Hello friends, happy Friday! For our fresh baked feature today I’m rocking out a pink triple play… picnics, parties and pretties. Other cool words that start with the letter P?  Popsicles, playtime, precious, peculiar, precarious and procrastination {that last one is my favourite}.

Pink might be a bit of a colour [...]]]>

Hello friends, happy Friday! For our fresh baked feature today I’m rocking out a pink triple play… picnics, parties and pretties. Other cool words that start with the letter P?  Popsicles, playtime, precious, peculiar, precarious and procrastination {that last one is my favourite}.

Pink might be a bit of a colour stereotype, but I love it nonetheless. I especially like it when it’s delicately mixed with pastel shades of aqua and blue. Now, let’s see if I can possibly resist snapping up at least one of these items… the eight ball says… “unlikely”.

Well, that’s it for this week folks. I hope you have a fabulous weekend planned! Why not drop by tomorrow morning and join us for breakfast? I’m making raisin toast without the icky bits {raisins}… I guess it’s called cinnamon toast but it’s more fun to say the first way.

1. Doily Tea Party Invitation by Beyond Design … 2. Lola Ruffles Handmade Baby Booties by Ivory & Moss … 3. Maisie Flower Headband by Myrtle & Grace … 4. It’s Good to be Queen Gift Tags by Romantic Inspirations … 5. Small Cake Stand by Vessels and Wares … 6. Iced Vo Vo Tutu Skirt by Little Fish Creations … 7. Little Pink Teacup Felt Brooch by Lupin Handmade … 8. The Highlander Pink Tartan Messenger Bag by Kibber … 9. Strawberry Mary Janes by ERAsistible … 10. Cookies Tea Tin with Tassel by Dumpling Dynasty

Hip hooray for weekends! If you’re in Sydney, you’ll no doubt be excited about the very first Hide & Seek Market this weekend. It’s on tomorrow 25 July, 2010 at the Wrights Rd Community Centre in Kellyville, NSW. So today, our Fresh Baked Friday gives you a little sneaky peek [...]]]>

Hip hooray for weekends! If you’re in Sydney, you’ll no doubt be excited about the very first Hide & Seek Market this weekend. It’s on tomorrow 25 July, 2010 at the Wrights Rd Community Centre in Kellyville, NSW. So today, our Fresh Baked Friday gives you a little sneaky peek at one of the stallholders.

I’ve always believed that spring is the height of the kiddy social calendar. Finally, it’s warm enough to hit the park, run around bare foot and of course, invite your friends around for tea parties.

One of the many cool exhibitors that you’ll find at Hide & Seek is Mugalicious. I quite adore their range of handmade tea sets and mugs. Of course, the kids range is my favourite, but I can also see one of the grownup mugs gracing my work desk {and getting a hardcore caffeine workout}.

All of the Mugalicious “teeny tiny teapots for teeny tiny people” are handmade and hand painted by designer and mum of two Robyn Shelton. Robyn has a background in child care, prior to which she worked as a slip caster for a ceramics company under the renowned artist Kristen-Lee Baillie. Taking from her experiences in both fields, she launched her label Mugalicious.

Mugalicious teapots are made from porcelain clay then fired in a kiln. Three coats of paint are applied to each one ensure a strong bold colour. Once painted, a final gloss coat is applied and they are fired (in the kiln) at over 1200 degrees Celsius….. last step, waiting to see how they turn out!

I thought I’d leave you today with a lovely paragraph written by Robyn to explain what it is that she loves about creating her craft…

“I love making the teapot sets (so does my daughter Amina). I love the smile that I get from children when they walk past my stall and pull away from their parents to come and have a play. I also love that it’s not just the children who smile but the parents and grandparents. They all stop and reminisce about the teapot sets that they had as kids. It’s very heart warming and humbling to be part of their nostalgia.”

You can order Mugalicious tea sets and stoneware online, or drop by and visit Robyn tomorrow at the Hide & Seek Market.

