Event planner Kristina Miller hosted the sweetest “Knittin Kitten” baby shower for her sister-in-law in January and we were thrilled to create the custom invitation suite for her using Sarah Ragan‘s artwork . You can shop the entire Kitten Collection here.
Kristina was so generous to share images of this sophisticated, yet adorably cozy and playful baby shower. In addition to the images, she has also shared details about the day below.
When my sister-in-law Jill told us she was pregnant, I was immediately flooded with tears of joy, excitement and of course ideas for her baby shower! Jill adores her two Bengal cats so I knew I wanted to incorporate them into the day. I thought kittens would be the perfect theme for the gender-neutral shower and since the event would be taking place in the winter, I wanted to create a warm and intimate vibe for Jill’s friends and family. Cozy cable-knit sweaters and grey knit baby booties I found at Zara inspired the color palette and ultimately the “Knittin’ Kitten” theme.
Once we had the theme nailed down, I reached out to the incredibly talented ladies of Dogwood Hill to create a custom stationery suite. Sarah Ragan’s drawing of a kitten playing with a ball of yarn turned out better than I ever could have imagined! We used the image on everything from the invitations and menu cards to the favors and custom cocktail napkins. We also added a hand-drawn cable-knit pattern to the back of the invitation and menu cards as an extra cozy detail.
The venue, Mamàn TriBeCa, offered so many unique spaces to create impactful moments from the bookshelves to the tiled bar to the floral bud vase wall. Their staff’s professionalism and attention to detail was impeccable and the food was divine (I highly recommend the chocolate chip cookies – Oprah is also a fan!). That being said, I could not have achieved my overall vision without the amazing ladies of Stems & Co. They absolutely nailed the floral design and I loved how they incorporated birch elements, mini succulents, mercury glass votives and a major eucalyptus garland moment that really contributed to the elegant and effortlessly chic ambiance.
We did a more modern take on the clothesline typically seen at baby showers. We used this fluffy white garland I found at Anthropologie and hung an adorable grey cat baby outfit on it with clothespins. We also added baby photos of the parents-to-be and their cats Puma and Dash!
One of my favorite activities for the shower was for each guest to write a message to the baby on a fabric square that would later be sewn into a quilt for the nursery. All of the guest’s messages were so personal and heartfelt and it created such a meaningful keepsake for the family.
I especially enjoyed adding in personal touches that I knew would mean so much to Jill. She collects coffee mugs and is a bit of a tea aficionado so we ordered custom mugs and filled them with Chamomile tea, a silver hand-stamped teaspoon and a jar of honey for the favors.
There were so many fun décor elements, I couldn’t possibly choose just one! I loved the cable-knit table runners I found at Crate & Barrel and the fun photo op we created using the blue and white wallpapered wall at the entrance of the party. I thought it would be a sweet play-on-words to write out “Purrfect Little One” in large silver balloon letters and it was a huge hit with the guests! In lieu of place cards, we tied calligraphed tags onto balls of yarn that later doubled as string for guests to play “How Big is Mommy’s Belly.” Jill’s husband Bryce actually won the game!
It was such a blast designing and creating this special day for my best friend and I can’t wait to show my beautiful niece Avery the wonderful photos that our photographer Stephanie Sunderland took. She truly captured the magic of the day!
Sources::
Images, Stephanie Sunderland | Event Planner, Kristina Miller | Paper, Dogwood Hill Collective