Just like the world of fashion – party theme trends seem to come and go, but there’ll always be your classics.
If you love styling, events and party planning then I’m sure you enjoy seeing the latest party decor which is available!
Making it easy to keep up with the trends and find everything you require to execute the theme of your choice is LLC vendor, Ruby Rabbit Partyware. Owner Alex has her finger on the pulse when it comes to sourcing new supplies, so who better to ask a few questions on what we should be looking out for than the party Queen herself!
T: What are some of the most popular colour schemes you are noticing for boys and girls parties at the moment ?
A: Trending this season for boys’ parties is the ‘Little Camper’ theme with the use of teepees, monochrome colour choices and a touch of green cactus fun! Outdoor fun with lots of space for energetic little boys to run wild! Unicorns and rainbows continues to be our most popular girls’ birthday party theme followed closely by Alice in Wonderland.
These themes are whimsical and timeless keeping both Mum and birthday girl happy with being able to add a personal touch when it comes to styling the party. These themes suit a broad range of ages from first birthdays up to around eight year olds.
Little Camper party theme
Unicorn party theme
Unicorn balloon kit
T: What unique decorating ideas and theme ideas would you suggest for a baby shower?
A: I’m loving the green palm leaf with luxe gold for something a little different, or for a softer touch with baby pink.
I’m a sucker for palms and have a ridiculous amount of cushion covers in my home in just that! Yes, I may have a cushion obsession, a rather large one my hubby would say!
Baby shower theme
T: What are your top picks for spring / summer party trends ? Any particular themes or looks?
A: The party shop is busy with lots of fun bold colourful orders heading out the door as we move into Spring. Plus we can’t get enough of those green palm leaf and gold pineapple party pieces!
Pineapple plates
Watermelon balloon
Colour splash party styled by Tiny Little Pads
T: What are some of the well loved kids themes you have noticed from your most popular customer buys?
A: It seems that pale pink and gold isn’t fading, especially for little girls’ 1st birthdays.
Unicorns and rainbows are a close second and then super cool monochrome for the boys, plus colourful confetti spot orders are always strong and work perfectly for both girls and boys.
The ever popular donuts theme has faded away this year.
Paper Eskimo pink and gold partyware
Little camper partyware
Confetti + polka dot madness party by Lucinda Gould
T: Are there any must have items you would suggest for mums planning their first kids party?
A: Balloons and a fun cake topper! Balloons are such simple happy party decorations, and cake toppers can add that little special something to your cake. Both are definite must haves!
Jumbo confetti balloon and fringe
Poppies for Grace cake toppers
Thank you so much for these tips Alex!
You can shop all of these items and loads more on the Ruby Rabbit website.
If you’re a mum in business it is fantastic to be inspired by and learn from other entrepreneurs! This week I am introducing you to LLC partner Louise from Illume Partyware! The Life’s Little Celebrations directory is filled with many amazing entrepreneurs and it is wonderful to hear their story and advice!
Enjoy this Q and A as you find out more about this gorgeous online party boutique:
Describe your business in 1-2 sentences:
Illume Partyware is a stylish high end fashionable partyware brand, every product is design by us in Sydney, Australia. We offer everything you need for your next birthday, wedding, kids party or any other fancy festivity.
When and how did Illume Partyware come about?:
When I was putting together my sons 1st birthday party. I found there was a lack of fashionable and stylish party products out there in the market. I wanted to style a party and have everything co-ordinate together from the tableware to decorations. There was plenty of partyware out there but I couldn’t find any items that where high end, high quality and up with the current fashion trends.
How has your business evolved over the years?:
I started out back in 2007 originally designing personalised wedding and christening invitations. In 2011, I decided to move on from personalised invitations and launch Illume Partyware. A stylish high end fashionable partyware brand, that launches a new collection every year.
What did you do before starting your business?
I started my design career designing ceramics and home-wares for Australia’s large department stores it was the first job I had after graduating from Graphic Design. A few years later I was recommended to a contemporary digital art company that contracted me to design a whole range of digital artworks for canvas and perspex. I worked together with them for 1 year developing their new range. I was then recommended to Bauer Media (formerly ACP magazines) where I became the advertising Art Director for ‘Australian Gourmet Traveller’ magazine. I worked there for a few years before I launched Illume Partyware.
