Olivia's 1st Birthday Garden Party

Well, it happened. My little bubba is no longer a little bubba!! Miss Olivia's first birthday came around all too quickly for my liking!! I love my kids birthdays. There is nothing better than building up the excitement with them, finding the perfect little presents that only Mum's know they will love and the all important cake!! First birthdays are a little different though - they just don't understand!! As my husband says, first birthdays are for the Mummy's. And yes, I believe he is right!!

Now, I had been planning this birthday party for about 3 months prior to the actual day (yes, a quarter of her life!!). Not because I wanted something huge and over the top but more to try and fit it into a rather tight budget!! I wanted something cute but I didn't want the usual 'I can find it anywhere' preprinted part products. Google images became my new best friend!! I came up with the idea of a garden themed party and I also love the new trend of lolly and dessert buffets.

Below are the photos from the day and underneath I have put any of the links I used to make, bake or sew what you see. I spread the purchases through my weekly grocery shop over a couple of months so there wasn't a huge expense the week before. All in all, I didn't spend a huge amount and it turned out just how I imagined it!!

The invitation is the first impression your guests get of the celebration. I love scrapbooking (and have a LOT of supplies at home), so I always make my invitations. These were made using cardstock I already had at home. Making your own is always something to consider as invitations can get VERY expensive!! The colours of the invitation were the colours carried through to the day.

The birthday girl in her tutu dress. These are so easy to make - no sewing at all!! Just google how to make a tutu dress!! I got a crocheted headband from the cheap shop and attached the tulle to this. Total cost - about $5!! I made a singed flower headband to match. Now, my Olivia is not one for this dress - in fact, she hated it!! Because she is up and walking, she kept tripping on it. We ended up changing her after half an hour!!

The dessert buffet!! In keeping with the colours from the invitations (light pink, dark pink, blue and a splash of green), I created a table that the guests could fill their own lolly bags from. The CHinese paper lanterns were from my local bargain store for $2.99 each (Online these can go for up to $10 each!!). The paper flowers on the front are made from tissue paper added each week to my groceries. Google tissue paper flowers and see all the tutorials you come up with!! I even had my 5 year old helping me with these!!

A top view of the table. The flowers you can see are sugar cookies. I got the recipe from www.taste.com.au. I love websites like these because they give reviews and ratings and suggestions for improving the recipe. You can also convert the recipe to the quantities you need. Now, as I was standing at my kitchen bench icing the night before, I didn't really think the flowers through!! They each are made of 1 large flower and 8 small petals. All cookies, all needing individual icing! As I needed about 24 cookies i was faced with the task of icing over 150 petals!! I am not sure these cookies will make it onto another table in such great quantities!!

The paper goody bags were an ebay purchase from the store Bags and Tags. I looked at all the beautiful lolly bags online (the pink spotty and stripy ones). They were so beautiful but I couldn't justify spending $25 on 24 bags!! I went for the plain white ones and I think they worked just as well!! I also found little pink clothes pegs to close them up. Very cute and another ebay bargain!!

The table cloth is plastic from my local bargain store and the white and pink spot table runner is fabric I already had at home. The one splurge I made was the glass vases. I looked online at hiring these jars but it was either pay about $10 each to hire really fancy ones or these cost between $5 and $12 at the reject shop. The glass cupcake stands were a one off from Woolworths for $7.95 each - BARGAIN!! (If anyone needs jars like this I am more than happy to loan them!!).

Sticking to the pink and white theme, we had the following treats. All the labels and cupcake toppers were made to match the theme:

Musk sticks........ (Daddy's favourites!!)... you can also get a glimpse of the homemade meringues to the side)

Fairy Floss.......

Marshmallows (you can see the flower sugar cookies a little better int his pic!)

 Homemade cupcakes (chocolate and vanilla) with butter frosting.....

There was also homemade coconut ice and freddo frogs!!

The pride and joy of the table - the cake!!!

