Throwing a 60th birthday party for Mum.

It was Mum's 60th birthday earlier this year and we decided to throw her a party at our house. It feels a bit like we are constantly hosting things as we also celebrated Christmas, Grandma's 80th and Henry's dedication at our home. However each new party it feels a little bit easier and a little bit more like we know what to expect. I also am getting a bit of an inventory of party supplies which decreases the amount needed to buy each time. After all what is the point of having a nice home if you cannot share it with others. When we purchased our current home we deliberately looked for open plan living and space to host others.

To decorate for Mum's 60th and make it a little more special we bought pretty flowers and also used balloons- which is where my stash of clear vases comes in handy. As flowers can be costly, I used balloons on sticks in vases to decorate some of the surfaces.

 Every time we have a special celebration at ours I like to also add a few personalise items that are made specifically for the party like Henry's dedication cross and an 80 shaped photo wall for Grandma's 80th.
For Mum I made a photo board which is nothing new but I also made her a special message board (which I've shared about over at Titi Crafty).

Another idea was using helium balloons as decoration.On each of the helium balloons I attached a photograph of Mum at a various stage in her life using pretty washi tape.Then guests could walk through the balloons and look at the different images. As the night progressed though the balloons did start to drop a bit so a good idea would be to pick up the helium balloons as late as possible in the day so they last well into the night. This was such a simple idea which really made the room feel more like a party room- though I should mention that our house has a large open kitchen/dining/living area and also an outdoor atrium so this front room was mainly used for guests to look at photographs and for extra seating while we all ate dinner.

To see Mum so happy and feeling loved as she celebrated with those most dear to her was totally worth the effort! 

Lisa x

Baby shower ideas.

A few weeks ago one of my darling friends decided to throw me a baby shower and it was just fabulous. I loved seeing everyone and felt spoilt rotten. I thought I'd share some photos from the day and some cute ideas she had incase you're throwing a baby shower in the future and want some inspiration.

She had some great signs custom made (which can also be reused again if she cuts off the top/bottom of each). She also had a few prizes custom made for when people won different games. It's the little things that made it so special.

To make the girl guides hall where it was held feel a little more special she used fresh flowers, nice glassware and put candles in jars everywhere...and added some yellow twine as who doesn't love yellow!

We played lots of games but I only have photos of one. We played  a version called pin the dummy on the baby and the dummy never quite made it into the baby's mouth but in lots of other unusual places. My Grandmother's dummy even made it to the next pinboard across :-) 

There was a stack of diapers for people to write messages on. I haven't read them yet as I'll wait and enjoy them as I make many a diaper change and need a laugh or pick me up.

Apart from a whole lot of other yummy food, she had also made some baby cupcakes to decorate. There was a collection of different coloured icing and many bits and pieces to layer on top.

These are just a few of the ideas that I hope might inspire any readers out there planning one. Although these little details made the day so special, I was just grateful to be surrounded by family and friends and to have this little bub growing inside me.

 Thank you Leah for an amazing party!

Lisa x

A pin-interesting life.

It's funny how much special celebrations have changed in the past few years since pinterest became so popular. I always use pinterest to inspire me when I'm feeling stuck for ideas and I've been to a few events lately that were just so beautiful, crafty and pin worthy so I thought I'd share a few ideas I've seen lately that just look fantastic!

An arctic themed 4th birthday party

Beluga and Killer whale biscuits.

An arctic cake.

A vintage carnival wedding

Using vintage/ thrifted items as signs; embellished with paper signs and pretty colours

Carnival games with cute signs and ribbons for the winners. Plenty of bunting and pretty balloons everywhere.

Paint silver trays with chalkboard paint and write pretty labels.

It's so exciting to be back home around a lot of parties and special events and not have to miss out because we live hours away. I'm looking forward to planning a party soon and using some 'pinterest' inspired ideas to make my party even more interesting. Celebrations are all about the people we are celebrating and catching up with friends and family but they're always a little bit more special if they're full of cute ideas too!

Lisa x

Mexican fiesta.

I am one big fan of themed parties and went to a Mexican party last weekend. I was in charge of making the pinata and thankfully it worked out perfectly, lasting just long enough for all the kids to get a few whacks and a few adults to knock it a bit too.

You will need:

1 cardboard package box

1 thinner cardboard box, like a cereal box

Masking tape

Lollies

Crepe paper in a variety of colours

Scissors

Badges, bubbles and little toys- basically fun things to put in that aren't just lollies

Some string

White paper + black texta

How to:

First make the cardboard box flat and draw a picture of a donkey on one side. Then cut out the donkey and trace in onto the other side of the cardboard box.
You should have 2 donkeys of the same size.
Cut up the cereal box into strips of the same size (about 8cm wide)
Then tape the strips around one side of the donkey. Once completed, tape the donkeys together- make sure you leave a little bit of a gap so you can fit the goodies inside.
You should end up with something that looks like the picture below.

Cut the crepe paper so it's frayed and use sticky tape to cover the entire donkey with coloured crepe paper.

I found that I needed quite a few layers for good coverage.

Then I cut out a few circles of white paper, drew eyes and taped them on.

It was time to place all the goodies inside and the pinata was ready to go!

I used string to gold it in place and it was time to whack away at it.

I also wanted to experiment making other mexican decorations and tried out dying dollies in bright mexican colours.

First make the doily damp

Put on gloves!!!- super important as you don't want green hands.

Put the doily in a tray lined with paper.

Drop some food colouring on top.

Pick up the doily and rub it into a ball shape so the whole doily ends up being the same colour.

Lay it out flat to dry in the sun and you have some more decorations.

Themed parties are just the best!

Lisa x
P.s I'm linking up with 
Alderberry Hill
Etcetorize
The Gunny Sack
The Dedicated House
Adventures of a DIY Mom