Happy Friday Folks! Today’s Fresh Baked Friday is just a big bunch of mouth watering felty fun. Life’s a Stitch is a brand new label creating “Material Munchies”, a range of handcrafted play food for kids. Fancy a sandwich with the lot? A juicy burger? A healthy Sushi roll, or [...]]]>

Happy Friday Folks! Today’s Fresh Baked Friday is just a big bunch of mouth watering felty fun. Life’s a Stitch is a brand new label creating “Material Munchies”, a range of handcrafted play food for kids. Fancy a sandwich with the lot? A juicy burger? A healthy Sushi roll, or some fresh fruit? Oh… and don’t forget your bickies for dessert…

Life’s a Stitch is the creation of sisters Sarah and Julia, both young mums and lovers of sewing and crafts. Their felt food range came about after a play date where the kids were having a lovely time with wooden play food but kept dropping them on the wooden floor {very noisy and annoying}. Later that night Sarah got to thinking that there must be a better way to play… so she created a fabric prototype which was a big hit with her son, and the rest, as they say… is history!

This collection is awesome for interactive play such as tea parties or picnics. They’re also a great way to teach kids about different foods. Material Munchies are handmade in the Life’s a Stitch studio in the Blue Mountains {just outside Sydney} from acrylic, wool and cotton fabrics. Prices range from $10 up to $40 for one of the larger sets. You can even buy a Go Green Felt Shopping Bag to store all your goodies. Keep your eyes peeled for more additions to the range shortly!

As a self-confessed sweet tooth, perpetual hostess and lover of high tea, I bring you my top entertaining idea for Easter. I preface this post by saying that high tea certainly isn’t just for the domestic goddesses among us (of which I am not)… with a few cheats + and a pretty [...]]]>

As a self-confessed sweet tooth, perpetual hostess and lover of high tea, I bring you my top entertaining idea for Easter. I preface this post by saying that high tea certainly isn’t just for the domestic goddesses among us (of which I am not)… with a few cheats + and a pretty tea set (aka distraction) you’ll be serving it up Martha Stewart style!

In research for this article, our household enjoyed a pre-Easter celebration which both confused and delighted the kids. Note: the Easter bunny was put on prior notice not to arrive until 4 April. He did however make a cameo appearance in the form of mini sandwiches with ham and cream cheese. These were the hit of the day, extremely easy to make {with your trusty bunny cookie cutter} and fun for all ages. A second round was made, after the first plate was commandeered by the Dads.

What next? Cupcakes! A perfect recipe to make with kids as you can’t really go wrong… flour, sugar, milk, butter, eggs… mix… pour… bake! These particular cupcakes were created simply so I would have an excuse to use these gorgeous polka dot wrappers from The Cupcake Wrapper Co. If you love cupcakes, chances are you’ve heard of these guys before. Their range is superb, and they’ve also just released a new design for Easter. The cupcake toppers, also delightful, were from Baking Pleasures.

Now I must say, I briefly considered pulling out my Julia Child cookbook and trying my hand at Choux Pastry… however, to avoid bitter disappointment for all involved, I decided that a visit to my local French Patisserie was a better alternative. The three tiers of pastries {a few already snaffled by hungry guests} cost me less than $20… The mini spinach and feta quiches were from the deli next door… $5!

My favourite crafty task of the day was putting together this plate of Easter goodie bags. The handmade pink-and-white-polka-dot-bunny-gift-tags are from Etsy seller Seasonal Delights. Run by the lovely Kelli, Seasonal Delights is filled to brim with vintage inspired paper goodness. I chose chocolate “birds eggs” for fillers rather than wrapped Easter eggs for the pastel colour palette.

Well, there you have it folks… an easy, relatively inexpensive and fabulously fun way to celebrate Easter with your family and friends. After all, who doesn’t love dainty crustless sandwiches and petit fours? However, be warned… petit fours are addictive… sugar overload is highly likely… and it’s a good idea to have at least one platter of fruit on standby… bon appétit!