I think the key to a successful party is good food, good company and a fun activity. Oftentimes the activity at a baby shower is opening gifts, but I like to work in time to do a little something more. It gives guests an opportunity to mingle and catch-up.
One of my favorite baby showers I threw was a onesie decorating party. We shared delicious food and drink and then when everyone was finishing up their lunch, I brought out the supplies to decorate the plain white onesies hanging from a clothes line in the dining room.
Of the 15 guests, we had some very artistic folks and some who wouldn’t know which end was up on a paint brush, so I like to make sure to have supplies that will make the activity appeal to everyone.
Buy 2-3 white onesies per guest (I prefer Carter’s) in both short and long sleeves ranging from sizes 3m – 24m and wash and machine dry to pre-shrink them all before the party. For the less crafty, order a couple dozen iron-on appliques from an etsy seller. For the more crafty offer cups full of fabric markers, a basket of foam stamps and fabric paint, a rainbow of embroidery floss and materials to make custom appliques.
A few days before the party, use the fabric dye to dye a few of the onesies. I love the rich color of Dylon’s dye and have much better luck with it than other brands. Just make sure to read the directions – one packet of Dylon should be enough for 4-5 onesies.
On the day of the party lay out all your supplies, fill a few cups with fresh water, set out fabric scissors and embroidery needles and set up an ironing board where the iron won’t get knocked over. Put applique ironing instructions near the board (most call for a dry, hot iron) and set out a few books for ideas, if you have them. When it’s time to decorate onesies, give your guests a tour of the supplies, offer them a comfortable place to sit and watch the creative juices flow!
A simple iron-on applique looks great on its own, or can be the starting point for more creative embellishment with embroidery floss or fabric markers. The foam stamps can be painted with fabric paint and then stamped onto the onesies and embellished.
I had so much fun decorating onesies with my girlfriends at the shower I threw, I decided to make these onesies for baby S before he was born by painting the stamps with fabric paint, stamping the onesies, then using embroidery floss to add detail. My only regret is only making them in 3 month size. I wish I had more now that I’m short on free time!
As your guests finish their works of art, hang the onesies back up on the clothes line. After an hour, or whenever your guests start to lose momentum, you can sit back and look at each others’ handiwork while the mom-to-be opens her gifts.
Have you been to a baby shower with a crafty activity lately?
blogger / pear / 1964 posts
Such a great party idea!
GOLD / pomelo / 5167 posts
How fun!!!! Great idea
squash / 13199 posts
What a great idea…
clementine / 889 posts
This is an awesome idea for a shower. My SIL is going team green til the end, so I think I am going to have to dye some onesies some fun colors and give a hand at iron on appliques to make some cute clothes that aren’t pastel yellow or pastel green.
nectarine / 2530 posts
Love this idea so much! What a great way to spend time while creating lasting gifts for mommy and baby
cherry / 101 posts
So fun! My friend did this at her baby shower and we all had a blast!
admin / watermelon / 14210 posts
such cute designs! i think i’ll definitely do this for the next baby shower i throw!
clementine / 943 posts
Adorable! I love the iron on patches- SO much cuter than when I’ve seen this in the past, where you just let the guests go buck wild with fabric markers… that always looks like a hot mess.
wonderful pear / 26210 posts
I agree, the patches are the way to go! Fabric markers and fabric puffy paint don’t go down that well!
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21628 posts
That looks like such a fun party idea!
honeydew / 7504 posts
That’s a great idea! I was picturing puffy paint and fabric markers, thinking it would be a nightmare. But the iron-ons look awesome!
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
i love this idea! i’m throwing a baby shower in september for a friend and this would be perfect for it. thanks!
wonderful olive / 19353 posts
This is such a cute idea!
pear / 1946 posts
We decorated bibs at my shower. At a friends we tie dyed onesies and socks. So fun!
pineapple / 12053 posts
so cute! i love this idea!
hostess / wonderful honeydew / 32460 posts
They’re so cute!!
blogger / nectarine / 2687 posts
i love the iron-ons! they make the onesies so much cuter!!
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
I’ve done this for a shower I hosted!! It was so fun. We also cut up lemons, potatoes and apples as “stamps”. I am doing another shower next week with this activity and I’m super excited. I’m making my own iron-on appliques for it.
guest
This is amazing, where did you get all of the supplies?
blogger / nectarine / 2010 posts
@katie: Thanks! The onesies are from Carter’s (look for a coupon!) The appliques are from the etsy seller linked to in the post and the rest of the supplies are from Joann’s and A.C. Moore. Have fun!
guest
Such a cute idea for a shower! I really want to do this for a shower I am throwing….the Etsy seller you linked to is “on vacation”…do you remember any other sellers or places you looked for similar iron on decals? They are so cute and I really want them!! Thank you!
apricot / 367 posts
I totally just sent a link of this to my sister! She is throwing my baby shower in October and was asking me for ideas on what to do during it!
guest
Hi!
Did you end up sewing the appliques after the party? (I saw on the etsy seller’s website she recommended that if you were going to wash the items – onesies in this case- often)