So here ’tis.  My chocolate mud cake with milk chocolate ganache, blue fondant and white chocolate under the sea shells and animals. Definitely not  an award winner, but not so bad for my very first attempt, no?!

Take a look at the photos, won’t you.

With a fascination for all things fairy, a creative mind and a few helpful degrees in child education, the beautiful Kristalee was able to come up with a party to make her daughter (and all certain voyeuristic Invitation Stylists!) gasp.
It all began about 6 weeks before the party when Kristalee’s first hint arrived. At the door was the most beautifully wrapped present and when opened, a fan-fairy-tastic surprise was revealed…
… a fairy door. Next to the present was a note from the fairies that read,

“Dear Fairy Millie,

We have heard the wonderful news that you are having a fairy party for your 3rd birthday. This makes us very excited as we adore a party.

We have decided to move into your house for the next few weeks to help you with everything that needs doing to prepare for your party. This is our magical doorway that lets us into your house at night while you are sleeping. You mustn’t try to open the door as then all the magic will go away and we will not be able to help you anymore.

You will know we have been to visit your house as when you get up in the morning you will see some fairy dust sprinkled around the doorway. Some mornings there may even be a surprise waiting for you (especially if you have slept in your own bed all night).

Lots of love, THE FAIRIES”
Throughout the lead up to the party, Millie received many visits from her new friends, the most exciting being the arrival of her very own fairy costume.
Even more fascinating was the fact that Millie was not the only one the fairies paid attention to. Even Mum Kristalee received a gorgeous costume from the very generous fairies. When Millie saw the costume, Kristalee proudly wrote:
“The fairy guest of honour, Millie, is almost jumping out of her skin with excitement, particular when the mummy fairy tried on her outfit. She had to try hers on again and she insisted we twirl down the hallway. All way too cute!”
I am in awe of how Kristalee set this up. I already knew that she was a fantastic mother of 4, but this was going above and beyond the realms of good mothering. This was appealing to her daughter’s innermost dreams and making them reality. I can only imagine how excited a young girl would be and simply awestruck at the thought of little magical beings dancing through her house and wanting to give her happiness.

Equally wonderful is the actual party that Kristalee created. The backyard was transformed into a fairy garden, resplendent in toadstools and fairy bunting and the whole effect was created so beautifully by being understated rather than going over the top. The look on the guests’ faces as they entered was priceless and every little girl’s face lit up in wonder.
Once the party got underway, the guests were treated to a craft activity where they were able to decorate their own star fairy wands. Instead of using construction materials, the wands were actually edible – the star a home made cookie attached to a bamboo stick. There were various edible fairy decorations for the guests to use to personalise their own wand. Also on the agenda was a pass the parcel and no fairy party would be complete without a little bit of fairy dancing.

What a stunning party, captured so magnificently by the awesome Mel at Milk Photography.  As Kristalee says, they are just divine, as is all of her work.

As for our involvement in the party, this is the testimonial Kristalee wrote to us:

“Working with Gayle was a dream.  She did everything she said she would do, in the time she said she would do it and to top it off her work was so gorgeous, it just added that something extra being able to tie all the elements together with her ‘fairy good’ theme.  I have received so many comments on how lovely it all looked”.

And now all that is left for us to do is think about how all good fairytales should end… and they all partied happily ever after.  You can view this party in more detail at Catch My Party or view more photos below…

Vendors:

Photography: (http://www.milkphotography.com.au) (servicing Mornington Peninsula and Melbourne’s south east)

Millie’s Fairy Outfit: Fairy Frocks (http://www.fairyfrocks.com.au)

Invitations, bunting, cupcake toppers, cupcake wrappers, buffet labels and other party stationery ephemera: I Will Invitations (http://www.iwillinvitations.com.au)

We may still be on maternity leave, but we haven’t left you hanging!  We’ve got a very special freebie for you to download – a Valentine Voucher.  Just download, print and then write down the special offer you’d like to give your loved one this Valentine’s Day.  It couldn’t be easier!

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

DOWNLOAD VALENTINE VOUCHER PRINTABLE HERE

We offer a handy ordering process page to help, but sometimes something more is needed – an explanation into ‘why’ things are done a certain way, and I guess that if you’re not a designer, these things may not make immediate sense like they do to someone who has more experience with hiring designers.

So here goes… the first post in my ‘ordering invitations 101′ series!  And if you still have any questions, feel free to write them in the comments section and I’ll do my best to answer them!

Today I’m going to answer the biggest query of them all….

Why do I pay for the design work upfront?

This would have to be the main bug-bear for any designer and any client.  A client feels a little uneasy about putting up their hard-earned money (especially for custom work) without the benefit of seeing what the end result could be.  The best explanation is to think of a carpenter you hire to build a treehouse.  Would you expect him to buy all the supplies himself?  Should he spend hours working away at dimensions and plans for free?

This is the same as a designer – we spend hours on proofs and designs, and whilst that’s our job and we’re very happy to be doing it, without the locked-in commitment of the client putting up their money, we run the risk of someone pulling out and then all that hard work has been for free (and not to mention that we are now stuck with some 100 copies of cardstock in an odd honey-wheat colour that is so infrequently used that it will be bound to sit at the back of the supply shelves until self-decomposition!)

