Stella's 6th Birthday Party

Early last month our biggest girl turned 6. 

I swear it is 6 going on 16 , she is just growing up so fast. Her love of One Direction (Harry in particular) , High School Musical and all the things that I thought would be beyond her years. Alas, that is not the case, such a big girl now. 

Even though she acts like a big kid, she is still a little girl , so I wanted to throw her a pretty , girly party. Stella opted for a small party with just a few girl friends, over a big party with lots of kids. I can't say that I was disappointed ! 

So here is Stella's 6th Birthday party

Seeing as though there were only a few girls invited, I opted to make the invitations myself. It only took about 30mins all together and I used all the materials that I already had on hand. Actually the whole party was created and decorated using items from around our home and things I already had in my Party tubs. I think the only purchases were the pink roses on the table and the paper plates. If you want to throw a party with maximum impact but with little outlay, shop from around your home. Pick a theme or colour scheme that you love, because you are bound to have items laying around that you can use.

Anyhoo , this is the way the invitations turned out. 

I used a pretty floral backing paper, I wrote a cute poem to give all the information needed on the invitation and wrapped the invites in doilies and bakers twine. A few butterflies cut using the Martha Stewart butterfly punch and they were complete. Perfect!

And the overall party table 

With only 4 little ladies (plus Stella and Lacey , the boys went out with their Dad for the afternoon) , I didn't go too overboard with the food spread. Some apple and sultana muffins are displayed in the cupcake stands (from Target a few years ago ) 

The gift bags were purchased from Woolworths , and were a perfect match to the party table. They had a few pens, notebooks, and a killer python. Easy on the lollies, bigger on the girly stuff. Win win really! 

And a rare photo of Stella and Mum , in front of her party table. She was so excited and had a great time.

And our 4 little cherubs, its hard to master a photo with all 4 looking good :)

As part of the girly afternoon, each little lady got their nails painted at our express nail salon. Boy did they think they were special!! So sweet! 

We also sat around the table and made pretty bracelets and necklaces , I bought this cheap bead kit from Kmart and added a few we already had. 

They all had such a great time creating their bracelets together. 

We also popped some popcorn and sat down and watched a girly Tinkerbell movie, on a mattress I had layed out with rugs and pillows (sorry the only photo I have , has the girls all together.) It was like a mini slumber party, an insight of the years to come! 

And this year , after Stella went through the Australian Womens Weekly kids cake book, she picked the pool!! The picture in the book is quite dated and I knew I wanted it to look more girly so this is how it turned out! 

Who knew you could get bright blue jelly? The jelly was actually placed on a small blue Tupperware lid, so that when I cut the cake, I could lift the lid off and just a yummy chocolate cake was left. 

The little Lego ladies and sun lounges were a perfect addiction. 

And the princess and her cake at candle time!! 

It was a lovely afternoon , with gorgeous little ladies , having a great time together. It was lovely to have a small , all girls party. We were able to do the activities at ease and even though the house was noisy , it was filled with giggles, playing and sweet conversations. 

If you are thinking of throwing a small, girly party, I would recommend it to anyone!! 

Stella's Tea Party

A few weeks ago we celebrated Stella's 5th Birthday with a Tea Party for 9 little friends and of course, her.

I have found it hard in the past to draw the line with invites to our kids parties, friends of yours, friends of theirs, invite one child and the parents come with all the siblings etc and soon enough your party is bigger than planned and you are cooking and baking for weeks in preparation.

Well I didn't have the time, as I left the organising a bit late, and Stella has quite a gorgeous group of friends from school and had recently been to 2 parties with the same girls at both, so the decision was easy!

I thought the idea of a tea party for the little girls would be nice. Something different and a little grown up for them, and we all know how little girls like to pretend they are grown up ladies!

We held the party at our home, in the living area, and we borrowed a table from our Playgroup and a few extra chairs that we needed too. The table was a perfect size and it was nice that all the girls had somewhere to sit.
Our dining table was just moved to the side and used as an extra food table.

I have come to the conclusion that afternoon parties are easier, you have the morning to prepare and cook and everything is more relaxed, so that is what we did. I set the table out like this (above) in the morning and just plugged away until everything was done.

This is after I had set out the basics on the table.

A simple pink runner, some gorgeous disposable plates (similar here, I purchased mine in town) and serviettes (from IKEA here) and some roses from our garden.

We also hung a few gorgeous pom poms from the ceiling above the table and they really set the scene off!

(Just hang in the ceiling with a drawing pin)

Each little lady had their own REAL tea cup , glass milk bottle and table setting and the 2 Cake stands were filled with a variety of the yummy food on offer

(My apologies about the quality of the photos, as luck would have it, I had major issues with my beloved DSLR on the day )

I stuck some pretty butterflies (made from cardstock and purchased from Spotlight) around the cake stands and some cute flags on toothpicks to tizzy things up.

Stella, all ready for her girly Tea Party, dressed like a real little English rose too!

The table set and waiting!

Over to the side of the room , where we put our dining table, the main food table was set.

A pretty paper bunting was strung from the ceiling (with drawing pins again, and I have had the bunting for some time but a similar one here) and some more gorgeous roses from our garden.

I used a really pretty paper tablecloth that suited the occasion perfectly (available here)

, some floral disposable plates (again sourced locally but I will try and find some similar and add the link later) and some pretty cups.

The food was kept simple, but still to the theme and super yummy. No tea party is complete without Macaroons and these are yummy and affordable (from Woolworths for around $8 a pack)

Muffin size quiches, fruit kebabs, biccies, Teacup biscuits, cupcakes, fairy bread , scones and some assorted hot food , all disappeared pretty quickly (5 year old girls sure know how to eat!)

