Pregnancy and — well, pickles and ice cream, right?! This idea is a GREAT way to throw a baby shower that will not break your bank too… ice cream, toppings, salty pickle appetizers, drinks, and you've got it! A perfect afternoon spring or summer baby shower. (This idea is also great for those that need to throw a gender-neutral shower.) For this party we we found these adorable ice cream dishes and spoons at Dollar Tree — which also doubled as take-home favors. (The kids loved that.)
This was the invitation for the shower, which was for a mom having a baby boy: 
A few more pics…
Since everyone attending this shower was a mom, we played a game guessing everyone's particular pregnancy cravings… {tip: don't think die-hard vegans don't crave loaded cheeseburgers or burritos on occasion! lol…}
For this game, an extra-large pickle jar (like you can buy at Costco or Sams) was emptied and refilled with pickles of ALL sizes…
The food is what makes this shower so simple to throw together. An ice cream bar is quick and easy to assemble…have a few different kinds of ice cream flavors (simple is best, since you're providing toppings as well) and go to town with the rest… hot fudge, caramel, marshmallow cream, nuts, sprinkles, cherries, strawberries… anything you think your guests might like… We had several ice cream scoops decorated with ribbons to match the decor.
The appetizers are also simple… my favorite were the pickles wrapped in cream cheese and ham. So simple to put together and very tasty. 
You can use salami or corned beef… whatever you prefer. Here's a link for one version, and believe me, you really can't go wrong with these. We wrapped mini dill pickles, but you can also wrap large pickles and slice them into rounds.
We didn't want too many strong pickle flavors so while we offered various pickles for people to snack on, we also made some "green eggs" salad sandwiches (just your basic egg salad recipe, with green food coloring thrown in.) We also added a green fruits and veggies tray (with green apples, cucumbers, green peppers, kiwi, etc), and a green punch.
Everyone had a great time and nobody went home with green tongues.
by admin on April 25, 2010
I wanted to share these frames I made for two baby showers. It seems I've been making a lot of these lately… lots of babies being made around here! Anyhow, it's fun to take the colors the room will be, figure out what will make it special for the mom, and design it accordingly.
Here is my latest frame, made for my sweetheart of a friend who is having a baby girl. I love working on baby showers. This really shows off the color scheme we chose for this shower… lots of pinks, greens, but with some bright splashes of color thrown in. I'm still waiting (hoping) to get pictures from the gal that took them to share, but we made a bunch of large tissue paper flowers and hung them around. Very pretty
Psalm 139: 1-18 is what I picked for another gal who actually had her daughter this past week. I love this Psalm, it's a beautiful picture of God's intimage knowledge of us. Verse 5 is probably my favorite because it really gives you a picture of being sealed and protected by God. It says "you hem me in." Other translations say "you enclosed me, behind and before" or "you are all around me – in front of and in back of me." How easy I forget this in the midst of a busy schedule!
Psalm 139
1 O LORD, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.
