It's a Mad Hatter Thing... Baby Shower!

Parents to be... Robyn and Andrew Dixon having fun with hats!

Robyn and Andrew Dixon are not new topics to my blog. Not only are they close friends of mine, they have trusted me to graphically handle lots of milestones in their life! I was there when it all began, and I've designed their wedding, holidays, and now... their baby! 

Robyn came to us girls (pictured below) and said she wanted to have a Boy themed Mad Hatter baby shower! Of course we jumped right on it. We decided we since she is having a boy and will soon be outnumbered by boys in her house, we would give her one last girly, elegant party! With China tea pots and cups, fresh floral and many antique glass cruets-- the decor started to come together, as you can see above!

Of course we started with Invitations to set the tone, pictured above. To read the full blog post on the invitations, click here.

Hostess' and Mom to be getting in the Mad Hatter fun with our unique head pieces!! (L to R)  Amy Morelli, Robyn Dixon, Cara Sturla and Amy Baumgarten.  Never fear all, the Mommy-to-be is drinking NON-alcoholic wine!

As you can see, we went all out with the decor. In keeping with the Alice and Wonderland Theme, we created die cut metallic "Eat Me" and "Drink Me" tags. We had Rabbit's, Clocks, and Keys sprinkled throughout the event (a thanks to PLAYGROUND Magazine for their contribution of these things, they were designed by Ayla, you can find them in her Etsy Store!). In addition, pictured above, we created custom candy wrappers for the favors to commemorate the event, as well as Signage, for the menu, gift table, and fun photo station!

We also created a Wishing Tree, where guest could write their wishes for the baby's future, and hang them on the tree.  We also did something fun, when guests arrived, we had a "Mad Hat table", pictured below, We here at The 2u Collection had a blast creating these unique headband hats for the guests to wear throughout the day!

A few guests having fun with the wishing tree!

Much thanks to RW Chocolate Fountain Rentals for these AMAZING and delicious Mad Hatter themed Cake Pops! Be sure to visit them on Facebook, and see some of the amazing things they create with Chocolate!

  We also created this fun photo station with these great cutouts with the Mad Hatter/Alice and Wonderland theme! Thanks to PLAYGROUND Magazine for their contribution of these things, they were designed by Ayla, you can find them in her Etsy Store! The guests loved them, and they made for some great fun pics! And one last mention, pictured below is Robyn and Andrew's first baby... Charlie! She is a wonderfully, gentle, loving Westie! We couldn't pass up getting her involved in the fun as well!

Mad Hatter Invites TAKE TWO!

I love when expecting Mom's forgo the storks and bows and opt for a more creative and quirky baby shower theme! It's especially rewarding when they allow me creative freedom to run with what they had envisioned; the challenge however is re-inventing a theme I've done previously in a completely different way. I had the opportunity a few weeks back to create a baby girl shower invitation with a Mad Hatter theme, and I was recently approached again with the same theme but this time for a baby boy! I had to erase the hot pink argil ribbon and feather detail from my mind and create the Mad Hatter look with some baby blue hues. 


To see the Mad Hatter- Girl inspired Invite, visit:
http://the2ucollection.blogspot.com/2012/01/its-mad-hatter-kind-of-affair.html


My inspiration started with a cyan blue damask print die cut fold as the front of the invite. That paired with white and espresso pearl paper really allowed the espresso, marigold and blue fonts to pop. The marigold satin ribbon was the finishing touch of detail to this gorgeous invite. 

Robyn, the Mommy-to-be knew that soon enough her feminine energy would be taken over by a male dominated household. She made it clear to me that although the invite is for her expected baby boy that it be clear to guests this was still a Mommy only event with lots of feminine flair! So before the house gets flooded with 24/7 football games and baseball hats I made sure these invites and the shower itself more than suited Robyn's personality and love for girly frills.

It's not a Mad Hatter invite without a cup of tea!

Not only do I love this couple, My relationship with Robyn and Andrew started years ago, and they became clients when I collaborated with them in designing their wedding invitations and stationery. As a business owner one of my greatest joys is seeing my clients lives change and being a part of their continued life celebrations!

What a nice Surprise! Our Invites were on Good Day!

Modern baby showers trends and tips: MyFoxORLANDO.com

What a wonderful Surprise this morning! We were watching Good Day Orlando, and we saw a familiar face! Chrissy Allen from PLAYGROUND Magazine was on, and she took our invitations! We blogged a while ago about these invitations. To check it out click here!

It's a Mad Hatter kind of Affair!

This was such a fun project, not only is it for the Baby Shower of one of my good friends, it will also be appearing in the Spring Issue of PLAYGROUND Magazine. The theme is a Mad Hatter Tea and Lunch. Which I knew was going to be fun from the start. It's exciting as a designer, when you get to be fun and funky! As you can see from above to create "Fun and Funky" she chose Fiber Mark's Black Touché Paper, and embellished it with a Fun Patterned Ribbon and Black Feathers.

 As you can see on the flip side, we had fun with the copy, creating a rhyme to fall in line with the Mad Hatter state of mind. (Props to PLAYGROUND Magazine for this amazing copywriting)

We accented the die cut printed invitation with this amazing glitter damask black and white paper. It turned out sophisticated and fun. Congratulations to Heather on her upcoming "Bundle of Joy!"