Well, as you all know, I have been slacking big time when it comes to keeping my blog updated . But, I have a good excuse (I think). I was out of town for 10 days to surprise my sister at her baby shower. The surprise was a success, and so was the shower.
I was in charge of decorating. Oh, the fun I have making things look pretty.
My other sisters (I have three) chose to have a pumpkin themed shower since it took place on Halloween weekend. I have to admit, I was a little unsure of how this was going to work at first. But I quickly started looking for pumpkin decor and ideas, and the visions started pouring into my crafty little mind.
Want to see what I envisioned? Here's a little taste...and it came out even better than I could have imagined.
Pumpkins, leaves, and bright orange flower arrangements made this baby shower full of fall elegance.
Let's start by taking a look at the cake. Look at that cake! My incredibly talented oldest sister recently found a new hobby: baking. She made this ganache filled chocolate cake, with a buttercream filled spice cake on top, right in our mother's kitchen. Mmmm....chocolate ganache... This cake was full of yummy goodness.
And it doesn't look too bad either, does it? My sister enlisted my help, as well as my younger sister's, to give the cake a pretty finish. She made the fondant from scratch, following this recipe. Do you know what fondant is made from? I didn't...but maybe you can guess. :)
That's right. That soft, smooth and chewy icing has a scrumptious marshmallow base. Who would have thought?
Combine it with a little powdered sugar and shortening, and you've got yourself the most popular finish on professionally made cakes to date.
We mixed and colored the fondant, then rolled it out and placed it over our pre-iced cakes.
Then the fun really began. I cut out a pumpkin shape with an Exacto knife and placed it on the top tier. Taking a paintbrush handle, I made indents in the pumpkin to give it those dividing ridges that make pumpkins pumpkins. I then added a green stem, some fun swirly vines, and simple letter cut-outs to finish it off.
We added orange circles and rings to give it a little flare, and place a green border around the bottom of each tier to hide any blemishes at the base of the fondant.
Have you ever seen such a happy pumpkin cake? Maybe I'm biased...and partial because we stayed up until 3 a.m. finishing the little details. I guess I put a little heart and soul into this cake, but it was totally worth it! Don't you think?
Ok, moving on. Want to know what my favorite decor detail was?
These.
Look how fun these pom pom hangings are, floating over the table like big sunbursts.
These were so easy and fun to make. I used this tutorial to get me started. What a great way
to add a burst of color in an unexpected way.Another important element of decor were these beautiful pumpkin flower arrangements.
We purchased lots of silk flowers from Joann's and Michael's. The great thing was, a lot of the fall decor was on sale since we are now coming up on the Christmas season. So, I carved three medium sized pumpkins and arranged the flowers as I saw fit. Very simple, but the impact was amazing. I spread these pretty pumpkins all throughout the house, and they quickly gave it the fall feel I was going for.
These arrangements were fantastic centerpieces for the party tables. And they went perfectly with the other little accents I added...which I will get to in my next post.
I hope you find a little inspiration in my party planning. Once I start, I can't seem to stop. So I have many more details to share another day.
Now go make something, and enjoy the day!
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