Mid Year Appreciation

Time flies when you are having fun and our gorgeous big girl has certainly had her fair share of fun over the last semester at Kindy.
It was a big change for her, and the whole family really. Stella has grown and developed so much over the past 5 months or so, its been quite amazing to watch.
The things she is saying now (some of them not so great, not swearing or anything but the usual " you're not my friend anymore, I don't want to play with you anymore" to Max and Lacey :( ) that sort of business, but also the new words, letter recognition and writing, songs, sayings, knowledge, and the biggest change has been to her self esteem.
As hard as it is for us to think ( and all who know our gorgeous girl well) , she NEVER EVER stops talking at home, she is loud, excited and quite confident, in the comfort of her own home.
At school, she is a different girl. She is quiet, withdrawn and does not say a lot.
However her teachers have said she has started to come out of her shell, she holds conversation and is engaging in active play. Just what a mother wants to hear. (especially one that has never really had problems with being shy!!)

Stella has always loved school, she loves crafting and painting. Loves colouring in, loves playing with her little friends, and most of all, she loves her teachers.
So I wanted to show them how much we have appreciated all their hard work, over the first semester. I know that it is customary to only give thank yous at the end of the school year, however I think it is pretty safe to say that Early Childhood teachers, work their butts off and these ladies care for our precious girl 3 days a week!!
It doesn't have to be a big present, nor expensive, but just something to show your appreciation and kick start their holidays off on the right foot!

So I set to creating some simple tags using some black doilies , scrap pieces of paper and bakers twine , for the packages (just simple brown paper sand which bags)

Baked up a storm, and packed a few pieces in each bag and tied with some bakers twine and small tags, showing what they were.

I made a yummy fruit cake , sugar free and yummy! Instead of using Mangoes, I used peaches.

And also the most requested treat in our home, choc chip cookies.

The tags were stamped inside, saying the customary "thank you" and a little note to each teacher.

They were well received, Stella LOVED giving them to her teachers and felt so proud! Even better, they were so cheap but perfect to show just how much you appreciate everything they do for your little one.

Crepe Paper Spiders

I have been meaning to share this craft with you for a little while but life and sickness has got in the way of a lot of things , unfortunately! These Crepe Paper Spiders were the last creations we made for our Insect theme and the kids thought they were pretty cool!!

Easy as again, simply chop some black crepe paper into little squares, and get the kids to cover the whole back of a paper plate with glue and then the squares.

Finish with some googly eyes and staple on 8 long lanky pipe cleaner legs, bent into shape.

As part of our theme, we have also been reading ;

A Very Hungry Caterpiller

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs

 and have watched;

A Bugs Life

Ants

Why not try it at home?

We have had a short break from scheduled Craft in the last week or so (but still did some at Playgroup and some free painting sessions at home), but will start with our new theme of "Under The Sea" in the next few days! I can't wait!! All the ideas are buzzing through my head!

Doily Hangings

After making these gorgeous hangings for Angus' Christening display, and sharing a before pic on my Facebook page, I have received a lot of queries about making them, and sharing the instructions.

The budget for our party was very small, but I knew I wanted to have a few things hanging. The paper lanterns are quite pricey, so there was always the crepe paper pom poms, but I was really short on time. The whole christening was organised in just a few weeks and I only started making and organising the week of, as I was sick before hand.

So if you want to try them at home, here is how I made them.

You will need a few packets of the extra large paper doilys, a stapler, double sided tape and fishing line to hang them.

 I bought my doilys from one of our cheapy shops, they were $2.50 and had about 8 -10 in each packet, I only bought one packet, however I did make a few small ones aswell.

I also had the idea, once they were made of course, that I could have used a Glimmermist Spray to change the colours and add a bit of shimmer, which I will definately try next time.

First, gently fold the doily in a consentina fashion, like you would a fan. It should look like this;

Repeat the process for another 3 doilys so you have 4 in total.

Lay the 4 doily stacks on top of each other.

Punch a few staples through the middle of the strips, 2 is enough.

Then put a strip of double sided tape about 3cm to one side of the staples.

Also put strips of tape in between the stacks of doilys. (Meaning, between the layer of one doily finishing and another starting)

Remove backing on double sided tape and stick the sides together.

You can see in the picture below where I have attached one doily to another ( in the middle) , then on the left, I will repeat the process. This is creating a cirle when stretchout out, instead of seperate doilys.

In the end , this is what it should look like, when stretch and fanned out.

For the small one I just used 3 doilys, but used the same method.

