These custom library card themed baby shower invitations were designed and printed for a dear neighborhood friend who is a librarian and whose baby shower I hosted.
From the start, I knew I wanted acknowledge her love of literature without being too over the top for the baby shower. I lined euro-flap gray envelopes by hand with book pages. The library card pockets were letterpress printed with coral ink, and the library card invitations were laser printed (and then hand-stamped with the RSVP date). I also letterpress printed notecards with the pram in coral ink as a gift to the mother-to-be (and, in fact, Jamie and I liked the design of the pram so much that we decided to make it part of our everyday line— available in coral and green).
Since it was an afternoon shower, the spread included cupcakes and light finger foods. (All photos below by Lauren Pavao.)
A DIY iced tea bar (including citrus wedges, homemade ginger syrup, and other sweeteners) made it easy for attendees to customize a southern speciality. Half-pint mason jars and striped gray-and-white paper straws continued the cohesive, handmade feel.
Cupcake toppers included the letterpressed pram as well as book pages.
Circle garland (DIY to follow) was an easy but festive way of decorating the house for the baby shower.
One of my favorite parts to this baby shower was putting a couple of type drawers to use. Attendees were able to handprint a message to the baby (or mother-to-be) using a couple drawers of INK MEETS PAPER type. Instead of the usual rubber-based ink we use for printing cards, I opted to use water-based block printing ink, which meant easy water cleanup instead of a solvent-based cleanup. It was really neat to see all of the sweet messages printed for Gretchen and her little one.
What better way to celebrate a sweet friend and her new baby?
