Confetti Fair & Kara’s Party Ideas workshop – Sydney 2014

 

Last week I had the fabulous opportunity to attend the Kara’s Party Ideas workshop and Confetti Fair in Sydney. You can see the professional photos from this event on the Rosie and Rolf Photography facebook page. Most of the below are my own personal iphone pictures and they don’t do the beautiful styling justice!

It was a wonderful opportunity to learn some party planning tips from Kara Allen as well as meet with others in this lovely industry and see gorgeous styling, party products and ideas!

We were greeted by this amazing feather feature as we walked in to the beautiful Byron Kennedy Hall. Gorgeous!

 

 

The workshop was lots of fun (how could it not be with the fantastic Sugar Coated Mama co-hosting and creating lots of laughs!) with some wonderful party planning tips by Kara Allen which were also accompanied by a party planning folder filled with lots of practical tips. She provided advice which was useful for event stylists as well as “mummy stylists” like me.

 

 

She was friendly, sweet and down to earth and we were able to watch as she styled a table herself.

I won’t give too much away so as not to spoil the workshop for those of you yet to attend!

However we also received a wonderful party goodie bag filled with some fun party items.

Sarah from Sugar Coated Mama was a delight to meet and hear from in person. She doesn’t just talk party, she walks the talk! I loved this gorgeous stand she created:

 

 

We also heard from other wonderful speakers and panel members! Michelle from Inspired by Michelle Cake Designs provided some honest business advice. She discussed the importance of not worrying about what everyone else is doing and posting on facebook. Instead, focus on your client and what your client wants. If you please your client, then your reputation will grow as word of mouth is so important for your business. Even if you don’t like the cake or table etc your client wants you to create – still do it. You don’t have to post it up on facebook, but if the client is paying you then do what they want.

 

 

 

I thought this was such important advice as so many of us are integrating social media with our business and sometimes there can be a clash between what our facebook likers would enjoy seeing and what our actual client wants. As Michelle explains – most of your facebook likers won’t become business for you, so focus on what your client wants first!

 

 

There were lots of chances during the workshop breaks to have a browse of all the Confetti Fair setups and chat with everyone. It was lovely to meet up in person with the vendors on my directory, other people in the industry and meet some new faces and even some blog readers of my blog!

I have included some images in this blog post, however to see all the photos and stands pop onto the Confetti Fair facebook page.

Tiny Tots Toy Hire shared an array of some of their wonderful props they have for hire! As you can see Flamingos are still trending and made an appearance around Confetti Fair:

 

 

Lots of loveliness, inspiration and props:

 

 

 

Such an amazing Alice in Wonderland cake at the Little Wish Parties stand!:

 

 

 

Gorgeous vintage prettiness!:

 

 

I was able to view these popular light up toppers in person:

 

 

Purple made a feature at a few stands and I loved the ombre look created here:

 

 

What I love about Confetti Fair being a mum, is that it showcases ideas and products for kids parties (along with adult events).

This was a creative Art Party setup. Loved the kids table settings!

 

 

How clever are these colour in cookies?:

 

 

These mini honeycomb balls were so cute:

 

 

Such an array of partyware on display:

 

Sweet Health had their fabulous cookie mixes in a bottle at the fair and I took the opportunity to buy another mix to make at home with my girls:

 

 

 

Lots of unique chocolate favour ideas for kids parties, and smashcakes:

 

 

Some really cute party stationery on show plus I picked up some delightful fairy wings for my girls at the Hoot Invitations stand:

 

 

 

Such a unique setup by Mumma Cakes who sell DIY cake kits. I also picked up a DIY play dough kit for my daughter here:

 

Lots of toys, creative play and party game ideas:

 

 

These are just some of the stands at the fair and as you can see there was plenty of ideas and products to take in. My head was definitely in party planning mode over that weekend!

If you have the chance to attend the Kara’s Party workshops and/or Confetti Fair in your state, I highly recommend it! You’ll discover so much inspiration, products, ideas and tips which are relevant for ALL celebrations whether they be a baby shower, birthday party, Christening, engagement, wedding or other occasion.

You can find all the details on the Confetti Fair website.

 

 

 

 

 

*This is not a sponsored post*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Introducing Little Red Chick Party Boutique

I love discovering new online party stores that I can browse when I’m party planning and today I’m introducing you to Little Red Chick Party Boutique which is a one stop kids party shop!

This charming little store offers a gorgeous range of stylish and affordable party wares and party hire items perfect for any party occasion or theme

 

 

You can shop a variety of children’s birthday invitations, party decorations, party tablewares, baking goodies and other party essentials from the best local and international designers including Paper Eskimo, Sambellina and Invite Me.

They also have a handy selection of colour and trend themed party packs ready to go for those needing to pull a party together hassle free and quickly.

 

 

Little Red Chick also helps you make your children’s parties, christenings and baby showers memorable with their stunning party hire collection if you’re in Sydney – candy buffet jars, cake platters, styling props, kids chairs, tables and more!

 

For that extra special touch, you can hire one of their adorable styling prop packs that will give your party a magical (and professional-looking) finish!

