Category: Event Inspiration

Baby Shower Inspiration – Tropical theme

Baby Shower Inspiration – Tropical theme

Posted on by Rebecca

I thought it was well overdue to write a blog on the beautiful baby shower that was thrown for Baby Raya and I, by my incredibly talented bestie, Megan. I was hesitant with Raya Maryam being our third baba whether to have a shower or not, but she is our first little girl and Megs didn’t take no as an answer 🙂 She jumped at the chance to handle all the decor and has been there every step of the way in planning all my special days. Its events like showers, hen parties and milestone birthdays that make me realise what special people I have in my life. I am so truly grateful to each and every one of the incredible ladies in my life. Every single friendship has a chapter and season and I am a firm believer of everyone being in your life for a particular reason. So before I dive into the detail; thank you to every single person for your contributions and being so special to me. Now onto the shower.

When Meg’s asked me about a venue, the first one that popped into my head was of course, Killarney Country Club. Not only is the golf course my husbands second home, but the gardens and views are so incredibly beautiful, its the perfect place for a “garden” party. We sat outside their newly renovated section under the terrace overlooking the little dam. We could bring in all our own Halaal food and treats and has a few appetizers ordered from the restaurant. They have a fab new outdoor area with some 5 aside soccer fields as well, perfect for the kids to play. I’m just sad they got rid of the “putt-putt” area as the younger kids had a blast playing there.

My favourite part of any event is of course the decor and I knew with Megs being in charge of the styling it would be incredible. I went with the tropical theme for the nursery, so this was the chosen theme for the shower. I am not a “pink and glittery” fan, (and I know Megs would shudder before styling a party like that anyway :)), all I knew about the day is that it would be tropical with pops of gold. Meg created (and her husband built, thank you Dyl), a fantastic frame out of spray painted PVC piping to frame the dessert station. The beautifully lasercut “baby” sign acted as a center piece to the frame. Leeandra, from Fields of Colour , stepped in with the floral arrangements. She did the most incredible tropical leaf feature on the backdrop and transformed the table with her table wear and gorgeous tulips and vases. Lee; thank you so much you have no idea how much I appreciate your efforts.

No detail was overlooked, and each place setting has gorgeous little Maverick and Jane Popcorn as take homes with thank you labels printed and tied with natural rope. All of our parties feature caramel popcorn, so this was a special touch! Tiny alphabet blocks that were lovingly spray painted with Rustoleum added “pops of pink” to the tables.

The Dessert table with a treat with a few of my friends contributing baked goods and savouries. The delicious cake (and mini masterpiece), was created by Cara, from Aristocakes. An incredible pink ombre cake with flecks of gold. It was a super yummy pink ombre sponge inside as well, with a strawberry filling. Thank you Cara for the time spent creating this beauty. Its was so elegant and chic. No party of mine (or Megs), would ever be complete without getting Sugar & Paper involved. Liezl made jaw dropping tropical leaf-themed cookies. Liezl, you blow me away and leave me dumbfounded with each new design. Every single set gets better and better, and trust me, she makes the best tasting sugar cookies as well! Its no joke when I say I often cant eat them because they are too pretty. I literally want to frame them and put them up on a wall!

Corinna, from Corinna Tannian Photography, was on hand to capture all the delicious detail and moments. Corinna, you always capture the most incredible detail, thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving up your time and being a part of all of our special moments. You bring so much joy and happiness to our special occasions and your photographs speak for themselves. Memories to last a lifetime.

Finally to Megs, as your Bunting and Blooms journey and new chapter starts, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for always being there for me in my life. Through all the ups and special moments, to all the hard and darker and frustrating times. I thank God the day he placed us in the same Res, and for all the memories we have shared. You are my second sister and always willing to go above and beyond. I’m grateful beyond words for all you do for me, and you did the most incredible job at styling Raya Maryam’s shower.

For anyone looking for incredible event styling in Johannesburg contact Megan to make your vision a reality. For all your styling needs contact Megan:
megan@buntingandblooms.co.za
+27 72 298 5553

Supplier details:

Styling and Design: Bunting + Blooms

Venue: Killarney Country Club

Floral Design and Hire: Fields of Colour

Photographer: Corinna Tannian Photography

Cake: Aristocakes

Sugar Cookies: Sugar & Paper


Love Local – Meet The Creative Mastermind Behind Sugar & Paper Parties

Love Local – Meet The Creative Mastermind Behind Sugar & Paper Parties

Posted on by Rebecca

Sometimes in life you have that one friend that completely takes your breath away in all that they do. Since meeting Liezl more than 2 years ago her talents have literally left me speechless on more than one occassion. She has supported and helped me with my blog on numerous occassions from a design point of view, is a photographer extraordinaire and more recently has launched a baking and design business Sugar & Paper.

