{spotted on etsy} tea party goodie bags

We spotted these adorable little teapot boxes on etsy and couldn't resist sharing!! We think they would make perfect goodie bags for a tea party, don't you? I can imagine them all lined up on a dessert table...too cute!!

you can find them here on etsy along with lots of other goodies!!

{inspired by} mini lemon meringues

How delicious do these mini lemon meringue cupcakes look? I found them here on http://www.howdoesshe.com/. Shelley gives a step-by-step...starting with mini lemon cupcakes, smothered with lucious lemon curd, and topped with melt-in-your-mouth meringue...my mouth is watering just thinking about them!! These miniature goodies would be perfect for a tea party!

If you haven't visited http://www.howdoesshe.com/ before...I recommend it! It's filled with lots of lovely ideas and inspirations on everything from baking & celebrating to housekeeping & family! 

Tanya x
{p.s. just in case any of you ever have me over for coffee and cake, my absolute favourite dessert is lemon meringue!}

{inspired by} teabag cookies

How adorable are these teabag cookies? Thanks to Kim @ Frost Me for letting us share! 

To make them:

1. cut a tea bag shape out of wax paper and use it as a template to cut from shortbread cookie dough. 

2. using a round frosting tip, cut a hole at the top of each

3. bake 

4. dip bottoms in chocolate 

5. thread white string through and attach a cute little tag (cut out from paper or card with a cute stamp on each side)

... definately on the menu for my next tea party!!

{recipe} tiny tea cups

These 'cute as a button' marshmallow teacups were made by Aimee's very clever husband, Mark.  I love them, and don't think any tea party should be without them!!

To make your own...

Ingredients:

tic toc biscuits

marshmallows

block of chocolate

lifesaver lollies (Mark has used pepp-o-mint for these ones)

sprinkles (to match your theme, of course! We found the ones shown at IGA)

1. Break the chocolate into squares and melt in the microwave or double boiler.

2. Cut lifesavers in halves (TIP: place the lifesaver smooth side down otherwise they break into lots of pieces rather than halves)

3. Lay tic toc biscuits out on a tray, icing side up

4. Dip one end of the marshmallow into the chocolate and dip into sprinkles

5. Dip other end of marshmallow into chocolate and stick to tic toc

6. Finally dip ends of lifesaver half into chocolate and stick to the side of the marshmallow

Stand back and admire your cute creations!

{indigo's tea party} the food

Indigo's party was for afternoon tea, so I kept the menu sweet & simple...cupcakes, scones with jam & cream (of course!), lovely little marshmallow teacups (shown above), heart shaped fairy bread, mini circle-shaped cucumber sandwiches and a few store bought items...wafer sticks and mini meringues.

{indigo's tea party} the cake

I have seen some amazing teapot and teacup cakes...but I wasn't that daring!  I went for a giant cupcake instead!

I borrowed this amazing giant cupcake baking pan from a friend (thanks Katie xxx) and here's how it turned out... Indigo loved it and it fitted the theme perfectly! And so easy! The pan comes in 2 parts...the base and the top, it even leaves a little hollow in the middle for filling (what did I fill it with? ...marshmallows and icing...yum!).  I made a giant cupcake holder from paper (printed to co-ordinate) and iced the top with Betty Crocker frosting that I coloured pink with food dye (love Betty Crocker!).

{indigo's tea party} decor

This is my favourite photo of the decor...I love the colours, so sweet!

The table shows the decor from our tea party package... and many hours drooling over the gorgeous dessert tables created by Amy Atlas inspired me to try my own mini version (seen in the background...not quite finished). The birthday banner...inspired by Polkadots & Pirates. Both these ladies are very talented ...I will share some of their amazing work in future posts!!

{indigo's tea party} invitations

My gorgeous little Indigo just turned 4! ...Where have the years disappeared to?

We had a tea party to celebrate, so I thought I would share some of the ideas and images!

Here are the invitations from our tea party package.

For Indigo's I've added a sticky flower gem to the top of the teapot and layered the invite onto fairyfloss pink cardstock... too cute!