Gently thread a length of fishing line through a few top holes in the doily and tie.

We attached these to the ceiling with a few drawing pins, as they are quite light!

Enjoy them looking gorgeous.

I hope the instructions have been easy enough to follow!! I would love to see your doily hangings in use , so send me some pictures if you can!

More details- The Christening.

Firstly, thankyou so very much for all your kind words and comments about my Christening Post yesterday. The family photos we got are so beautiful and will be treasured forever, and the day was just lovely.

Now I thought I would break down a few details about the decorating, and hopefully answer some already asked questions and a few left wondering at home.

The hanging garland is made of different sized paper circles (and some scolloped ones), that I cut out of Cardstock, just purchased at Spotlight. I randomly picked patterns due to their colouring, and actually used my Cricut machine but last time used different sized punches.

I then got out the trusty sewing machine and zipped up the middle, feeding in circles that I had randomly selected. Then tied them all to a piece of dowel.

The dowel is suspended from the ceiling by fishing line and attached with drawing pins!!

I know, just drawing pins. I didn't actually think it would hold, but my husband reassured me, and this time he was right!! hmmm not good! haha

The other white doily flowers are each hung from a drawing pin too. It was a great solution, minimal impact on the ceiling but maximum impact for the party.

Later on Today I will add instructions on how to create the doily hangings.

The glass candy jars, all at the back (pictured empty here) , were purchased from Target. A few just recently (for like $6 when I gave the tip off on my Facebook page) and a few over time. Cake Stand also a Target puchase but some time ago.

The blue and white Cupcake stand, and trays in the foreground are from Target ( do you think its the only department store we have?!) a while ago now, but they have recently had a pink version that was gorgeous, and perfect for parties! 

The little bottles I used for Choc milk I bought from Sweet Style quite a long time ago. They are gorgeous and used quite often , just for a cute little vase for a single rose from our garden but perfect for entertaining and the kids LOVED them!!  You can also buy similar little glass bottles from Bed, Bath and Table, they are in a pack of 8 I think and are very reasonably priced and slightly bigger if I remember correctly?!

The straws I picked up from our local party shop as my Pink Frosting delivery did not come in time!! ( DO NOT ask, such a sore spot but needless to say I will not be buying from them again!)

The doily bunting across the front of the table I made myself. So easy and seen everywhere around the traps but it never looses its charm. Just buy yourself a pack of small paper doilies, fold in half over a piece of string or ribbon and stick with double sided tape.

Food on the day was kept simple also. It feels like every party we have, I spend the whole time in the kitchen and never get to enjoy it!!  It was nice having the party inside this time. A smaller crowd helped but it was nice to all be in the same area. The weather was too cold to be outside.

I just baked some Vanilla and Chocolate cupcakes,Cake pops, Choc chip cookies,  my Amazing Mum made yummy sandwhiches, and in the centre I used cute paper polka dot cupcake wrappers to make little individual portions of popcorn for the kids! For hot food we had Sausage rolls, Hot Mexican cheese dip and Corn Chips, Spinach and Ricotta parcels, and some little prawn pickies.

Another stress reliever was outsourcing the cake. We love the White Choc Mudcake from our local Cheesecake Haven so I bought one and took it home to decorate myself. A cute paper bunting I made ( 2 skewers, string tied inbetween and little triangles of craft paper glued on) , a cross deco (from the party shop) and a few gorgeous roses. These roses are actually from the top of our wedding cake. We have kept them in the freezer for over 7 years now, but every child has had them on their Christening cake, it feels so special to share the love that we had on our day , with the people we have created.

All our cups and plates were just basic plastic ones , bought from the local party shop. As I said, my package didn't arrive but it didn't matter in the end.

I think that is all I had to say, I did have Cupcake toppers, I made them myself on Word , had punched them and backed them, and forgot to put them out!! I also made the invitation myself in Photoshop , which I was really happy with and saved money also.

As you can see, I spent very little, used things I already had or cheap alternatives at the shop but still managed to create a beautiful display for our beautiful boy.

Any other questions, just let me know!!

The Christening

On the weekend, our darling Angus was Baptised. It was an extremely small affair, just our immediate family and Angus' beautiful Godparents.
If you follow my Facebook page, you would have seen a few sneak peeks! And I have promised photos , so here are they are (photo overload!);

Celebrating our Darling Boys Baptism Day

He seriously smiled. All. day.long!!

