Roaring Dino Party

the party monster has been acting up... as if it's protesting in unbelief once we've decided we won't be having a party for luke's birthday this year.

luke's been talking about staying in hotels for some time now.. enjoying the full blast of air condition, covered in fresh white sheets, watching tv, & splashing away in the pool, and kajang satay!
ok, so that's what we'll be doing!

so even though there isn't any party planned, i can't help but to put together a sort-of-like party inspiration board. it would helped me appease the party monster lurking within me :p
...and to share with you what i would have liked to do if we had one planned for the mister.

the invite which i designed which will be available in a set with Babylicious' PartyinaBox

i've never been a fan of dinosaurs but when you have a mini male in your household, things change..
the only thing i knew about dinosaurs before i had kids was T-Rex.
now, i can ramble triceratops, brontosaurus, tyrannosaurus, pterodactyl without batting an eyelid! 
Geng-leh!

 

for games... i'll get a big box, fill it up to the brim with sand & hide these glow in the dark rubber dinosaurs & have the kids dig for them.

got them at a steal from Cotton On Kids for just RM15! 

or if you have the budget, you could give a set out to each kid as party favors.

i got it for luke some months back & we did a pre-bedtime mini surprise.

adorable dino macarons from Crumbs

and of course, how i can resist not ordering a dozen of these as-delicious-as-it looks macarons!

now, just wondering those of u moms out there with boys... do you find yourself, like me, having to embrace the world of dinosaurs, tanks & soldiers, ben 10? anyone??

Leah's Sunshine 1st Birthday Party {Part 2}

the PLACE

the home seemed the ideal choice...
a. no rental needed
b. familiar surrounding for our 1 yr old
c. most part of the house is child proof

in terms of practicality, it provided me with lots of flexibility eg i could shift the couch the other end... set up a corner for crawlers.

we didn't had any extravagant activity. i just whipped out our play toy cooking stove, car, wagon, lots of toys, balls to keep the little ones occupied.

the only down side - when u try fitting 30 people or so plus babies & crawlers & active toddlers, you can expect a little chaos.

the CLEANING & PACKING UP was a LOT of work but it's just a once in a year affair so i can get by with that {wink!}

the SPREAD

we're fortunate to have the kids' godma prepare the creamy pasta, golden nuggets & warm bread pudding.
i only needed to prepare the finger sandwiches. the mini beef pies & humble nasi lemak were ordered nearby our place.

got my aunt to help me make "watermelon balls". 
she had made them for our parties ever since we were little!

oh, and we had fresh cool homemade honey lemonade for drinks :) 

 

 

the PHOTOBOOTH

one of those things i constantly remind myself to do is to photographed the guests.

we often get lost in our conversations with one another tt we normally forget to take photographs

so i set up a small corner ie photobooth with some fun DIY props that suited the day eg pacifiers, bug teeth & a few other random funny stuff.

up to your creativity & imagination. we had a few good laughs :D

leave sweet notes for the birthday girl

gem biscuits available in assorted colors.

i picked out those in the theme colors, packed them into individual packs 

& attach it with a matching craft paper.

 lollipops were wrapped in remnant fabrics i have in my stash & tied with ribbons.

DIY party hats which got me all panda-eyed trying to finish them off the night before!

ms sunshine having her very first bite at a cake

we LOVED the rainbow cake!! i mean LOVE LOVE LOVE!
BLESSED 1st BIRTHDAY LEAH!

i wanted to make a million of other things but reminded myself not to get so wrapped up in making things "pretty" that i forget to enjoy the important thing & HAVE FUN!

thanks Jean for capturing wonderful memories for us to recall long after the party has ended.
thanks Michelle for the awesome cake!

ps: if you like the DIY stuff you see featured here for your own party, you can get them here.
if you like some tutorials on the party props or diy hats, feel free to email me at babylicious.info@gmail.com

Leah's Sunshine 1st Birthday Party {Part 1}

i have a sweet spot for handmade birthday parties.

i grew up loving paper stationery & pretty things.

so i naturally gravitate making inexpensive decor from papers & ordinary craft materials.

most mommas would echo that first birthdays would hardly be remembered by your babe.

i don't know to what extent their memory bank can trace as far back, but heck, birthdays are an incredible excuse to CELEBRATE the people who mean the world to you!

here's a little SNEAK peak of the party.

where it all started...

the making of the invite

the THEME

i wanted something personal, a theme that reflected how her life has been such a blessing to us.
her cheerful disposition never fails to brighten our day.

we've been singing, you are my sunshine, my only sunshine, u make me happy when skies are gray..

we sing it so often that the tune has stuck onto luke's head that he naturally sings it to his baby sister every now & then.

how to illustrate & combine them all the elements together?

the color YELLOW has been popping up in my head quite a bit of late.

immediately i thought of sunshine + lemons & i knew i definitely wanted to incorporate this into the party.

i tried not to get into an overdose of yellow so i paired it up with PINK (and must say they made a great pair :)

leah's handmade party hat

(tutorial will be shared soon)

the DECOR

little details goes a long way

 milk milk (personalized name tags)

 we often get lost in our conversations with one another that 

we normally forget to take photographs

so i prepared a small corner ie photobooth + fun props 

(more of this in Part 2)

 got this precious moment birthday figurine from hubby for my birthday many moons ago 

& thought it would double up as a good cake topper

leave sweet notes or words of wisdom for the birthday girl

oh... and ms little sunshine made her debut on leah's birthday 
to shower us with some HAPPY VIBES =)
commissioned this from Crumbs & she happily obliged!

