A Subtle Message

I love these wooden word blocks! They are so much fun and make a perfect and unusual gift for anyone. You can use them in the kitchen, study, bedroom or even on the Christmas, Valentine's, Easter or Halloween table as part of the decoration. What's even better is that they are proudly South African. 

These are just a few of the hundreds of phrases available:

EK ♥ LABRADORS, MAN OF THE HOUSE, LOVE ME TENDER, SPEK & EIERS ASB, KISS, LAUGH, LET THEM EAT CAKE!, HOME SWEET HOME, LOVE, BON VOYAGE, TIME FLIES, SMELL THE RAIN, PARTY TIME, STOUTE KABOUTER, PEEK A BOO!, EMPTY NEST BLISS, ELLE MAGAZINE, GARDEN & HOME, VIVA SUID-AFRIKA

I have a few of these in stock. Let me know if you would like to place an order. 

Artwork Without the Artwork

As trends and styles change, so do our walls. It's time to dust off those old frames and put them to new use. 

I've illustrated above how you can re-use your empty frames and frankly, it won't cost you a thing. I  especially like these rustic wooden frames. You can find them literally anywhere, but I suggest you have a look at Bellbottoms in Villieria, Pierneef Street. They recycle old wooden skirtings, so I suppose there's a bit of vintage in these frames. 

Some creative ideas include displaying your empty frames on a shelve, table or chest of drawers. Spread them out and put one in front of the other to create a bit of depth. It's an artwork without the artwork. Another idea is to paint the backboard of the frame with black chalk paint. These come in a 1 litre tin and you should be able to find them at your local hardware store. Another great idea is to cover the backboard with very thin foam and a small piece of material. Use this as a pinboard for your photo's, memo's or any memorabilia. And lastly, tie wire at each opposite end of your frame and use a peg to display your birthday cards or even your favourite photos.

There's Light At The End Of The Teapot

How fun are these teapot chandeliers? These must look absolutely stunning over a kitchen island or your breakfast table!

I am sure you can do the same with a teacup and saucer - three or four grouped together will have just as much impact as these teapots!

The Bunny Hop

Main Table

Table Settings

Food Lollipops

No 1 Gift Box Tower & Ek Verjaar Blocks

Food Table (Side View)

Kids Table Setting

Bunny Birthday Cupcake and Bunny Friends

T-Shirt with Custom Bunny and Birthday Phrase

And so the bunny finally hopped! I finished the bunny themed birthday party today and it was such a fun theme to work with! I've added a few photos of the final product. 

The Bunny Hop Storyboard

One of my readers sent in a request for party ideas for small children. I thought it would be a great idea to do regular updates as I make progress with an event and hopefully give you some inspirational ideas and tips for your own event.

I am busy planning an event for a one year old boy. The theme is bunnies and I just finished my storyboard. Using a storyboard to present all the ideas really helps the client to envision what you are proposing and helps you to focus on the core items of the event.

As I go along, I will post updates under the label 'Bunny Hop Event Progress' so that you can easily follow the progress and hopefully see the end result. 

Invitation (front)

When it came to the design of the invitations, it was important to incorporate elements of the party as much as possible. I photographed the little boy a while back and we used the images on his invitation. He was such a good bunny! To bring in elements that will be used at the party, the table cloth material was scanned in and used as part of the design. 

Ribbon Recycle

If you are anything like me, you probably also like ribbon. I never dispose of any ribbon given to me on a gift and I try and reuse them as much as possible. The problem is that they always seem to get tangled up and it's difficult to keep them neatly organised. 

Creative Tip : The next time you finish a toilet roll or a carlton roll (these are better to use), use the cardboard core and cut them into pieces. These make excellent ribbon wheels. I also use a pin to keep it from unwinding, but you can also use masking tape on the ends. 

I've been keeping my ribbon this way for a while and gift wrapping is now something I look forward to - I know I have a selection of ribbon to choose from! 

Quirky Bird Mobile

I found this online and absolutely adore these colourful knitted mobile birds that you can make yourself! I love the little felt beaks and material wings. Perfect for a baby cot. 

Creative Tip : Get a group of friends together and make these as a gift for a mommy to be on her baby shower. Each friend can make a bird - this way you will save money and it will be something unique and special for the new baby. 

