{Free Printables} A Gingerbread Man Hunt!

Yay, I have begun doing all the prep work for our annual Christmas Eve Gingerbread Man Hunt!!!  This is now the third year we have done the hunt and I have to say, it is definitely a highlight of our Christmas season.  First we bake and decorate some Gingerbread Men.  Ashlee chooses her favorite, then...Oh No, it runs away leaving clues in its wake.

For this year's hunt, I made a some changes to the clue cards (You can check out last year's clues here).  And I have even made the free downloadable clue cards editable so you can add your own clues and print!

Here are this year's clues...

If you want to have your own Gingerbread Man Hunt, just download some editable clue cards here.  You can use my clues or replace them with your own!

Happy Hunting!

{Free Printables} Halloween Party!

Eeeek!!! Halloween is fast approaching...

and I want to share my ENTIRE Halloween Party Printable collection as a FREE download!!!

The collection includes:  2" party circles, tented labels, drink bottle labels, welcome sign, bunting,

favor tags and invitations.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE HALLOWEEN PRINTABLES

{Party Details} Plastic Tablecloths

You know the tablecloths I mean?  The super cheap, thin plastic disposable kind.  I can't say that I love to use them for their intended purpose with all those not so pretty fold lines.  But they come in so many great colors, they're inexpensive and they can actually be used for so many other creative party details!  

For me, one of the best things about parties is dreaming up fun and creative ways to use ordinary things like plastic tablecloths.  Here are some ways I have used the humble plastic tablecloth... 

Cupcake Decorating Party 

A whole lot of plastic tablecloths were used for this cupcake decorating party.  From the photo backdrop, to the table runner, the chair decorations and even the chef hats.

Pink Poodle Party
Making pom poms with plastic tablecloths makes them super durable.  Definitely a bonus if you want to use them outdoors.

I used a mass of rosettes made from plastic tablecloth to create a striking backdrop for photos. 

Party Favors: Fairy Wand

 I used pink tablecloth plastic, a little tulle and balloon sticks to make cute fairy wands.

What are your extraordinary uses for ordinary things? 

{New in the Shop} Owl Book Plates

I love to give books as gifts, especially to newborns and toddlers as they aren't yet old enough to prefer a cool toy!  A great way to make giving a book more personal is to add a cute personalized name plate (and a few extras for their growing book collection).  I am really excited to add my first collection of printable book plates to my Esty store.  They are 'oh so girly' in pink, purple and orange hues with loads of polka dots and cute little owl graphics.

The printable book plate set includes six coordinating owl designs and they are now available for purchase in my Esty store!

{Tutorial} Ice Cream Party - Soda Jerk Hat

I am super excited for the weather here in Sydney to start warming up.  I definitely prefer the warmer weather with lots of BBQs, outdoor parties, picnics and of course...loads of ICE CREAM!!!  To get into the spirit of the warmer weather that is on its way,  I have put together a tutorial for the colorful soda jerk hats that I made for Ashlee's Ice Cream Parlor. A DIY Ice Cream Bar is such a fun and easy addition to any Spring/Summer celebration.  And what better way to add a little more fun by letting your guests 'look the part' as they create their own delicious ice cream treats.  

To make these fun soda jerk hats you will need the following items:

• Tissue paper
• Wrapping paper
• Scissors
• Ruler
• Tape
• Double sided tape
• Cardstock (not pictured above)
• Printer (not pictured above)

How-to:

1) Make cardstock templates - They will make folding the tissue & wrapping paper quick and easy.

Tissue Paper Template

Download template here.  Print template onto cardstock (print at 100% with NO page scaling).  Cut along the two solid black lines then fold the dashed lines accordion style.

Wrapping Paper Template

Cut a 3 inch wide strip of cardstock.

1) Cut a piece of tissue paper 11" x 9.5".  Use the tissue paper template to fold the tissue paper accordion style.

2) Take out the template and lay the folded tissue paper on your work surface.  Fold over both ends approximately one quarter of an inch and tape the flaps down.

3) Cut a piece of wrapping paper 22" x 6.5".  Lay the wrapping paper template in the middle of the 'wrong' side of the wrapping paper.  Fold the two long edges over the template.  Remove template.

4) Cut a 22 inch strip of double sided tape and attach it along the wrapping paper join.