Babylicious' Party in a Box - the sunshine package

if you love small details like these but lack time or passion to put it together,

BABYLICIOUS PARTY IN A BOX 

would be just the thing for you :)

{launching in store soon}

ps: stay tuned for Part 2 of Leah's Sunshine Party...

Fire trucks, helmet, hoses & more...

i think luke was 1+ when he started playing with fire trucks.
i reckon boys, at some point in their childhood, harbors the dream of being a fire fighter.
maybe it's the heroic element ie saving lives... makes them feel very much like their fav cartoon superheros?? 

not many of us would have the chance to see a firefighter in action.
luke's kindie once organized a fire station visit  & i was hoping he would have the chance to go.
 as things would have it, i stumbled upon ibu's forum one day & saw that they were organizing a firestation visit!
i couldn't have been more EXCITED!

saturday morning came and we were greeted by blue skies & cool breeze at the Hartamas Fire Station.
however the little mr was super shy. and when we coaxed him further to participate, he sat there like a grumpy old man & i thought, darn! wasted experience!
the little missy, on the other hand was her cheerful self & she seemed gamed on what was ahead.. with her legs kicking back & forth & all ;)

the session started with the fireman asking the kids, "what do you do if your back caught fire & there was no one else to help you?"
hmm... i didn't know the answer :p
they did a demo (cover your face with your hands, get down, kneel on the floor & roll on your back), volunteers were asked to come out & pretty soon the kids warmed up.

firefighters taking turns coming down the pole when emergency calls

 

we got to try out the uniforms

kiddos & their parents got to ride on a real fire truck! 

(by now, the little mr has warmed up & ready to take on the action)

the HIGHLIGHT of the day? the most awaited moment? The HOSE!
which is also the part you get to go all out & get SOAKED to the bone!
this is by far luke's favorite & i mean F.A.V.O.R.I.T.E!
we never actually allowed luke to play in the rain before so this was like THE TICKET of a lifetime!!
i'll leave the pictures to tell the rest of the story.

the little missy didn't miss out on the FUN!

thank you iBu for organizing this!

IBU is a non-profit organization in KL servicing the needs of young families with children 0-6yrs old. Membership includes lots of fabulous aspects... Equipment rental, chair and table for party hire, free library, free support groups, lots of playgroups, free well-baby clinic... Join IBU today and find an incredible support network.

Animal Themed Party

i couldn't quite figure out who was more EXCITED!
me planning the party details or the birthday girl celebrating her big day!

care to join me on my revelry?

 take a peek... what's brewing inside?

last weekend, covershots' studio was transformed into a mini playground plus kids size tables & chairs.

the party was set on an animal theme with fun poppy colors!
i had so much FUN putting the details together especially the fun-loving animal characters.

drawing an image on a computer was no easy feat but bcos i was desperate to have animal characters (which i've been wanting to replicate) for the party, i gave the pencil tool a try on the illustrator software.
first i drew the overall shape..
then the eyes, trunk, tail... then as confidence grew, the other elements that made the character more playful were added in eg balloons, flowers etc.
and slowly but surely everything began to take shape...
i'm sure there's an easier way around it... but as long as the character emerged i was happy (i'm easy to please) ;p

once the characters formed, the rest of the party printables were created..

 invites

 favor tags

 cupcake toppers

 birthday banner at the background

candy boxes 

 mini trolleys with candies

bottled drinks

a photobooth was set up with each kid getting a picture of themselves. photo were printed on the spot.
each kid got a handmade photo card where they inserted their photo and decorate with foam animal cutouts. a wonderful craft activity to keep little ones entertained & occupied.

yummy homemade catering spread... little ones helping themselves to the food..

helium balloons always lends a festive feel to any celebration.

candy bar - for kids to take home candies, cupcakes, snacks & bottled drinks 

- all packed into a takeaway box with their personalized names on it.

found this gems - animal inflatables... just the perfect gifts for the kids to 

take home as a memento of the party.

remember my post on DIY chalkboard... here i recycled a photo frame... spray the chalkpaint & got myself a handsome chalkboard, perfect for the party!

the lip smacking chocolate cake which i didn't managed to get a bite of ;(

 happy roaring 2nd birthday GABBY! 

hope you had loads of fun!

meanwhile...
while everyone else was busy with their share of fun outside, we caught two babes holding their very own play-date-baby-conversation... ahem..with daddies present as chaperons ;)

photography & venue by covershots
*for more info on baby fullmoon & kids party packages, email info@covershots.com.my