I am more than a little obsessed with fresh flowers as they always brighten my day, no matter what. I like to think of them as my happy makers. At this time of year, fresh flowers are in abundance so I love to treat myself to a bunch as often as I can. Many times it’s just a few daffodils or a single stem, other times it’s a full bouquet. When I get my flowers, I’m always thinking about different ways to display them. Just sticking them in a vase is fine sometimes but other times I like to play around with different displays. Here are 3 of my current favourite slightly more unusual ways to display flowers: Continue Reading "3 unusual ways to display your flowers"
Birthday’s are a big deal in our home. Everybody’s birthday is celebrated and marked in some way but especially Anya’s as for kids, there’s nothing more special. Anya’s birthday is in December and due to a major house move in December 2014, we weren’t able to have a proper party for Anya’s 6th birthday. So when she turned 7 last month, we wanted to celebrate properly.
Winter is always a trickier time for parties as having an outdoor party is out of the question. I didn’t want to hire a venue as it never feels personal enough so we decided on a small party of 10-12 kids at home. And then we thought about possible themes. We went through quite a few ideas but none felt inspired or exciting enough until I thought about a Bollywood party. Anya was so excited by this idea that I knew we had found our theme.
Nothing says Summer to me more than fresh fruit. OK, maybe ice-cream too but fruit is up there with the Summeriest of Summer things. The bright colours, the fresh flavours, the juicy consistency all shout Summer. Apart from eating it, I love the idea of having a fruit themed Summer party for a kids birthday, a family gathering or just about any excuse you can come up with to have a party. I went looking for some fruit themed party inspiration and here are 9 of the best fruit decorations, cakes and more for a fabulously fresh n’ fruity Summer party:
It seems to be birthday party season around here. Anya has a birthday party nearly every weekend from now till mid-July and sometimes even two per weekend. I now know what mum’s mean when they say their kids have a more hectic social life than them! For one of the parties coming up, the mum is a good friend and she asked me to find her some inspiration for DIY party hats as she wants to make them herself. So of course I agreed and thought I would share my favourite finds here too in case they inspire you to make your own.
These fruit inspired DIY party hats are so fun. They are bright and fresh, perfect for a Summer birthday party. You don’t have to stop at pineapples and strawberries but can include any kinds of fruit you like.
One of my favourite ways to brighten up a kids room is to hang up a garland or some bunting. Even the most blah space can instantly come to life with one of these. And of course no kiddy party can be complete without bunting. Currently my favourites are these beautiful handmade ones by Numero 74 which include garlands made from vintage fabrics, crochet garlands and more. And they’ve just added party packs to their range with bunting adorned invitation cards and the prettiest party bags I’ve seen. You’ll find all these at Mokkasin which is fast becoming a favourite shop of mine not just because of their wonderful selection but also their photo styling is so stunning like in these picture above.
Today is my daughter Anya’s 4th birthday… happy, happy birthday Anya! We had her first proper birthday party on the weekend. So far, we’ve only had a little celebration at home but I think 4 is the age where they really start to appreciate a party with their little friends. She asked for a pink party and a purple princess cake and that’s what she got. I thought I would share some pictures of her party and also take this opportunity to introduce my newest sponsor Hugo & Adele which is a super pretty party shop.
When I started looking for her party decorations, I soon began to despair as all I could find was shiny plastic things which I am really not keen on. And then by chance I stumbled upon Hugo & Adele and it was love at first sight. Hugo & Adele are a small shop selling the prettiest party wares and they had nearly all the stuff I was looking for. So I ordered all the paper plates, paper cups, paper straws, party bags, bunting and more for the party from there. When the goodies arrived wrapped up in soft pink tissue, I was delighted as they looked even better in person than in pictures. I’m so happy they’ve since become a sponsor as I really love their store and would wholeheartedly recommend them because not only is their stuff lovely but they were also very efficient and pleasant to deal with.
For the kid’s table I bought a white paper table cloth and thought it would be fun to give each child a set of crayons so they could draw while they waited for their food. This worked really well as not only did they have fun but it kept them occupied {read: out of trouble!} while the food was being served. I kept the decorations simple on the table as I felt the cups, plates and straws looked lovely and didn’t need much embellishment. I did however make some washi tape bunting which I hung all around the table.
I served most of the food in pink and white cupcake holders for the kids but made disposable platters for the adults, using cardboard and pink patterned tissue paper. The party food was simple and of course very, very kid friendly!
While the whole party theme was pink and white, I used a combination of polka dots, stripes and solids. I also used a variety of pink shades ranging from pale pink to bright. I loved these spotty party bags and thought it would be fun to stick those cute pencils on the front. The party bags turned out to be a bit of a kid magnet so it was a little difficult convincing the kids to wait till the end to get one!
Anya really enjoyed her pink party and I loved putting it together for her. I couldn’t have done it without the help of my husband and very good friend Angus. I’d also like to say a big thank you to our friend Antoine Aoun for the stunning photography, Mirna Cakes for the striking cake and finally to Hugo & Adelefor the beautiful paper party wares and decorations.
UPDATE NOV 2015: Unfortunately Hugo & Adele are no longer operating. But if you want some fab party decorations similar to these, you’ll find them at pretty little party shop.
Ebabee Likes is a style guide for babies, kids, teens and their mamas. It’s all about inspiration, ideas and indulging yourself and your brood. It’s written by me ~ Nomita ~ a style loving girl from Mumbai who now live’s in London. Read More...
