Window Display at Shirt Factory Cafe

We finished the window display this weekend at Shirt Factory Cafe for Presence on the Patio.

Big thanks to my hubby for helping me out! (only real men will help their wives fluff out tissue paper pom-poms in the middle of a coffee shop!)

I love using these pom poms to decorate. (I first saw them when I was helping decorate for a baby shower) They're so easy to make. I have instructions on how to make them in my baby shower post, but you can also check Martha Stewart's website for a more official tutorial (she's where my friends got the idea from in the first place).

I even saved the scraps of tissue paper I cut off the ends and used them as a kind of confetti...I think they look like fallen flower petals.

I need to get more tissue paper and make more of these for decorating on the day of the craft fair. The flowers/pom-poms are taking the place of the paper lanterns we had up for the winter show...since they have a springy feel and the spring show is during the day instead of in the evening.

Decorating the Shirt Factory Cafe for Christmas

So, remember back when I helped decorate the Shirt Factory Cafe for a baby shower?...well, we're at it again! I've been helping my friends Kim (on the ground) and Rachel (on the ladder) decorate our favorite cafe for Christmas!

But that's not even the best news! We're doing an event on the Shirt Factory Cafe's patio on December 19th from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. The event is called "Presence on the Patio" and we are calling it "a winter fair". There will be wreath-making, donuts and (best of all) handmade gifts made by local artisans like me! We're currently working on securing either a sound system or live music, and I am working on a flyer/logo.

We're friends with a guy who is good friends with the owner of the cafe (yay for connections!)... and Kim and Rachel got asked to help organize an event. And they've been so kind as to invite me to help too! I'm so excited to be involved in the planning process of this event!

More details (and a flyer) to come!

Nancy's Baby Shower

The baby shower I went to last night was lots of fun! I went an hour early to help my friend Kim set up and decorate. I'm all about decorating and so is Kim, so we had lots of fun. She and her sister Tricia had made these lovely tissue paper balls...

And they are so simple to make! You just accordian fold the layers of tissue paper (sorry, I don't know how many layers), cut the ends if desired (that's how they got that flowery look) put the wire around the middle and make the loop to hang the ball, then fluff the layers out to make the puff/flower. (I helped fluff them out when we got to the coffee shop).

The shower was at a local coffee house, The Shirt Factory Cafe`. The building used to be, guess what!...a shirt factory! My hubby came along too for the set-up and was instumental in hanging the puffs. We only had a short ladder, so it helped to have a tall (and artisticly inclined) man to help!

And this is how it all looked when it was done! (I want to have a party just so I can make more of these pretty puffs! Housewarming party maybe?...)

It was nice to see some ladies from the Rochester church who I haven't gotten a chance to talk with in a while. Nancy (the girl the shower was for) was completely overwhelmed. She was in tears when she walked in and saw the place! I was glad we were able to be a blessing is such a simple way.

It was cute how all the little girls swarmed around Nancy as she opened her gifts!

The obligatory "pregnant women" baby shower picture! Lined up by due dates left (most pregnant) to right. It worked out well, because it just happens to be that Nancy is in the middle!

The woman at the far left with the baby is Nancy's sister, Karen, who was included because she just had her 4th child a few weeks ago. (some may alrady know about it, but check out her blog for the amazing story of her 3rd child, Jacob).