As we kick off 2019’s “Love Local” Series, she was a no brainer to be the first to feature. I’ve showcased her skill a few times on my instagram page, but I really wanted to get more insight into how she has grown Sugar & Paper Parties and what her plans are for the year ahead. Be warned, this post will leave you drooling, not only does her baking look too good to eat, but it’s literally the most flavourful I have ever tasted too. I use Liezl for my boys parties and everyone always asks who made the cake! All of her details are at the end of the post to order. Youre welcome 🙂

For now, over to Liezl:

Tell me more about yourself and what you currently do?
I am a born and bred KZN girl and grew up on the south coast but moved inland to finish my
schooling. I have been married to Michael for almost 12 years, and have two children,
Amelia (6) and Diego (3.5). I am a freelance Graphic Designer, Party Planner and now,
baker 🙂

How did “Sugar & Paper Parties” come about?
I have done freelance Graphic Design since 2013, but having always loved parties and
baking, last year I decided to start my party planning business, Sugar & Paper. I call myself
“a celebration enthusiast” – I can conceptualise, design, coordinate and style your event,
and even bake the tasty treats. A one-stop-shop of good taste!

What did you study – was it in this field or something different?
I studied Graphic Design at Tech for 3 years.

What was your first job and how did you progress to this?
I have always been a Graphic Designer and when I was pregnant for the first time, I had all
intentions to go back to full-time graphic design work once our baby was born. But then
Amelia came along and I realised that I just could not leave her with a stranger and return to
work. So, I decided to stay at home with her and become a WAHM.

What have been the highlights of starting your own business?
The highlights so far have been the positive feedback from clients, their genuine happiness
drives me.

What’s the best part of your job?
Being able to dedicate my time to my children when they need me, while still having a creative
outlet.

What is the most challenging part?
Obviously making sure you have enough clientele to cover your expenses. I am very
fortunate to have a supportive husband, who keeps us afloat most months. But I am really
proud to contribute financially when I can.

Describe a typical day in your life.
A typical day is that of most Moms – get the kids up and ready for school (while half-sleeping myself
as I always go to bed way too late!) Amelia and Diego attend school half-day, so I try get most
work done during the day (design-wise) and spend the afternoons with my kids, running
errands, etc. I also work at night once they are asleep and I’ve finished all the household
stuff (I’mnot the best domestic but I do try!)

What are the “secrets” to your success?
I don’t think I have any secrets to success just yet – ask me in a year’s time 🙂

How do you balance having a family (being an amazing mum and wife) and starting your own
business?
It can be difficult at times, as a small business is like another child and demands just as much
attention! Fortunately, my kids are a bit older now so play well on their own together if I am very
busy (although that does often seem to end up with more mess than I’d expect!) I do sometimes
have to bake and source party paraphernalia with my tiny business partners in tow! They
don’t mind as they enjoy it and I try involve them in small ways, like baking extra cookies for them to decorate while I am busy. The juggle between being an entrepreneur, wife and
mom…and still being yourself too, is a challenge but I’m hoping 2019 is my year to master it!

What is your dream for Sugar and Paper?
I hope to build Sugar & Paper into a brand that people will immediately think of when it comes to
parties. Right now, I seemed to have slid more into the cookie side of my talents, but hope that I will
be able to become ever more involved in the design side too.

Any tips for people wanting to take the leap and start their own business?
It’s a scary endeavour but you will never look back!

Please show me how the hell you make your cookies so incredibly perfect ? 🙂 🙂 🙂 Will you give
lessons one day?
I’ve been asked by numerous people if I’d host lessons on cookies! 🙂 Cookies are finicky and a lot of
cookiers will agree that everything we do comes down to personal preference so for me, it would be
a difficult thing to “teach”. Also, I am a bit of a control freak, so may have to sit on my hands in order
not to cut in and just décorate everyone’s cookies for them ha ha

You can visit my websites www.sugarandpaper.co.za (Party Planning) and
www.lastveigas.com (Graphic Design), follow my instagram feed @sugarandpaperparties.
Otherwise, I can be contacted on hello@sugarandpaper.co.za for party stuff,
hello@lastveigas.com for design work, or call me 0732881013.

GIVEAWAY:

Sugar & Paper Parties and In these Stilettos are giving away a box of “Mixed Love” for Valentines Day! The perfect box of cookies to spoil yourself (or a loved one if you can bear to share.)

All you have to do is make sure you are following @sugarandpaperparties on instagram (Ill check) and @IntheseStilettos and comment on the pic on my feed.

Winner will be announed via Instagram on Sunday 10 February 2019

Party Inspiration – Racing Theme

Party Inspiration – Racing Theme

Posted on by Rebecca

What do you do when your 5 year old insists he wants yet another “racing themed party” for his birthday? You get creative with colours 🙂

A’s theme last year was F1GP and this year he decided to he wanted another racing themed MotoGP party, despite my best efforts to try and convince our little speed freak to have an “arty party”. Determined not to have your traditional “black and white checks” yet again I was desperate to put a swing on an old theme.

Our favourite junior traffic center was chosen by the birthday boy yet again as his venue of choice, and the fabulous thing for Johannesburg mums to know is that its free! It does require pre-booking and a little more effort with elbow greece and set up, but so worth it!

Bright yellow and red were decided as the base tones, with a deep blue being brought into accent colours to represent his beloved “Vinalez”.

For the backboard I picked up a piece of super wood from my local DIY store along with my favourite Dala Paints in the preferred colours. Two licks of paint brought sunshine into an otherwise dull theme.

