{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

{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

{cupcakes} flower pot cupcakes!

This morning we caught up with family and friends to celebrate Maeve's birthday!  Maeve is my cousin Berenice's second daughter... it is lovely seeing all our children together and reminds us of the fun we had all those years ago!

I wanted to share these adorable flower pot cupcakes that Aunty Vernita made for the party....so sweet!! Starting with a plain cupcake, she has frosted them with chocolate butter icing and dipped in chocolate sprinkles to create the 'dirt'. Then topped with a lolly pop and two spearmint leaves for the flower. They would be perfect for a garden fairy party, maybe even something the little fairies could create themselves!

Happy 2nd Birthday Maeve!!

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!!

{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!}

{gorgeous & healthy} toadstools

Just saw these adorable toadstools made from eggs(or is it bocconcini?), cherry tomatoes & crumbled feta on a bed of alfalfa and had to share!!  So cute, and healthy!! 

discovered on Hostess with the Mostess, image from dia on flikr 

{create} mallow pops

Another sweet creation from Aimee's husband, Mark.  

To make them yourself...

1. place marshamallows onto balloon sticks trimmed to size

2. colour melted white chocolate with food colouring powder  (avoid liquid food colouring as it will cause chocolate to separate) 

3. dip marshmallows into melted chocolate and quickly turn over to allow chocolate to drip down sides

4. place smartie on top and sprinkle with sprinkles.

5. to display, cover florist foam with fabric or napkin, create holes with knife or skewer and insert mallow pops.

These would be great for any party, simply change the colour of the chocolate, smarties and sprinkles to co-ordinate with your theme! I could imagine little pirate mallow pops created with dark chocolate, red smarties and white sprinkles...or dinosaur ones... milk chocolate with green smarties & sprinkles...

{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} marshmallow fudge

Made this with the kids today...so yummy and quite easy! I've included the recipe (especially for my lovely friend Amanda!)

ingredients:

225g icing sugar

50g marshmallows

50g unsalted butter

1T milk

1/2t vanilla essence

method:

1. Line a small shallow baking tin with baking paper

2. Sift icing sugar into a large bowl and make a hollow in the centre.

3. Combine the marshmallows, butter, milk and vanilla in a saucepan.

4. Heat the pan over a low heat until everything has melted, stir occasionally.

5. Pour the mixture into the hollow in the icing sugar and stir together until well combined and smooth

6. Place the fudge into your prepared tin and using another piece of baking paper, smooth to the desired thickness.

7. Leave to cool and then place in the fridge for 30 minutes

8. Remove fudge from fridge and peel away baking paper. Cut into bite-size pieces and return to fridge to harden 

Store in an airtight container in the fridge and eat within a week (if it lasts that long!!)

{inspired by} mini meringues

This week we have been working on decor for an upcoming 13th birthday slumber party.  The birthday girl loves bright colours (especially pink), so we agreed on a colour palette of hot pink, orange and lime. 

While looking for inspiration, I came across these mini meringues, aren't they sweet?  And the perfect colours! I love including mini meringues at parties (you may remember seeing some in the photos of indigo's tea party), they are great for dessert tables as they can be created in any colour! But I must admit that I never tried making them...I buy them from the supermarket! These one's are handmade and featured on The TomKat Studio's gorgeous blog, and she has been kind enough to share the recipe from her friend Suzie. I will definately be trying them out soon... I'll let you know how I go!!

{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!

{details} star cupcake inspiration

I just spotted these adorable little star topped cupcakes on The TomKat Studio blog...aren't they sweet? They were originally posted on the inchmark blog, you can see more pics and instructions here. I think they will be perfect for Toby's magic party that is coming up...just change the icing colour!

{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.