What is one of your business achievements you are most proud of?:
Being able to make a living in this extremely competitive party industry. I have spent many years building the brand Illume Partyware and we are finally being recognised world wide. I am so proud to have a brand that is now known across the other side of the world. And that customers still call or email me with excitement that they have found our products.
What do you love about running your own business?
I love that I am able to design and create products that I believe in and I can share them with others all over the world. After working for many years with other companies to their design briefs I love that I now have the freedom to create and design products for my own brand Illume Partyware.
What is one thing you would like to achieve in 2016 for your business?
Illume Partyware is fast going global, so this year we are hoping to get more distributors onboard in countries all over the world.
What advice could you offer to other small business owners?:
Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing, be yourself, do what you do best and what you believe in. Get a business mentor, someone you can talk to for advice. When it comes to running a business you don’t have to re-invent the wheel. Ask for help in areas you are struggling in.
Thanks Louise for sharing about your business! Visit Illume Partyware here and see their gorgeous range of partyware and tableware!
I know so many of you who read my blog are mother’s who also run your own business from home (as do I!) – just like a lot of the business owners who are on the Life’s Little Celebration’s directory.
This month I have organised a Q and A session for my Directory vendors with Sarah O’Bryan – author of the book “Business and baby at home“. She will be chatting with us online in our Facebook group for vendors on the Directory sharing practical and useful tips and I have a special offer for all of you today who wish to also purchase this book!
Sarah has been featured on the TODAY show and in numerous magazines discussing the topics presented in this book such as working from home while also balancing your family life and other commitments .
It is full of practical tips and useful advice for any mumpreneur!
If you would like to purchase a copy – then do so within the next 24 hours and enter code LLC in the notes section at the checkout to receive a SIGNED copy of this wonderful book!
Simply visit the Business and Baby at home website to purchase here.
I am delighted today to share an interview with talented stationery designer Loralee Lewis who also creates the most beautiful parties for her four children
Nutcracker ballet inspired party – Loralee Lewis
In this interview Loralee shares her advice about being a mum in business, stationery design, party styling and more!
Your stationery designs are so classic and unique. How do you remain inspired to create different designs?
Come one come all invitation – Loralee Lewis
Thank you for the kind words! My clients and my children are always causing me to re-think what needs to be created, which helps, and I get bored easily with whatever is out there and am always wanting to do something new. It drives my staff nuts that we are always on to the next experimental product or item and figuring out how to create it large scale.
How do you stay ahead of trends regarding stationery and party styling?
This is a great question. I think two ideas come to mind for me and my company. First, if I can design something intrinsically beautiful, clean, elegant, balanced and fun, it will still be desirable in a decade, so I don’t have to worry about it going in/out of style, like a mustache or a chevron, which I don’t use in my work.
Mary Poppins Jolly Holiday invitation – Loralee Lewis
French design from the 1700’s is still as relevant today as it was then because it is timelessly beautiful. The closer we get to that ideal, the better. I think that works well for business, too, so you don’t have to chase the market as much, but it can come to you.
The second idea is to always strive to do something that no one has seen before. With every event or shoot or design that I put together, I think “What is the twist?” “What is one thing I can add that has never been seen before?” And if it is beautiful, I go with it. I remember for a Christmas party one year we wanted to do something really vertical and high, so we made a doughnut tower out of stainless steel rods that we had made at a welding yard in town. It was a wild idea that we just brought to life and it worked. Take existing ideas and twist them to something new.
Princess and the Frog party by Loralee Lewis
Your children’s parties are truly gorgeous and amazing however I’ve read that you don’t stress about your kids parties and plan them in just 1-2 weeks – how do you manage to plan such beautiful parties in so little time?
Thank you again for the sweet words. I put together events by using a lot of items that are easy to source from my home or locally, and then order in a handful of items from vendors that are over the top, and then dress everything with great paper. This makes it easy to have a beautiful event. Most of my cookies and cakes are from the local bakery, rather than special order. Good paper can take a plain white cupcake and make it shine like a star.
Wizard of Oz cupcake topper kit – Loralee Lewis
Princess and the Frog paperie – Loralee Lewis
You recently styled your daughter Georgianna’s ‘first’ birthday party for her 4th birthday. What was the highlight of this occasion?
