Balloon decor soaring to new heights – Floating Designs

Balloons are THE must-have for kids parties…or any event really. In recent times we have seen an explosion of modern and unique balloon decor ideas so I’m delighted today to share one of our members with you who creates amazing balloon installations. Floating Designs is based in Sydney and contributed her balloon talents to our Celebrate conference day, and we wanted to showcase more of her incredible balloon work on our blog:

Styling by Jo Kalivas Event Styling. Balloons by Floating Designs. Photos by Anna Murray photo

Styling by Diane Khoury Wedding and events. Balloons by Floating Designs. Photo by Rolling Canvas Sydney

 

Styling by SP Events. Balloons by Floating Designs. Photo by Captured by Kirri

Styling by Ashevents. Balloons by Floating Designs

Love the amazing cloud effect of these balloons:

Styling by XOXO Events. Balloons by Floating Designs

Jess from Floating Designs also provided the gorgeous and bright balloon decor for our Celebrate conference this year! The beautiful clusters, garland and custom balloons created a beautiful effect! (Photos by Captured by Kirri) :

Perths most gorgeous kids party venue!

Mum’s – you’ll be swooning at this darling kids party venue in Perth! It is unlike any other I have seen ! There are no brightly coloured walls with images which limit you to a particular theme. This venue is truly beautiful and versatile!

Darling’s Day Out is a unique, high end party venue with a superb vintage glamour feel, based in Perth

Offering a range of carefully planned packages, Darling’s Day Out has something to suit every girls dream.

All of their packages cover end to end planning, invitations, activities, gift bags and more!  They offer pamper packages including a variety of options, such as decadent manicures and pedicures, organic facials, glitter face and hair art and even a makeover party!

They love being on trend and on point and offer speciality parties themed for the unicorn, mermaid, high tea or even donut enthusiast!  And for the little darling who wants something truly unique, their owner and resident stylist can put together a superb customised package to suit your specific needs –  be it in our stunning venue or out on location.

Darlings Day Out is not just for children.  They have been host to a range of adult festivities too!

From baby showers, bridal showers and adult birthdays, right down to speciality Mummy-And-Me days in store.

Their stylist has worked  on location in parks, private residences and venues.  They specialise in sourcing products from Perth’s premier suppliers to create a unique and unforgettable experience, tailor made to bring their client’s vision to life.

So if you’re looking for a truly unique experience and venue for your child’s party in Perth…you cannot go past the Perth kids party venue Darling’s Day Out! 

I’ll be honest – I’m a tad jealous of all these little miss’s getting their pampering! What a special little experience for them in this gorgeous venue!

Head to Darlings Day out to find out more!

Celebrate 2018

Yesterday I held a gorgeous mini-masterclass with Mary Ronis and I thought it was about time I shared some pictures and details with you of our Celebrate conference from back in May – long overdue!

On May 27 I was delighted to host the 2nd “Celebrate” conference in Sydney. We had vendors from all around Australia – flying in from Perth, Melbourne and Brisbane and even one business owner who flew in from New Zealand – along with many fabulous Sydney based business owners.

Each of these attendees were able to enjoy and soak in some wonderful learnings and ideas from our experienced speakers. Sydney put on a beautiful day where the sun was shining and attendees could enjoy water views and views of the harbour bridge from our venue at The Deckhouse in Woolwich.

In this post I will share snaps of the day, thanks to our photographer Captured by Kirri.

A special thanks to the wonderful Shelley of Paper Face Party who styled and created the florals for the day and assisted with the concept of the look and feel of the venue! Links to all vendors involved can be found at the end of this post.

The day kicked off bright and early at 8:30am and as attendees arrived they picked up these gorgeous name tags by Eve and Co Stationery which were created for each attendee with their name and business name to assist in the mingling and networking process:

As part of the day I wanted to encourage the attendees to be able to connect and get to know the other businesses attending – so as part of that we had a table where everyone could leave their business cards and take others home! Signage was also by Eve and Co Stationery:

As we only had 2 hours to setup – we decided to keep the setup simple, stylish and sophisticated without going too over the top! I always want Celebrate conference attendees to feel as though they have stepped into an inspiring space for the day that they can relax in – away from their busy lives!

Attendees each received a swag bag filled to the brim with items from Life’s Little Celebration members! The bags came all the way from Perth thanks to Chumblebee Chumblebee and they looked *so* swish! Attendees were really spoilt with the contents of edible items and partyware inside.

