Oh (Dragon) Baby!

We had a baby shower for my sister this past weekend, which was the reason for my visit. This is the Year of the Dragon, and she's been playfully referring to the little one as Dragon Baby, so that became the theme for the party.

We started with invitations designed by Chloe Marty. I had spotted her cute dragon invitation on Pinterest, and she worked with me to change the original dragon into a more Asian-looking one. Naturally, we sent out the invitations using a Year of the Dragon stamp!

I drew a lot of inspiration from the Lunar New Year party at And Baby Makes Four. Although I didn't get a picture of it, I ordered the same paper tassel garland seen on that blog, and it turned out just perfectly. We also had a few red lanterns scattered here and there.

I loved the arrangement of branches and lucky envelopes seen on The Party Dress. My sister's mother-in-law found a beautiful red vase and outfitted it with dried mountain laurel limbs. Guests were encouraged to write a little note to Dragon Baby and to leave it in a lucky envelope.

We replicated centerpieces originally seen on Pier One's website (they're no longer there, but you can view them at Asianmommy.com). They were really easy: mini takeout boxes, silk flowers, chopsticks, and dragon picks.

The water bottle labels were made using the Silhouette cutter ("chinese_dragon_C01001_20508" in case you're interested), and that same dragon motif is used for some of the signs. Off to the right, you'll catch a glimpse of the mimosa bar, which was inspired by Simple Modern Weddings.

For favors, we put custom fortune cookies inside miniature bamboo steamers and tied them up with red ribbons. We also dipped some of the fortune cookies in chocolate and served them on Asian spoons.

The rest of the menu was mostly Asian-inspired.

No party is complete without a themed dessert, right? I fell in love with the dragon cupcakes seen in the book Cupcakes, Cookies, & Pie (yes, from the same geniuses who created the sheep pound cakes), and I was so fortunate to find Amanda at Esquire Confections, who executed them perfectly!

I'm excited for the Dragon Baby!

Ready and Waiting

I finished the Umaro blanket--for real this time--while I was visiting my sister. On the last morning of my stay, I snuck downstairs to wash and dry it in their machine. It was still a little damp when I presented to her, but I don't think she minded.

More pictures and details on Ravelry

Now I'm just waiting on that niece to get here in a few months!

Tuesday Tube: Time to Unwind

Too funny!

Right Then

I'm cheating a bit because I'm posting this after the fact!

On a Plane: me

Back on the Needles: Umaro. I had previously bound off but then decided I wanted to add a little length.

On the Nails: Nerd Lacquer Entirely Unlike Tea

Tuesday Tube: Just Kidding

It's really hard to knit a sweater for someone else when they can't try it on for you, isn't it? Next time, just ask a random person on the street if they could model for you!