5) Attach the folded tissue paper about 2 inches from the right edge of the wrapping paper, making sure the top (folded side) of the tissue paper sits about 1/2 an inch above the edge of the wrapping paper.

6) Fold the right end of the wrapping paper over the tissue paper.

7) Finally, attach some double sided tape to the left end of the wrapping paper then fold it over the tissue paper.

And if you want to make your soda jerk hats even cuter, you can personalize them with a 2" Party Circle from my Etsy store.

 Or maybe even add some fun tissue paper flowers!

Please Note:  These measurements were made to fit 4/5 year olds.  To make bigger or smaller hats just adjust the 11" length of the tissue paper and the 22" length of the wrapping paper accordingly.

If you use this tutorial to make your own soda jerk hats, I'd LOVE to see your photos!

Happy Crafting :)

Happy 7th Birthday Josh!!!

I have been working on some printables for a very handsome little guy who is turning 7 today.  The birthday boy's name is Josh and he is lucky enough to have the sweetest, nicest mum you'll ever meet.  Here is a little peak at some cupcake toppers that I designed especially for Josh...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSH!!!

I hope you and your family have a very special day today...

Ashlee's Pink Poodle Party

Our gorgeous little girl, Ashlee, just turned five and we celebrated with a Poodle Party!  Her chosen color palette was pink (of course!) and I snuck in some black & white to add a touch of elegance.

I created a small dessert table using some gorgeous striped fabric from Fabrics and Trimmings for the backdrop and I strung some poms poms across it.  Because I always manage to tear the tissue paper pom poms when fanning them out, I made these ones from a plastic table cloth.

I designed a new printables collection with a simple silhouette of a girl walking a pink poodle.  To frame the silhouette graphic I used scalloping and stripes in pink, black & white.

The dessert table was filled with musk sticks, marshmallow clouds, pink popcorn, raspberry mushrooms, strawberry oreos (with poodle paw prints), chocolate cupcakes and cake pops.

I baked the cupcakes in black & white stripped baking cups from Paper Eskimo.  I decorated them using three varying shades of pink frosting to create an ombre effect.  For the cupcake toppers, I punched out party circles using a 2" scallop punch.  

The very talented Alison from Alison Lawson Cakes made a stunning (and delicious) pink ombre buttercream swirl cake.  

For the seated table I used a pink tablecloth with a black runner that was adorned with crete paper rosettes that I made in three shades of pink.  I made about 140 rosettes all up for the runner.  It was quite time consuming and a little a lot painful from a few little slips of the hot glue gun, but I was happy with how it turned out.

Each place setting included a mini milk bottle wrapped in fabric, a square black plate and a black party hat trimmed with pink tulle and a 2 inch scalloped party circle.

The table centrepiece was a bouquet of gorgeous hand cut pink poodles on cookie wands also made by Alison of Alison Lawson Cakes.

The Birthday Banner was strung with 'pearls'.

Ashlee’s birthday outfit included a beautiful poodle tutu created by Atutudes, teamed with a lace trimmed black singlet.  I used a crystal poodle ornament I found at Christmas time to make the cute necklace that added just the right amount of bling to the outfit.

As the girls arrived at the party, they were all given their very own plush poodles.  They then made their new friends some collar ‘bling’.

The girls then enjoyed grooming, feeding and playing with their poodles in ‘The Pampered Poodle’ and ‘Poodle Palace’ that I made from appliance boxes.

After indulging in sweets from the dessert table, the girls finished off the afternoon with some beautiful face painting by my fabulous friend, Mandy...

A pinata...

and cake!

  
Plus a little bit of chocolate for all the girls.

I really enjoyed putting the whole party together and the girls had a whole lot of fun!  A big thank you to my wonderful husband for listening to all of my never ending party-talk and for capturing our special memories with such beautiful photography! 

I have added the Pink Poodle Collection to my shop, so the printables are now available!

Vendors: 

Printables & Styling - Ashlee Rae www.ashleerae.com

Photography - Jason Sievers www.jasonsievers.com

Cake & Poodle Cookie Wands -  www.alisonlawsoncakes.com

Striped Backdrop Fabric – Fabrics and Trimmings http://www.etsy.com/shop/fabricsandtrimmings

Pink Poodle Tutu - Atutdes http://www.etsy.com/shop/atutudes