How to Decorate for a Baby Shower on a Budget

I had the privilege of being in charge of the decorations for a church baby shower last week. The theme was airplanes and I needed a centerpiece of some kind for seven regular tables and one for the punch table, and another for the food table. Now, the church gave me no set budget, but I wanted to spend as little money out of pocket and have a nice pulled together look.

First, I could kick myself for not bringing my camera to the shower! What was I thinking!? I charged my batteries and just forgot to bring it. So, you are just going to have to imagine that all of these centerpieces are on round tables with white tablecloths and the brown shredded stuff (what is that stuff called?) that you see in the can is also on the table around the bottom of the can base.


What you see is soup cans that have been covered in scrapbook paper. I simply measured the cans and cut the paper to fit. I then used my glue stick to glue the paper onto the can. The large can is a chicken stock can covered in paper that was used as a vase. I put a solo cup in the can, added some water, and white flowers. Viola, you have a pretty vase.


The plate that you see is from Southern Living at Home. I did a quick look through the current catalog and didn't see it, but I may have missed it. There items are not cheap, but there are high quality and very versatile. I use this ribbon plate in my dining room everyday. It is hanging on my wall and I change out the ribbon either for the season, or just whenever I feel the need for a small change. You can write on the plate with a dry erase marker making it even more versatile. ( I was not paid to write any of this, I just really like my plate) I used coordinating ribbon that I had on hand, glued an airplane to the ribbon and displayed this on the punch table.


The smaller center pieces have a wooden painted airplane from Michael's glued to a craft stick. Adding the brown shredded stuff made them stand up nicely and added some nice texture.

Here is an approximate break down of the cost involved.

Cans- free, just save them as you use them so that you will have a nice supply on hand
Bag of craft sticks-$2.50
Wooden Airplanes - .59 each
White Flowers - $5.00
Brown shredded stuff - $1.00 per bag (I used 5 bags and had enough to put around the punch bowl and around each center piece
Scrapbook Paper - .25 per sheet (on sale)

Using scrapbook paper you can make these into something to match any theme or decor. They would also be pretty spray painted in a single color with simple flowers in them for a bridal tea. The possibilities are endless.


-This post was recycled from my old blog.
Originally written 7.24.08