Sock Monkey Baby Shower

I recently hosted a baby shower for my Sister-in-Law.  She's having a baby boy & told me to surprise her with the shower theme.  I am loving sock monkeys lately so I went with a red/brown/white sock monkey theme.  I kept it simple & practical by making everything myself.  I think it turned out pretty cute. 

The cute little sock monkey doubled as a table decoration and a gift from my kiddos to their soon to be baby boy cousin.

I love making tissue paper puff balls for parties.  And a little tip, don't waste your money buying the Martha Stewart kit.  Guess what's in the box?  A stack of tissue paper & some crafting wire.  It's much cheaper to buy it yourself.  The only extra step is to cut the ends of the paper into a shape.  Either a triangle or half circle.

Tissue Paper Puff Balls
What you need:
A stack of tissue paper (about 10 sheets, depending on the size you want)
Crafting wire that bends easily
Scissors

How to:
Fold the tissue paper accordion style, with about a 1 1/2" thickness.
Place crafting wire around center of folded up tissue & twist into knot to hold in place
If you want small puff balls, cut the folded stack in half to make two small ones
Snip each end into a shape (triangle for a pointed edge, or half circle for a rounded edge)
Now fluff the tissue paper out, one layer at a time, until it forms a ball shape. Be very gentle so that it does not tear.
Hang with fishing wire or just set around for cute decorations

White cupcakes with chocolate frosting is my favorite combination.  Plus, it matched my color scheme. ;)  I made the cupcake toppers by printing the images on card stock, cutting out and taping to a toothpick.  Sydney helped me frost & decorate all the cupcakes.  She is such a great helper!  She also pays great attention to detail.  She coordinated her outfit to match the shower colors.

I love pinwheels!  They taste great & are so easy.  3 ingredients: flour tortillas, cream cheese & pace picante sauce.  Mix cream cheese & picante sauce.  Spread on a tortilla, roll up and slice.  Done!

This punch is my go to drink when hosting parties.  It's always a big hit.  I got the recipe from a friend years ago.

Punch
2 c sugar
1 c water
Bring these to a boil in a pot.
Then, in a cooler, add sugar water to a 10 lb bag of ice to begin melting.  Then add:
46 oz pineapple juice
12 oz frozen pink lemonade
12 oz frozen orange juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract

The recipe says to let punch set in cooler 3 hours before serving,  However, I always make mine the night before.  The recipe also says it serves 50, but I promise you will need to double the recipe if throwing a large party. 

I can't wait to meet  my new nephew in April!