Cirque du Bebe – Sneak Peek
categories: baby shower ideas, decorating ideas, real parties
Here’s a sneak peek at the French circus-inspired “Cirque du Bebe” baby shower that I styled for Tisha Campbell Martin & Duane Martin last weekend. This theme was so much FUN to work on!
With a guest list of nearly 200, this baby shower was extremely large and more like the size of a wedding, but you can definitely recreate this look on a much smaller scale too!
LOTS more pics and tons of DIY details for all of the centerpieces & special decorative elements to come soon… (just as soon as I get back from Chicago and am done with the Swiffer SocialLuxe Lounge event tonight!)
Until then, you can check out more party pictures of this party below and over at the Facebook album.
A close-up of one of the feather trees and the Eiffel tower vases that were wrapped with ribbon to give them a candy-striped look…
For a festive dessert table display, we cut paper cones from zebra striped wrapping paper and filled them with Crunch n Munch! To keep the cones upright, they were slid onto white lollipop sticks inserted into craft foam that lined the shallow vases. The foam was then covered up with bright yellow banana runts.
The bartenders wore decorative eye masks reminiscent of mardi gras in the French Quarter (about $7 – $14 a pop), and little plastic monkey charms hung from champagne flutes and the special cherry & blueberry lemonade that Tisha requested…
Different custom signs designed to match the invite were displayed all around to help to play up the theme. The all-white frames are from Target’s current “College Collection”.
This cool black & white pavilion was from Z Gallerie… we dressed it up with colorful paper lanterns and strands of a plastic loops curtain, which were also used on the feather tree.
Marley Majcher and her team at The Party Goddess did a truly fabulous job with the themed food & drinks! This cool “table lady” is was a fun addition to the theme… the skirt of her “dress” was the table!
She was quite the trooper for standing there for 4.5 hours straight with just feathers to keep her cool. (More details on the menu & food displays to come as well.)
Here’s me and Tisha… and a centerpiece that the random gusts of wind wanted to blow over. (The centerpiece won out though, thanks to special earthquake-proof “floral gum”, which I will definitely never leave home without when it comes to outdoor parties now!)
All photos taken by the wonderful Gina Lee. More pics & details coming soon!
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Definitely over the top in the world of baby showers, but so fun! Best use of zebra paper ever, and I don’t know what I’d do with it, but I want that striped pavilion!
Jul 23, 2009 at 5:06 am -
Oooh! And that pavilion is ON SALE!
Jul 23, 2009 at 5:08 am -
I wish I was Tisha. This is the best baby shower ever! I can’t wait to see all of the DIY projects. You have out done yourself again!
Jul 23, 2009 at 5:48 am -
I love every detail! The color palette, zebra print and the feathers are fabulous!
Jul 23, 2009 at 6:06 am -
Wonderfully done! I love the yellow and the blue combo- reminiscent of baby shower colors but much more hip. Great job!
Jul 23, 2009 at 6:37 am -
My fav are those great feather filled vases – baby shower gone exotic comes to my mind!
Jul 23, 2009 at 7:18 am -
I love the french inspiration! And the black chairs against those bright blue table cloths were awesome! Such a fun summer baby theme. Nicely done Jen!!
Jul 23, 2009 at 8:04 am -
i love all of it… i’ve been dying for u to finish it since u first posted the invitations it came out amazing!!!! now i just need a party to recreate it at home lol
Jul 23, 2009 at 8:05 am
truly congratulations on an awesome job -
Love it all!! Going to adapt this for a Britney Spears concert pre-party in September. More excited to do this than go to the show!
Jul 23, 2009 at 8:12 am -
Hi, I have found your website while I have been planning my son’s first birthday party. Your stuff is beautiful! But I have a problem, I contacted the *golden* shop on etsy- http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5744498&ga_search_query=golden&ga_search_type=seller_usernames
Jul 23, 2009 at 8:59 am
to make a party hat and shirt for my son and convoed the seller once and she got back to me the very next day to let me know we could work together. Well that was July 16 and I have messaged her 4 times since then and heard nothing back! She has updated her store multiple times to announce that she was going out of town and will only take 20 orders to ship before then {which mine would need to in order to get here before the Sep. 4th party} and that number got smaller and smaller and it now says she is full and not taking orders until after vacation. Well all that to say that now I am in a bind. I was set on getting him a party hat with his name on it that I could use for him for years and I can’t seem to find one anywhere. I know I need to get going since the party is in only 6 weeks, so do you know of any place I could try? Pleas let me know, I need help! Thanks! Cynthia -
This is stunning! I love everything about it!!
Jul 23, 2009 at 10:05 am -
Gorgeous!
Jul 23, 2009 at 11:21 am -
I’m having twin girls and I sooo want to do this theme, with a color palette of orange and pink instead of blue and yellow. Can’t wait for you to share more details — especially the food!
Jul 23, 2009 at 2:20 pm -
The blue theme is perfectly executed. Very nicely done.
Angel, try turquoise with pink. You’ll be amazed by the result.
Nicolette
Jul 23, 2009 at 3:48 pm
http://www.furnitureanddesignideas.com -
Wow! That’s pretty darn amazing! I love Tisha Campbel =) Your styling is off tha hook! I’m sure she was thoroughly blown away!!! So impressive!
Jul 23, 2009 at 4:53 pm -
Wow, what an incredible party! I adore the colour scheme, and everything about it really!
