How to Throw a Gender Reveal Party

They seem to be all the rage lately. Gender reveal parties are the latest trend in the baby world, and for those of you with patience (this certainly excludes me personally), a really fun idea! So, what is this party they speak of? Well, it's a fun way to bring your friends and family together to learn what color will be filling your home...is it pink or blue?? Here are some really fun ideas for the shindig:

First you must decide if you will learn at the docs office, then plan all the fun for your party guests. If you want to be a part of the fun, there are a few options to join in on the surprise. 

1) At your doc visit, instead of sharing the news, have them write the sex of your little bun on a piece of paper and seal in an envelope. 

2) Take that envelope to your favorite bakery and let them in on the plan. You must hand over the envelope and ask them not to share. You can either order a big cake topped with chocolate or buttercream icing, but then have them color the inside cake to either blue or pink, depending on what's inside the secret envelope. You can do the same thing with cupcakes, having them add a pink or blue filling in the middle. This way, when you cut into the cake at your party, it's the big reveal and news to all! 

3) Another fun idea that I recently read, is it have your bestie peak in on the big secret (but you have to promise not to probe her prior to the big party). Buy a huge box and decorate the outside with "Boy or Girl???". Have her fill the box with helium-filled pink or blue balloons. Hire your favorite photog and open the box at your party. It will make for great pics to capture those faces of true joy and surprise. 

4) Take a tally from your guests when they enter the party. Maybe have a chalkboard with boy and girl headings and have your guests enter their tally. You could also have them write their name on the side of their best guest. Those that guess correctly can win a fun prize once revealed. You can take a picture of all the people that guessed correctly to add to your baby book. 

5) My personal suggestion...if it's a girl, you can put RuffleButt Bloomers in small boxes and have your guests unwrap the boxes all together to reveal the news that you will be having a little "RuffleButt" of your own. This is a great excuse to have a rainbow of RuffleButts awaiting your little angel when she arrives. They also make for precious newborn photos!!

My biggest tip...record the reactions. This is definitely one to capture on photographs, a treasured memory moment. 

Boy or girl, we send sincere CONGRATULATIONS!!

Do they lift you higher?

Source: whoorl.com via RuffleButts on Pinterest

At church this morning, I had a bit of an "ah ha" moment. It's actually something I've heard and repeated many times before, but for some reason today, it just really made sense. I often reference Oprah on this blog, as I just agree with so many of her beliefs. Her statement above does not stray from that.


It is in life and in business that I find it utterly necessary to surround yourself with those that lift you up, and not tear you down.

I think it's important to have people in your life that are honest with you, even when you don't want to hear it. People that challenge and push you to be better. I NEVER want to settle for myself in current form. If I'm not growing, what's the point?! I'm also far from perfect. There is not a day in this business when I think I have all of the answers.

It's funny, in the beginning, I was fully aware that I pretty much knew nothing about this business. Now, 5 years later, I feel much more confident in my decisions, but surprisingly still feel pretty much the same in the fact that I am fully aware that I have a TON to learn in life and in business. As the leader of a business, you have many people relying on you to make the right decisions. You also have to do many different things well. Are you a great designer? Then you're likely not a fabulous manager by nature? Is managing your talent? Then, marketing may not be your expertise? See, when you are growing a business, you don't have the budget to hire people to do all of these things for and with you, so you have to learn to do them to the best of your ability. I am SUPER fortunate to have an amazing team beside me, especially my husband Mark, but we are still only 15 people doing EVERYTHING.

You really don't have to be a business owner to relate to this conversation. Moms, professionals, I think pretty much everyone finds themselves challenged in this area at one point or another. We are trying our best, growing, doing, learning, sometimes spread a little thin. I have limited time, and therefore a limited amount of people in my life. This is why I think Oprah's statement is priceless advice.

No matter what you are doing in your life, your time is a precious thing. Fill that time with people who raise you up. Surround yourself with individuals that push you in a positive direction. People who are honest with you. People who are optimistic about your journey. People who are there not just in the beginning when things are pretty, but will be there when things get a little ugly. People who are COMMITTED. People who trust in your vision. People who will tell you what you don't want to hear because it is what you need to hear. People who are genuinely happy for you because you are happy. And sometimes people who will not tell you their opinion, because they trust your opinion. People who do not gossip. This goes for friends, family, and business.