Another special touch were the acrylic signs with 3D gold lettering that we used as part of the centrepieces – thanks to Alison Caroline Designs ! All the gorgeous florals were by Shelley of Paper Face Party:

The front of the venue was styled with mesh props from The Treasure Room and balloon decor by Jess of Floating Designs. The large acrylic sign was by Alison Caroline Designs.

We wanted to create lovely pops of colour and something which was on-trend and sophisticated while still being fun (and quick to set up in our very short time frame) !

One of the main focuses of the day of course was the knowledge shared by our valuable speakers. Our speakers were so open to questions and to talking to attendees before or after their session as well giving people an opportunity to gain some one on one information.

Sarah Cichy of Piccolo PR shared her PR tips as well as valuable information on how to get influencers to feature your products. She also spoke about the importance of knowing and sharing your brand story.

Mary-Anne Amies of Wise-up Marketing smashed out an amazing session covering everything social media. Her session was filled with practical “apply-now” tips and she also emphasised the huge importance of sharing the”real” you on social media in order to connect with your followers and showing more of the process and behind the scenes of your business to help your customers get to know your business and understand what they are paying for.

Belinda Bow was the perfect presenter for our after lunch session – with her vibrant personality she got us inspired on the topic of Marketing. She also got everyone up and talking during her “workshop” activity where people had to partner up to speak to others in the room about what their business was “really” about.

Everyone was a little star struck when Katherine Sabbath presented and shared her story as well as her must-know tips and lessons she has learned along the way. Katherine was very generous also with her time, speaking to many afterwards and delighting many by bringing along her pop-up book for us to view.

The day was truly a wonderful day of learning AND connection. It was a great day of people putting faces to names and building new relationships! Here are some photo of our attendees meeting and mingling:

As part of the day we setup a fun photobooth also using props from The Treasure Room, Balloons from Floating Designs and photo props from Ruby Rabbit Partyware and Alison Caroline Designs. This area was used to get some fabulous shots of our attendees!

After all the inspiration from the day I wanted attendees to take home a concrete piece of inspiration and hence this year we set up a “Quote Bar” with gorgeous quote cards by Eve and Co stationery in gold foil lettering for each attendee to choose 2 from:

I was truly so happy with how Celebrate went after many months of planning! It was truly such a wonderful atmosphere and people walked away with valuable knowledge and ideas to apply to their business, while also making new connections and enjoying some time to work “on” their business.

It is hard to summarise ALL the valuable information presented however one of the main themes which came through in all the presentations was ways to be authentic in your business. They all emphasised the importance of building real connections and also humanizing your brand – whether it be through social media, marketing or PR! This was not “planned” however the fact that all speakers had this common thread showed the importance of this area of our business.

Some of the testimonials from the day included:

“I thoroughly enjoyed the day! A beautiful venue & setup, fab networking opportunities, plus informative & engaging speakers. Tanya organised a well planned & positive day for industry people across Australia to attend. Excellent 5 star day!”

“Well done Tanya on organising yet another A class event. I have come away so motivated, inspired and focused. The speakers were very knowledgeable, yet so real and humble. Spending the day with so many talented and supportive business women was such a highlight. Sign me up for next year!!!”

“The perfect event for those in the party industry to be inspired to take their business to the next level!”

“What an amazing day it was and I felt very inspired being in the same room as other vendors who are way bigger than I am! I took away a lot of valuable information that will help me grow my business.”

At the end of the event attendees also walked away with their swag bag filled with goodies from our Life’s Little Celebration members:

So to end with…I want to thank all those who attended and were a part of this event! A huge thank you to our sponsors as well as those who contributed to the day and to the swag bags! Celebrate couldn’t occur to the high level it does without your support!

So will there be another one in 2019? Watch this space!

Vendors involved:

Styling and florals: Paper Face Party

Photos: Captured by Kirri

Graphic Design: Pretty and Print

Props: The Treasure Room

Partyware/photobooth props: Ruby Rabbit Party

Name badges, quote cards, signage: Eve and Co Stationery

Balloons: Floating Designs

Centrepiece acrylic toppers and acrylic sign for backdrop: Alison Caroline Designs

Swag bags: Chumblebee Chumblebee

Slumber Party Finds

It seems the childhood favourite of slumber parties have become revamped and now there is a new trend of fun slumber party setups with cute individual tents (or even one jumbo giant tent!)  and lots of details to make each little guest feel extra special!

