Brittany's Baby Shower

The shower went wonderfully! Everyone had a great time, and we were really able to have a great afternoon party, in which the guest of honor was not present. We were able to record some Video's of my sister using I-chat the night before the shower, and than showed them at the party. We even figured out a few ways to play some games that included her videos and the guests so it was almost as if she was present. We decided to tone down the baby theme a little bit since there would be no pregnant lady present. We also asked that in Lu of gifts people send gift cards so that she can order anything still needed and haven't sent to her base in Japan.

I was determined to make sushi looking cupcakes and am really pleased with how they turned out! It was actually quite simple. I made a large vanilla sheet cake and let it sit over-night. It didn't necessarily need to sit out all night in the pan, but I wanted to make sure it was cooled down, and I was exhausted by the time the cake came out of the oven. Than I used a circular kitchen utensil to make small circles out of the cake. A cup would have worked as a cookie cutter, but we only had large mouth cups so I found a circular egg scooper of sorts in the utensil drawer. I greased it well and simply pushed it into the cake and scooped out the smaller cupcakes using a knife and some steady hands. The outside of the sushi was comprised of fruit-by-the-foot. I was disappointed to find that they no longer make plain grape ones, which would have been much more authentic looking, so I had to settle with the berry-punch mix flavor which gave a red and blue tie-dyed appearance. I cut up small strips, and wrapped them around the small cupcakes using some frosting like glue at the ends to hold them in place. Some vanilla frosting went on top of the cupcake. Originally I was going to use coconut to look like rice on top of the frosting, but wasn't unsuccessful in finding that as well on my local supermarket shelves. The cupcakes were topped with sprinkles and the occasional Swedish fish. I tried to make the sprinkles resemble different types of sushi, salmon and cucumber being my major thinking since I only had select colors to work with. They made a great addition to the theme of the party and they were so delicious. The whole project took 45 minutes to complete from the start of taking the cake out of the pan. A will be using this recipe again in the future and may modify it to fit some various needs. So simple and such a personal touch on the party.

The centerpieces were even easier to put together. My sister and I found some bunches of flowers at our local craft store on sale for 50% off. Thankfully,we picked great color themes since Valentines day was just a few weeks ago. We cut the stems down on the fake flowers making them individual flowers. I also found these take-out boxes at the local art store for $1.50 a piece. A shopping bag was placed in the bottom of the boxes to had a little height, the flowers were poked through the plastic bag, add a couple of fake green leaves and voila a completed project. We had ordered these Chinese looking magnet fans for a little Asian touch in the middle of the bouquets.

The table settings went over really well. Each guest got a rubber ducky to take home. We had two different types ( marine ducks and Asian ducks) and placed them alternately at each setting.Each guest also got a pair of painted decorative chopsticks. I had made a crossword puzzle all about Brittany, babies and Japan and placed those at each seat as well.

Everyone had a great time. With handmade cupcakes, centerpieces, decorations, and favors in total we only spent about $150. More than the cost however was the atmosphere we created and that was priceless for me to try to achieve. Brittany would have loved it if she could have attended. I took tons of pictures to send to here. We also had everyone hand write a message and some advice to her that will be included in her packages. She'll get the same favors everyone else got, and a diaper cake my sister and I made to complete the gifts. Only a month left until I become an aunt, and it will take about that long for the package to make it's way to Iwakuni. It was a little weird to be throwing a baby shower for my little sister, but I was happy to do it for her. I loved making all of the separate pieces for the party, and I love the support she feels now that it's over. That's why we did it in the end and that's why I would do it all over again. It's all about knowing that you are full of support, even if it's thousands of miles away.