For KatieAnn’s big gender reveal party I thought I had my heart on a “Waddle it Be?” themed party based on the book, Make Way For Ducklings.  However, I didn’t want to over-do-it with the duck decorations, and I definitely didn’t want a lot of cartoon ducks waddling their way into my living room, so I modified it to fit my taste.  I created a mini gender reveal party in my small Lexington apartment; Jeff (my hubby) and I are hoping to move into our new house in a little less than two months, so I needed to create a pretty party without spending all of the pretty pennies we’ll need for the new house.  Under each picture, I have listed helpful tips and the places that I bought the decorations.  If I neglect to list something that you have  questions about, feel free to comment below this post and I’ll be sure to answer if I can!  Happy gender reveal!

p.s.  we revealed KatieAnn’s gender a little differently than the typical “cut into the cake” reveal party.  We asked all of our guests to meet us at our new house for a house tour (they’re all family, so they naturally wanted to see our first big purchase!).  After touring the downstairs of the house, we took them upstairs and told everyone to look at where the nursery was going to be.  Hanging on the door was a pink sign with white letters that said “KatieAnn Gora”.  It took a second for it to register with everyone, but when it finally clicked, the celebration began!

We invited only our immediate family on both sides to this party.  As much as I would have liked to invited our close friends as well, there was simply no space for any more guests.  I gathered every chair we owned and encircled the room to make it feel open, yet cozy.  Simplicity, light, and soft colors, were the keys to make this little party feel bigger than it actually was.

The Primroses were $1.50 each from Lowes. After the party, we gave the potted primroses to everyone who contributed to the party, as a thank you gift. This Primrose was the sweet little coffee table center piece.  It’s sitting in a $2.00 pastel mug from TJMaxx.

For those of you who follow me on Instagram, you probably recognize the dresser and desk set.  I bought these pieces at the peddler’s mall, and when I took them home they were dark blue (almost black) with red and white painted accents.  With a little (actually a lot of paint…3 coats of primer, 3 coats of paint!) I was able to transform these pieces from dark to darling.  Because our apartment is so small, we have nowhere to store these pretties until we move except for the living room, so I made sure to incorporate them into the party!

The napkins were bought at IKEA for roughly, $3 dollars a pack.

I found these two cuties at an antique store for $5 each.  Far from your typical cartoon duck, these antiques will make adorable bookshelf buddies in KatieAnn’s nursery.

The floating pom poms (hung from the ceiling with fishing line) were bought at TJMaxx about a year ago for around $8 for a whole pack that we had to assemble ourselves.  They are Martha Stewart brand.

A little dresser and desk detail:  The glass knobs were purchased at Lowes.

A little side note….I made my “over the couch wall art”.  It’s super simple and inexpensive to make, adds subtle texture to the room, and fills up a good part of the wall.  It’s just Masonite board, hot glue, brown paper lunch bags, white paint, olive oil, and sticks that I found at the park!

My beautiful friend, Beth (@blueeyedblond on Instagram) made this darling pennant banner from a children’s book and antique doilies!  It was such a gorgeous detail for the party.  If you’re interested in making one for yourself, Beth has a YouTube tutorial on how to make your own pennant banner here:  http://lfdiary.com/banner

The two frames displaying the ultrasound pictures were purchased at IKEA for $1.50 each.

I broke out another coffee table to put between the chairs so guests had places to put their drinks.  (I also inconspicuously place a Pottery Barn Kids catalogue on the table, you know, for inspiration…;) )

The delicious duck cookies were made by Jeff’s mom!  She did a fantastic job finding the perfect cookie cutter and decorating these adorable delicacies!!

I had to show off these little sweethearts one more time!

The baby bottles were brought by Jeff’s sister! (It was so fun watching everyone drink out of baby bottles!!)  I purchased the paper straws on Etsy, there are MANY listings with competitive prices.  http://lfdiary.com/straws

Jeff’s sister also made chocolate ducks!  The two on the sides are even sparkled with edible gold dust!  (my type of chocolate!)  ;)

For being inexpensive, the paper straws were such a pretty addition to the party!

We served lemonade and sweet tea.  (we’re from the South, y’all!)  If you look closely, you can see our “skinny ice”!  They were made from silicone ice-cube moulds purchased from IKEA for about $1.50 each.

We asked each of our guests to bring “Baby G”  their favorite children’s book.  We asked them all to write a letter to KatieAnn explaining to her why they chose the baby book for her.  When our family comes over to visit KatieAnn in the future, the book they picked out will be “their book” to read to her!  These are the books that KatieAnn received from our family (and our Instagram family too!).  Some of the letters to KatieAnn made me cry because they were so touching, and this was by far, the best part of the party.  Now KatieAnn has little treasures from everyone who loves her.

(I’ve noticed a few folks on Instagram have been asking for our address to send KatieAnn a book too!  If you have a book or goodie that you’d like to send to KatieAnn, send it to the address below.  Some of you have been sending books straight from Amazon–if you do this, please be sure to include your name and address in the gift note, so KatieAnn and I can send you a thank you card!)

Little Fashion Diary
P.O. Box #23521
Lexington, KY 40523-3521
USA