7th Birthday Easter Party

Bella turned 7 last week.  This year her birthday clashed with Easter so I thought the logical thing to do was create an Easter theme.  We had games like an "egg" and spoon race and of course an Easter egg hunt.  We also had a DIY Easter basket station where the kids designed their own bags to collect the eggs.  This gave us times to hide the eggs whilst they were occupied!  As this was the first party held at Bella's new school with new friends, I really didn't want to go overboard so I kept the decorations simple but effective.

Yummy hot cross buns with my version of a cross

Ceramic eggs hand painted

DIY Easter Baskets

Vanilla cupcakes with strawberry and rose water butter cream icing

More cupcakes

Hand dyed eggs for the egg & spoon race

Mixed lolly jars (as if they needed any extra sugar!!)

Table centrepiece - branches painted white with ceramic eggs.  Jug from a $2 shop.

A Royal Affair

I have never been overly into the Royals...except for when I was twelve and I kept a Princess Diana scrapbook (insert embarassed smile).  I kept a lot of scrapbooks though and Princess Di was probably the LEAST embarassing of the collection!  In those days scrapbooks were simply paper folders with pictures stuck on roughly with glue.  I can only imagine the fun I would have these days with all of the razzle dazzle available.

So I have sort of been swept up in the Royal Wedding media craze at the moment.  So much so that I thought it would be fun to design a printable collection for those of you holding " viewing" parties.  Make sure you check it out here.  It contains a cut-out tiara for all of your guests, "I Do" stir sticks and food labels such as "Majestic Macaroons". I for one will not be able to watch the wedding in my own home as it clashes with football and hubby has banned anything "Royal" from the TV.  I will need all 42" to view every small detail and will therefore be finding somewhere else to host my viewing bash.

http://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetlifeindeed

I have also included a recipe for " Waity Katie" signature cocktail, but as you are reading my blog you can check it out here as well:

Waity Katie Signature Cocktail

- 2 x 150g punnets raspberries
- 500ml lemonade
- 250ml vodka (chilled)
- 250ml chilled raspberry cranberry juice drink
- Crushed ice, to serve

Methods/steps

1. Place the raspberries in the bowl of a food processor or the jug of a
blender and process until pureed. Strain through a fine sieve into a glass
serving jug.
2. Stir in lemonade, vodka, raspberry cranberry juice and ice until
combined.

3. ENJOY!!!

I think what I am more interested in, even moreso than the wedding itself is the way that technology is embracing such a global event (in terms of interest).  There is an official website, iPhone apps, countless Facebook fan pages and I'm sure Twitter will go into meltdown once the procession begins.  Even Clarence House (the Prince of Wales house) has an official Twitter account.  Like other major events of recent times, most not so happy as this one, I will watch in fascination at how it all unfolds.  OK...I might also be slightly interested in Kate's dress, how she wears her hair, her "self applied" make up and the choice of music.  This really is a modern royal wedding in every sense of the word and I can't wait to see how modern is mixed with tradition.

V Day Inspiration

We don't celebrate V day in our house, but I do love "love" themed designs all year round, so what better than to showcase them on V day!

My fave Etsy shop - Paloma's Nest

ABC love print by Made by Girl on Etsy via Daily Proof

Origami clock by giftedpapers on Etsy.  Circle tapestry by Ninjavspenguin.com.  Will You Marry Me image from www.alovepoint.com.

www.dailyproof.net

fashionarchives.wordpress.com

Jlynncreations on Etsy

Shhbang on Etsy

Coulson Macleod print via www. notonthehighstreet.com.  Love Birds image by Braggingbags on Etsy.  Heart map prints by  Bombus via www.notonthehighstreet.com

www.eyechartart.com.au

 

 

www.greylovesnesting.com

Baby Shower

I created this baby shower for my gorgeous friend Tash who is expecting her precious bundle to arrive any day now.  Tash does not know if her bundle is pink or blue so I created a table using yellow and grey (one of my fave colour combinations).  The brief was to keep the day very simple and casual..."a lovely afternoon tea with friends".  All of the food was baked with love by Tash's family and friends which made the day even more intimate and special.

I wanted to add an interactive element to the day in lieu of games and gift opening so I created a DIY card station for guests to write the mum-to-be words of advice and well-wishes.  The creativity in the room was amazing.  Even my glue sticks were "vintage".

I hung a banner across the table with small notecards containing baby quotes.

All of the printables were designed by me.  I used the lines from classic nursery rhymes to name my food.

The DIY card station in action and the finished product!