Well, hello

Art print by Shira Sela on Etsy

Hello blog, hello friends - we have missed you. Sorry we've kept you waiting. The last two weeks have been a rollercoaster ride of family travels, family celebrations and sadly, some family heartbreak. We are pleased to be back and can't wait to share a few snippets we've been collecting while away. xo

Real Hip Hooray: Rainbows `n' Ruffles

My big girl, Mia, turned 6 on Monday. So we held a little un-party to celebrate.

Mia is a constant whirlwind of colour - from what she chooses to wear to the art she creates and everything in between, there is simply no place for black in her world. As a Mum not particularly fond of the rock chick look for my little girls this is a passion I am quite happy to nurture. So when these gorgeous invitations were launched last year, Mia was quite besotted with them and announced there and then that her next party would be a Rainbow Party. I liked the idea too - not too young, not too grown-up and simply a perfect fit for my unashamedly girlie girl.

Mia is a creative type and always has big ideas (not sure where she gets that from!). In the moments when she was dreaming up the decorations, carefully selecting the guests, and poring over the Womens Weekly Kids Cake Book to find the perfect cake we, of course, didn't have the heart to tell her an elaborate party might not be coming her way this year.

Over time I eased her into the concept of `less is more' and in doing so realised, that despite her having a strong creative vision of her own, my definition and Mia's definition of `elaborate' were two different things. It seemed she would ultimately be happy with some candles to blow out on a cake - oh and the dancing she had written playlists for and carefully choreographed. I simply could not deny her the sheer joy of celebrating with a few friends on her special day. So we pitched it to Daddy as a `playdate' and I set myself the challenge of creating a special afternoon that didn't leave us poor or frazzled.

Lucky for me, Rainbows went through a little popularity surge in blogland recently and the planning was made easy - first I spotted this cake, then this inspiration board, and a cute downloadable colouring sheet. I love it when a plan comes together!

So Mia celebrated being 6 amidst a cascade of gorgeous colour - fun rainbow ruffles, umbrellas, yellow gumboots, ribbon wands, a surprising cake and a sugar rush of rainbow-inspired treats.

Mia had been understandably sceptical about a white cake at a Rainbow party and I had deliberately not given too much away about what was on the inside - there were nerves cutting this one, but she was full of giggles and excitement when the fun stripes of colour were revealed!

What I loved most about this `playdate' is that it felt `elaborate' without being expensive or stressful to create. I pulled it off with only two days at hand after our camping holiday, including the sewing of the oh-so-ruffley rainbow table skirt - Mia's favourite thing (and mine!). She already has plans for me to convert it to a dress for her. Might even get one for myself - mmmm, maybe not! I like a little black in my world.

Couldn't resist popping this pic in of Mia - the grumpy face, getting tired and bored of all the picture taking and just wishing everyone would arrive - and her middle sister Ava offering up one of her `don't worry' cuddles.


Happy Birthday gorgeous girl. Keep dreaming big and always dream in colour. xo


Oh and I'll save you commenting about there being no pink in the rainbow, by simply repeating what Mia said when I mentioned that small detail: `But there HAS to be pink in the rainbow'. Girls!

Check back in later for my Rainbows `n' Ruffles style guide and a few tips on recreating the look.

Real Hip Hooray: The Most Elegant of Elephants...

So after showing you a sneak peak of this darling invitation and inspiration back in January, we have been counting down the days until the lovely Sarah from Style Me Gorgeous celebrated her sweet son Max's Naming Day. Wait no longer - here are some of the divine details of this beautiful and hip celebration!

Using an adorable colour palette of baby blue and chocolate - inspired by Martha Stewart paper lanterns - Sarah has managed to serve up a table of treats that make our mouths water!

From the delightful cake toppers perched above shaggy coconut in just the right shade, to the delicious elephant cookies with their darling themed packaging, Sarah has managed to take the charm and whimsy of a children's celebration and given it an elegant twist that any grown up would love to have for their special day.

We love the idea of the little suitcase, inviting friends to leave special wishes for Max on his Naming Day, such a lovely keepsake. Of course we also adore the take home Lolly Bags, including our all-time favourite, Milk Bottles - no self-respecting Lolly Buffet or Sweets Table would be complete without them!

(Images via Sarah at Style Me Gorgeous.)

Thanks to Sarah and Max for sharing this special celebration with us and our readers. You can see more of this gorgeous and oh-so-stylish celebration here.