The dessert buffet was a hit!!

Throw in some classic party games, a family members jumping castle and lots of friends and family and it was a lovely day!! Nothing too over the top but something special!!

If you would like help with styling your next party, please don't hesitate to ask - I LOVE it!!

I hope you enjoyed Olivia's 1st Birthday Garden party!!

Beautiful Butterflies!

Welcome to my first 'crafty' blog!! 

I have decided to start with something easy that anybody could do - no sewing or craft experience required - promise!!!!

In the lead up to the birth of my third baby, I had the chance to finally create my first 'proper' nursery!! Using the internet for inspiration, I fell in love with the new trend of wall decals. Unfortunately, I couldn't justify spending upwards of $50 on stickers!! So, I got creative and came up with these beautiful butterflies. I have to say that I am very happy with how they have turned out and I have had lots of friends ask me about them. So here it is!!! The best part is these are NO SEW!!! If you do make these butterflies, be sure to take a pic and post it up for me to see!!

To make the butterflies you will need:

• 4 fat quarters of coordinating fabric (see The Oz Material Girls for some beautiful fabrics!)
• 1m of heavy single sided iron on interfacing.
• Butterfly template. You will need three different sizes. I drew a few cm out from the edge of the small template to get an in between size.
• Sharp scissors
• Hot glue gun and glue
• Tailors chalk
• 2 packets of florists wire (this will depend on how many butterflies you would like to make!)
• Something to hang or stick them to the wall. I just used blu-tac and it has worked beautifully!!!

OK - now the fun part!!!

1. Put your interfacing on your ironing board with the shiny side up. Put the wrong side of one fat quarter (the side without the print) onto the shiny side of the interfacing. Iron together on a medium setting.
2. Continue with the other fat quarters until all are joined to the interfacing. Cut the fat quarters away from each other so you have their original size.
3. Cut out your templates and trace onto the fabrics using the tailors chalk. You will need more medium and small sizes than large, There is no set number for each as this will depend on which fabrics you like together and how many butterflies you want to make!!
4. Cut out each butterfly and let your imagination run free!! Layer the large, medium and small in different fabrics until you get a look you are happy with. Just use the medium and small for smaller butterflies!!

A QUICK TIP!!! When layering the butterflies, try to balance the darker fabrics with lighter ones or strong prints with softer ones. See the butterfly below.  I have started with a mostly white fabric for the large, an even balance with the stripe then mostly pink for the small. 

    5. Once you are happy with the design of your butterflies, turn each layer over and glue some florists wire in an 'x' pattern on the back. If you do not have wire cutters, you can just fold the wire back on itself. See the picture below.

    6. Hot glue each layer together. Once cooled, fold each layer forward to give a 3D effect. See front shot  above for the look!

7. I then used blu tac to attach them to the wall. I liked the effect of them bursting out from behind the cot. Other great ideas are to have them in a cluster flying in one direction or to spread them throughout the room to decorate!!

I hope you enjoyed this project and will have a go at making these gorgeous little butterflies!! I am so looking forward to seeing what you come up with!!

Remember to find Cherry Tree Lane on facebook and share with your friends!!

The beginning of something special......

A big warm welcome to all those who have found the blog of Cherry Tree Lane!! My aim is to semi regularly up date you all on what's happening here, new products and more than likely a few random bits and pieces as well!! I am one of those people that responds very well to a dead line (like making orders go out on time) but things that should be done everyday or every week (like updating a blog!) usually don't get done when they should. So, if you don't expect a regular update from me... you will be very pleasantly surprised!! : )


Apart from the items you see on my blog or facebook page, you can also ask me questions or for help with ideas on lots of things! I love creating invitations and decorations, I love cooking (cupcakes in the oven as I type this!!) and I love kids and education. Usually if I can't help you, I can find someone who can!


Thanks for stopping by and sharing the love of Cherry Tree Lane with your friends!!