I spray painted some cheap bikes that I found at China Mall and recycled some old silver trophies that we had left over from Yusuf’s Golf themed party as well as small wooden letters with the birthday boys’ name.

Sugar and Paper Parties came to my rescue yet again and saved this mama a whole lot of stress by making the birthday boys’s incredible cake and well as the most adorable sugar cookies. We decided to deviate from the “fondant” style (lets me honest, as pretty as it looks, who actually eats fondant?) and the cake was a gorgeous “charcoal” coloured buttercream topped with the most fantastic Vinalez sugar cookie!

The one nice thing about the racing theme is the food is always so much fun to make! Traffic light brownies proved a hit again and were served alongside spare tire doughnuts, Stop and Go coloured Veggies and Margherita Pizza Wheels.

Finally for the party bags, trying to limit the number of sweets, I made up some homemade playdough (it’s such a simple recipe) in traffic light colours, with a little motorbike that my friend Liezl stumbled across and a chocolate racing medal. I completely underestimated the effort that was required to roll out 81 balls of playdough (I may not attempt it again haha). The bags themselves were plain black gift bags yet again with some white road lines drawn on with Tip-ex. They were not perfect, in any way, but hey, nor are South Africa’s roads 🙂

There you have it, a little bit of a twist on the conventional black and white themed racing party. I hope it provided you with a bit of inspiration for your next party! Once again a huge thank you to my amazing friends and family. Meg, Liezl, Medi, Mum and Halima for all your help and organization x It takes a village ! 🙂

Happy planning!

Party Inspiration – A Perfectly Pink Peppa Pig Theme

Party Inspiration – A Perfectly Pink Peppa Pig Theme

Posted on by Rebecca

Its “feature friday” and I have been meaning to get this blog out for the past two weeks, each Friday slips past and I forget to click “publish”.

A little more than a month ago Meg from “Mommalike” and I did our last party together, before Megan spreads her own wings with “Buntings and Blooms”.

The venue of the party was the huge Beans & Stikkies Adventure Park, in Roodepoort. There is such a wide array of activities for kids to do from a zipline, to a castle or pirate ship. It probably has one of the biggest bike tracks I’ve seen and a mini garage to refuel your transport. Wendy and her team were so incredibly friendly and supportive in helping us set up. Its definitely on my list of recommended venues!

Peppa is probably one of the most popular themes for both little girls and little boys alike. Its a firm favourite in our house and has saved us from many a tantrum at the dinner table. Sugar and Paper Parties helped us bring our backdrop vision to life by designing a simple backdrop with Peppa’s famous hill, sun and house on the hill.

To complement the bright sunshine we used Peppa themed Sun cookies and flowers on a stick which we stuck into wheatgrass picket fence boxes. Whats a “Peppa Party” without Muddy puddles? I made up some “Muddy Puddle” Chocolate puddings and we accented the table with the birthday girls gumboots filled with flowers. The centerpiece of our sweet table was the incredible two tier masterpiece created by Kelly Jayne’s Cake Boutique.

For the kiddies table (and to encourage healthy eating) we spread “Grandpa Pigs Fruit” down the center of their table to snack on, served alongside the infamous “Mr Potato’s” Chips. Grass runners added in some detail with some rubber ducks scattered around. (The ducks are never far from a picnic!) A very special glass of strawberry milk was served alongside a sprinkle cookie and was paired with the birthday girls favourite pink blowers.

We custom made the party packs and filled them with some homemade play-dough, a pink milkshake straw, a strip of Peppa Pig stickers, a little yellow rubber duck, a Peppa Pig iced cookie, and a few sweeties.

A few other notable details were brought in with “Duck Pond Water” and “Mummy Pig’s” Pigs in a blanket.

Sam, I hope Bella had the time of her life and thank you for allowing us to play a special role in her day. I love understated themed parties, we managed to create a simply themed Peppa Party without splashing Peppa’s face on every paper plate 🙂 I hope I have managed to spread a little party inspiration with this post!

Don’t forget; if you have a party you would like to be featured email me at : inthesestilettos@gmail.com

Suppliers:

Cake: Kelly Jayne’s Cake Boutique

Baked Goods: Bake My Day

Venue: Beans & Stikkies Adventure Park

Balloons: Party Spot Northgate

Sweets: Party Spot Northgate

Backdrop Design: Sugar and Paper Parties

Party Inspiration – Carnival Theme

Party Inspiration – Carnival Theme

Posted on by Rebecca

The Carnival theme has to be one of my all time favourite themes. The colours, the design elements, the food, you can really go absolutely wild with this one!

I was lucky enough to help Meg, from mommalikeme, plan this wonderland for Oli’s 6th birthday and the end result was absolutely breathtaking ! It was held at our favourite family friendly venue, Killarney Country Club, and again the team were absolutely accommodating, you’ll remember that I held Yusuf’s 3rd birthday there too.

 

My Favourite Elements?

The eye-catching colour scheme – Red, Turquoise and Gold, I adore this combination.

The magical three-tiered masterpiece of a cake

The cute hot dog cart, complete with hot dogs and candy floss

The slush puppy machine – what a huge hit!

