Whenever I’m planning any type of party, I always start by thinking about who I’m celebrating, and then I incorporate something personal about the guest of honor into my theme. When my friend Erica—you might know her as P.S. I Made This—told me that she was planning a visit to New York, and bringing her new baby, I wanted to celebrate her with a get-together so that her NYC friends could meet baby Wylie. I decided to organize a “Sip and See,” a Southern tradition to introduce a new arrival to friends and family. Guests sip drinks, see the bundle of joy, and congratulate the new mom and dad—it’s sort of like a baby shower, but after the baby is born, which means the little one can join in the fun!
In every photo I’ve seen of Wylie over the past seven months, he’s grinning from ear to ear, so that became an easy theme: Smiley Wylie! It inspired me to add smile details on everything from the balloons to the cookies. I took some of my artwork (whales, turtles, ice cream cones, suns, moons, and clouds) and gave them all happy faces, working in a bright, sunny color palette of yellow and gold with touches of pale blue.
I set up a table full of sweets in the Darcy Miller Designs Studio, which I hoped would put a smile on everyone’s faces. Here’s what was included:
A mini cake topped with Erica and Smiley Wylie, along with the sun and clouds. I love displaying cake on a stand, topped with fresh daisies and cloche; it’s an easy way to make the dessert feel extra-special.
Mini doughnuts from Foodstirs (Our friend Sarah Michelle Gellar’s junk free baked good co.) piled high… (click here to download and print out your own, along with a how-to)
- Gold Cake Stand, 2. Tall Cloche, 3. Bone China Bowl, 4. Novelty Napkins, 5. Mini Baby Bottle, 6. Round Brass Tray
Mini lemon bundt cakes displayed with sunny yellow flowers
Mini lemon meringue tarts, no decor needed—they’re on palette, look like clouds, and inspire smiles already!
Thumbprint sandwich cookies with apricot jam to fit in with the yellow color scheme.
Petit fours decorated with flowers and “W”s for baby Wylie
Cookies shaped like smiling ice cream cones…
…and baby bottles
Pastel marshmallows topped with my artwork—all wearing smiles, of course!
Cloud-shaped macarons, dodging paper airplanes
Decor:
In addition to the sweets table, spritz bar, and bunches of fresh flowers dressing up the deck, we filled the hall of the studio with pastel balloons with drawn-on grins—Wylie wasn’t the only one smiling that day!
Out back, guests sipped from a DIY Aperol Spritz Bar (to create your own, click here!) out on the deck, or glasses of rosé or lemonade—in palette, of course!
Throughout the day, we had a special playlist providing the perfect background music.
- Large Glass Hurricane, 2. Bluetooth Speaker, 3. Ice Bucket, 4. Silver Cocktail Picks, 5. Stemless Wine Glass, 7. Gold Tray, 8. Black Shelf Unit
Each guest got to take home something a chocolate bar wrapped with a custom drawing I did of Erica and Wylie…
…and a little plastic baby bottle of “milk” (in this case, sugarfina champagne bubbles!).
Along with the sipping, and seeing Smiley Wylie, guests celebrated his mom. There was a station for friends and family to fill out “Words of Wisdom for Mama” notecards for Erica to take home.(Download your own here!)
Keep scrolling for some more smiley pictures!
Erica, Me and Smiley Wiley!
Mom and Baby
Mom, Dad, and Baby
Mika, Sara and girls
Wylie hanging with Chris, Sarah, Jackie, Constance, and Michael
Close up of chocolate bar favor
Pam and Jamie pretty smiley themselves
The studio all ready for Wylie!
Wylie snuggles up to Janet, John and Rachel
Baby bottle favors
John and Wiley
Sarah and me in my office
The girls and their triple scoop cake pops
Floral details
Wylie gets his photos taken
photo credits