As you read this, is the same person coming to mind? What role do they play in your life? Have you prayed about it?

I am so fortunate to be surrounded by many amazingly wonderful people on a daily basis. It is with age and experience that I have begun to let go of my people-pleasing ways and started to demand the above for my life and business. It has been pretty life-altering for me, although certainly not without challenge. To be honest, I am facing my own tough decision right now in this area. Just writing this post has helped to clarify that my challenge is not causing turmoil because I lack clarity, but more because it is not the path of least resistance. Sometimes life's best decisions are not.

Guest Blogger Wednesday...A Chaotic, Fun, & Rewarding Weekend.

I’m happy to have some of our RuffleButts family members now contributing here at the RuffleBlog. It’s fun to finally have you meet the people that are so very important to me personally, and honestly it’s fun to hear a little from their perspective about this crazy RuffleAdventure! The post below was written by Laura (the same gal that packs your orders with extra care and love) following our Spring photo shoot in Myrtle Beach. It was a whirlwind of a weekend and what Laura politely left out is that she endured not only the wild shoot itself, she also endured 8 hours in the car with me, Mark, Aubrey, and Jonas. Let’s just say, she definitely deserved a raise after that weekend! ~Amber

 Semi recently, I had the honor of joining the RuffleButts entourage on a little trip to Myrtle Beach. Why might you ask? Oh you know, only to help with the photo shoot to launch our 2012 Spring Line!!! It was a very chaotic, fun filled, and rewarding weekend.

First of all, I would like to say that I have no idea how we accomplished SO much in such little time. We had Friday evening through Sunday morning to shoot all the new products (boys and girls), and that time can almost be cut in half due to some less than perfect weather. We kept our fingers crossed for sunny skies and luckily enough had quite a few, good windows of opportunity for some awesome pictures! The cute little models, and their parents too, were very patient and such good sports. When the sun came out and it was time to go, they were ready! The toddlers were excited to try on new outfits and be the center of attention, and the tiny babies did a perfect job of looking absolutely adorable. If you ask me, the parents were equally as thrilled just to see their little ones having fun! All in all, it was definitely an action-packed and successful weekend. We returned to RB Headquarters on Sunday afternoon feeling very accomplished, and ready for the busy Spring Season ahead!

~Guest Author, and RuffleButts Employee: Laura

Guest Blogger Wednesday...Finding That Dream Job

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who are alive.” – Howard Thurman




I studied fashion design in college, and when I first moved to Charlotte I searched desperately trying to find my dream job in the fashion industry, but was unsure of exactly what I wanted that to be. In my search three years ago, I found Rufflebutts.
 

When I first met Amber, she was so full of passion and excitement for what she was doing, and really believed in herself and her company. She had found her passion, which is something I was still looking for, and I knew I wanted to learn from her. The company was still small, with two employees working with Amber, and extremely busy as she worked on building her two year old company. Amber was amazing and agreed to give me business advice and mentorship for a jewelry company a friend and I were running, in exchange for me interning for her a few hrs a week! It is so amazing looking back, that she took the time to mentor me, when she was so busy with her new company, and it really shows her desire to give back to other people.



Fast forward a few years... After around 6 months of helping Amber, she moved further out of Charlotte, and I stopped working with her. I have had several different jobs since then, all of which were fun, but not what I wanted to build a career doing. I still dreamed of designing and working in fashion, but wasn't sure I would find that in Charlotte. Several months ago, looking for jobs, and still searching for what I really wanted to do, I thought about Rufflebutts. I had a strong feeling that I really needed to email Amber to catch up, and mentioned that I would love to work for her if there was ever an opportunity. It happened to be perfect timing, or maybe just meant to be, because less than a week later, I was turning in my 2 week notice, and preparing for a career at Rufflebutts!


The changes that have taken place in the past three years are amazing and it is so exciting to see how much the company has grown and changed! To see Amber go from working out of her basement, to having a big office with 15 people on staff and selling her Rufflebutts around the world is a true testament to what you can achieve with drive and passion! I have been back in the Rufflebutts family for less than 3 months, but am positive this is where I am supposed to be! I was invited into an office with an amazing group of people that all believe in the company and themselves, and I love coming into work every day. I finally figured out what that dream job was that I was searching for and can't wait to build my career here... and my favorite part of it? I help Amber with designing, which is what I have always been passionate about!


~Guest Author, and RuffleButts Employee: Liz