{real parties} christmas dessert table

One of my best friends, Heidi, recently asked me to help out with a dessert table for a Christmas quiz night she was planning for the local junior tee-ball club...how could I resist??

Working with a very limited budget (& timeframe), we created this gorgeous red, white and silver dessert table!!  

Guests enjoyed a delicious chocolate fountain with marshmallow snowmen, wafer sticks and strawberries...plus sweet treats; jaffas, cool mints, chocolate santas and sour straps!! ...You will notice the chocolate fountain missing from the images...unfortunately I only had a few moments to snap a couple of shots after it had been added and they are all a little blurry...needless to say, it was delicious!!

I hope you enjoy taking a look and maybe even get some ideas for a christmas function you have coming up!!

I love the simplicity of the red, white and silver...the twinkle of the glass and baubles, the shimmer of the silver and the texture of the tissue snowflakes...

Heidi set the guests tables with a white tablecloth, silver wire tinsel running down the length, a tinsel christmas tree for the centrepiece, and place settings of glittered bonbons & santa chocolates... clean, simple & stylish!

JOY ...I think this beautiful little three letter word sums up the festive season perfectly...full of lovely, joyful moments spent with family and friends!

Baubles and glass add a gorgeous Christmassy sparkle!!

The sweet tissue snowflakes & daisies in the background were inspired by a gorgeous dessert table by The Party Dress, (spotted over at Mon Tresor) ...when I saw them I thought they would be perfect over the silver backdrop ... so naturally (with very little time to spare) I thought "oooh I can make those"...hmmm not quite so easy!! The smaller ones turned out the best, and I think if created with a double layer of tissue the large ones would work much better!!

Would anyone like a tutorial on these??
(UPDATE: snowflake tutorial now posted!)

Tanya x

{surprise!} vintage circus baby shower

I'm going to be an aunty to a new baby very soon!! My brother and his gorgeous fiance are expecting a little bundle of joy in early October...can't wait! Over the weekend family and friends came together for a surprise baby shower. Aimee & I jumped at the opportunity to style the special event in our soon to be released vintage circus theme! 

Starting with this adorable invitation, we carried the gorgeous vintage colour scheme & theme throughout the decor and food...

We filled the dessert table with fun, circus inspired treats...donuts, popcorn, lollies and fairy floss cupcakes!

Inspired by Kiki La Ru, I created miniature cake bunting for the nappy cake centrepiece...so sweet!

Tissue pompoms in red, blue and white were hung throughout the party room.  The red ones were finished with pointed ends...reminds me of pom poms on the end of a clowns hat!

Fairy floss cupcakes and popcorn cones... I just couldn't resist trying out the gorgeous fairy floss cake inspiration we came across last week!! I had originally planned to use the polkadot cones for the fairy floss, but I think the popcorn looks great in them!

I found these adorable 'wishes for baby' cards at lilsugar.com, and customised them to our vintage circus theme with a polka dot background! Thank you gifts were a simple striped paper bag, filled with sweets and finished with a co-ordinating thankyou label.

A fabulous afternoon was had by all! Lots of love to the mum-to-be and an extra-special thankyou to everyone who helped out!

Tanya x

{inspired by} cake pops by bakerella

Have you heard of cake pops? We hadn't until recently...they are the sweetest little desserts and we have been seeing them feature on dessert tables everywhere!

Angie from Bakerella (the queen of cake pops!) has a delicious book dedicated to these sweet sensations, to be released very soon! You can pre-order it in Australia here. now available from Amazon! Cake Pops: Tips, Tricks, and Recipes for More Than 40 Irresistible Mini Treats

These adorable icecream cone cake pops are our absolute favourites, they look just like the real thing... without the mess!

 

You can find the post here and Bakerella have been kind enough to share basic cake pop instructions here. 

We love this little 'melted' one.

How cute would these be for a vintage circus party? Have fun!!

{toby's magic party} candy buffet

Have I mentioned how much I love candy buffet's at parties?  They create such an impact, and the kids love them!

For Toby's I used a black, red and silver colour palette to co-ordinate with his magic party.

Drinks 'for thirsty magician's' (and to the right of the photo...christmas baubles came in handy!!)

Lollies in black, red and white - chicos, jaffas & gummi penguins

I don't know why but I love this photo...I think it's the black, white and silver! I cheated a lot for these cupcakes...they were so easy to make!  Packet mix, betty crocker icing and dipped in silver sugar balls...yummy to look at and yummy to eat!

Licorice magic wands for the little magicians

Sour straps rolled and placed into little silver patty pans.

Mini popcorn bags. These are adorable and could be incorporated into any party. I'm putting together a printable and how-to on these...so check back soon!

{details} icecream jackets inspiration

How gorgeous are these icecream jackets by Amy Atlas? ...and they are the perfect colour palette to co-ordinate with our garden fairy party decor! View Amy's icecream story at Sweet Designs: A Blog by Amy Atlas: Our Ice Cream Story for InStyle Magazine,  and you'll find a link for the pattern to make your own paper icecream jackets!