Itsy Bitsy Foodies

Last October I hosted a baby shower for our friends.  {Now that we recently went to her 1st birthday party, I’m excited to finally share the party details!}  It was actually a meet-the-baby party, which made it even more fun.  You don’t have to worry about coordinating games or entertainment when there is a newborn baby to pass around.  When Lucy’s mom suggested a green and pink jungle theme to coordinate with her nursery, I wanted to incorporate some jungle animal details while still keeping it simple and elegant.  

Sometimes it’s just meant to be because I found zebra print paper in the requested pink and green hues and a bright green zebra print ribbon (both from Michael’s) that turned into key accents throughout the party.  I loved the zebra prints in color because they introduced the jungle pattern in a more subtle way.

I tried to create decorations that could transition from the party into the nursery.  Based on an idea I found on Pinterest, I cut out animal silhouettes in patterned paper and framed them in little frames that I painted white.   I simply tied green zebra ribbon on a big white “L”.  And for the LUCY banner, I painted little letters green and mounted them on coordinating invitation paper.

I had lots of ideas for cute jungle-themed foods and dessert decorations but I decided to tuck those away for a kids birthday party someday.  While I did tie in some jungle details, like the elephant sugar cookies and the Zebra pound cake, I focused more on the colors of white, pink and green.

Zebra pound cake {a marbled vanilla and chocolate pound cake} was one of the cake centerpieces.  I chose banana cake for the other cake centerpiece because it has been one of my most popular cakes and I couldn’t resist the monkey connection.  I simply iced the cakes with vanilla buttercream frosting and decorated them with the green zebra print ribbon.

Animal crackers and cookies were another natural addition based on the jungle animal theme.  I have made the cookies in the past, cut out in specific themed shapes, but it was even easier this time because the store-bought animal crackers were already shaped for the party.  In one vase I left them plain and in the other I dipped them in Wilton’s chocolates in the party colors and decorated them with white non-pareil sprinkles.

Elephant Sugar Cookies were another opportunity to tie-in the jungle theme.  I have always loved the more modern and simple elephant silhouette so I drew a paper pattern and used a pizza cutter and a small knife to cut out the cookie dough.  I glazed them in white to coordinate with the theme (and was therefore able to avoid using food coloring.)  Most cookie decorating experts use royal icing but because I knew that the cookies would be consumed within a day or two, I kept it simple and used a basic powdered sugar glaze.

{Jungle} Teacakes were an easy, last-minute addition that fit the white color scheme.

Raspberry-Lemonade Coconut Macaroon Tartlets were another creation that fit the pink & white colors beautifully.  The lemon coconut macaroon tartlets have always been one of my most popular desserts.  This time I added some raspberry juice to the lemon curd to get a beautiful pink color and a burst of refreshing raspberry flavor.  {You can adjust the ratio of raspberry and lemon juices to suit your color and taste preference.}

For the food, I made several easy appetizers: Blue Cheese Walnut Grapes, an assortment of turkey and hummus pinwheel wraps, and sweet & sour chicken meatballs, but the focal point was definitely the dessert table.

For party favors, my mom made lavender sachets for all of the guests with lavender from Purple Haze lavender in Sequim, WA (a little shout-out to my home-town territory, the beautiful Olympic Peninsula!) Thank you, Mom!!!  They were a huge hit and a nice local touch.  When wrapped in white and pink they also tied in beautifully with the colors.