If the thought of a slumber party complete with mid night snacks, movies and late night giggles…causes you stress…perhaps it’s time to embrace the crazy and give it a go. There’s plenty of ideas for mums to style up a storm for a sleep over party from our Life’s Little Celebration members! Simply CLICK on any image below to be taken to the relevant business:

Styling by Illume Partyware

Slumber Party Invitations

Sleep overs (in my book anyway) do mean smaller guest numbers, so why not splurge a little and send an invite which is personalised and customised to suit your child – particularly if it’s a first sleep over.

Sleep Over Party Invitations, Pink Pom Pom Kids

Sleep Over Party Invites, Emma Smith Stationery

Slumber Party Decorations

Sleep over parties are actually a thing – with or without the sleep over part! Decorate a room complete with pillows, rugs and sleepy themed accessories for the ultimate retreat. We found some great supplies from our LLC Vendors. You could incorporate stars, moons and clouds for a sweet sleepover feel:

star garland – Little Boo-teek

Cloud and star garland, Favorlane Party Boutique

Aqua cloud balloons, Little Bookteek

Stars and moon hanging decorations, Favorlane Party Boutique

Pink shimmer streamer backdrop, Party! She Said

Rose gold giant moon balloon, Ruby Rabbit Partyware

Giant cloud balloon kit, Ruby Rabbit Partyware

Star and moon pinatas, Party Pony Pinatas

Sleepy eyes balloons, Ruby Rabbit Partyware

Pink sleepy eyes balloons, Ruby Rabbit Partyware

Slumber Party Tableware

One of the most exciting parts of a sleep over has to be the midnight feast, right? Endless bowls of popcorn, movie snacks and DIY triple decker burgers. Whether you decide on a table set up or individual table trays, pretty it up with coordinated pastel tableware and sleepy themed accessories.

Gold confetti plates, The Party Parlour

Unicorn marble plates, The Little Event Company

Pink and gold hex plates, Party! She Said

Blushing hearts plates, Ruby Rabbit Partyware

Cloud party cups, Little Booteek

Cloud napkins, The Party Parlour

Slumber Party Hire Items

Gone are the days of guests sleeping on couches and the lounge room floor! Make it a special occasion with the addition of individual tee pee beds and trays, or set up a tent in the backyard (my personal favourite from a noise point of view!) with a styled interior they won’t want to leave! You can either hire teepees or use some wonderful vendors who specialise in setting up kids slumber parties:

Tee Pee hire, Tiny Tots Toy Hire, Sydney

Slumber party tee pee hire, Sweet Dreams and Goodnight, Perth and Melbourne

Tee Pee sleep over – tent hire, The Slumber Boutique, Brisbane

Tee Pee hire, Kings Party Hire, Melbourne

Slumber parties – The Sleepover Club (Sydney)

Slumber Party Cakes & Desserts

With so many movies to get through and late night chats, snacks are a must at any slumber party. So why not theme them with clouds, stars and tee pees too.

Glitter star cupcake toppers, The Party Parlour

Polka dot cupcake cases, Party! She Said

Star cake topper, Kiki Sprinkles

Cloud cookies, SweetP Cakes and Cookies

Gold star cookies, Sweetly Bakes, Perth

Sleeping cloud cookies, Sweet Eve, Melbourne

Tee pee cookies, Petite Cookies, Melbourne

Slumber party cookies, Cookie Queen Kitsch’n

Star themed cookies, Cookie Queen Kitsch’n

Moon and stars chocolate moulds, Confectionately Yours

Slumber Party Favours

Slumber parties with friends make great memories, so send the kids home with a themed special gift they’ll treasure for years to come (after catching up on sleep!).

Tee Pee themed favours, Glitter and Glue Designs

Pink pillow box, Party! She Said

Favour bags with stars – Little Boo-teek

These personalised sleeping masks make a wonderful gift idea:

Customised eye mask, Red Pebble Design

This could be a fun party activity or a craft kit to take home:

Dream catcher kits, Free Range Living

A slumber party really is such a fun childhood memory – it’s only one night of broken sleep! Enjoy it whilst you can make it extra special for a birthday.

Must know tips when ordering your kids party cake!

