Archie the Elephant Themed Children's Party

My son had a second bash at celebrating his first birthday last Saturday! Gorgeous Archie the Elephant stationery from Polkadot Prints provided our theme for his party. We had a small party at home with some of his posse.





I made one of the best chocolate cakes I have ever made!! It was DELICIOUS! I will have to share the recipe in another post, it is my one bowl chocolate cake never-fail recipe. My husband wrote Josiah's name on the cardboard bunting with his mad typography skills :-) No computer neccessary!



There was no big fancy sugar-loaded dessert buffet, just some themed sweet and savoury morning tea that didn't break the budget, wasn't over the top crazy and very achievable for this mum with two young children! I just want to encourage the other mum's, Auntie's, grandmothers etc... that you don't have to go completely overboard to do something memorable and creative for the little (or not so little) people in your life.





Shock horror, un-iced party favours! I ran out of time the night before and know my limitations and the funny thing is our entire plate of un-iced elephant biscuits ran out first before the cupcakes did! They were Vanilla biscuits from my biscuiteers book and they are very tasty - just as they are.



I think the birthday boy enjoyed himself and loved the open door access from the house to the back courtyard thanks to a gorgeous sunny day! I think that was his favourite part of the morning! In and out....



This face makes my heart melt! Oh, I made some cute fringey streamers but didn't get a good photo - they were supposed to look like a circus canopy over the food table! kind of did ;p

BHLDN decor goodness

A few of my favourites from BHLDN's new decor line! There has been a lot of images floating around the inter-webs these last few days but here are some of my favourites! Some good DIY inspiration on there.









BHLDN (pronounced Beholden) have their roots in Anthropology but are actually Urban Outfitters! Their gowns are to die for, really truly! As for the Urban Outfitters Australian online store - I barely liked a thing in it! Designing for a different demo I guess.

Aeroplane inspired birthday party

My lovely and talented friend Jordan has some fab photos of her son's 2nd birthday on her blog! Check out the gorgeous spread - mmmm.... What a clever mummy!

Cookie Cutters with a difference...

Aren't these fabulous... they would look fantastic on a winter dessert bar on the side of a warm hot chocolate shot glass. Once again from Cox and Cox.



You could get in early for Christmas and start practicing your snowflake cookies! Even though we don't have a white Christmas here in Oz - there is something lovely about snowflakes at Christmas... maybe it is the thought of being cooler that we all love :-)

Poppies and Posies

I adore moss, vines, berries and fungi of the floral variety! I loved using it in my floristry days and I love the way Poppies and Posies use it in their event arrangements. Don't these floral decorations look fabulous. Using quirky containers can make a lovely arrangement really memorable and fun!





Choosing herb names for wedding tables - cool idea! I came across Poppies and Posies via Oh Hello Friend! Love Danni's style!

Save the Date & Chandelier #10

I am loving these save the date keys - what a cute idea... could be used for anything really, not just weddings! Photographed by Olivia Leigh, this wedding has so many very cool props in it because it was shot at Architectural Artifacts!



Since there was a cool chandelier shot, I thought I would include this as #10 in my Chandelier series!! These mirrors also made me smile because my Grandmother has an old hand held mirror and it reminded me of her.

{Images - courtesy of Olivia Leigh}

Shop Handmade Launch - White Dessert Bar

With some inspiration from Amy Atlas I created my very first dessert bar for the Shop Handmade VIP launch! The white dessert bar (with a touch of 'Shop Handmade' blue) was laden with delicious goodies for our guests to enjoy with a glass of bubbly!



The super talented Elizabeth of pARTy cakes created our delightful 'Shop Handmade' gingerbread biscuits, adorable vanilla cupcakes and the 'cappuccino' mud cakes which could be mistaken for a real coffee! The details were exquisite, thank you Elizabeth - they were a huge hit. The to-die-for New York Cheesecake was from Flute bakery.




Unfortunately I could not find white macaroons in Canberra so had to settle for meringues! Guests enjoyed some old favourites like milk-bottles and marshmallows and some divine organic vanilla bean flecked chocolates from Lindsay and Edmunds along with home-baked almond crescent biscuits! Even our drinks got dressed up for the night with cute 'shop girl' tags made by fellow dessert-bar-enthusiast, Tania who assisted me with the lovely details.




Last but not least, the simply beautiful letter-pressed invitations from Poppy Letterpress which set the tone for the whole evening... in one word....delicious! I made the cute little food signs from Business card sheets, printed at home, using a tent fold to allow them to stand with ease.


{image}

I thoroughly enjoyed planning and executing my first dessert bar even while almost 9 months pregnant!!! Now the launch is over I have been secretly dreaming up lovely birthday themes for my daughters party in October. I know - 6 months away... but with the birth of our second child any day now it gives me something creative to look forward to on those long nights that I know are coming! You can enjoy more photos here and here.

