A Fall Bridal Shower PLUS Giveaways!

My sister is getting married this November and we are so excited for her and her fiance! Her family bridal shower was this weekend and I wanted to show you how it turned out, as well as give you some great resources should you need to plan a shower as well.

I based the theme of the shower around this awesome invitation from Custom Cards by Jessica Johnson. I thought it was a perfect fit for our October bridal shower!

Photo Credit

Jessica Johnson is very professional, did beautiful work and even included helpful printing tips. I would highly recommend her for your invitation needs.

Here are some of Jessica's other invitations in case you're looking for something other than  bridal invites.

This one would have been great for my daughter's 3rd birthday party!

I LOVE this invitation that Jessica has because if you have two children with birthdays that are close to each other, wouldn't this be the cutest invitation?

After finding the invitation, I began searching for other items to tie in the theme and found these stickers from MAUstudio.com. LOVE them.

I used the stickers for the shower favors. My friend and I filled cellophane bags with hot chocolate mix, chocolate chips and mini marshmallows and then secured the bags with a ribbon. We placed the sticker on the front to add a simple, yet thoughtful touch to personalize them.

For decorations, we used gourds, faux fall leaves, pictures of the couple and my husband helped me the morning of by making a mini pumpkin pie potpourri. (The pumpkin potpourri always brings back memories for me because back in 2002, before my husband and I were even dating, I saw the idea in Martha Stewart and he helped me make it back then on a fall afternoon. What a great guy!)

My parents' new sun room where the shower was held was a perfect setting!

(Pumpkin Potpourri in the middle)

To help the bride-to-be get started on her recipe collection, my mother-in-law thoughtfully picked up a recipe book and cards for the occasion. We included the recipe cards in the invitations for guests to fill out and I also included a recipe or two from her shower.

This shower was a brunch so the food was pretty simple. We kept it to a couple of casseroles, fruit and yogurt dip, baked oatmeal, mini cheesecakes and for a really special treat, coffee punch.

It was a fun event to plan! A big thank you to my mom, fellow bridesmaid, Steph, and sister-in-law Katie for helping with the shower. We hope you enjoyed your special day, Anne!

And in case you're interested, here is a link to the Baked Oatmeal as well as the recipe for the Coffee Punch (another church cookbook favorite. Thanks, Janine!)

 Coffee Punch

3 c. coffee, strong and hot

3 c. sugar

1 qt milk

1 pt half and half

2 t vanilla extract

Dissolve sugar in hot coffee. Add milk, half and half and vanilla. Stir well. Freeze. Thaw to slush then serve. This is YUMMY!

And now you get a chance to win a little fun too! I have TWO giveaways for you today!

We'll do it like this: complete each of the entries listed below and the first winner will win the giveaway from Custom Cards by Jessica Johnson (any item in her etsy shop with a $12.50 value).

The second winner will win the giveaway from MAUstudio.com (winner will receive their choice of a set of 2 inch round stickers valued at $25!) Here's a peak at some of MAUstudio's other awesome products:

As you can tell, MAUstudio.com has some great products that would tie in beautifully with your wedding, baby or bridal shower.

Here's how to enter these giveaways. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each to increase your chances of winning:

1. Go to Custom Cards by Jessica Johnson and let me know which invite you would pick.
2. Go to MAUstudios and let me know which stickers you would choose.
3. Tweet about these giveaways (each giveaway counts as a separate entry--just let me know)
4. Follow Purposeful Homemaking
5. Blog about this giveaway before it ends (please leave your direct URL).

The giveaway ends Friday, October 14.

Disclosure: I was given product to keep from MAUstudio.com and Custom Cards by Jessica Johnson in exchange for a candid review. I LOVED both products--there's my candidness. :) Purposeful Homemaking will not be held responsible for prizes not uflfilled by the sponsors. I have represented my sponsors wtih the expectation that they will fulfill their prizes and in a timely manner. The sponsors are shipping their items to you directly. They will not be shipped from Purposeful Homemaking.