Pixie Hollow birthday by Loralee Lewis
Georgianna owned not a single toy and lived on one small meal per day in the orphanage before we got her home, but the moment we brought her home a confident diva emerged. She was like a Cinderella waiting for the fairy godmother. At her fairy princess birthday she was transported to a new reality and it was the moment of a lifetime for her. She has never looked back. What a treat as a mother to see her take it all in.
Do you have any party themes on your ‘wish list’ that you are hoping your children will request for their future parties?
All American picnic party by Loralee Lewis
I want to do a vintage baking party for my little boy, complete with hats, red bow ties, and aprons. I hope he doesn’t grow out of it before I can put it together! Also we will have a strawberry patch party this year, and a Polar Express Inspired theme coming up. Their party themes are a bit of a negotiation because if I am throwing the event, it needs to make sense to me as well.
Pirate birthday party by Loralee Lewis
Do you have any tips for mums on how to plan a beautiful party on a tight budget?
Use what you have in your home (for me it’s stored items or the garage, etc.) to make it work, rather than buying new furniture or props.
Buy low cost food items from the store, the kids love them the same. Thrift store for the pieces that are missing.
Then dress everything up for the ball with creativity. Embellishments like paper, ribbon, glue and scissors are cheap but can make almost anything look really expensive.
Through the woods collection – Loralee Lewis
Oh, and spray paint! I LOVE spray paint. Buy props from the thrift store for $10 and spray paint them to match the party colors and you have a prop that looks like $200.
It is so inspiring to read about your 4 beautiful children and their journey to you. What are the greatest lessons motherhood has taught you?
Thank you again. I don’t know I’ve fully learned any of the lessons, but am on the road! I am learning about how to be patient, how to make each child feel special, and how to love all my children equally even if I don’t connect with them all equally. Getting my house in order and keeping a tight schedule. These are some of the lessons I’m learning right now.
Loralee Lewis with her children
How do you manage the juggle of your business as well as family life?
It’s very hard, and I’m not perfect, but I have the advantage of being able to run my studio and do my designing from my home. I have assistants who help with most of the day to day lifting. Also, have a schedule and a daily to-do list. Stop work when your kids get home and start again when they sleep. These are my usual methods.
Kitty Cat collection – Loralee Lewis
What piece of advice can you give to those starting out in an event related business?
Easter photo shoot by Loralee Lewis
Wow, there is so much. First would be just put yourself out there and work through the mistakes. In Silicon Valley they call it “Fail Fast;” with the going assumption that you’ll mess up early on a lot and that it’s good and part of the process.
We’ve made so many silly mistakes along the way but we learned quickly.
Another would be to focus small and be delighted by every victory.
A third would be to avoid partnerships and do it yourself (unless it’s your husband. I happen to be business partners with my husband and it works great, but friends of mine who have other business partners have all come to regret it).
Fourth, for us, has been staying debt free. Finances are such a burden; if you keep costs super low it makes it so much easier to stay financially strong.
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Thank you Loralee for providing an insight into your business as well as your party styling and work/life balance. It is a true honour to feature your thoughts on my blog.
To follow Loralee Lewis find her facebook page here, and website here.
One party which always has “wowed” me was a Mystical Mermaid party by the lovely Kate of Kate Landers Events in the USA.
It was beautiful, unique and so detailed. I am a big fan of her work and I am thrilled to share an interview with her today where she talks about some styling tips as well as party planning tips for mum’s. So much useful advice in this interview – I hope you enjoy it!
My favourite party styled by you is the Mystical mermaid party. How do you plan and dream up such a beautiful event? Do you tackle one area at a time (eg: first stationery, then decorations etc) or brainstorm all the ideas together?
Thank you so much Tanya!
Sometimes a single item serves as a source of inspiration (like a vintage tarnished candelabra), other times it is a color-scheme, flower, creature…in the event of the Mystical Mermaid Party, it was working off of a wish list from a mom who wanted a mermaid party that was non-traditional.
I knew she wanted something free-spirited, magical, soft, feminine, fanciful. I instantly thought of a shabby-chic inspired look with vintage treasures you would find at the bottom of the ocean. I loved the idea of creating a space where the guests would feel like mermaids.
