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Saturday, June 18, 2011

{real parties} whimsical woodland princess party

this is a big one...so get comfortable!

a whimsical woodland princess party...

inspiration...

Some of you might remember this rapunzel inspiration board I put together for one of our lovely followers earlier this year...
Well, my gorgeous little princess, Indigo, spotted it and fell in love with the idea of having a rapunzel party for her own birthday!

I managed to get a few words in throughout the planning process...and we shifted slightly from a complete rapunzel theme to more of a whimsical woodland princess idea, full of handmade elements, with a colour palette of lavenders, purples & greens.

Since creating the rapunzel inspiration board earlier in the year, I discovered pinterest (omg I love pinterest!) and an updated inspiration board was born with our new ideas included...


and so the planning began!

invitations...


invitations were clean and simple, but oh, so princessy! A soft lavender background colour, a whimsical script font, and a tiara design, finished with a sparly gem! It was a 'girls only' party, so guests were invited to wear their prettiest princess dress! designed especially for Indigo.

the party...

before I go any further I must include a huge thank you to my sister Jodie and her friend Kylie who came over and spent hours (HOURS...) helping me get everything finished the night before the party!! Without them, them party would simply not have happened! And, I must also thank my husband and boys for so graciously accepting that this was a 'girls only' party, and going out for the day to leave us to it! x

the party table (with the cake table in the background)...
starting with a simple white table cloth and hessian runner... branches ran down the centre and an assortment of lolly-filled apothecary jars, cupcakes, and paper flowers completed the whimsical tablescape

places were set with a princess tiara, name tag, and a little package filled with beads and ribbon for their first activity
to tie the tiaras into our whimsical princess theme, simple store bought plastic tiaras were given a handmade feel with clear crystal gemstones, and felt flowers and leaves (perhaps I could do a tutorial on these?)

one of my favourite elements was the assortment of repurposed jars, wrapped with a paper doily and tied with twine.  For the flowers we created miniature tissue pom poms, attached them to florists wire and finished with a hanging crystal.
cupcakes finished with green icing and an adorable rice paper flower sat upon sweet little cupcake pedestals

the cake table was left quite simple, so as not to compete with the other decor...

baking is not one of my strong points...so after years of insisting on making birthday cakes I caved in and ordered one!! I was so pleased with how well the princess cake from Miss Mauds co-ordinated.  I ordered it without decoration and simply finished it off with ribbon and lavender sugar flowers...and it sat perfectly with the rest of the party!

arnotts rice cookies (another cheat!), topped with green icing and finished with purple sprinkles...simple but delicious!

mallow pops...

the girls loved their personalised drink bottles!

games & activities

at this point I must thank two of the mums who stayed and helped with all the activities!! Andrea and Rebecca, I truly appreciated you jumping in and helping, you are amazing! Thank you! x

on arrival the girls each created their own princess bracelet...so sweet!


one of the things Indigo insisted on having for the party was 'rapunzel hair'...so we found these little plaited hair ties and for their next activity the girls decorated them with sticky gemstones...to create their own 'rapunzel' hair plait!... they then all loved popping them into their hair and parading their new 'long hair'!


next we sat down to watch a little 'Tangled' while they each had their nails polished and decorated with butterfly decals! 

next they decorated a cupcake with gorgeous enchanted garden cupcake toppers from Jamosie Sweet (a special thank you to Janelle from Jamosie Sweet for getting these done so quickly and perfectly! And they arrived all the way from Melbourne without a single piece broken! ...the most gorgeous edible cupcake toppers, take a look at her gallery! x)
 
and, of course, no party is complete without pass the parcel...the wrapping was inspired by one of the images from our pinterest inspiration board! Each layer had a unique felt flower hairclip which my sister and I made...which unfortunately I didn't get a good photo of :( 

thank you gifts

and after a fun, princessy party...Indigo's friends went home with big smiles on their faces and a sweet little noodle boxes filled with princess goodies!

(oh, and the best bit for me... dropping indigo to school on Monday to be greeted by her friends who told  me it was the 'greatest party ever!')



Tanya x
  
credits
styling & photography - tanya from the candy tree
printables - the candy tree
apothecary vases - sweet little birdy
cupcake toppers - jamosie sweet
cupcake cases and rice paper flowers - glad tidings, canning vale, wa
helpers - Jodie, Kylie, Andrea & Rebecca...thankyou again! x

Monday, June 6, 2011

{free printable} ...sleeps until my birthday

 ...a gorgeous printable project to create for your little one, to count the sleeps until their birthday!

click here to download
x

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

{hello} indigo's party, pinterest and our first birthday!!

Hello lovelies!

It seems I've neglected our little blog of late :(

Life has been very busy with party bookings and custom stationery orders (and, ahem...my new little project...) that there just haven't been the hours in the day!

I wanted to pop in though, and give you a {teeny} peek at the invitations for Indigo's 5th birthday party, which is next week...a princess party with a touch of purple and green, a pinch of rapunzel and a dash of handmade!


I created a board at pinterest to collect inspiration for the party {I've only just discovered pinterest this week...oh my goodness, I love it!}...here's a little preview...

...you can take a closer look here

Haven't heard of pinterest? It's amazing! You can create virtual pinboards of images you love, and it keeps a track of where you have collected the images from...you can then share the boards with friends, have others visit and repin your images...did I mention I love it? I must thank my friend Jacq from Funky Dory for inviting me!!

Oh, and it's also The Candy Tree's 1st birthday this month!! hmmm how to celebrate...any suggestions?

Tanya x

Monday, May 16, 2011

{food allergy awareness} food allergy awareness week


This week is Food Allergy Awareness Week!

