Real Baby Shower: A Little Cutie Orange Grove

You could say that  Ashley of Attention 2 Detail Events can find inspiration anywhere. When a mom-to-be who was not going to find out her baby’s gender hired her to plan her baby shower, Ashley found it fun finding an original neutral shower theme. “It’s a challenge to plan a shower without knowing the baby’s gender because themes usually learn towards something more girly or masculine,” Ashley explained. “So I made sure to choose colors that were vibrant and fun but good for either gender.” Most importantly, she still wanted the baby shower colors to be ‘cute’. “Clients that come to me with a blank slate are good because it allows me to get really creative and gives me the freedom to creative some fun themes and ideas.” Where did she have the ‘a ha’ moment of cuteness idea…in the produce aisle at the grocery store. “I remember seeing the Cutie logo (which, if you haven’t seen it, is perfect for a baby shower!) and then it just hit me! A Little “Cutie” baby shower! I fell in love at that moment and the ideas just started flowing! I loved the bright orange and green color scheme for the event,” Ashley said, and set off to keep everything for this baby shower orange-related for the ten guests.

After deciding on the theme and discussing some options, Ashley wanted to pick the perfect invitation that would invoke a “country” feel that was “fresh from the orchard”. She had Heather from Chickabug create some amazing invites and then got started working on details for the dessert table and making to look like a country fruit stand.

Ashley created a juice bar where guests were served virgin “Tangerita’s” and ice water. She even dressed up the ice cubes by freezing slices of Cuties in them! “They added a really pretty element to the glasses. In others I also shaved some of the orange peel and froze them in ice cubes as well.” Little ‘organic’ tags transformed the margarita glasses from cocktails to brunch.

Guests were served foods that fit within the orange theme, making the majority of them orange-flavored. “We served “Cutie” salad with fennel, feta, and honey citrus dressing, Orange ginger chicken with orange salsa, but the cutest thing that was served were the Cutie kabobs, which were served with honey mint yogurt dip. They were created using Cutie slices, strawberries, and mint leaves. I have always loved kabobs and anything on a stick is so much easier to eat for guests.”

To create the illusion of being at an outdoor orange grove, Ashley topped the table with astro turf from a home improvement store. She also added empty Cuties boxes from the grocery store to use as risers to add height to the table. Don’t you love the chipboard Cutie letters? Ashley wanted the letters to resemble oranges. “I used chipboard letters from the local craft store, spray painted them green, and then covered them in orange scrapbook paper. I used a different shade of orange for each letter. Then, using my Cricut, I cut little blossoms out of white paper, and glued them on the letters, finishing them off with little orange button centers and green leaves.

If you’re loving the bunting banner but don’t think you can manage, Ashley says it was actually really easy to make. “I bought various pages of colored scrapbook paper, with varying textures and prints in the orange and green color palette. I cut the bunting triangles using the Cricut machine, and then using outdoor plant and tree twine to string all the pennants together.

The guests table got the ‘Cutie’ treatment as well. “For the table, I used orange dinner plates and green napkins for contrast. I used Cuties as place cards, using leaves with guests’ names printed on them. I had a local flower shop create centerpieces using Cuties and orange roses. They turned out gorgeous! For the main centerpiece on the table, I found tree branches, potted them using rocks as filler in containers, and then adorning the branches with leaf cutouts, green polka dot ribbon, and hanging Cuties, using Christmas tree ornament hangers, to create a small, child-like orange tree. It turned out so cute!”

But the coup de gras was the de dessert table featuring Orange cupcakes, orange cake pops, and Orange cookies. The cupcakes were of course, orange flavored with an orange tinted buttercream and topped with edible sugar leaves. “I wanted the table to feel a little bit like a fruit stand,” Ashley said. “The cupcakes were made by the mom-to be’s sister-in-law, which we topped off with edible sugar leaves to replicate oranges. I purchased orange shaped cake pops from Heavenly Cake Pops. Heather from Chickabug also created
the little “Fresh Squeezed” cake pop tags.” For favors, Ashley had The Cookie Jar create large orange cookies and also orange slices. She put them into green plastic berry baskets that she lined with green checked tissue paper.

Mom to be is due any moment! We can’t wait to find out if she had a boy cutie or a girl! Thanks Ashley for sharing this orange delight with us!

Printables created by Heather from Chickabug, including menu’s, invites, and cake pop tags
Polka-dot straws and Organic stickers from Bake It Pretty
Flowers created by Dahlia’s
Custom Cake Pops from Heavenly Cake Pops
Custom cookies created by The Cookie Jar on Etsy
Edible Sugar Leaves from Sugar Robot on Etsy