The gold elephants set atop the ticket and popcorn pedestal

The insanely creative backdrop created from paper flower fans and material

 

Now over to Meg to give you all the finer details:

Venue – Set amongst the lush and picturesque surrounds of the Killarney Country Club, throwing the party here was a no-brainer. We set up outside the grandiose Gazebo Room (and could have moved inside should the weather have turned). With a well-equipped play area – a jungle gym and slide, a sandpit, roundabout and putt-putt course, the kids were never bored! KCC bent over backwards to accommodate my every whim (like arriving before 7am on the morning of the party to get the Slush machine going!) and graciously hosting Oli’s 6th birthday celebration and all of our guests. If you’re looking for a venue in Johannesburg, with a difference, this is it.

 

Photography – What a blessing it is to have a birthday party captured for you – otherwise I would have walked away with the one and only photo I took before I chatted to friends and family and got to enjoy the moment. My most favourite photographer, Corinna, from Corinna Tannian Photography was there to capture all the details and happy moments. Besides from being one of the nicest people I know, she is such fun, and extraordinarily talented. If you’re looking for a mini photography shoot for your party setup – chat to me, we’ve come up with some special and affordable photography packages. Corinna is your lady!

Cake – Cara, from Aristocakes, arrived to deliver the cake before the birthday boy arrived. When he walked up to have a look at his candy table, he immediately spotted the cake (how could you not miss four tiers of sugary perfection?!). His jaw dropped and he literally gasped, speechless. It’s exactly the kind of reaction you hope for once hours and hours of work have gone into baking and creating a masterpiece like this. Every detail right down to the little blonde-haired, brown-eyed magician was impeccable. Besides from being a piece of edible art, the ‘art’ tasted incredible – best chocolate cake! I cannot recommend Cara highly enough.

Candy table – We filled apothecary jars with red strawberry liquorice, turquoise chocolate beans, red jelly beans and whole peanuts all from Party Spot – the best one-stop party shop in Johannesburg. As always, we made my kids’ favourite party treat – red jellies – and adorned them with caramel popcorn. Easiest way to tie in a theme? Add iced sugar cookies! Allyson from Sprinkles made the cutest Carnival-themed cookies, from iced hotdogs, to ellies balancing on balls, popcorn boxes, tickets and Oli’s name, this disappeared faster than a magic act! We accented the table with a golden ferris wheel loaded with caramel popcorn, and flanked the four-tired masterpiece of a cake with golden elephants balancing on upturned popcorn barrels. I absolutely loved the red rock candy from Party Lady that we added to the table – their online shop has some amazing products! Vicky, from Bake My Day, made the most gorgeous cherry-red toffee apples and dipped Oreo’s with turquoise ‘frosting’ to look like mini ring doughnuts – how cute are they?! I absolutely adore doing candy stations at parties, I think having it as a focal point is the perfect way to accent a theme – but my biggest piece of advice is to have scoops on hand for the jars and take-home packets so you’re not left with mounds of sugary sweets and your guests can help themselves.

Catering – What’s a Carnival without hotdogs and cotton candy? For that matter – slushie drinks, soft giant pretzels and a popcorn bar! KCC served up some gourmet mini chicken and beef burgers to add to the spread, which we topped off with some airfried-on-site chicken pops that were gobbled up as fast as we could airfry them! How handy was it that I could bring along my Philips XXL Airfryer to whip up hot chicken pops just in time for some hungry guests?!

Water bottles – Once again I used Kidz Cardz for the customised water bottles. These ‘Carnival Quenchers’ were a hit with the busy little carnival attendees in between rounds of putt-putt, fun and games! Kidz Cardz also designed the fabulous personalised individual popcorn packets that went to school for Oli’s birthday ring (round two after the hospital stay) – there’s nothing Elizna can’t do!

Party packs – Where would I be without TOWER Kids? You might remember I used them for Sophie’s party too (link) as the take home gift, and they were so popular, I used them again! We used a variety of five different elephant-themed educational art kits for each of the kids to take home – that ranged from sand art, to scratch and sticker, dot-a-picture, mosaic by numbers and foam art – happy kids and happy adults!

Décor – The first thing I thought of when we started planning this party was how much I needed a Carnival Cart! Sue and the team at ProDecor made all my dreams come true and delivered the most phenomenal cart, hay bales, giant red marquee arrow, crates, sign, and suitcase – making styling this party a cinch! The cart looked amazing with our fabulous black letter board from Curated South Africa – the perfect accent! I wanted to do the candy table up against the big black board as it’s a lovely shaded area (can’t have a melting cake and puddle-like jellies), but I wanted to create something of a backdrop. We, or rather my husband, devised a setup to suspend the striped red and white ‘curtains’ from the ceiling and hang the backdrop of fans I’d made, with a hint of black board peeking through creating a magical carnival-like effect. I bought various paper fans (some that had to come all the way from England with Grandpa and Ouma) and attached them onto plastic mesh fencing in a triangle formation, and adored them with glittering golden circles. The final result was quite striking I think – a great and relatively cheap space filler. With wooden crates and white plinths, I created various levels for focal points – the most important thing to know about setting up candy tables. An upturned crate became the perfect element to showcase deliciously sticky toffee apples on and house ‘O L I in marquee lights. I had a fabulous crushed red velvet table runner made by Bush Lily, as well as red and turquoise bunting to finish off the area. Golden lions on crates, red and white striped table runners, popcorn barrels and a pyramid of cans decorated the benches where the adults could relax.

