I've been baking and book-crafting for the last couple of weeks in preparation for a baby shower that my friend, Adriene Rathbun (and friends), hosted on Saturday.
The theme of the baby shower brunch was "Vintage Books." The idea stumped me at first, but then I realized that there are so many food references used in classic children's storybooks and nursery rhymes. Here are a few of the ideas that I came up with:
Alice in Wonderland = "Eat Me" cookies
The Gingerbread Man = Gingerbread cookies
Little Red Riding Hood = Basket of cakes for grandma
The Three Little Kittens = Pies (made from Reece's BIG cups and M&M's)
Jack and the Beanstalk = Magic (jelly) beans
I also incorporated vintage book-like elements wherever I could into the display:
A four-tiered cupcake stand
(made from hardcover books and wooden candlesticks that I painted gold)
Mini-book cupcake toppers
(made from book pages and color printouts of classic children's book covers)
Book-page pillars
(made by tearing off the book covers and folding the book pages in half)
Book-page table cover
(torn pages from old books that I got at the DAV and Goodwill)
Once Upon a Time wall graphic
(cut from a 40x30-inch piece of foam core)
Happily Ever After banner
(covered a piece of cardstock with torn book pages and then cut the letters out)
Knowing that the party guests would probably be full of quiche, breakfast pastries and mimosas, I tried to package the dessert table treats into baggies, boxes or containers for easy transporting. That way, they could take everything home and enjoy later.
