Question.... how quickly can you put together a party?

The answer.... in 24 hours or less! And what an exciting, hectic, busy and fun 24 hours!

Late yesterday we received a call from a reporter at the Leader newspaper, asking us to take part in an article on cost effective ways to hold a children's birthday party. 

For those of you not in Metro Melbourne, the Leader is a localised paper that covers all of metro Melbourne, broken down into 33 newspapers and reaches approx. 1.8 million readers....according to their website. 

Sounds good right...? The only catch? They asked us to put together a party for the photo shoot, prep our 3 kids and be interviewed for the article, all by the end of today! With me being down the beach, it was a crazy pack up for the family and return to the CBD late last night to help Alex pull it all together.

The brief was to put together something that anyone could do, keep it fun, keep it affordable, keep it simple. 

So, with that in mind, food was kept to classics such as popcorn, honey joys, jelly and cupcakes. Alex also made some fabulous cookie pops (which she rolled in coloured coconut, simple but so effective!). The cake is a simple chocolate cake iced in a yellow butter cream icing and covered in sprinkles, with a finishing touch of cake bunting. 

In terms of colour, we decided bright, bold colours would work best. The theme works for girls and boys, young and old - so seemed universal enough for all audiences. We quickly whipped up some printables to add to the drink bottles, food labels (which are held in place with play dough), cup cake toppers (which are actually in the honey joys and jellies), cake bunting and the 'thank you' lolly jars. The coloured lanterns hanging from the stairs were added at the last minute, literally as the photographer was ringing the door bell.

I managed to snap off some shots of the set up after the photographer had finished and before the kids had jumped in to demolish the treats! Enjoy...

It was a great day - the kids loved posing for the photographer and I don't think I said anything too silly in the interview (although time will tell). We are really proud of how quickly we could turn this around and the results we came up with under pressure. Big thanks to our husbands and beautiful children for their help and support.

For all of you Melburnians, the article should be in all Leaders newspapers from Monday next week (it's in the Super Saver section)... look out for us!

Oh so (Shabby) Chic.... first birthday party

In our home we have a fairly modern style. Lots of clean lines, dark wood, polished boards, touches of mocha and greens, lots of 'kid friendly' furniture (read Ikea) - and about as far away from shabby chic as you can imagine! 

But something comes over me when I see the shabby chic/vintage theme done well. It makes me wish, just for a moment or two, for the kind of home that would hold these beautiful things and do them justice.

While I will never have that home (it really isn't me - no matter how much I like it on other people!), I can instead drool over these fantastically beautiful images from this first birthday party, styled by Courtney at Pizzazzerie. 

Courtney worked for months with the mum of the birthday girl to pull all the details together for this event (check out her link above for a list of all the suppliers involved, as well as more details on the party), using the clients inspiration to guide her styling. They decided on a theme of aqua and coral (this seems to be a hot trend at the moment), with splashes of bright yellow. She has done a wonderful job, so many details, it really is divine.

Hope you enjoy the photo's...I am off to dream of my vintage house....

  

Carousels and Cakes

This week seems to be all about beautiful cakes and divine baby showers this week... Not that we are complaining! Earlier in the week, I posted a fabulous party from Live the Fancy Life here. It was bright, bold, fresh and fun, incorporating lots of personal and handmade details.

On our facebook site, I also posted this photo......
(found originally on the A. Party Style blog)

Which I just love and it seems you do too!

Anyway, so when I came across these images on the Bobbette and Belle blog, I just had to share them with you all. 

This is truly a divine and classic baby shower; the muted colour scheme, the elegant details, the AMAZING cake, the gorgeous flower cupcakes, the carefully decorated macaroons, oh and did I mention the AMAZING cake?... bliss. 

Anyway - enjoy the photo's and jump over to the Bobbette and Belle site to check out some of their other amazing cake designs - they are super talented. 

A beautiful bright baby shower

I love baby showers. The idea of celebrating a new life and pampering the new mum - what's not to adore...ok maybe those dodgy games - but other than that?!

These parties are so often done in varying shades of pastel, which is lovely and classic, but to see such a bright colourful event is a refreshing change.

This one was created by Jessica at Live The Fancy Life, and recently featured on the Eat Drink Pretty blog (where you can find more details). I am excited to be sharing this with you - enjoy!

My favourite things about this party:

• The bright colour scheme - would work well for baby boys or girls and is so fresh
• I love the little yellow ribbon detail on the table cloth - nice touch
• The bunting could be used in the baby's room (as suggested by the team at Eat Drink Pretty)
• The matching soft drink!!

Monkeying around

This fantastic party is from Mini Gaga and was prepared for her son's 3rd birthday. There is lots to like about this party; the cute monkey theme (which would work well for boys or girls, young or old), the brilliant cake and the monkey printables.

However, my highlight is the banana split bar - with lots of options for guests to make their own, including the lolly bananas, the choc sauces and lots of sprinkles.

How delicious! I know my daughter would love this - as would most kids (and adults!!).

Enjoy!

Midsummers Night dream

We often feature children's parties here on our blog, but did you know we also do parties for adults? And corporate events? Well - we do! And we love doing these just as much - especially for clients who are up for a bit of fun and creativity.

So, when I came across this party that was designed by Paula from Frog Prince Paperie for her mum's 60th birthday, I had to share this with you all. It's such a fun theme for kids, but translates so well across to an adult party, especially when done so elegantly.

The level of detail is divine with this party, full of little bits and pieces that tie it all together. From the initial invite that sets the whimsical theme, through to the little tea lights in the trees, the printables, the tiny butterflies and the beautiful gift boxes. It's all so delightful - and so lovely to hear the birthday girl loved every minute of it!

For more details on this party, check out Paula's blog here, where all the details and heaps more photo's are included.

 

Dreaming of strawberry fields....

There have been some really beautiful kids parties floating around this week in blog land, but this one has to rate as one of my favourites.

It was created by Rhi at Oh Happy Day for her daughter, Dempsey's, first birthday. It screams of summer and fun - and the kids looked like they loved every minute of it! Rhi has also out-done herself with the details, everything themed beautifully.

I have included a heap of photo's below, but you can find even more, along with a list of suppliers that Rhi used to create this wonderful party, over at her blog.

I love it when parties feature photo's of the special birthday girl/boy, it adds such a personal touch to the event - and who doesn't like photos?! This is particularly cute example with the bunting and bright red frame!

 

Check out these fabulous cake pops and strawberry biscuits (wands!)

Doesn't this look divine?!

 

Lots of drink options... all themed beautifully, of course!

 

The gorgeous birthday girl - so cute! Check out the close up of super adorable shoes below....

Hope you enjoyed these as much as we did!

The Inspired Occasion