Fluffy Chick Baby Shower

The inspiration for this shower came from a conversation I had with my friend Lisa prior to knowing I was going to throw her a shower. It went something like this:

Lisa: "Do you know where I can find a baby chick?"

Me: "Um, a real one?"

Lisa: "Ya,(giggle) I am CRAVING to hold a baby chick!"

Me: (Laughing)"That is so funny, I don't know, maybe out at Hacienda Hay and Feed...why a chick?"

Lisa: "We always had chickens growing up, I just love them and want to hold one so bad!"

Needless to say, when one of Lisa's friends asked me to help her throw an early term shower for Lisa because she would be leaving town soon (military husband), I knew exactly what direction I wanted to go. The problem was that we had to act fast. We threw this thing together in three weeks.

First, the invitations. It was a challenge finding chickie invites. I finally found these self printable cutie's at partypail.com

If you can't see it clearly, the invitation read:

A little birdie told us that Lisa Kendall is expecting!

Come help us feather her nest on Saturday September 5, 2009...

I then added some feathers in the envelope (no extra postage required) for an extra surprise when the guests opened it.

Next step, the decorations. I was thinking "fluffy" and decided tulle (of course) would work wonderfully.

I created balls of tulle, trimmed them, and added felt feet and beaks. I cut open 'googly eyes' and used the inside circles for the chickie's eyes. ( I will post a fluffy chick tutorial soon).

I made some mini chicks,

and put them in these bird cages that I found at Micheals Craft 80% off!



Then we hung them at the center of the buffet table,

and throughout the main room.

I wanted to make nests of some kind and so my next little project included these clearance finds:
Straw hats, garlands and shredded stuff called excelsior. (all found at Micheals Craft Store)

I gave the straw hats a light coat of brown spray paint, tore up and frayed the edges, added sprays of the garland, and completed each nest with a medium sized chick and a few feathers. We sprinkled the front porch with these nesting chicks and had a twig wreath with one nestled in it on the front door to welcome the guests. I of course forgot to get a picture of the porch, but believe me, it turned out pretty cute.

Back inside I made the nest of wisdom and wishes.

The guests each wrote their advice and wishes for the new mom and baby on the back of these paper chicks then placed them in the nest.


To make the paper chicks I simple drew and cut out a pattern on card stock then traced it onto cute paper. We are putting these in an album for a keepsake for the mother-to-be.

Inspired by the plates I found on partypail.com, I made this little chickie family out of more tulle.
The sweet plates.

On the top tier are eggs in a nest that I had on hand and found at Target's Easter clearance.

The buffet table, minus the fruit, I forgot to put that out until later...

...but I cut a watermelon like a hatched egg and put the fruit salad in it. Fun little touch.

My amazing friend Laurel made these cupcakes. I found the idea from Martha's baby bird cupcakes.
Laurel improvised on the beaks which made it much easier and just as cute I think. She simply pulled the frosting tube away to make the pointed beak. She used broken chocolate sprinkles for the eyes. They were almost too cute to eat!

We played quite a few games but these two I thought were the cutest.

1.)Notice the Chiclets around the Mom-to-be's neck? I found the Chiclets at Dollar Tree and had to use them for something! Chiclets at a Chickie Baby shower...come on!
We gave those to every guest upon entering. When someone said "baby" another person was allowed to take their necklace. It was an ongoing game throughout the shower and we had a lot of laughs from it.

Then, there was the egg game. My friend Rochelle came up with this one (she also graciously let us use her home). She took 25 items and put them in the egg! We all had to write down what we thought was in there. When time was up, the mom-to-be cracked it open and told us what was in it. It was amazing how many items could fit in there!

Last but not least, the shower favors. When I was planning the shower we didn't know if Lisa was having a girl or boy yet. I secretly wanted her to have a boy so I could play on the "chick magnet" saying for the favors. However, a few days before the shower, we found out she was having a girl. I still used the magnets because I thought they mimicked eggs in the nest and were an unique, useful gift for the guests.

I took flat-bottomed glass marbles (found at Dollar Tree), cut out these adorable chickies that I found on Etsy. Then modpodged them to the marbles.

I then used an industrial strength glue called E-6000 to glue on extra strong magnets.

I used mini straw hats (only .20 each!) and transformed them into nests.
The little sign said, "Thank you for feathering Lisa and Justin's nest today."

With touches of feathers and excelsior (that is a new word for me, you know, the shredded stuff) I placed 3 magnets in each "nest".

The guests loved these reminders of the fluffy chick shower.

We are linking this chick baby shower to A Soft Place To Land for Kimba's DIY party!