FREE Printable: Easter Tags

Squeal! We are so very excited to share our first printable project with you just in time for Easter celebrations this weekend.

We have collaborated with the uber-talented Sarah from Style Me Gorgeous to bring you the sweetest little set of tags to style up your Easter goodies. In a gorgeous colour palette of lemon, mint and lavender, there are eight different designs - 4 Happy Easter tags and 4 Easter Goodies tags.

Here's 10 ways with your free tags:

• Create take-home paper treat bags - punch and loop with ribbon or simply staple neatly to a folded edge. We added a length of pretty ribbon over the top fold and attached the tag to the ribbon at the front using double sided tape. Wooden pegs would look super cute, too.


• Make sure the Easter Bunny knows who's who by tying a little personalised tag to the kids' baskets.


• Gifts to give? Take a strip of wrapping paper and make a belt around a plain gift box before finishing with ribbon and a tag.


• Don't let anyone mistake who collected the most eggs in the hunt - use the tags to name the buckets, bags, or baskets.


• Decorate the edge of a cake stand with pretty ribbon and attach a tag at the front for a perfectly pretty display.


• Fill a clear pillow-box with these little speckled eggs, tie on a personalised tag with ribbon and use as a placecard for guests at your Easter feast.


• Cut a small vertical slit on the top edges of the Happy Easter tags and thread with ribbon to create a pretty garland.


• Add some height to a centrepiece by slotting cards onto a loop of wire and standing in a container of wheatgrass or real turf for a little bit of fun - add fresh flowers and painted eggs for bonus sweet factor.


• Use as labels on a collection of glass jars filled with Easter yummies - try marshmallows, chocolate eggs of all varieties and jelly beans - and let those who drop by fill a bag to take home.


• Bake a batch of Hot Cross Buns, wrap in baking paper, tie with kitchen string and a tag and deliver to your neighbours.

We are so in love with those little speckled eggs right now - let's just say there were quite a few less of these by the end of this little photo shoot. They just seem to be the perfect colourful little treat to package up and give to friends, don't they?

So how will you use your tags? We can't wait to see! Let us know your ideas and please send us some piccies. Hop on over here to download.

Happy Easter from Hip Hooray and Style Me Gorgeous. xo

Celebrating Easter

This is such a fun (read: busy!) time of the year in our house. We are headed off on Friday for our annual Easter camping trip - our seventh year in the most perfect little spot on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. The kids are beside themselves with anticipation - Mia says she wishes it could be Easter camping every day of the year - maybe she just knows her birthday is also around the corner and when it comes down to it these next two weeks are pretty darn good for a six-year-old - school's out and the beach is beckoning. There will be friends they haven't seem in a little while, chocolate, building sandcastles, chocolate, exploring the rock pools, chocolate, crab hunting by torchlight - oh, and chocolate!

In 2008, when I was heavily pregnant with Zoe, we took a little break from our tradition and celebrated Easter with the extended family instead - Mum created a delicious Easter brunch and the kids hunted for eggs around the beautiful gardens my parents have created at their home. And there were these cupcakes . . . .

Perfect inspiration for all the `bring-a-plate' invitations this week. I whipped these up for Ava's Kindy Easter Hat Parade. . . .

These cupcakes are probably even cuter with chocolate icing and pieces of Flake on the outer edge to resemble a little nest, but time was not on my side last night. Do you like the sweet tag? Why don't you check in later today - we have the cutest little pressie for you.

A reason

I have been married for (nearly) 8 years. Bridal Shower not an option. I have had three beautiful daughters and am not pregnant, nor planning on being pregnant. Baby Shower not an option. My birthday is not until September. Too long to wait. I want to have this party NOW - please help me find a reason.

(images from Nonpareil Magazine)

The team at Nonpareil have created this heavenly dessert buffet for body and bath . . . . Cupcake bath bombs, Pink Lemonade and Cherry Pop handmade soaps, sweet little tins of coconut lip balm. Oh and that colour palette of watermelon and teal. The best bit - it's all downloadable and comes with recipes for creating all the lotions and potions! Be still my beating heart.

This is just one of the gorgeous features in this inspiring online mag sprinkled with DIY delights and serious style for celebrating - our definite new favourite and one you won't want to miss.

Love letters

Oh my, how I would adore opening my letterbox to find one of these!