Click on the link below for the instructions.

http://www.ideasmag.co.za/content/?category_id=10&id=4904

A Perfect Beach Party On a Rainy Day

Having a beach party in the middle of January is probably the best way to ease the sad realization that the holidays are officially over. I am sure we've all been to a 'beach party' at some stage - it's such a fun and colourful event, you just can't help to enjoy yourself! 

I was invited to a beach party over the weekend and I could almost feel the sand between my toes. Even though the weather didn't play along, the colourful decor and perfectly done table settings really set the mood for a fun and 'warm' day. 

Having such a bold and colourful theme can be risky as things easily look cluttered and overdone, but a few key items on display will be your best bet to pull off a striking and spot on themed party. Choose a basic colour and build your party decor around that. Having the same undertone throughout will keep things unified and will be easy on the eye - with a few pops of colour here and there. As you will see from the images above, the host chose lime green undertones - green linen, green plates and green bamboo mats. 

Creative ideas for the table included island flowers in small steel pots, buckets full of sand and a colourful umbrella to create a bit of height and I particularly liked the flip flops in a bucket! 

Pretty Flower Box

I took this picture in front of The George Hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland a while back. Even though these blossoms were found oversees, they are all flowers and plants we see here in South Africa and can make any dull window look strikingly beautiful.

Cooking Classes in Pretoria

Become a Martha Stewart at your own home! This is an excellent initiative and encourage all woman to pick up their spatula's and start cooking!

Chef Rozanne Henning has relocated to Stellenbosch recently, but still keeps her Pretoria based clients happy and visits Pretoria often to continue teaching woman how to make their own superb meals at home!

Book now for her March classes - Festive French! She makes entertaining guests look easy.

TheFoodClass: Cooking Classes Pretoria 2011: "March 2011- Festive France Cooking class R280/person everything included We will be making and serving: French Canapes Aubergine & p..."

Rosaline: Vintage Tolix Paris Chairs - Ooh La La!

Rosaline: Vintage Tolix Paris Chairs - Ooh La La!

http://www.hatfieldtravel.co.za/links.asp

Vintage Tolix Paris Chairs - Ooh La La!

I absolutely love these Tolix chairs. They've been on the scene for quite some time, but recently became very popular in South Africa and you can find them in a quite a few places these days. I have never seen them in the Pretoria area, but I recently spotted a few at the Hatfield Travel and Decor Centre in Glenvillage, Faerie Glen. 


I love the pairing of the rustic white wood table with the industrial-looking chairs from the above shot. You can pair these with literally anything - they even look good stacked! 

Hydrangeas

I am always drawn to flowers, especially soft pink's and whites. Hydrangeas are probably the most beautiful and versatile flower to use in a room. Their natural 'posy' look creates a perfect arrangement without any effort. They are not found year round, but you will see them from November until late March.

They look gorgeous on their own in a vase or used in a bigger arrangement and their colours range from whites to green to purple. Hydrangeas are one of the flowers that will dry perfectly themselves and looks almost just as good dried as the fresh flower.

Bird Themed Dinner

 I recently did an event where I used a bird theme with purple undertones. I used wooden birdcages and bird cut outs that I covered with decorative paper. These were used as place cards and I hung a few over the table with different coloured ribbon to add a bit of depth to the over all picture.

As a party favor I stamped small wooden hearts with a small bird stamp, twisted a hook on to it and tied a small piece of ribbon to it. It looked great on the table! 

Party Nibbles

I am busy planning a birthday party for a 1 year old boy and saw these lovely mallow-lollipops. They are so easy to make and if presented in a small gift box (as above) they look absolutely gorgeous!

I am sure these will work great for a grown up party too. I can just image these in a glass bowl served with coffee for each guest to nibble on.

From Granny to Fancy!

In December my husband and I decided to convert our garage into an office space for me to start my new business from. What seemed like a small quick one week project turned into a massive one month operation! None the less, the hard work and effort paid off and I now have a beautiful airy office to work from.

During the same time our renovations went on, my grandparents had to clear out their old home as they moved into an old age home two months prior. I took this lovely chest of drawers that stood in their bathroom. I've loved it since I can remember, so naturally I was ecstatic to have it in my home.

It used to be painted with a high gloss white paint and I wanted to paint it stripes. I had to use paint stripper to get rid of the old paint and as it started peeling off, I decided that I would use it just like that and use the stripes on the wall instead!

It is now in my office and I can appreciate it every day with a bit of my childhood memories linked to it!

Prettiest Cappuccino I've Ever Seen!

The best Cappuccino in town! Pure Cafe, Colbyn, Pretoria.