Vintage Sweet Shoppe Baby Shower

Update: 6/17: I posted these images yesterday, but am back today with the full details and free printables! This “Vintage Sweet Shoppe” baby shower theme was really fun to put together and is full of fun & easy DIY… gotta love that! (The ice cream inspired elements would work well for kids birthday parties too.)

This color palette was designed with baby boy AND mom-to-be in mind, but you could easily recreate this look in any color palette to tailor the theme to baby girls and gender neutral showers too. I’m thinking that pale pink, warm gray and white with accents of bright pink would be particularly cute for a girl version! {UPDATE: 8/3 – The GIRL Version is now available! Click here to view/download them.}  =)

Read on for more sweet images + followed by creative details…

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ICE CREAM CONE CENTERPIECE (with Gumball Pedestal)

*BTW -This might look like a lot of instructions at a glass, but I promise these are SUPER EASY and actually really fun to make. I think I just have a problem with being concise! =)

For the ice cream cone:
– 2 Styrofoam balls (1.5″ and 3″)
– 2 colors of yarn
– hot glue
– ice cream cone
– red gumball
– green floral wire
– toothpicks
– decorative paper
– filler candy or gems (to help weigh down the cone)

Cover each styrofoam ball in one color of yarn, wrapping the yarn around the ball in all different directions until completely covered. Secure the finished end with a small dab of hot glue. Stick half the toothpick into the large yarn ball then slide the smaller ball on the other side of the toothpick, securing the 2 yarn balls together.

Embellish the outside of the cake cone with a strip of patterned paper. I used a strip one of the napkin ring printables for this one. Fill the cone with candy or gems to help weigh it down and keep it standing upright. Place the “ice cream” scoops (yarn balls) onto the cone. I stuck another toothpick into the bottom of the large yarn ball to stick into the filler candy and help keep it in place. You could also glue it to the cone though.

Cut a little piece of green floral wire and hot glue it to the red gumball to form the “cherry”. Hot glue the “cherry” to the top of the ice cream cone. Done!

For the Gumball Pedestal:
– 6″ unfinished round wooden disc (available at Michaels)
– Acrylic craft paint
– gumballs in 3 colors
– pillar candle holder
– hot glue and glue dots
– printable “sweet baby boy” embellishment (optional)

Paint both sides of the round wooden disc & let dry. Next, hot glue gumballs in equal increments all around the rim. Use glue dots to attach the bottom of the wooden disc to the top of your pillar candle holder. Place your “ice cream cone” on top of the disc. Use hot glue to secure it in place. Last but not least, use another glue dot to attach a decorative label – like the “Sweet Baby Boy” label pictured here – to the front of the candle holder.

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YARN BALL ICE CREAM BOWLS & ICE CREAM SODA

Follow the same concept as above to make various size of “ice cream scoops” out of styrofoam balls and different colors of yarn. For the “bowls of ice cream”, display 3 different sizes of in scoops in decorative dessert dishes. Add a baby spoon (like the Gerber spoon pictured here) to help play up the baby shower element.

For the “ice cream soda” place your smallest yarn ball in the bottom and add to larger ones on top. Use a toothpick to help secure the large yarn balls together so that you can kind of lean the top “scoop” to one side. Add a stripey straw to the “soda” and embellish it will a piece of ric rack ribbon to form a straw flag. The ric rack ribbon also helps play up the baby shower element.

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CARNATION ICE CREAM SODA

Fill an old fashioned soda fountain glass with candy (I used champagne bubbles candy here because I had a ton of it leftover from another candy buffet. You can use any candy of your choice.) Top with a small bunch of carnations. Add a stripey straw and another “cherry” made from a gumball + floral wire. Embellish the front of the glass with a decorative label.

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BOTTLED DRINKS

Embellish mini glass bottles with a band of ribbon towards the bottom. (These bottles are from Shop Sweet Lulu. As an alternative you can also use Starbucks Frappucino Bottles – just remove the labels and lids! )Use a funnel to make it easier to fill the bottles with the drink of your choice without making a mess. =) Display the bottles in neat rows on a tray. Chill the drinks until just before serving. Add stripey straws for the finishing touch!

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VINTAGE SWEET SHOPPE CUPCAKES

Bake homemade cupcakes in decorative paper baking cups like the striped blue cups pictured here. Once cooled, frost the cupcakes with purple frosting (or the color of your choice), and top with a white meringue drop cookie (available at most grocery stores). Print and cut out our free mini cupcake toppers, glue them to toothpicks, and insert into the cupcakes at a playful angle. Done!

BTW – The little mustache cupcake guy on the toppers was inspired by this adorable t-shirt from Finley and Oliver (but drawn from scratch for these printables). The hostess that I originally created these toppers purchased this t-shirt as a gift for mom-to-be and wanted to incorporate a “cupcake guy” into the party to match the gift. Love the idea of hanging this t-shirt up as part of the party decor for this shower…maybe even right above the cupcake display. =) (smallest size is 2T, but baby will grow into it quick!)

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FREE PARTY PRINTABLES

The free party printables for this Vintage Sweet Shoppe collection include:
– Place Cards / Buffet Labels (blank / 2 designs)
– Mini Cupcake Toppers (3 designs / can be used on mini or full size cupcakes)
– Napkin Rings (2 designs)
– Decorative “Sweet Baby Boy” Embellishments (square)
– Decorative “BABY” and “BOY” Embellishments (rectangular)
– Favor Tags
– Decorative 5×7″ prints (4 designs)

*You can download ALL of these printables in PDF format right here in one zip file OR over at scribd.com.

*These printables are tailored to a BOY baby shower. If you’d like to use these same designs in a GIRL VERSION, just CLICK HERE!

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VENDOR RESOURCES:
– Design, Styling & Printables: HWTM
– Photography: Sonny Sbranti
– Printing: Fedex Office
– Paper Baking Cups for Cupcakes: Shop Sweet Lulu
– Glass Bottles & Stripey Straws: Shop Sweet Lulu
– Yarn, Styrofoam, Wooden Discs, Craft Paint, Ric Rack Ribbon: Michaels
– Gumballs: Target
– Berry-Purple & Navy Linens: Raphael’s Party Rentals
– White Tufted Chargers/Placemats: Z Gallerie