Signage – Laura from Toogela Creative designed all the signage at the party – from the directional arrows and ‘Welcome to the Carnival’ to the Concession Stand, Step Right up for some Tasty Treats and Thanks for Poppin’ by and more! Toogela can do pretty much whatever your heart desires, so go check them out! Ambari did all the printing for me – vinyl mounted on board so that we can reuse the signage should anyone else need a Carnival party styled for them!

Activities – As per Oli’s stipulations, we just had to have a repeat performance by his all-time favourite magician, Stevie and his Big Red Box of Magic from The Wow Factory. Oli genuinely believes he can do magic by reciting Stevie’s magic words – “wiggle your fingers, wiggle your thumbs, that’s the way the magic comes”! The kids watched and whooped with rapt attention, hanging onto Stevie’s every word. If you’re looking for a magic act, Stevie is it! My fabulous friend Sam (from Sam and Tam link) generously lent us her jumping castle – always a hit at parties, thank you from the bottom of my heart, you’re always so willing to share and help where you can. Since it was a carnival, we just had to have some themed games – we made a pyramid out of big tins and had the kids knock them down with a bean bag and then a ring toss! There was also the fabulous Boom Blast Stix from Prima Toys that Oli was so thrilled to finally show his friends, and it had them in fits of giggles.

List of suppliers/stockists:

Venue – Killarney Country Club www.killarneycountryclub.co.za

Cake – Aristocakes – Cara Brynard

Magician – The Wow Factory

Photography – Corinna Tannian Photography

Apothecary jars, vases etc. – Mr Price Home, Home Stuff at Brightwater Commons

Sweets – Party Spot & Party Lady

Décor items – Pro Decor, sewing by Bush Lily, So Where 2 Events, Party Spot and Westpak

Balloons – Party Spot

Sugar Cookies – Sprinkles

Toffee Apples & Dipped Oreos – Bake My Day

Catering – Killarney Country Club and Fournos Bakery

Party packs – TOWER Kids

Water bottles & personalised popcorn packets for class party – Kidz Cardz

Jumping Castle – Lopes Bouncy House: sam@pinkdustevents.co.za

Black Letterboard – Curated South Africa

Design elements – Toogela Creative

Printing – Ambari: Preven ambarip@telkomsa.net or 083 381 7470

XXL Airfryer – Philips Home South Africa

Party Inspiration – Let’s be Mermaids

Party Inspiration – Let’s be Mermaids

Posted on by Rebecca

Booking are officially open for our party business ! Megan from Mommalikeme and I have started to take bookings for events, following on from our passion which we started working on during University days.  In case you haven’t seen it by now, I’ll be featuring Soph’s beautiful Mermaid party that Megan threw a few months ago. Still one of my favourite parties this year. This under sea adventure has been featured on a few global party pages, including Kara’s Party Ideas and Catch my Party.

My favourite features?

The sequined blue table cloth

The gold accent details like the spray-painted starfish, seahorses and mermaid busts.

The handmade “Jellyfish” hanging from the ceiling

The incredible 3 tiered masterpiece of a cake

The gorgeous colour scheme

 

 

Its actually quite hard to choose there is so much detail, so for now, over to over to Megan :

Whilst some might shudder at the thought of planning a party of such magnitude, there is nothing that excites me more. Conceptualising every detail has brought me such joy, cemented by the absolute awe in which I could see on Soph’s face when she arrived at her party on 21st April. Mermaids (like unicorns) are a huge trend on the party circuit this year, cropping up already last year when I started planning this party – I hope this party brings you some inspiration!

I love creating, and love doing as much of the party DIY as I can, this year, par for the coconut ice, I delegated all the baking, allowing myself more time to focus on the creative concept, even down to the invitation itself. There’s loads of mermaid inspiration out there, the best place is to always start with your theme, is the colour selection. I went with pink, turquoise, purple and gold.

Venue – Choosing the wrong venue is a deal breaker for me.  Tembali Party Park was everything I wanted in a venue and more. Top of my priority list when it came to finding the right venue was a beautiful, sheltered area where the candy buffet and food could be, that also had to be in close proximity to the area where the children would be playing. I wanted a venue where the area I’d be using could compliment my theme. I searched high and low to find the right fit (there will be an entire post on party venues in Johannesburg coming from In these Stilettos and I), and after many referrals and a site visit, I finally decided on Tembali. The staff were incredible. Brenda, Jane and her team went above and beyond to ensure the day ran smoothly and assisted wherever I needed a hand. Refreshing fruit platters, topping up with cookies and cake pops, cleaning coffee mugs – nothing was too much. One of the fabulous things about the venue is that it is fully enclosed. There’s a ginormous play area with slides and tunnels, cricket nets, a shaded sandpit, bike track, zip-line and also a jumping castle or waterslide for hire.

Photography – What an absolute treat it was to have my favourite photographer, Corinna, from Corinna Tannian Photography there to capture every detail and all the happy moments that we’ll treasure forever. If you’re obsessed with detail, you’ve met your match in Corinna!