And for the decorations at home;

I made these cool hanging doily flowers , and I will do a post explaining how to make them in the next few days! So easy and CHEAP!!

Before we left for the church ;

And half full with food (hot stuff still to come)

Sorry if it was a bit of snap happy photo overload, but I hope you like it.

It really was a beautiful , casual day. Went off without a hitch and it was so nice to be surrounded by our loved ones, celebrating our little boys dedication to being a Catholic.

Any questions? Ask away, or if its easier I can do a explanation post, but I think its better to just look!! The best thing? Our table setting was so well priced, I think it came in around $70 in the end, yet was so affective and stunning in real life. Perfect for a beautiful little boy. xo

The latest craze!

So it seems I have surcummbed to the latest craze for Mummies!
What do they call it ? Mummy Porn? Why its the Fifty Shades of Grey phenomenon of course!!
To say I was feeling left out , is rather an understatement, as it seems every man and his dog, or rather every woman and her friend, have read or are reading (and getting much pleasure from it too!) the book series!!

Now I am not normally a trend follower! Not on purpose. As in, I don't purposely set out to buck the system and its not out of spite. I am just never interested in them.

First there was the Da Vinci Code. Sounded interesting, and I am sure one day, I would like to read it, but it was a bit too heavy thinking for me at the time of release. I just didn't have the brain space for all that information and speculation.

Then , a few years down the track, came the Twilight craze!! My lord!! People were siding with characters , 'Team Jacob' or whatever ( I hope I refering to the right book here!) and it seemed like yet again, everyone was reading, watching, lusting , crushing on someone or some character.

Now, 2012 craze is the sensual (and I have heard explicit and raunchy) series featuring Christian Grey! Everyone has been staying up to all hours , spending days reading these addictive books. Kids around the world are being neglected ( not really , but you know what I mean) because Mum is busy reading. Apparently you need to just sit down, read them and get it over and done with, get it out of your system.
If there isn't talk at morning teas, its at playgroups, Mums nights out, Facebook banter. You name it , nothing is safe anymore. And now people are trying to pick a celeb to play Christian , if it was to be turned into a movie. Who fits the profile for you?
Whoever it may be , I sense a lot of husbands/partners have been walking around with more than a smile upon their faces lately, so they may not object to their better halves reading such nonsense.


So.... now that the Baptism is done with (post coming with details and pics tomorrow) , I am about to embark on my journey with Christian Grey. Wish me luck, see you on the flip side!

Planning a Baptism

Its been a bit quiet around the Bizzy Dayz traps lately. A combination of tiredness, 2 year old tantrums and party planning , are all keeping me very busy!!

Our dear Angus is being Baptised on the weekend. A last minute booking, as we really should have had him done a few months ago. We have decided to keep the affair VERY simple and quiet. Just immediate family and a few select friends.
Not that we don't think its an occasion to celebrate, because it is, but because in just 4 months ( how sad for Mumma) our darling baby boy will be turning 1 and a big party will be planned and had !
So for now, a quiet morning tea is all that is needed and the rest of the celebrating will be done at the end of October (Halloween to be exact!!)

Even though we are are having a quiet gathering after the ceremony, doesn't mean I can't go to my usual effort of decorating and party planning. The meaning is still there , and it is for my little boy after all!

Again, I am trying to keep the budget very very low, and only purchasing if I really have to. I am fortunate to already have quiet a few props and equipment for Parties, so that helps but so far, I have only spent $68. Most of that being on paper plates, cups , serviettes etc and I did an online order at Pink Frosting. There was so , so much to choose from, and if the budget was unlimited , so so much I could have purchased and the party would look absolutely ahhhh- mazing, but that's not the case.

I have created a board on Pinterest (follow my pinterest by clicking the P button on the right of the page) for Angus' Baptism, and began to pin anything I liked. Soon it became apparent , what I liked and the general look I was going for as I was pinning all the same stuff!
Here are a few pics I pinned;



Source



Source


And of course this;



No one can forget the super gorgeous Christening that Jade ( Super Organiser Mum) did for her son Oliver.

See? It was pretty clear that my colour scheme would be baby blue and white!! So... this week has meant some DIY crafting sessions at night in front of the TV, to create some decorations and bits and pieces. So far I have made gorgeous Doily hanging Stars, a doily bunting , a cake bunting and some cupcake toppers. There is still plenty of more to do , but there is still a few days left, and some late nights to be had!

I'll keep you posted, and after Sunday I will share the table and stockists, and even include some step by step tutorials, as requested!!

Wish me luck!