Jul 23, 2009 at 5:12 pm -
Beautiful…Just beautiful!!!!
Jul 23, 2009 at 5:22 pm -
Absolutely stunning!
Jul 23, 2009 at 7:09 pm -
Oh! This looks amazinggg! Where would I be able to find large feathers similar to those??
Jul 23, 2009 at 11:36 pm -
okay, I finally heard back and am getting the party hat! I have found other really great stuff on you blog that I will for sure be using for his party too. I am so happy. Thanks so much!
Jul 24, 2009 at 7:13 am -
Wow. Great party, and colors, it looks like such a grown up baby shower. So fun.
Jul 24, 2009 at 3:13 pm -
Oh my goodness, I am utterly head over heels for that elephant vase, I would love to know where it is from!
Jul 24, 2009 at 8:19 pm -
This party is gorgeous, as well as wonderfully original! Lucky guest of honor! Lucky guests! Where did you get the snazzy open-mouthed fish vases? Would love to grab one of those if they don’t cost a bundle. Thank you for sharing this with us!
Jul 25, 2009 at 10:32 am -
Thanks for the sweet comments, everyone! Here are the answers to the questions so far:
Rachael – I bought all the feathers online at http://www.fabulousfeathers.net (We used the 19-23″ size for the tall “feather trees” on the tables)
Ariel – The elephant vase is from Z Gallerie – I fell in love with those too!
Susan – the fish vases are from delight.com – They’re called “Gurgle Pots” and come in 2 different sizes:
Regular: http://www.delight.com/GurglePot-Lovely-Koi-Pitcher – and Mini: http://www.delight.com/Murgles-Mini-GurglePot-Koi-Pitchersjenn
Jul 25, 2009 at 11:13 am
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Really cute theme
Jul 26, 2009 at 12:30 pm That’s probably the most extravagant baby shower I’ve ever seen – I can’t get over the guest count. -
Saw a pic in US Magazine last week as well in case you didn’t catch it.
Jul 27, 2009 at 9:17 am -
Love it! How adorable, fancy and fun! Great colors, too. Wonderful job!!
Jul 27, 2009 at 2:14 pm -
This baby shower looks absolutely amazing. A little over the top, but definitely amazing! I have never seen a “table lady” before and I find it very interesting. You did a great job with this baby shower and I’m sure the lucky couple loved it.
Jul 27, 2009 at 7:55 pm -
OH. MY. GOODNESS.
Jul 28, 2009 at 1:11 pm -
jen… love this- I want a circus party too
Jul 29, 2009 at 8:34 am -
LOVE this! Anyone know what font was used for the little signs?
Aug 21, 2009 at 7:45 am -
Love it! What font was used for the signs and where did you get the monkeys for the drinks?
Aug 27, 2009 at 1:55 pm -
Meg & Natasha –
The main font used on the signs is called “JF Ringmaster” – and you can download it for free right here:
http://www.dafont.com/jf-ringmaster.fontNatasha – I bought the cocktail monkeys here:
http://www.myriahsbazaar.com/COCKTAIL-MONEYS-100-p/s319.htm – and then only used the blue and yellow ones for this party.(You can also buy them in sets of 1000 if you need a lot!)
Jenn
Aug 28, 2009 at 4:07 pm -
Love this idea!
Sep 8, 2009 at 1:01 pm -
Hi, Love this theme it is gorgeous! I was wondering if you have templates for the picture frame designs you used.
Sep 28, 2009 at 10:30 am -
Hi Vaishali –
Sure do! You can download them right here in blue or pink. Here are the direct links:
BLUE:
http://www.hostessblog.com/2009/09/free-printables-cirque-du-bebe-blue/PINK:
Sep 28, 2009 at 10:55 am
http://www.hostessblog.com/2009/09/free-printables-cirque-du-bebe-pink/ -
I love this and want to do this for my wedding! Could you let me know how many feathers for each vase? Also, how did you make them all stand up – did you use an oasis?
Oct 10, 2009 at 3:22 am
Thanks!! -
Hi Veronica –
I actually posted a complete tutorial on these centerpieces here:
http://www.hostessblog.com/2009/08/party-diy-big-feather-tree-centerpieces/There were 20-25 feathers per vase, and a used a straight-handle foam bouquet holder to arrange them, then you just insert the handle of the holder into the top of the vase.
Good luck with the wedding planning!
Oct 10, 2009 at 8:23 am -
Beautiful!! would like to do this with orange and blue. what specific blue was that?
Jan 11, 2010 at 7:51 pm -
Hadasa –
Do you mean the blue for the feathers? The color (at fabulousfeathers.net) is called “Electric Blue”You can find ALL the details on this theme and lots more pics here:
http://www.hostesswiththemostess.com/themes/baby_showers/cirque_du_bebe_french_circus/Good luck!
Jan 12, 2010 at 10:04 am -
DO U HAVE A TEMPLATE FOR INVITATIONS OR DO U MAKE THEM? HOW CAN I GET THEM..THANK YOU
Jan 24, 2010 at 9:42 pm -
I can customize the invitation artwork for you, but I don’t facilitate the printing. You can contact me for more info through this page:
Jan 25, 2010 at 9:45 am
http://www.hostesswiththemostess.com/suggestions/ -
Fun! I love that you have those fish gurgle pots!! I saw those last time I was back home in Wilmington, NC – too fun when you pour out the water and hear the gurgle sound:-) I love your theme!!!!
Feb 4, 2010 at 1:15 pm
