Tag Archives: celebration

Pop’s Top 10: Literary Baby Showers

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Oh, this is going to be CUTE. Katie searched for some of the most adorable literary baby showers she could find, and these parties do not disappoint! Here are Katie’s Top 10, in no particular order…

#10 GOODNIGHT MOON
From Bump Smitten

Those are PILLOWS at the heads of the tables! And while there are no bowls of mush in sight, there ARE these adorable “Hush” cookies…

#9 THE PIGEON NEEDS A BATH
From Tonya Staab

The pigeon in the cotton ball bubble bath, the rubber duckie…and the DONUT TOPPERS on the milk bottles below!

#8 CURIOUS GEORGE
From Kojo Designs

The mural of pages! The yellow hats! The spotted ties around the glass treat jars! And this adorable sock monkey balloonist…

#7 IF YOU GIVE A DOG A DONUT
From Pizzazzerie

Technically, this shower wasn’t just If You Give A Dog A Donut. It featured several children’s books, as evidenced by their charming party menu:

#6 WINNIE THE POOH
From Hostess with the Mostess

I love the non-pastel colors, the big red balloon, the charming floral centerpieces, and the quotes on the plates!

#5 WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE
From Homeroad

The botanicals add such a fabulous wild feel to this table, and the little cookie packets and copy of the book for guests to sign are way cool. Plus…a cake with a crown and wooden platter!

#4 BABAR
From 100 Layer Cake-let

I think the photo of mom as a little girl reading says it all! Also love the lanterns/hot air balloons and the mini clothespin garland with prints from the books!

#3 PETER RABBIT
From Hello Brielle!

Awwww! The baby clothes Peter Rabbit scarecrow! And HUGE props for making vegetables so incredibly celebratory!

#2 GOLDEN BOOKS
From Aesthetic Nest

This bold, fabulous color palette is utterly fantastic. Definitely the winner of “Best Use of Yellow and Blue!” Also, the time and effort that went into these cupcake toppers alone. I’m impressed (and they provide the printables for them on their blog)!

#1 THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR
From Leigh Anne Wilkes

Fruit kabobs are PERFECT for hungry caterpillars! But check this out…one of the shower gifts was customized book chapter onesies for monthly baby photos!

The shower featured a number of books and treats (don’t miss the mouse sugar cookies!) but we thought we would end with something that applies to ALL literary parties. SO going to use this somewhere:

Pop’s Top 10: Artistic Letters

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Yes, there is a National Letter Writing Day, and it is today! Katie and I decided to celebrate with a very broad, very liberal take on what it means to put letters into the world. There’s a bonus one at the end of the post. We couldn’t resist.

#10 ICE TOPOGRAPHY BY NICOLE DEXTRAS
From My Modern Met

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#9 BALTIMORE BUS STRUCTURE BY “MMMM…” COLLECTIVE
From Inhabitat

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#8 ARMENIAN ALPHABET MONUMENT BY J. TOROSYAN
From Atlas Obscura

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#7 PERIODIC TABLE, UNIVERSITY OF MURCIA, SPAIN
From Chemistry World

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#6 FLOATING SENTENCES, TREVISO, ITALY
From Spudart

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#5 TYPOGRAPHY COSTUME CONTEST
From Parsons School of Design

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#4 THE ALPHABET CHAIR BY SARAH PETERS
From Sarah Peters Sculpture

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#3 HANDMADE STAPLES FONT BY RAFAEL FAGULHA
From Bēhance

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#2 “LOOK CLOSER” INSTALLATION BY CHARACTER
From boredpanda

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#1 OPTICAL ILLUSION CALLIGRAPHY BY RYLSEE
From deMilked

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BONUS! AMERICA’S MOST FAMOUS LETTERS…
From Hollywood Sign

If you’re interested in doing a bit of letter art in your own home, library, or classroom, may we humbly suggest the letter art project we blogged about here? See also our topiary letters, letter fishing, magic floating letters, our favorite fuzzy crinkle letters, custom neon letters, or the result of inflating 130 giant alphabet balloons and stuffing them in the entryway of your library.

Dragon = Fireworks

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dragon equals fireworks

It’s party time at the castle as two dragons provide some colorful fireworks… just pull the paper dragon to get the firework to “launch” from the top of the castle!

We read Over at the Castle, written by Boni Ashburn, and illustrated by Kelly Murphy (Abrams, 2010). A mother and baby dragon await nightfall outside a bustling castle. Page by page, the numerous castle activities count down until it’s time for the grand finale – a firework show, provided by the dragons!

You’ll need:

top of firework castle

Construction of this castle is very easy. First, use a box cutter to cut a drawbridge in one of the small boxes. Hot glue the drawbridge box to the top of a cake pad. Cut the top off a second box, and hot glue it on top of the drawbridge box. Decorate the castle and its base with metallic markers. We added silver mirror board battlements and some silver metallic dot stickers as well. Next, the dragon fireworks!

dragon firework constructionFold 2 sparkle stems into a V shape, then tape them to the bottom of a bunched 10″ x 10″ square of cellophane, Secure with tape. Knot one end of a 10″ piece of clear beading cord around the bunch, then secure with tape. Repeat these steps to create a second firework. Color and cut the mother and baby dragon from the template, then tape them to the free ends of the firework cords.

To create the firework show, gently tuck the fireworks into the top of the castle, but let the attached dragons dangle down the sides the castle. Grab a dragon and yank it upwards, sending it – and the attached firework – flying into the air!

dragon fireworks

Many thanks to the Hopewell branch of the Mercer County Library System (proud home of Fang the Spider) for allowing us to do pop up story time while our library is under renovation! We really appreciate it!