Cake – What’s a party without a cake, right? My jaw literally dropped when I saw Cara’s masterpiece when I arrived to set up at Tembali. I’d come across Aristocakes on Instagram as fate would have it, and I’m forever grateful for Cara’s love and enthusiasm that went into this beautiful creation. We discussed a few details I wanted included, but other than that, Cara was given the creative freedom over the end result. Three glorious tiers of delicious vanilla sponge sandwiched alternatively with a chocolate buttercream and strawberry filling, a true piece de resistance if ever there was one!

Cake pops – I met Jaysheela at a party workshop last year, a love for party planning drew us together and we stayed in touch. She’s one of those beautiful, gentle souls that you’re instantly drawn to, and boy can she bake! She made the most divine mouthful-sized coconut cream cake pops covered with turquoise and purple chocolate in keeping with the theme.

Sugar Cookies – How exquisite are these iced sugar cookies that Allyson from Sprinkles made for the party? The table looked amazing adorned with the delicate mermaid tails and star fish and were a huge hit with the kids, all vying for one of these iced delicacies.

Candy table – Wonderland Sweets, the ‘Aladdin’s Cave’ of sweet shops is by far my favourite in Johannesburg – where else would I have found ocean-themed jellies to hide in the ‘mermaid cove’ treasure hunt? The golden dipped almonds looked like real gold nuggets! I filled the various apothecary jars with strawberry mallows, purple cotton candy, purple rock candy to resemble coral, pink edible pearls and turquoise jellybeans, of which the last two came from Party Spot. Jellies – always the biggest hit at my kids’ parties – true to the theme, I made turquoise jelly cups topped with delicate edible pearls. Golden-iced doughnuts – courtesy of our local Pick ‘n Pay and purple, pink and turquoise layered coconut ice finished off the table.

Catering – Catering for a 10h00 party, when you need to start setting up at 08h00, was not something I was about to handle on my own, so instead I ordered a variety of delicious pastries and mini quiches from Fournos and balanced this out with a couple of delicious fresh fruit platters that we assembled with the help of trusty Woolworths.

Water bottles – Kidz Cardz – Have you ever seen a cuter customised water bottle? Kidz Cardz designed the beautiful water bottles for our thirsty mermaids and mermen, and they were so popular they went long before any of the juice did, happy parents!

Party packs – Tower Kids – I like to send the kids home with something they can generally have fun with – we have an entire cupboard at home stuffed with half-filled carboard boxes and those coloured buckets laden with junk, which my kids happen to love, but given the choice, I went with some amazing sea-themed art and craft kits from Tower Kids. I think the parents were equally as happy as the kids with this take-home gift in lieu of more sugar!

Mermaid crown – Lexi Loves Bows – My lovely friend Candice from Lexi Loves Bows custom-made Soph a mermaid crown out of felt, which was beautiful and light for her little head. Soph absolutely loved it.

Balloons – The Variety Shop – This party I decided to try my hand at a balloon garland – so much easier than you may think – and bought the beautiful balloons from one of my favourite party stockist stores, The Variety Shop. According to my three-year-old, you just have to have balloons at a party, and she was right, they helped set the scene beautifully, with some confetti filled balloons floating around like bubbles.

Décor – Always take into consideration the space where you’ll be needing to setup. The pink backdrop you see? It’s covering a wrought-iron pot plant shelf that happened to be bolted into the wall! So, Plan B had me visiting Builders Warehouse to cut a sheet of 4mm Pine, a fun afternoon painting, and enlisting the help of a wonderful friend and her husband to patiently bringing my ‘Let’s be mermaids’ dreams into fruition. Thank you, Annie. I like to have my children’s names on all their party tables – these wooden letters from Typo have been on three of Soph’s tables now, with the addition this year of the shells, pearls and sequins. Finishing off the table was the beautiful floor-grazing turquoise satin and sequined material I bought from Chamdor, on a 50%-off sale! Plastic sea creatures, white ceramic mermaids and seahorses all got a golden coating, while turquoise starfish and strands of pearls tied up the look. I knew the paper-lantern jellyfish would look amazing hanging from the roof trusses (another plus on Tembali in my books!) but I didn’t take into account how many burns I’d get in the process using a hot glue-gun! A couple fingers later, I decided to abandon the glue-gun in favour of normal contact glue – success! I bought all the various lace, velvet, sparkly and satin ribbon from Chamdor and glued the strands into the inside of the paper lanterns – the end result was extremely effective I think.

Activities – With the weather cooling down I decided to hire the jumping castle instead of the water slide, and also opted to hire a face painter too. Through a personal recommendation I came across Monique from Never Grow Up and she was absolutely phenomenal. She has the patience of a saint working with little kids and their requests and I’d definitely recommend her services. For a craft activity I bought little wooden treasure chests from Party Spot that the kids got to decorate themselves with crystal stickers and then fill with ‘treasure’ – including a candy bracelet – to take home. We did a treasure hunt in ‘Mermaid Cove’ where the kids could dig for the hidden treasures in the sandpit (think Ocean-themed jellies, crystal bracelets, bubbles and under the sea themed sticker packs). For the final fun activity, we also had a ‘Mermaid hair don’t care’ station where the kids could have their hair sprayed with a variety of jewel-coloured glitter hair sprays that I bought from my favourite hair salon – Shear Madness.