Bulk Confectionary Vendors - Australia

{image - Image from Amy Atlas Events}

With the 'dessert bar' trend on the rise in Australia, I saw this post on The Inspired Bride and thought - oh I need to find one of those guides for Oz! Of course I couldn't find one... so I made my own list. It's not as comprehensive as the USA guide, however it may still help in some way! If anyone knows of any other suppliers they are happy to share... then please leave a comment.

• Confectionery warehouse
  
• Goody Goody Gumdrops
• Lollyworld
• Wallies Lollies
• Lollies to go
• Campbells Cash & Carry

Of this list I have only personally used the Confectionery warehouse and Campbells.



The cute lolly scoops can be purchased from Goody Goody Gumdrops with any confectionery purchase or try catering/hospitality supply stores in your area.



Spotlight also have some great cupcake wrappers just like the ones from Robert Gordon along with plain coloured metal tins (white and red) perfect for little bottles of drinks on ice or trays with sides for the same purpose!

If you want more information on baking & cake decorating suppliers see here.

Love is in the air - engagement invitations

Some dear friends in Brisbane are having an engagement party soon and sent out these stunning invitations! Unfortunately we won't be flying up for it but will make it to the wedding later in the year :-)



I have to take some credit for supplying the idea I saw on the fabulous Melbourne blog, Eat Drink Chic :-) But I can't take any credit for creating them! Hannah was lucky enough to have a very patient sister Rachel to make the hearts for her and Phil even joined in on the action by sewing up the felt pouches! Good man :-)



I think you would agree the colours they chose are fabulous, I love the Grey felt with the yellow. Colin Cowie has a saying about a great start to an event is making a big impression within the first 5 minutes of guests arriving but I think it also starts with the invites, don't you. This is sure to be a wonderful celebration!

Childrens Birthday Party themes - Pirates!

The very clever and oh so lovely children's author - Tania McCartney is a bit of a party throwing champion and I had to share her son's Pirate themed birthday party with you! When we have girls we tend to lean towards all things girly - it makes sense... but I thought this was a great theme to share for the boys! (and could be re-invented for girls, "Elizabeth Swan style")

No details are missed from the cool treasure hunt invites - to the decorations and the fabulous themed food!



How cool is that cake!





I hope you enjoy these ideas from Tania, she has more photos on her blog and a whole list of themed birthdays for your viewing pleasure!

Baby Shower - Ice Cream Buffet

My lovely friend Jordan from Polkadot Prints created this gorgeous Ice Cream Sundae Buffet for her sister's baby shower! Jordan is a talented Graphic Designer/Full-time Mum/all round nice gal - whose lovely designs can now be purchased in her new shop! How good does this look!!!! I personally LOVE the pink bottles of drink :-)



These dessert bars are only going to get more and more popular here in Australia! If you think this looks all too-hard, then you can purchase Jordan's party packages to start with, then all you have to do is buy your sugary loot and off you go! But there is no reason you can't include plenty of healthy fruit and wholesome goodness too!





Jordan includes her supplier information on part two of her baby shower post! Enjoy dreaming up some lovely celebration ideas of your own!

Sneak Peak - project sweet tooth

A sneak peak at something I am working on.... I get to put my events hat on again for a special upcoming event.... It is a little while away but I got a bit excited sourcing images and inspiration over the weekend. If you think or do know what it is - shhhhh, please don't spoil the surprise!

Images - Clockwise from top left
1. Cake Pops - Bakarella
2. Confectionery Warehouse
3. Perfect Meringues - Amy Atlas
4. Confectionery Warehouse

Theming for Events

Sometimes I like dreaming up the theming for events more than I like executing them! I do love doing all the prop research etc too, especially if it's an interesting theme! Every party, 'do' has to have a theme!!! Whether it's an engagement party, birthday, wedding, baby shower, kids party! There are soooo many resources out there at your fingertips.

The best and first thing to do when you have settled on a theme is to grab your notebook and write down every related thing that comes to mind when you think of your theme, i.e:

"Bling, Bling Blowout" conjures up a few things like:

• BLING - aka sparkly jewellery etc....
  
• Diamantes
• Money
• Platinum
• Silver
• Gold
• Champagne
• Luxury
• Opulence
• Overboard
• White

Then you would take elements of your list and turn them into theming for decorations, food & beverages, what to wear, invites, music and most importantly the mood! The first few minutes of somebody arriving to your partay can really set the tone to the evening - so make a great impression - it doesn't have to cost the earth, get creative.

Colour is a lovely theme and it's easy. The lovely wedding blog Snippet & Ink creates these beautiful mood boards, you can really get inspired by - not just for weddings. I love home magazines too for inspiration - for colours, materials and props. Go to your local library and borrow a few back issues, you'd be surprised at what you find!

Happy party planning! Oh and the bling theme was from a Christmas Party I attended when I did a short stint working at The Prop House in Brisvegas! Cool huh!

Photo source: Snippet & Ink