merry christmas...

a quick post to wish you a merry christmas ;)

- diy gift tags for our pressies this yr...will update post tmrw on link click here for this freebie, yes freebie! and such a pretty freebie too ;) -

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

d.i.y. butterfly frames...up close & personal...

i shared some of these pics in my previous post but they were kinda small there. i'm posting  them again so you can see a close up of the personalised frames. this was the first time i tried out d.i.y. gifts and they were so pretty, they do deserve a post just on them ;)

i originally wanted to frame a 3-D butterfly cut out which meant the frame needed depth. this is the one i made for the cake table decor:

unfortunately, this frame was a lil too pricey as i had to buy and make sixty frames for the sixty kids that were coming to the party so i had to settle for a simpler frame...

these plain solid pine frames from ikea were perfect as they came with durable plastic instead of glass - definitely more child friendly!

i love the antique white stain effect that gives wood a really romantic look so i decided to have these frames stained white. i chose white stain instead of paint so that the stain dries clear and the wood grains can still be seen. you may have read about my "staining" work-in-progress here but in case you missed it, here's a pic of the frames drying after the second coat of stain.

i would really have preferred having done an extra coat or two but after the second coat, i thought they were pretty as is and i had to wait 4 - 5 hours between each coat so you can imagine, it was time consuming to add on more coats. and really, the kids might not be able to tell the difference between two or three coats anyways! 

then i printed their names in a pretty font. for the girls, it was their full first name and the boys, their name without the first letter. here's why:

- for the girls -

 

- for the boys -

as you can see, the girls' frames had a larger butterfly cut out so it looked more girly and the boys' ones had a tiny butterfly but their first initial was a huge cut out letter which looked less girly and way cooler ;) 

i made a special one for ilaika too without the plastic cover so the butterfly had the 3-D effect...(i didn't want to do this for the other girls cos i was worried they'd tear off the butterfly!)...

i fell in love with this idea and felt it was perfect for gifts*. i figured the kids may not cherish it so much right now but i'd like to think they might when they're a little older. i also imagined the parents hanging these on the wall of the hallway and for the ones with siblings, they'd have a few frames in a row with all their names. how absolutely lovely!

* p.s. - they're also perfect cos they're so simple to make and won't burn a hole in your pocket ;) let me know if you try this d.i.y....would love to see how it turns out...

party fluff presents....butterflies...everywhere!

 

last weekend, my social butterfly turned three and as you may have read here and here, i'd spent the last couple of weeks just focused on getting her butterfly-themed party together. despite the last minute planning*, i had SO much fun ;) butterflies are a lovely theme to work with as the possibilities are endless...

*as always...! this seems to be the story of my personal life...i so need to shift and get organised...

unfortunately, i was so tied up and didn't take any pics with my own camera so i had to wait a week to get the pics from shafiq, our photographer. i was so excited to share with you details of the party but it was pointless sharing without the pics. so i could hardly contain my excitement this past week and had to refrain from blogging but it was well worth the wait. do give shafiq a tinkle or check out his site if you're in kl and looking for a photographer who's reliable and doesn't overcharge. aaaanyways,  how easily i digress....so back to the party ;) 

i'll let the pics tell you the story...

- the garage entrance leading to the garden & patio -

top row from L to R : 

1. signages were placed along the road leading to the house with a background to match the invites; 2. butterfly cut outs were placed at nearly every corner. 

bottom row from L to R :

1. more butterfly cut outs; 2. the garage entrance.

- garden fun...reminiscent of my childhood parties -

top row from L to R :

1. toys for the toddlers to play "house" in the garden; 2. pin wheels decorated the "field"; 3. a colourful pin wheel upclose. 

middle row from L to R :

1. old fashioned "pop pops" for the mischievious boys; 2. bubbles galore; 3. bottles of bubble potion with butterfly caps.

bottom row from L to R :

1. old fashioned propeller toys; 2. bubble machine for added oomph; 3. simple glider planes.

- the patio set up -

top row from L to R :

1. butterfly lanterns and balloons; 2. grown up dining tables.

bottom row from L to R:

1. mini dining; 2. more lanterns.

- all around -

 top row from L to R :

1. butterfly banner with ilaika's name; 2. butterflies on sheer curtain drapes; 3. a framed butterfly cut out with ilaika's name.

middle row from L to R :

1. butterfly lantern upclose; 2. the cut outs for the banner; 3. butterfly banner with cut outs held to a ribbon using mini clothes pegs.

bottom row from L to R :

1. a d.i.y. of a framed butterfly cut out for table decor; 2. more butterfly banners; 3. lil gifts (glow-in-the-dark butterflies & tattoos) for the games.