There are so many amazing people that I need to thank for helping me bring this party to life! My amazing husband for always going along with my hair-brained schemes and supporting my passion, always. Tembali – for going above and beyond on the day. Aristocakes – for your incredible, incredible cake. Corinna Tannian Photography – for being as much of a stickler for detail as me and for your love and time. Jaysheela Kanjee – for the divine cake pops. Wonderland Sweets – Bee, for your heavenly candy. Sprinkles – for your exquisite cookies. Kidz Cardz – for the one of a kind water bottles. Tower Kids – for supplementing the sugar-high with your beautiful art and craft kits.

Everyone has their one go to person – mine is Becki (you’ll know her from In these Stilettos) – my bestie from University days and we just so happen to share, amongst many things, a love for parties – thank heavens for her. To be able to bounce ideas off constantly and have her helping me with everything on the actual day.

We’ve always wanted to get into party planning together, and have finally decided that this is the year we take it seriously. The sheer scale of these types of parties would scare off most people, but that is something that we thrive on as it fuels our passion even more. Having creatively planned and executed a number of parties to date, Becki’s youngest, Yusuf, and Oli’s birthdays are coming up and the planning is already underway, we are more than happy to take the party stress off your hands.

List of suppliers/stockists:

Venue – Tembali Party Park, Chartwell

Cake – Aristocakes – Cara Brynard

Photography – Corinna Tannian Photography

Material and Ribbons – Chamdor Faktry Sales, Deco Park.

Apothecary jars, vases etc. – Mr Price Home, Home Stuff at Brightwater Commons

Décor items – China World Hillfox, The Variety Shop, Party Spot, Sheet Street, Mr Price Home

Balloons – The Variety Shop, Boskruin

Treasure chests – Party Spot

Sugar Cookies – Sprinkles

Cake pops – Jaysheela Kanjee (083 634 4404)

Catering – Fournos & Woolworths

Party packs – Tower Kids

Sweets – Wonderland Sweets, Party Spot & Party Lady

Water bottles – Kidz Cardz

Face painting – Never Give Up

Mermaid crown – Lexi Loves Bows

Glitter Hair Spray – Shear Madness Hair Design

 

Remember if you would like a party featured you can send submissions to inthesestilettos@gmail.com OR if you would like to work with us on party design for your little ones you can send an email as well!

Party Inspiration – Lightning Mcqueen

Party Inspiration – Lightning Mcqueen

Posted on by Rebecca

Its been a while since I last shared party inspiration (apart from the last Golf themed party). Racing is always a hot theme and when its lightening Mcqueen you are guaranteed a win. I shared our last racing party here but we recently attended one that took my breath away! Liezl’s attention to detail is impeccable and as always her baking skills are on point. You may remember that I used her to make Yusuf’s birthday cake, cake pops and chocolate dipped oreos.

I have so many highlights from this party:

The Chocolate Dipped Oreos

Insanely detailed Cake, have a look at that checked inside!

Sensational Sugar Cookies

Custom made frame made from used tyres

Inflatable tires in the Front

Red, Yellow and Green Traffic light toothpicks

Over to Liezl and her fantastic Mcqueen Party:

Ka-Chow! Diego turned three and celebrated with an awesome Lightning McQueen party! 

The party was held at the Randburg Junior Traffic Centre, (our favourite for anything racing related) where kids spent the day racing their bicycles around the kid-sized roads, even stopping at the traffic lights too.

As a freelance Graphic Designer and part-time Party Planner, I tend to always go a bit crazy when it comes to my children’s birthday parties! Diego is mad about the Cars movies, so it was a no-brainer to include the racing references like checkered flags, McQueen’s signature red and yellow, as well as cacti for Radiator Springs. The food was also Cars-inspired and guests appreciated the special touches, like traffic light toothpicks of cheese, tomatoes and cocktail onions, as well as the themed baked goods.
In lieu of the typical candy-filled party favors, I opted for traffic light playdough packs and Cars stickers, and I think the parents appreciated them just as much as the kids did!
Suppliers details below:
Decor, Food platters, Jelly, Cake, Sugar Cookies, Cake pops, Chocolate Covered Oreos – http://www.sugarandpaper.co.za/
Printed temporary tattoos – https://nutmegpartyboxes.co.za/
Pin the teeth on Tow Mater & Ramone Tattoo Sign – http://www.sugarandpaper.co.za/
Playdough for party favors – http://www.partyplaydough.co.za/ 
If you have any party’s that you would like featured you can email any submissions through to inthesestilettos@gmail.com .
HAPPY PLANNING!
Golf Themed Party For Our TEE-RIFFIC Three Year Old

Golf Themed Party For Our TEE-RIFFIC Three Year Old

Posted on by Rebecca

Mommalike me and I have made no secret of our love for party planning. It runs through my veins, my mother ran a successful events and hiring company for most of my childhood years and my weekends were spent draping tents, laying tables or setting out flowers for Presidential functions, visits from Royalty or weddings. My mum had no shame in advocating child labour, we had no choice 🙂 , we all got involved as a family and I loved every minute.