The gift bags were kept simple also because each guest received a novelty necklace on their round of Pass the Parcel, but I found the cutest little buckets at our local Red Dot store and knew I just had to have them!

 Inside was a stamp, hair clip, lollypop and a few Starburst lollies in wrappers. I made the tags using a punch and pretty papers and a piece of ribbon to attach them.

So sweet and about $3 for 3 in a pack.

I usually use cupcake toppers for our parties but time wasn't permitting to source, and print and punch them so I made some little flags instead.

Its amazing what some Washi Tape and a tooth pick can look like with a bit of love :)

Of course the cake had to be a tea cup. Well at least that is what it was supposed to look like!! I am not the best at making cakes that is for sure!!

This cake is just a round chocolate cake on the base and a upside down 'dolly varden' tin on the top.

And the moment that it is all made worth it.....

All the kids had such a lovely time at Stella's little party. They felt very grown up sitting and sipping from their tea cups and the party was so so easy to do, everything looked great but wasn't time consuming nor too much trouble! You've got to love that!

On Sunday we are having a party for our twins, Max and Lacey. Again... I am not that organised and the theme is 'Ice cream Party' but I am hoping I can pull something together in a small amount of time with big impact!! Wish me luck!!!

She turned Five!

Last week I kept super busy with birthday preparations for our big Five year old!! I can not believe that our Princess Stella is now 5, she certainly acts it, but its always had for Mum to accept! Right?!

Anyway, we held a Tea Party for Stella and some school friends on Saturday afternoon,  so things for her actual birth day were kept quite simple.

I made some small pom poms to hang in her door way and curled some ribbon. The look on her face when she came in to us in the morning was priceless. So excited and it was all heightened with a bit of effort in her room.

I like to think we don't 'over spoil' our children. They certainly do NOT go without  but gifts for Birthdays and Christmas' are kept simple. Clothing for the coming season, some colouring/activity books, a book to read and a few toys. A few of Stella's parcels didn't actually arrive on time but she was more than impressed with her loot!!

The main present was a gorgeous dolls house that I purchased on sale from Sweet Creations, the roof lifts and stays open and the front opens out. All the furniture came with the house so that was a bonus!!
Everyone has loved the new addition to our house, the boys especially!!

Such a gorgeous girl is our Stella x

Thankfully, the rest of her parcels arrived while she was at school that day, so when she came home she was surprised with another package. Her eyes lit up and she was very happy!!
As you know, we are all bunny lovers here and these are just the best additions to her collection.
These can also be purchased from Sweet Creations

I made cupcakes for school , 34 to be exact, and they were well received. I love how excited they get for taking along goodies like that. Sharing a piece of her birthday happiness with everyone I guess.

Instead of a family dinner where we are rushing to eat , so the kids don't have a late night before school, we decided on an afternoon tea with family. Having their 4 cousins over is a party in itself, so some simple nibbles and everyone was happy.

A birthday in our home is not complete without a green ice cream frog cake. Such a big tradition that everyone looks forward to!

She put all her bunnies to rest on her bedside table that night, so I knew they were a success!!

When saying goodnight and showering her with love and kisses, Stella confessed that it was "the best birfday ever ever" and my heart swelled. As a parent you can't ask for much more!

Stella's Special Day

The week before Easter, our little girl (really our big girl) turned 4!! Four!! I just can't believe it. The years have flown by and they have truely been the best 4 years of my life!!
I must admit, when we had Stella, never in my wildest dreams, did I think that we would have 4 children before she even turned 4!
But we do. And we are the luckiest people in the world!
To say that our princess has changed our lives is an understatement. I never knew true, unconditional love until she came into the world.
Every day (well maybe not everyday, but most days) I feel like the luckiest person on earth to be her mother. She is kind, caring, smart, affectionate and soooooo far beyond her years its frightening.

We love you Stella, you have made us a family and continue to put a smile on our faces everyday. You are the best big sister and your little siblings adore you and we just know you are going to have a VERY bright future! xo

Gee, I am getting a bit deep lately , aren't I?!
You know what? I think its important to stop and think that way sometimes.
Some days are hard, they are long, tedious and testing.
But being a Mum, is a blessing, a privaledge, some people don't get the chance to experience.
And...... I may just be going solo this week, and need to stay positive, or this ship will sink!

And now , for the day that was Stella's

We made her a dolls house out of an IKEA Expedit, DH just put a backing board on it to which I used Spray Adhesive and some pretty wrapping paper.
The furniture is either second hand off Ebay or from Crazy Clarkes and spray painted white.
And you know what? For $59 , its a cheap dolls house , it fits her 12inch Blythe dolls and SHE LOVES IT!!

And it seems , so does Max!! He snuck in a play while she opened the rest of her pressies!

And Lacey tried on her new 'Click Clack' shoes, thats what little brothers and sisters are for aren't they?

And this little beauty, (with his floppy ears , hehe ) just watched and too it in.

                                               Happy little possum on her big 4th day!!

And off to school she went, with Mummy!! I think it was the highlight of her day, that I did parent help!! We also took in cupcakes for all the kids and they all put on the birthday hat, and blow out candles! So cute!

Instagram pic, totally addicted!

And she asked for a Barbie princess cake, and thats what she got!! Can you tell I got my new Tuppaware piping thingo and went a little OTT with zushing?!

And we had a last minute, very casual , party at the park, and everyone had a ball!

                                                       She loves her Dad, alot!

                And there is no better birthday activity than playing with your little friends!
                            I love this pic, she is pushing her good little friend, so cute!

And to top it off, dinner with the family, and a Green frog cake, tradition of course!

Now , would someone invent a time machine, and slow this baby down?!