Thus, a low-table and chair cushions on sand on the “sea floor” as mermaids would possibly dine. Draped tulle above to give that feeling of being under the ocean.
Lots of seashells and starfish, sea glass (but in a non-traditional white and pale pink), pearls, ruffles…things mermaids might like to collect. Mermaids were, after all, known to steal pretty things from ships lost at sea. Taking that bit of folklore gave me a springboard to jump off of.
The dessert table was also inspired by all things you would find under the sea. I named them appropriately as well. It was a dreamy party.
You recently celebrated your own son’s Noah’s 1st birthday. How did the planning differ for you in planning your own child’s celebration compared to clients events in the past?
Any tips for stylists who also plan their own children’s parties and perhaps feel more pressure to prepare a “perfect party” since they are stylists themselves?
Planning your own child’s party is completely different than planning someone else’s. It really tugged at my heartstrings planning my son’s first (and recently, second!) birthday parties.
I wanted everything perfect, yet at the same time more than anything, I wanted to be fully present for the parties.
Therefore, I made sure to hire a professional photographer to capture everything for me, so that I could be with my husband and Noah and savor the moment. I am so thrilled I did. Of course there was a bit of added pressure, I think, to make everything perfect–but more because of my own perfectionism than anything else.
I think it was very clear to me–this was my son’s party, not something to wow others. Of course I hoped that my parties for my son would inspire others when planning their own child’s birthday parties, but the focus was on him.
You have mentioned the importance of creating an ‘experience’ for the children at a birthday party. As mum’s in the midst of party planning do you have tips on what we should keep in mind when planning to ensure the party is an “experience” for the guests?
I believe the key is trying to look at the party through the eyes of a child.
For example, if it is a woodland fairy party, imagine what you can do to create an environment to inspire the child’s own imagination, to give them props to feel like a fairy!
Whether that be wings and a wand, a little toadstool to sit on or jar of fairy dust to sprinkle…it is creating an environment that nurtures their imagination, fuels them to feel transported to a land of wonder for an hour or two.
Do you have any tips for mum’s wanting to create a beautiful celebration but on a budget?
Yes! First: a smaller guest list and hosting a party mid-afternoon really keeps costs down. Have as many guests as the age the child is turning (ie if turning five, have five guests, plus/minus two). This helps keep everyone from getting overstimulated and gives you the opportunity to buy that party favor you really want to give out because you aren’t buying 30 of them!
Also, by hosting mid-afternoon, you do not need to serve a meal. Simple healthy fruit and a birthday cake with beverage is all you need. It is really that simple.
When it comes to decorations, take simple balloons and tie pretty gingham, satin or grosgrain ribbons on them to make them that much more stylish. Very easy, inexpensive and looks so much more stylish.
Using solid colored party plates and cups will look beautiful, and homemade party hats (pretty crafting paper or fabrics adorned with tissue festooning or ruffled ribbon) makes such a statement.
One party favor can be spectacular, and cost less than a bag full of many smaller trinkets. A book with a personalized bookplate, beautifully decorated cookie–great favors.
When going onsite to style a party, what are your “must-have’s” that you always carry with you?
I am sure I will forget some. Off the top of my head, scotch tape, glue dots, fishing line, scissors, mini glue gun and glue sticks, ribbon, baker’s twine, band aids, ribbon, upholstery pins and mini hammer…stuff to hang props, trim frayed edges, cover up a stain…
Have you ever had something you had planned for go wrong on the day of the event? How did you deal with it?
YES! Absolutely. Deep breath. Cupcakes get damaged in transit–get basic white frosted supermarket cupcakes as a back up. Always have extra party favors in case guests’ siblings come along. Just a couple things that help.
Expect the unexpected. And remember, no one is perfect. Focusing the joy of the birthday child’s face and all of his or her guests, reminds you what is really important.
What is the most important attitude for a mum to have on the day of their child’s celebration in the midst of all the busyness!
Stay in the moment. Imagine yourself a week from now, looking back. How do you want to remember the party? Do you want to see your child blow out the candles? Do you want to help your child hand out the party favors? Make sure you have a family member or babysitter to help with the duties you want done, and celebrate the life of your precious child!
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Thank you so much Kate for sharing your thoughts, advice and inspirations with us all!
See more of Kate Lander’s work on her site here.