Our little Yusuf is a golf fanatic. He has been since he could walk. Hes been swinging clubs since he was just over 1 and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. He sleeps with golf balls in his hand; if he gets upset at playschool all they need to do is whip out the clubs. A golf themed party was the natural choice and there was no better venue than Killarney Country Club. It offered it all; from the rolling greens around us, to the putt putt and play area for the kids, I knew from the second I laid eyes on it that this was our venue. From the start the staff at KCC were more than accommodating. I could bring in my own halaal food, the kids could play golf and the children that were too young for golf could play in the soft play area or on the jungle gym. I made my life that much easier and ordered two canapes off their menu to take a bit of stress off my shoulders as well.

I had the absolute privilege of working with Ruth du Toit from Ruth du Toit Photography for the party. This was the first time I’ve worked with a professional photographer for any of the kids parties and what an absolute treat! Yusuf’s party was not only a very special 3rd birthday, but it was also a family reunion of sorts. With my family scattered across the globe there hasn’t been one birthday party that my boys have had grandparents as well as all of his aunts and uncles at. My sister and her family were out from the UK, my brother and parents from Botswana and my cousins from Durban were also up. It was very special to have Ruth to capture all of the photos and took a huge stress off my shoulders. Her impeccable eye for detail captured every moment.

I often get ideas in my head and it frustrates me when I know what I want but I cant find what I’m looking for in the shops. Enter Deborah from Studio Hooray. Not only does Deb have one of the most stylishly curated instagram feeds I’ve ever come across, she is also a talented blogger and and hand makes children’s decor and accessories. Deb created my beautiful banner for me which was the focal point of my astroturf backdrop.

Whats a party without treats? Allyson from Sprinkles Bakery worked her magic yet again. Leaving everyone with jaws wide open at her works of art. I really have no idea how she does it, but a good sugar cookie can help set the tone of a great party. My friend Liezl from Sugar Paper Parties outshone herself once again with her incredible creations. Chocolate covered Oreo’s (yes those mini golf delicacies are OREO’S people), Golf cake pops and the most incredible two tiered argyle inspired golf cake featured as the centre piece for the table. Nothing is ever too much for her and her dedication to detail is the best I have seen. Go and check out their instagram pages for some SERIOUSLY sugared inspiration.

 

Party Favours – I try my hardest to steer away from sweet filled party packs. Though I always have a few empty sweet bags to fill at our parties (mainly for mum and dad), I try the kiddos non sweet favours. I got some plastic golf clubs and balls from China Mall and made them our favours.

 

Decor – The rest of the goodies were all bought at my go to party shop, The Party Spot, I got everything from the honey comb “golf balls”, balloons, ribbons, to the wheat-grass used in the buckets.

I had an absolute “Ball” designing this party for my very special little boy. I hope you find inspiration here if you are planning one in your household. Its such a great theme for Birthday Parties, Baby Showers and Fathers Day Celebrations.

 

There are a few people I must thank for making my vision a reality. To my hubby Ahmed, as much as you complain, you put up with my crazy ideas ( just 🙂 ), your support and opinion is so valuable to me. To my shoulder, my crutch, my bestie Meg, THANK YOU for being my voice of reason, my printer, my jelly maker, my left leg. For always being there through it all. I am so grateful to have you and I’m so excited for the future ahead. To my Mum and Dad WOW ! THANK YOU!!!! Dad, my crazy AstroTurf backdrop would not have been possible without you and your make a plan attitude. Nothing is too much!  Jaysheela Kanjee (you’ll remember her for her fantastic cake pops from the Mermaid party), thank you for always being so caring and giving. The AstroTurf runner was a lifesaver!  Sam – Words cant say thank you enough for your selflessness – the jumping castle was a lifesaver! Ruth, for capturing not only these priceless moments but so many more, I am so eternally grateful and I cant wait to see what else we do together! Deb, for taking my design and creating exactly what I imagined, thank you! Yanky and Natasha from Killarney Country Club, thank you for helping to make my dream a reality – we cant wait to see the other magical creations at the most perfect venue.

List of suppliers:

Venue: Killarney Country Club

Photography: Ruth Du Toit Photography

Sugar Cookies: Sprinkles Bakery

Cake, Cake Pops, Chocolate dipped Oreos: Sugar Paper Parties

Decor: Party Spot

Personalised Birthday Banner: Studio Hooray

Jumping Castle: Lopes Bouncy House: sam@pinkdustevents.co.za

 

My ultimate Christmas Wish List

My ultimate Christmas Wish List

Posted on by Rebecca

I really am not a hard person to please, I like pretty things, breakfast in bed and maybe a good sleep in. It is that easy 🙂

December is a busy time in our household with birthdays, anniversaries, and of course, the Christmas season. So I thought I’d make it easier for those around me to Continue reading “My ultimate Christmas Wish List” →

Party inspiration – Racing Party

Party inspiration – Racing Party

Posted on by Rebecca

After attending a fantastic workshop with Melinda Connor yesterday from “Pretty things for you” , I left feeling so inspired to create again. Thank you, “mommalikeme” for convincing me to go!

I grew up in events, my mum ran a very successful events company (florist, hiring, design and decor) for years and I would spend my Continue reading “Party inspiration – Racing Party” →