The Latest from Bird Crafts

Cool Customers: An Enchanting Rainbow Party!!

Posted: 17 May 2011 02:58 AM PDT

Today's colorful Rainbow Birthday Party was sent to us by the talented Jane from the Lou and Jane Homemade Parties blog! Jane and the birthday girl Lou, have planned this enchanting party and all the fab details together, isn't that sweet?! :)

They saw our Rainbow Party feature on Pizzazzerie, which inspired some of the styling! Check out the fun party ideas and details as told by Jane below:

I know rainbow parties have been done to death, but this is our spin on what I'm sure will become a classic theme for little girls.

Desserts Table:

My big challenge was that many of the parents at our school do not allow their children to eat artificial colours or preservatives, or even highly processed food, so I made pretty much everything, including whole wheat sandwiches, fruit kebab sticks, wholewheat cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, chocolate cupcakes with choc frosting, topped with chocolate coins for 'pots of gold' and pop corn cups. I did indulge and made fairy bread though. I brought my confectionery from The Natural Confectionery Company - no artificial colors used.

The kids LOVED filling up their own boxes with the candy and jelly bean shots.

The birthday cake was wholewheat choc with cream cheese frosting - no artificial colours (and parent friendly) and topped with smarties that were naturally coloured!

Party Decor:

So, as you used tissue poms I also made tissue poms from a Martha Stewart online tutorial and then used fabric left over from the rainbow fairy dresses to make a backdrop.

Being a pre-school teacher, I thought ahead of a quiet activity for a retreat from the party hustle and bustle. This is so important in a party environment, so I had the very clever Alison at Rumpelfeltskin make up some Steiner (Waldorf) inspired rainbow gnomes for me, which now my pre-schoolers absolutely love!

Party Activities and Party Favors:

At the party we had a treasure hunt for the children to find their activities (7 clues, one for each colour of the rainbow, written in rhyme), rainbow fairy dresses for the girls to wear, coloring sheets, a craft activity to make rainbow bracelets out of coloured wooden beads , gold coin and spoon races and a craft activity table where the children could make a rainbow kite or decorate a notebook.

I made the cupcake toppers, pop corn cones, lolly (candy) boxes and little paper bags for the bracelets BEFORE I found your party. Once I found that, I HAD to get them too - so I just incorporated two designs. Just so you know, Bird's Party printables were my 1st Etsy AND party printable purchase!

Party Credits:

Photography: Sarah Rickard Photography (some photography by me - the dodgy pics!)
Party Styling: Lou and Jane - Handmade Parties
Rainbow Party Printables: Bird's Party
Steiner rainbow gnomes: Rumpelfeltskin
Colouring sheets: Style Me Gorgeous
Inspiration: Heartfelt Handmade and of course, Bird's Party rainbow party featured on Pizzazzerie

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WOW!! Jane, LOVE all the fab details!! Thanks so much for sharing Lou's special birthday with us!! So many inspiring ideas and tips!!

Dr. Jungle's Animal Speak

Siamese Cats – Chingching and Sulyn

Posted: 16 May 2011 08:52 AM PDT

Chingching & Sulyn
"Chingching and Sulyn are looking for something. You’ll never guess what!"
2010-11-05

Here’s what L M Svizzero says about Chingching & Sulyn:

"This pic of my babies was Easter 2009. “Looking for the Easter Bunny”. They will stand at the open door for hours just looking around the back yard. Never walking out the door."

"Chingching and Sulyn are very beautiful. They look perfectly matched and it sounds like they are a fun pair! Thanks for sharing them with us."