Kids Cubby Houses

I'm doing some dream shopping/browsing and I thought I would share with you what I would get our children for Christmas if my husband agreed with me.  For some reason he doesn't think our kids would use a cubby house.  I think they would go crazy for one personally, but you do need to agree on these things don't you?

Jack's Cubby House

Alice "Tudor" style cubby house

I would complete the cubby with chairs and table and gourmet kitchen

a nice comfy sofa with storage

and one of these would look kinda spunky sitting outside.

All of these amazing cubbies, furniture and toys are available from Hip Kids.

Candy Cane Hearts

Here is another fun and easy Christmas treat to make with the kids.  I showed you last Valentine's Day how to make these Candy Cane Hearts with left overs from Christmas.

What you will need:

• Candy Canes (unwrapped)
• White and Milk Chocolate
• Decorating sprinkles
• Baking paper

Method

1. Unwrap your candy canes and place them in the shape of a heart on baking or wax paper.
2. Melt chocolate in microwave or using the double boiler method.  
3. Spoon melted chocolate into the centre of the heart.  Using the spoon carefully push the melted chocolate into the corners of the heart.
4. Decorate with christmas sprinkles and allow to set.

My kids absolutely love to make these with me.  Their favourite part is eating them!

Thoughtful teacher gifts

As the year draws to a close and my children bid farewell to their teachers I'm always mindful of choosing something thoughtful and useful to give to their teachers.

This year I decided on a gorgeous lavender or geranium plant from Green Thumb Gifts.  They arrived overnight and in perfect condition.  Aren't the french provincial wire baskets beautiful?  I'm absolutely thrilled with them.

The printable tags where designed by Sarah at Style Me Gorgeous.

What do you normally give as teacher gifts?

Healthy Christmas party food

Here is a super delicious and easy party food recipe you can make.  They are perfect for 'bring a plate' Christmas break ups for kindy or school celebrations.

Strawberry Santa Hats

What you will need:

• Enough strawberries for your gathering (washed and dried)
• White chocolate
• Shredded or desiccated coconut
• Mini marshmallows
• Small Spatula

What to do:

1. Using a knife, cut the leafy end of the strawberry off to create a flat and even bottom.
2. Melt chocolate using microwave or double boiler method.
3. Dip the flat end of the strawberry into the white chocolate (approx 0.5cm).  Let any excess chocolate drip off into the bowl.
4. Carefully roll the choc dipped strawberry into the coconut to create the fluffy trim of Santa's hat.  Place them on baking or wax paper.
5. Cut the mini marshmallows in half.  Using the spatula, wipe a little chocolate onto one end of the marshmallow and place it on top of the strawberry to create a pom pom effect and allow to dry.
6. Store in the fridge.

Christmas decorating

I've wanted to make a rainbow wreath for our house for a few years now.  Well today I finally bit the bullet and completed it.  Perry helped me secure it to the balcony rail off our main bedroom and I'm really happy with how it looks.  Do you like?

Candy Cane Christmas

I'm a little obsessed with candy canes at the moment, so I thought I would show you a collection of my favourite images from the web.  So many of these images are super easy to recreate yourself at home.

White Choc Candy Canes, Candy Cane Cake Pops, Holiday Season Sweets Jar

Candy Cane Floral Centrepiece  Red and White Table Setting

Candy Cane Cocktail   Candy Cane Marshmallow  Peppermint Bark

Black Milk Clothing Christmas celebration

I was so thrilled to be asked by Black Milk Clothing to design a candy table for their recent 3rd Birthday/Christmas celebration held at Lightspace.

Black Milk's logo is so clean and graphic I knew at once I wanted to create a table that reflected those elements.  I chose to use cylinder and cube shaped vases instead of traditional lidded jars.  To compliment the logo I used the same "running paint" graphic that is in the logo on the risers.  The jar labels where adhered with black and white chevron washi tape.  Even the table I chose had an industrial feel to it that complimented both the brand and venue.

I hope you enjoy the photos.

Holiday Cards

Each year I send out personalised Christmas cards, always with a photo of our children featuring their big cheesy grins.   I love the tradition of posting a heartfelt holiday message to loved ones near and far.  But this year I've been a little behind the eight ball and haven't organised them.  I know, it's scandalous.

Luckily I've found some gorgeous designs on Minted and I've just placed my order.  I love their range of designs, shapes and matching lined envelopes.  Here are a few of my favourites.  Can you guess which one I finally decided on?

Simple and clean.  The image speaks for itself.

I'm really loving this type of hand drawn typography right now.

The die cut shape and the wreath is what got me.

One of my favourite colour palettes.  The scalloped edge is gorgeous too.

I cannot wait to receive our cards and send them out.  Thank you Minted for making the ordering process so easy!

Baby Shower Dessert Table

One of my favourite customers asked me to create a gender neutral dessert table for her daughter-in-law's Baby Shower.

I love using beautiful serveware, cake stands and footed compotes and co-ordinating petite desserts with a floral centrepiece.  The look is fresh and timeless.  Just the way I like it.

Photography by Sharnel Dollar
Florals by Lillipollen
Petite Desserts by The Lemony Cupcake
Printables by Style Me Gorgeous
Macarons by Authentic Fresh Macarons

Fave find - Cake Plate Clings

Cake Plate Clings by WH Hostess

I'm really excited about this brand new product from WH Hostess.  I've got quite the collection of cake stands and the majority of them are the classic white variety.  Cake Plate Clings are used for decoration and are placed under the food to jazz up your dessert table.  They come in lots of vibrant colours and patterns and can also be personalised.

To view the entire range head over to the WH Hostess.

Friday flowers

image Sharnel Dollar

The best, easiest and cheapest way for me to cheer myself up is placing fresh blooms on my kitchen bench.  They certainly don't need to be expensive nor perfect.  They just need to be colourful, like these  perfect Ranunculus.  Did you know that Ranunculus means 'little frog" in Latin?  The name was given because of the wet conditions these flowers where often found in.  I can just imagine a little green frog between these beautifully formed petals.

Wishing you a relaxing and fun filled weekend.

Olivia's World Tour 2012

WARNING! This is going to be a long post with loads of images.

Olivia recently celebrated her 8th birthday in rockstar style.  Our gorgeous girl (who we call Presh) is so into her music (in particular One Direction), it was no surprise she requested a rockstar party.  If you've been following my blog for the past four years you would know that I love my children's parties to tell a story and the theme to be carried through from the invitation to final goodbyes.  There are alot of images here but I want you to see how the party progressed and get a sense of what it was like to be at Olivia's World Tour 2012.

I sincerely hope you enjoy looking through these images captured by Leanne Stamatellos Photography.  

I have a wonderful team of talented vendors to thank for making Olivia's birthday so special.

Artwork including invitations, dessert table backdrop and signage, CD artwork, autograph book all by Ham & Pea Design.  Li-Ann is seriously clever.
Photography by Leanne Stamatellos Photography.  Leanne has now photographed Olivia's 5th, 6th, 7th & 8th birthday parties.
Birthday cake and desserts by Coby at The Lemony Cupcake.  Coby's attention to detail and service is second to none.
Entertainment by Tiana Dance Parties.  Tiana kept the guests moving and shaking.
Makeup by Kimberely Steer
Hair by Tina Demos from Indigo Cut & Colour.  Tina and Kimberely - you both did a fantastic job transforming our party rockers.
Tassel garland by Blush loves Mint.  Gorgeous garland - thank you!
Party design & styling by Sharnel Dollar Designs.  Yay for me!