 

 

Use their hire items along with the partyware available in store for a complete package for your child’s party:

 

Customers can stop by this lovely little children’s party and gift boutique in Sydney’s south for great service and variety, complimentary gift wrapping and easy parking – kids welcome!

It’s wonderful to be able to shop and see partyware in person and with all their gorgeous items in store you can pick up some special gifts for the birthday boy or girl while you’re there!

It also means if you need a last minute party purchase you can drop into their store without worrying about shipping and delivery times.

 

 

You of course can also shop online for fast, Australia-wide delivery.

 

One of the unique services Little Red Chick Party Boutique offers is a custom Pass the Parcel pack for your child’s party filled with little gifts children will actually keep and use rather than $2 store items which will be thrown away! Speak to the staff at the store to organise your pack.

 

I love supporting and promoting other mum’s in business and it’s always interesting to hear how their vision and passion became a reality. Jodie who owns and runs Little Red Chick explains how her store came about:

“Not long after having my second child I realised my dream of opening a specialised children’s gift and party boutique that had that something special not found in department stores. After scouring the globe for beautiful things that adults love to give and children adore to have, Little Red Chick was born. Now 3.5 years later I have three delightful children, three staff members and a raft of fantastic suppliers, super talented designers and a newly launched online store.”

 

 

 

I was personally thrilled when Little Red Chick came on board as a blog sponsor as I had been a fan of their gorgeous range of children’s toys, linen and clothing and was excited to see and promote the party branch of their store.

Here are some more partyware picks I love from their online party boutique:

Rebekah’s Ballet and Bows Party

I’m thrilled to be able to share Rebekah’s 3rd birthday Ballerina party with you after it has been featured in the recent Confetti Fair magazine which you can buy at the show, news-agencies or subscribe online!

We held the party in November 2013 and went with a “Ballet & Bows” party theme as Rebekah’s daily outfit of choice at the time was always a tutu and bow and she loves to pretend she is a ballerina! I went with the colours of pink, peach and ivory and held a small party at home for her with a few friends.

When planning this ballet & bows party I chose to only use vendors from the Life’s Little Celebration’s children’s party directory! I do genuinely believe you can plan a wonderful party through using the directory and I didn’t need to look elsewhere.

All photos are by Nikki Fitt Photography who I highly recommend and I’ll talk more about the photography later.

Here is the setup of the Ballerina dessert table and children’s table:

 

 

The gorgeous ruffled backdrop, as well as the kids party table, chairs, kids tulle tablecloth and ballerina centrepiece were all hired from Little Wish Parties, and gave a lovely ballerina feel to the party! I just loved that ruffled backdrop which perfectly matched the colour scheme as well!

I love tassel garlands but wanted something a bit different for this party. The wonderful Sara of Pom Pom Princess designed the tulle tassel garland you see at the front of table along with the tulle pom pom spoons on the jelly cups:

I kept the table quite simple and symmetrical – it meant an easier setup which is important for me when I have 2 toddlers running around on the day.

The gorgeous cake along with the bow macarons, ballerina slipper cake pops and cookie stacks were all created by It’s a Cake Thing (by Jhoanee) and tasted as good as they looked!:

To keep the ballerina party theme going I used mini tutu’s from Tiny Tutu Cake Couture to wrap around the jelly cups and milk bottles. It created a really pretty effect – they are designed to be used on cupcake wrappers but I think they can work on a range of items!

The paper bows on the table were created by Penny Lane Studio who always creates such lovely decor.

I incorporated bows wherever I could to continue the “Ballet & Bows” theme, so hanging over the drink dispenser is a bow garland by PS Made with Love who created bow balloon tails as well (see photo further down):

Above the children’s table I created a cluster of hanging decorations – lanterns, paper fans and tulle poms which I bought from various party boutiques in my directory (Ruby Rabbit Partyware, Occasion by Design, The Party Parlour, Pom Pom Princess).

This was a lot more time consuming than I realised, trying to get the cluster/spacing just right! Thankfully this party was held at home and I could set this up the day before.

On the children’s table I used lace paper plates, and pretty bow spoons created by Bespoke Party Products. Around the milk bottles I wrapped the mini tutu’s from Tiny Tutu Cake Couture (you must visit their range if you’re planning a ballerina party!).

The girls loved having their own table to sit at and it actually made them stay in one spot and eat their lunch!

I loved the bow balloon tails made by Liv of PS Made with Love to continue the bow theme.

Liv also created a “Pin the tutu on the ballerina” poster along with personalised little tutu’s for the girls to stick onto the poster! They were stunning with tulle and bows attached :

I had organised a little tutu for each of the girl’s on the day so they could each feel like a little ballerina.

Nicole from Pretty and Print created the customised printables for this party

Personalised swing tags were made for each of the tutu’s with the girl’s name and character image:

For the invitation I wanted a mini story book to be created as Rebekah loves storytelling with people she knows. Nicole of Pretty and Print created this lovely story with her friends, telling the story of them being invited to her 3rd birthday party and Rebekah really enjoys this little invite/book we can still read after the party.

