Christmas in July

We celebrated Christmas in July at our place yesterday.
 It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun...I think I might even do it again next year!
Here are some pics from the day:

Here are the lovely goodies I won a few weeks ago, 

in a giveaway run by Luminoso Blu

I know.  So lucky!

 And here is what I did with the gorgeous spotty goodies...

(the children just loved their party bags and very own 'kids table')

Here's the Main Table:

And here's the Candy Bar:

I purchased the gorgeous DIY printables from The TomKat Studio

I love them and think they definitely added the finishing touch to everything!

Here's the main table again...this time with lovely napkins from Luminoso Blu

And here's one last shot...of the very cute milk bottle and straw:

Stay tuned for more pics next week, 

as well as a couple of tutorials for those of you who are keen to 

have a crack at DIY-ing your next party

 (it's not as hard as you might think...promise!)

Enjoy your Sunday

xox

owl party ideas

So I had an email from a friend of mine, who is planning a first birthday party for her adorable twin boys.  She'd like to go with a Giggle and Hoot theme...for those not in the know, Giggle and Hoot is a children's tv show here in Australia...so here we go with some owl party ideas:

How gorgeous is this 'Night Owl' themed party as featured on 

hostess with the mostess

I know, not ideal for a first birthday, but we all know how I feel about anything and everything that is featured on hostess with the mostess

You can get all the details about this party right here

Loving this cake.

I found it over at imprintables

A gorgeous Aussie site that creates beautiful party stationery...

well worth a look!

And how about these for the party table?!

Too cute!

You can find them (and a whole stack of other owl themed party goods) at bubbles and rainbows

These mason jars (or jam jars for the aussie and kiwi readers) are just a bit too cute.

You can find them over at....wait for it...my owl barn

Yes, you read that correctly.  

My Owl Barn...for all owl lovers.

A website dedicated to owl lovers?!

Who knew?

And finally, what's a good party without party printables?!

These ones are from Style Me Gorgeous

Yet another stunning Aussie site dedicated to all things printable.

Just lovely.

While these are for a baby shower, not a first birthday party, they are free...yep, free!

Head over to...you guessed it...

hostess with the mostess for more info

And I think you'll agree that Kim and her team over at 

The TomKat Studio

really know how to produce top quality printables and parties.

I've admired Kim's work for a long time 

and her etsy store and website 

really should be on your to-do list!

Phew, I think that's all...for now.

If anyone else out there has some great owl party ideas, 

I'd love to hear from you!

Kirsten

xox

Cute Carnival!

Ok, so it's no secret that I just love everything over at Hostess with the Mostess.
Here's their latest featured party:

Gorgeous, right?!  

For all the juicy details and beautiful pics, just click right here.  

You won't be sorry you did.  

Promise.

Enjoy your weekend

xox

cute paper clips

How clever (and cute) is this...

(look carefully at the card holder)

It's a wooden paper clip!  

Placed upside down!  

How have I never thought of that before?!

It was part of a beautiful vintage baby shower, featured on Hostess with the Mostess

and it's totally worth a look

xox

Thank You!

Look what was sitting at my front door when I got home this morning....

Can we just take a moment to admire the beautiful packaging...

And look what was inside that beautifully wrapped parcel....

Thank you so much Renee!

Renee runs a fabulous boutique event planning company called Luminoso Blu 

and has the most beautiful website, blog and facebook page.

If you haven't done so already, you really should visit all three.

Click  here for the Luminoso Blog

 and here for the Luminoso Website

Enjoy your weekend

xox

Christmas in July

I'm slowly getting organised for my very first Christmas in July lunch.
Here are some of the details:

milk bottles...to be filled with egg nog.

Home made Christmas Crackers for the kids

Vintage inspired straws from The Cupcake Social

Originally I was going to do a blue, silver and white theme but I was very fortunate to win this fabulous prize from the lovely Renee over at Luminiso Blu

I know.  I'm so lucky!!

Thanks Renee, I can't wait for the goodies to arrive.

So now it's a red, white and silver Christmas in July 

(with a bit of green thrown in for good luck)

Enjoy your day 

xox

marshmallow pops

OK, so my lovely friend Lis emailed me yesterday wanting an idea for something quick, easy and fabulous that she could whip up for a sweet stall at her daughters' school.  Here's what I suggested:

Marshmallow Pops!

So easy to make and kids LOVE them.

Just grab a packet of lollipop sticks 

(available from Spotlight, if your in Australia)

Melt some chocolate 

(I used white chocolate melts for these babies)

Push the marshmallow onto the stick

dip it in the melted chocolate and then dip it into a bowl of hundreds and thousands.

Too easy!

Oh and by the way, Lis has her very own bridal boutique here in Brisbane.  

She's very clever and can whip up all sorts of beautiful wedding, formal and bridesmaid gowns in no time at all.  You should totally check out her website...it's right here

Have a great day!

xox

Save The Date

I've been helping out my lovely friend, M, with her Save The Date cards.  

Don't know about you, but I think tangerine is so hot right now!

Happy Sunday

xox

milk bottles

I've had a few people ask me where I get my cute little milk bottles from.  The answer is...Woolworths!

Before:

After:

Simply purchase several 4 packs of the Santa Vittoria nectar, empty out the nectar, soak the bottles, peel off the label and voila...you've got yourself some super cute milk bottles!

Enjoy your weekend

xox

Christmas in July

So I'm planning a Christmas in July lunch and I'm thinking blue, silver and white for the colour scheme.  While googling Christmas Images, I stumbled upon two fab blogs that I thought you might like to know about too:

House of Smiths is all kinds of wonderful.  

How did I not know about this site before now?!  

It's well worth a visit.  Promise.  

and Snippet and Ink is one of the most beautiful wedding sites I've seen.  

There's tons of inspiration, gorgeous images and DIY ideas.

Enjoy your day

xox

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Yesterday I whipped up my first ever batch of Red Velvet Cupcakes.
I got the recipe from here.  It was a very easy recipe and the cupcakes were delicious!
I'll definitely be making these yummies again.

PS:  I adjusted the recipe slightly...I didn't have any vinegar, so I just left it out altogether.  I also didn't have any buttermilk, so I used regular full fat milk instead.  The cupcakes still tasted good!

Also, my cream cheese icing was waaay too runny...

anyone out there got any tips for the perfect cupcake icing/frosting???

Have a great weekend x