right? She’s my new obsession. I just love her, and I also loved putting this baby shower together for my sister.

Handmade strawberry themed invitations

I had an absolute blast planning this special baby shower. It had a familiar feeling, like how I felt planning my wedding. It was exciting and with endless possibilities and quirks. In all honesty, it almost felt like a mini-wedding with all of the preparation time involved. Either way, my sister is worth it, and everyone had a great time at her shower. I think I would be in complete heaven if all I did was plan events for people. I’m in such a creative place when I’m planning and designing everything.

For this strawberry theme, I initially intended to have a Strawberry Shortcake themed shower, since that was one of our favorite characters growing up. Then, it slightly changed because, well, things change. In the end, it became an eclectic strawberry themed shower. It was unique and absolutely perfect. I tried to infuse a strawberry theme into everything possible, from the color scheme, to the food, even to the baby clothes I bought as gifts (they all had strawberries on them!). One thing is for sure, it turned out beautiful and more than I could have hoped for.

Since then, I have posted the majority of the food and drink from this baby shower, so if you missed it, here’s a quick recap:

I have a few more recipes that I will post later, such as the best coconut cake ever, my friend Kereese’s killer French bread casserole and my strawberries and cream scones. Rest assured, they are coming.

Amazingly delicious strawberry and cream scones, a little rendition off my berries'n'cream scones (recipe posting, soon!)

The best coconut cake ever, topped with a strawberry fondant cut out

Cute butter knife, no strawberries on them, but dainty always works at baby showers, right?

Strawberry fondant cupcakes. How cute are they!

These adorable strawberry cupcakes were extremely easy to make. I used store bought fondant, food coloring, homemade butter cream frosting and a box of yellow cake mix (I was in a rush, so boxed cake mix is what I used). Now, I have to forewarn you, fondant is not the best tasting thing out there, it is merely for looks, although it is edible. The taste is very close to that of a marshmallow, but the more food coloring used, the more bitter food dye you taste. Like I said, it is for show, and looks are what we are going for. If you do not want to eat the fondant, simply peel it off your cupcake and discard. After baking the cupcakes and frosting them, I cut off two chunks of store bought fondant (naturally white in color) and started to knead in some color. After I achieved the color I wanted for the strawberry body and the green stem, I rolled out the fondant thinly, and used a heart shaped cookie cutter for the body of the strawberry, and a small star shaped cookie cutter for the stem. I used powdered sugar to flour the cutting surfaces, and once all the shapes were cut, I simply placed the heart cutout right smack in the middle of a frosted cupcake, then with a wet q-tip, and a light hand, I made a little wet dot where you would want to place the stem “star” cutout (this acts as a glue to help the stem and strawberry body stay attached). Next came the illusion of tiny strawberry seeds, and this came by using a toothpick. To achieve this look, make small indentations by gently poking the toothpick into the strawberry body. Some were riddled with seed indents, some were sparse, either way, they were adorable. Afterwards, I dusted the fondant strawberries with fondant shimmer powder, to give them that extra adorable glow. It was extremely easy, and in the end, you have the fanciest homemade cupcakes you could imagine.

Everything on the table (at least one corner of the table)before the guests came and devoured it all

Handmade strawberry table runner

Strawberry hued gift bags. Just sticking with the color scheme!

Then there was the grand prize, everyone received a raffle ticket, pulled out of a giant size strawberry cookie jar. I almost wanted to keep this gift for myself. It consisted of a cute, red picnic basket, a red checkered picnic blanket to sit and eat on, crackers, spreadable cheese, a cheese knife, a bottle of wine, two glasses FOR the wine, and a pretty votive holder and candle, to enhance the romance. It was called: “The baby-making picnic basket.”

Grand prize: The basket of love

I tried to make everything strawberry-esque as much as possible, starting with my strawberry invitations, then I went ahead and sewed a table runner with strawberries to keep the theme going. For decor, I had strawberry hued flowers adorning the tables, and of course, the plates, napkins, and silverware were in shades of red and pink. To keep up the strawberry theme, I tried to come up with as many strawberry recipes as I could. That’s where my strawberry blush sangria came into play, along with my strawberries and cream scones, strawberry fondant cupcakes, and fresh strawberries served with freshly whipped cream.

Like I said, if I could do this full time, plan exciting parties, events, etc, I think I would be in heaven.

Silverware for the baby shower, wrapped in a variety of party napkins, even some strawberry shortcake napkins, then tied with baker's twine! (thanks Fran)

Silverware for the baby shower, wrapped in a variety of strawberry hued/printed napkins, then delicately tied with baker's twine (thanks, Fran!).

Since this shower, I have come up with other clever ideas for baby showers, bridal showers, or even just themed parties, in general! I will be posting fun, inventive ways you can entertain a party or throw a shower. I have always been a fan of DIY projects, dreaming up ideas and making them happen.