Choosing a custom cake

While nothing beats a birthday cake lovingly made by mum or dad, many busy parents are happy to hand over to the professionals.  A custom cake is an investment but well worth it. A spectacular cake that captures the spirit of the party and the guest of honour will not only be the centrepiece of the event, it is likely to be the thing your child remembers about the party as the years go by or that will feature in the photos when they cut the cake.

So, what are the things to consider when making this important decision? Genevieve from Cake Chemistry by Genevieve in Sydney shares her expert tips here!

Budget

Before the design ideas start flowing and emails go back and forth, it’s important to decide how much you want to spend.  This is likely to be influenced by the significance of the occasion and the scale of the celebration. Or, you might want something extra special just because!

A custom cake will generally cost more than a design you choose directly from the decorator’s website/portfolio. The additional cost of a custom cake is due to the time taken to communicate about and to design the cake.  If a custom cake isn’t in your budget, most cake decorators also have a range of pre-designed cakes which are less expensive if no alterations or additional communication is required.

Other factors that impact cake cost are:

The number and size of serves you require

• -There are price differences with additional tiers. This is because the process of creating each individual tier and then assembling the cake correctly to ensure it remains stable is time consuming and time is generally the main influence on cost.
• -Price differences for different width single tiers may be less significant depending upon the cake design as the time taken to create say an 8 inch diameter cake vs a 10 inch diameter cake of the same design is similar in many cases.

The style of cake e.g.:

• -Fondant cake
• -Semi naked cake
• -Naked cake
• -Buttercream cake
• -Sculpted (3D) cake

The price differences are in part due to the cost of ingredients but are mainly due to the time taken to construct each different cake style.

For example, a single tier fondant cake needs to be baked, ganache or buttercream prepared, the cake trimmed and filled with ganache or buttercream then covered in a perfectly smoothed coat of ganache/buttercream.

Any sculpting required is done before this process. Once the cakes are covered in fondant, they are smoothed and edges worked on. Then decorations which may themselves have taken many hours to create, are applied. This is the process that may take from hours to days (generally days!).

The type of decorations also influences the cost:

• -Handmade decorations (e.g. sugar flowers, fondant characters )
• -Pre made toppers (e.g. plastic figurines, ‘Happy Birthday’ )
• -Fresh flowers
• -Hand panted cake
• -Stencilled cake
• -Hand piping
• -Drips
• -Meringues, macarons, fresh fruit, candy
• -Edible gold or silver leaf

Cake flavour also influences the final price:

• -Cost of ingredients
• -Time to prepare

Other things to consider when choosing a cake

Some design factors to consider are:

• -Party theme. There are thousands of themes but most decorators are up with the main trends and themes pretty quickly
• –Colour scheme of the party
• –Flavour/s
• -Cake style (see above…fondant, semi naked etc…)
• –Age range. For example, kids tend not to want fruitcake and may prefer a buttercream cake to a fondant cake.
• –Weather. A buttercream cake for an outside party in the middle of summer may not be a great idea.
• -What the guest of honour wants of course!
• –Allergies and food intolerances. Always let your cake decorator know before selecting flavour/s.

Choosing a cake decorator:

• -It’s easy to get a feel for the kind of designer you like just by flicking through a stylish party or cake magazine.
• -Choosing a decorator often comes down to location but may also be influenced by whether they deliver.
• -Word of mouth. Friends and family may be able to recommend someone who has made them an amazing, delicious cake!
• -Does the decorator also do coordinated cookies, cupcakes etc?

Other tips:

Make sure you provide your decorator with some ideas, images and any other items of inspiration where possible. A few images of cakes you like will always be very helpful. A copy of the party invitation, tableware etc may also help create a cake that fits perfectly with your style and theme.

When you initially contact a cake decorator for availability and a quote, be as specific as possible. “Could you make a cake for my daughter’s birthday and how much will it cost?” is difficult to accurately answer. As already discussed, there are many different types of cakes with different prices ranges and most decorators will need to know the date to check availability.

Satisfaction guaranteed!!

Feel assured that the greatest reward for a cake decorator is seeing the reaction of a client to their cake. We’re always after a big WOW!! We are almost all perfectionists and a little bit obsessive about smooth sides, sharp edges and precise detail. Your cake will be amazing!!

Thanks Cake Chemistry by Genevieve for sharing these must know tips when ordering your kids party cake. As you can see, her work is stunning  – so if you’re looking for a Sydney based cake decorator for your kids party – ensure you contact Genevieve!