Button Baby Shower Table Runner

This post was written by a contributor while I move to a new house.  🙂

Button-Themed Baby Shower Decor by Bryn of Modernize With Me

I’m excited to say that I’m finally going to be an aunt—my sister is expecting her first child in September! We hosted a shower for family recently and wanted the decorations to be simple yet special. Because I’m a DIY-er, I knew that I could come up with some kind of theme for the shower, make some decor, and host a special event while staying on a budget.

While many parents-to-be these days are finding out the gender as soon as they hit 20 weeks, my sister and brother-in-law have opted to wait until birth to learn the sex of their bundle of joy, making a theme for the baby shower just a little harder. I know this little niece or nephew is bound to be adorable, so I went with a gender-neutral theme: Cute as a Button. We needed a way to decorate the tables to give the space for the shower some personality, so this is where I needed to get creative. Luckily, the button theme was easy to work with—I was able to create some easy centerpieces made from paper plates for nearly nothing!

Choose Colors and Shapes

Start by choosing paper plates that match the nursery theme or gender, or have a tie-in to your shower theme. You can use a variety of sized plates, but it’s easiest to do one size, and mix up the size of your buttonholes.

Create Your Circles

Use found objects like bottle tops or cookie cutters to stencil the circular shapes on each plate to mimic a very large button. If you’re a perfectionist like me, it can be helpful to roughly measure the plate first and mark the stencils an equal distance apart for a more uniform appearance.

Cut It Out

Cutting out the circles is the most time consuming part of the process. Give yourself plenty of time, and use an X-ACTO blade to cut out the circles. You may wish to do this with the stencil or found object held in place, but use incredible caution, as the blades are very sharp! Be sure to use cardboard or another cutting surface under the plates in order to save the surface you’re cutting on from being sliced.

“Sew” it Up

After cutting out the circles, simply sew them as you would a button using ribbon or string! Weave the buttons together in a line or feel free to mix the pattern through the holes to go with whatever type of table shape you’ll have—squares work well for circular tables, and a longer string works well as a table runner. In order to keep the plates from sliding around, tape the ribbon or string to the bottom of the plates to keep them at a set distance. Add some fun to the final result by curling the ribbon or tying bows with the string.

Classy and Classic

The final product graced our table and helped tie the button theme together perfectly! Guests at our shower gave many compliments on the creativity and simplicity of the cute decor, as well as how well it tied into the theme. So get creative, and find your perfect way to button up the decor at your next party!