Baby Shower

And, of course, I wanted to challenge myself to use Fiskars tools in new ways. I always like getting extra mileage out of my stash!

I decided to take the name literally and have a "shower" theme - as in rain showers! Raindrops are such a whimsical design. Now on to how to decorate! I made a set of white tissue pom poms to hang over the dessert table. You can hang these 'clouds' anywhere at your party in groupings for impact. Create the pom poms as usual except you need to add a wire loop at both the top for hanging above and at the bottom for hanging raindrops below.

I came up with a neat trick to create and adhere raindrops easily to string (I used transparent nylon). Punch out an XL heart and fold in half. Adhere around your string at an angle to create a raindrop shape. This technique assures you will see drops on both sides as the strings randomly twist around. Using varying shades adds interest. Tie strings onto bottom loop of poms.

The next place I added some rainy fun was the cupcakes. I began by icing with blue frosting and adding blue sprinkles to represent rain. A simple XL cloud punch (I rotated between white and gray for contrast) glued to a toothpick inserted at center was quick and added lots of interest.

While you have out your XL cloud punch, punch out some extras to add to drinking straws. Punch the center with a hole punch and feed onto straw. I love adding quick details like this.

Cake pops and marshmallow pops are definitely at the top of entertaining trends right now. I have become obsessed with making all kinds of desserts-on-a-stick! I figured out a time saver using my Craft Drill. Take blocks of wood (painted to match the party décor) and drill holes to fit your lollipop sticks. These can be stored and reused again and again for future parties.

To make these baby rattle pops, begin with candy coated marshmallow pops decorated with sprinkles. Tie on (or adhere with a glue dot) little bows to each. Insert into drilled holes. Punch a one quarter inch circle hand punch into cardstock and punch the negative of the punched design with a medium circle squeeze punch centered. Adhere to the bottom of each stick with a glue dot.

You will likely have games to fill out on paper or other writing activities, so consider adding the rainy theme to an otherwise utilitarian pencil. To make a super simple umbrella topper, punch half of an XL circle squeeze punch at the edge of patterned cardstock. Use a medium circle squeeze punch to partially punch along the straight side three times to form the bottom scallops. Outline with a black pen and adhere to pencil with two glue dots.

To insert the pencil into your paper for convenience, punch two one quarter inch circles. On a craft mat, slice a horizontal line through the center of both holes using a retractable craft knife to feed umbrella-topped pencil through.

Send guests home with one final shower-themed detail, a treat bag thanking them for "dropping" by. Fill a glassine bag with lemon drops or gumdrops. Staple a scallop (scalloped borders tie in great with all of the cloud details) border-punched piece of cardstock at top to seal. Cover staple with an XL cloud punch with your thank you text and add raindrops down one side. These drops are easy to make when getting creative with an XL poppy lever punch. Mark the flower center with a pencil dot and cut out each petal to that center point for instant drops!

Try adding handcrafted touches to your next party or event. Even the littlest details can make a big impact!