Food allergies are a really important consideration when planning any party, but especially for children! It really isn't hard to accomodate children with allergies...it just takes a little consideration.  Ask parents when they rsvp if their child has any allergies...if so, then ask the parent or search the web for suitable recipes.  You have no idea how much it will be appreciated by both the parents and the party guest!

If you would like to find out more please pop over to the Food Allergy Awareness Week or Allergy Facts websites.  There are some great resources to download and share with your school.

We would love to hear your stories and favourite party recipes to share in a new 'food allergy awareness' category. You can share your stories over at our facebook page, where we will be discussing food allergies all week...or email me tanya@thecandytree.com.au

Tanya x

Monday, May 2, 2011

{free printables} mother's day gift bag & tags

sweet printable mothers day gift bag & tags
gorgeous prntables for mothers day!

click here to download!

hope you love them!
Tanya x

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Thursday, April 14, 2011

{inspiration} rapunzel party inspiration

It's no secret that we have been working on a princess range for quite some time now... we have just been so busy with bookings and filling orders that (although we would love nothing more) we simply haven't been able to give it our full attention.

One thing we are certain of is that we want our princess range to be a little different... definately not a pink and purple colour palette, and not too fluffy! 

So when our good friend Georgie asked us for some inspiration for an upcoming Rapunzel party ...it got us thinking again!! 
image source: invitation - marthastewart.com, macaroons - image source unknown , birthday cake (colours edited) - supermommoments.com, outdoor setting (colours edited) saraspartyperfect.com, jellybeans - candywarehouse.com, purple bunting - supermommoments.com, Rapunzel in tower - jbondy.com, lanterns - littlegypsies.com , castle - disney.com , costume - The Candy Tree

We love the colour palette of soft purples and greens, and can imagine a gorgeous outdoor gathering with lots of texture and layering.

We'd love to hear what you think?
 
Tanya x

Thursday, April 7, 2011

{introducing} the handmade hullabaloo!

I am quite excited to share that I have been invited to be a part of The Handmade Hullabaloo!

What is The Handmade Hullabaloo!?...
Created by Ann Thomas of Little Red Bus, The Handmade Hullabaloo! is 'a collaboration between designers working and contributing towards the development of a creative generation'.

It is a gorgeous site, updated daily with lovely inspirations!!  I am very honoured to be contributing alongside some amazing ladies, including Amy of Giggleberry Creations, Alex & Renee of The Inspired Occasion, Rebecca of Children Inspire Design, Justina, Marie of Etincelle Creative Studio, and of course Ann! You can read more about these lovely ladies here


Keep an eye out for my posts, which will be filled with free printables and tutorials!!

My first contribution has just been posted (yay!) and is a sweet 'mini collection' of happy easter printables, along with a quick tutorial!!!

Here's a little peek!


Click here to download your {free} printables!

Tanya x

Friday, March 25, 2011

{love} little bundle of joy!


Exciting news!!! Do you remember the 'feather her nest' baby sprinkle we styled recently for my gorgeous sister, Jodie...well....

My little nephew arrived into the world on Sunday, and he is just precious!!

Congratulations to Jodie, Paul & big brother Ryan!

Tanya x

Thursday, March 24, 2011

{eat} vege sticks & dip in a cup!


How adorable are these individual serves of vege sticks & dip? So fun, healthy & colourful, these would be perfect for a dinosaur or safari party!!

I got the idea from one of the gorgeous blogs I follow!! I can't remember where though sorry :( ....if it's you, please let me know so I can give you credit!!

To make them yourself... 
  • 'secret family recipe' dip - combine a packet of Continental french onion soup mix with a 400-500g pot of sour cream.
  • cut carrot and celery sticks. 
  • half-fill plastic 'shooter' glasses with dip and finish with vege sticks
  • keep refrigerated until ready to serve
So easy, healthy and delicious!!

We served these at a party recently, and they were a real hit with children and adults alike...best thing, double dipping is ok!!

Tanya x

Monday, March 14, 2011

{free printable} under the sea colouring page

A {free} colouring page
to download your copy!

Tanya x

{real parties} under the sea

As promised, here are the photos from my nephew's 1st birthday party!

My sister-in-law, Jocasta, put together this gorgeous under the sea party...thank you for letting me share your party...so many lovely ideas!!

First peek through to the party room! The doorway was adorned with garlands created with twine and party dots. The table centrepiece was a lovely old treasure chest filled with treasure that the children had fun exploring! And spot the platter of yummy gummi fish!

Jocasta always makes amazing cupcakes...and we were not disappointed!! How adorable are these octopus cupcakes? I just love them...so simple, but so amazingly effective!!

...and sweet little fish and starfish cupcakes...yum!!
  
A drink fountain flowed with 'ocean spray'...a gorgeous touch! And bunches of blue and green balloons were dotted throughout the party room, adding 'bubbles' to the ocean.

Dixie drumsticks look just like little fish...too cute!!

Guests had a lovely time playing lots of games and they each had their faces painted with cute under the sea characters.

Fun under the sea crackles, created with rice bubbles, white chocolate, and silicone moulds.

Delicious 'fish' cake created with vanilla sponge, frosted with butter icing and finished with smartie 'scales'.

Lovely little noodle boxes decorated with shimmering fish added to the room decor and were party favors for the guests to take home after the party.

A beautiful party Jocasta, we all had a wonderful afternoon!

Tanya x

Thursday, March 10, 2011

{real parties} under the sea

My gorgeous little nephew turned one recently, and I designed this fun under the sea party stationery just for him... Jayden's mum & dad put together an adorable party for him, with lots of ideas for your next under the sea or mermaid party...I'll share photos from that soon! Ooh, and there'll be a {free} colouring page for your little ones too!! x

   








 
Tanya x