- the topsy turvy butterfly cake & the table decor -

- more cake * -

* sorry for the overdose of cake pics...this was my first attempt at a topsy turvy cake & i had spent 8 hours with just the cake decor, so i just can't get enough of it ;p

- part of the kiddies' buffet line with a "sweet stuff" display -

- the invites & thank you butterfly bollipops for the parents -

- the party packs -

top row :

white stained wooden frames personalised with each child's name.

middle row from L to R :

1. water fun for the older boys; 2. thank you tags; 3. caterpillar soft toys for the younger boys.

bottom row from L to R :

1. a vanity kit consisting of a fluffy fan, butterfly embossed pink mirror and butterfly hair ties for the older girls; 2. butterfly soft toys for the younger girls; 3. the fluffy feathery fan.

i saved the best for last - for the cake cutting, we decided to take the cake out into the garden. i love how pretty it looks here...

i'm extremely pleased with how everything came together and i'm thankful for all our family and friends that came to help out. at the end of the party, i was quite hesitant to tear down the decor and a part of me wished i could throw exactly the same pretty party just for myself ;)

a feature and a party...oh i've been so so busy...

oh dear. time sure flies. it's march already. sorry for the extended silence...

can't blog much right now but i have a few things to share...firstly, (drum roll please*) the bears & blocks party has been featured by creative party place...omg! thanks, shannon for spreading the fluff & stuff love ;)

 

*i know, i know - it may be a small thing for most experienced bloggers but for me, it's a big deal so yay me ;p scroll down the right column to see this "i've been featured" button proudly displayed hehe

secondly, here's a lil sneak peak on what's been keeping me busy...

 - ilaika's butterfly party invites, scrapbooking style...after a few sleepless nights, i finally managed to complete 60 of these...serves me right for leaving it til the last minute...nevertheless, i'm happy with how the invites turned out -

- these white-stained wooden frames are still work-in-progress...these are for ilaika's party packs...i'm planning to frame a pretty butterfly cut out in each. will keep you posted on the end result -

so there you go...i've been extremely busy these last two weeks...planning, shopping, surfing etc and i have only 5 days left to finalise everything, from decor to party packs to cakes. so much to do and so little time. am keeping my fingers crossed so please please please, wish me the best of luck...

OCD-ed & OD-ed...all over a blog design!

so yes, if you haven't figured out yet, i spent quite a lot of time obsessing over the layout & design of this blog...so much so that i completely lost the whole point of a blog which was actual blogging! so after a couple of weeks (ok, maybe a little more than that!), i decided to stop obsessing and am finally quite happy with my current blog design. i've googled & googled & googled over & over again various topics on blogs & this is what i came up with:

 

the raison d'etre behind this design:

• i love the concept of scrapbooking but have not had the time or resources to indulge in this art - the lovely bits & bobs available in malaysia are really expensive. so whilst looking at other blog designs, i discovered digital scrapbooking! hence i wanted to add elements of it into this layout. i'm thinking this is something that will come up more often in this blog ;)

• the main part of the blog itself had to be plain & easy to read, which is why it has a white background in the centre with very simple fonts.

• for the background, i wanted a damask print as i, well, love how a damask print adds  understated elegance & romance with a touch of the "old-world" charm.

• i actually wanted to do more & design my own templates but that would mean learning photoshop which is next on my to-do list. so for now, it's just amateur editing on powerpoint slides!
  

• last but not least, it had to be simple & sweet.

i used a few templates from various blogs; amended them here & there (the header especially) to make it a little more personalised. i hope in doing so, i have not violated any copyright policies and if i have, i sincerely apologise for my ignorance and of course, do let me know and i will amend it asap. 

many many many thanks go out to the following sites for without them, i would not have had such a pretty layout (well, i think it's pretty pretty...) :

• kevinandamanda.com
• check this site out for lots of wonderful fonts - all free too! Amanda also has tips for newbies to both scrapbooking & blogging. a site i will definitely visit very often.   

• shabbyblogs.com
• Shabby Blogs provides far from shabby blog templates - this is where i found the damask print for my background and also the pretty buttons found in the side bar.
  

• ShabbyPrincess.com
•  Shabby Princess also brings you not-so-shabby scrapbooking templates - lots of them! very pretty designs & so many frebies to choose from....and if that's not enough, they also have an online shabby shop for your scrapbooking shopping spree!

• thecutestblogontheblock.com
• this was actually where i first started with my design. they have lots of blinkies & lovely freebies - a great place to start for beginners like me ;)
  

• independentfashionbloggers.org
• i found great & easy to follow tutorial on realigning the blog header with the rest of the blog - a problem that was bugging me for days on end!

so now that i've got this design up...i am finally ready to start blogging - am stepping out of my comfort zone and announcing this to the world, and by that to my world of facebook! feedback & comments are most welcome...do go easy on me though - i am still learning through trial & error...

xxx

izreen