I cannot speak more highly of Nicole’s designs and service!

I printed these invitations and then bound them with twine to create a little book:

For the party favour along with the tutu, each girl received a tutu ballerina bag (from The Party Parlour) along with a bow and some ballerina goodies I purchased from Party & Co and Piece of Cake Parties & Celebrations. I always enjoy putting together something lovely for the kids to take home.

As mentioned before Nikki from Nikki Fitt Photography was the photographer. I couldn’t recommend her more highly as we were so happy with the photos she took of the party and the friends and family there.

She had wonderful rapport with Rebekah to be able to take some lovely single shots of her at the start of the party as well. She captured lots of special and fun moments. I’m always careful not to share too many personal images of my children on my blog otherwise I would love to show you all the gorgeous moments she captured!

By the way the cute little tiara party hats you can see my youngest Naomi wearing below were from Party & Co and were such unique pretty hats – highly recommend them for any girly party theme as the kids enjoyed wearing them!

Fairy Crystal from Diamond Fairy Parties entertained and enchanted the girls with her fairy ballet. I am so glad I booked someone for the party. With only 6 girls I was going to skip on paid entertainment.  However having Fairy Crystal there meant that the parents could eat lunch in peace while the kids were entertained and enchanted and Rebekah absolutely loved the dancing, facepainting and games.

I did also run pass the parcel and pin the tutu on the ballerina (as mentioned above) however running these games with a group of toddler age children definitely wasn’t as easy as I expected which made me grateful I had organised extra entertainment.

We also had a table setup with some ballerina colouring in sheets and crayons for an extra activity and PS Made with Love designed the ballerina colouring sheets.

We honestly had a wonderful day celebrating Rebekah’s 3rd birthday! It was the smallest birthday celebration (numbers wise) we have had for one of our girls and it made the party very relaxed. Rebekah really enjoyed the company of her sister and 5 friends.

I hope you enjoyed the photos! It was a lot of fun to put this party together and with Rebekah turning 3 it was the first party she truly understood and appreciated.

As I was setting it up she kept saying “mum, it is so beautiful!”. Those words made everything so worth it because she is so beautiful and I hope the party reflected her.

Happy party planning!

xx

 

 

 

 

Party finds: Facebook roundup

On my facebook page I love sharing party products, ideas and inspiration. However 1/2 the time I know a lot of you aren’t seeing what I am sharing due to all the changes in FB lately

So I’ve decided to do a round up on my blog when I can, of things I’ve been sharing on facebook so you don’t miss out!

 

I recently posted up a Circus party theme shopping guide on the blog with lots of party finds such as this cute favour box:

 

 

 

Lots of facebook fans loved these flatpacked cardboard Lemonade stands I shared:

 

 

 

I loved this idea of using tassel tails on a lantern:

 

 

Gold polkadots are so in right now. Combined with a tassel garland and you have this beauty!:

 

 

 

I shared this gorgeous table by Save the Date Events who I shared a blog feature about here:

 

 

 

Love the colour palette of this mini golf 7th birthday party. Printables and styling by Edgehouse Design and Cookies, cake and cake pops by Minnie’s Sweet Creations. Both can be found on the Directory.

 

 

Some more popular party photos I shared on facebook:

 

 

 

 

 

These homemade marshmellows look amazing and I shared them to celebrate Sweets for Me launching their new website:

 

 

Everyone is loving pineapples right now but watermelons are moving in! Love these watermelon lollipops:

 

I shared this amazing facepainting artwork by Fantasy Faces by Belle (Sydney):

 

 

So that’s a brief round up of what’s been happening on facebook! Remember if you aren’t seeing my posts in your newsfeed, please go to my facebook page and hover over the “Liked” button and choose “Get Notifications”.

 

Introducing Save the Date Events

I’m excited to share with you the beautiful work of one of my blog sponsors Save the Date Events who provide event planning and styling services in Sydney as well as styled dessert tables!

 

 

 

Nicole who owns Save the Date Events first realised her passion for creating beautiful events when she hosted her friend’s bridal shower.

She explains – “It started with a simple colour scheme and the end result was a gorgeous backyard garden affair.  I received a lot of compliments from the guests and thought that I should pursue things further and start my own business.  I absolutely loved planning my own wedding and wanted to feel that rush of organising an event all the time, and Save the Date Events was born!”

 

How fun is this Lion King inspired table?:

 

 

Like many of us, Nicole explains that she has always had an interest in the pretty things in life and loves that she is able to express her creativity through working with her clients on their events. She enjoys working with clients to come up with unique and special ideas to suit their vision for an event.

This popcorn bar is such a fantastic idea for something different to a standard candy buffet:

 

 

Nicole loves all of life’s celebrations and incorporating hand-made items and craft throughout each event to add a unique and personal touch.

 

I am totally swooning over this table!:

 

 

 

Something gorgeous for a good cause:

 

 

You can Follow all of Nicole’s work on the Save the Date Event’s facebook page, and website and if you’re in Sydney you can have the pleasure of having Nicole assist you in any celebration you are planning!