That does make it a little bit tricky for both sides, but the best advice would be to look at the designer’s portfolio and make sure you like their previous work.  That is the best indication that you’re going to like what they come up with.

Check their ordering process – what happens if you don’t like their work – are there changes allowed within the price you paid?  Do major changes cost extra?

The other reason we ask for monies to be paid upfront is a reason that may have been less clear… to protect our work.

Too many designers work for free providing proofs for clients only to find that the client has a free copy of the design that they can now print on their own home machines without paying a cent!  When the money has been received however, it is security to the designer to know that the client respects the time and dedication the artist has put into the work.

The cardinal rule is that if the designer is honourable, then they have as much to fear from a bad design as you do – not only does their business look bad, but the design will be forever linked to their portfolio, coming up throughout cyberspace like the proverbial ghost that won’t go away.  In this age of social media, any design business that has embraced facebook runs the risk of bad publicity, especially those that like to showcase their work.  Try running with a business like this, usually the ones who are open and honest online will be the ones who will also give you great service and design.

Hope that’s helped to answer this problem.  Please feel free to leave your comments!

There’s party ephemera all around my studio with half completed projects that seem like they are breeding rapidly every time I close the door on them.  And then in the middle of all the mess, something nice happens.  Something goes right!  I created cute cake pops…. which is kinda awesome for a non-chef-like individual!

For those unfamiliar with cake pops, they were the genius of one Bakerella and now adorn many event stylists’ tables.  And the best bit is… once you get the hang of them, they aren’t so terrifying after all.

Want to see my efforts?

Da-da:

however it’s not much fun to look these things up on the internet unless there is a recipe attached so you can try it at home, but before I do, I just want to add a disclaimer: these use the biscuits ‘Tim-Tams’ which are Australian.  I’m sorry if that makes it hard for other countries to make them, however if you google, you’ll find heaps of other recipes (and for the record, if you can get your hands on Tim-Tams one day, you really must take a bite… they’re famous in Australia for a reason!)

Tim-Tam Cake Pops (makes 10-12 cake pops)

1 packet of Tim Tams

80g cream cheese

chocolate melts

lollypop sticks

1. Crush Tim-Tams in a blender until they resemble crumbs

2. Combine with cream cheese

3. Roll into balls and place in fridge to firm up for at least 5 minutes

4. Melt chocolate

5. Using the lollypop sticks, dip end into chocolate melts and then poke into the bottom of a chocolate ball.  The chocolate will seal the stick inside.  Place gentle aside and repeat with all the balls.

6. Place back in fridge to harden again.

7. Dip the entire cake pop into the chocolate mixture, ensuring you tap off excess chocolate to stop drips occuring.

8. Decorate as desired.

*** Cream cheese is obviously easily perishable so don’t keep longer than about 3 days.  I am freezing mine and crossing my fingers that the chocolate isn’t affected too much.  I will let you know how this goes!***

If you want to turn your cake pops into owls, here are the further steps….

Before dipping the entire ball in chocolate, use white RTR icing and a tiny heart biscuit cutter to create heart shapes.  I pushed in the edges a little until I got the exact shape you see in the picture.

You will need orange jimmies for the beak, little candy hearts for the wings and black non pereils for the eyes and finish off with coloured chocolate melts.  I got mine from Baking Pleasures, however any good cake decorating shop should have these.  You will also need a solid styrofoam block to put your finished cake pop sticks in.

So after you do step 7 (dip cake pop in the chocolate melts and tap off excess chocolate), very quickly put on the RTR icing heart face and the heart wings.  You only have a very short time to work before the chocolate sets, so make sure you are set up efficiently.

8. Place the cake pop into a styrofoam block to dry.  Piercing it beforehand with a skewer is an easy way to get it in.

Over the next few weeks I intend to show you a few teasers and maybe a tutorial or two, but first, let me show the first step… the invitations I created:

Till next time!

we have a freebie for you!

A gorgeous (and extremely handy) party planning guide to help you keep all that important infomation all together in one place and to help you manage your party timeline.  Get it free from our store at this link: http://www.iwillinvitations.com.au/store/pc/Party-Planner-87p601.htm

The answer is very easy if you’ve heard about Save The Dates.  Each prospective guest to your wedding can receive one as soon as you get married and know your wedding date.  It not only is a fantastic way to announce your surprise, but it has the added benefit of being a handy reminder that guests need to keep your wedding date free.

I Will Invitations has a huge range of save the date magnets (these can be viewed here: Save The Date Magnets.

Magnets are by far the best way to alert your guests and keep your wedding fresh in their minds – it’s viewed every day on their fridge!  And even better than that, many of our designs are in the same designs as our wedding invitation suites so you can keep the same look throughout all of your wedding celebrations.

We offer 2 sizes – the more compact size, which is based on a regular sized magnet, or the generous deluxe size which has the ability to fit snugly in an optional 11B envelope and REALLY stands out on your fridge.

So if you want your wedding to stand out and be noticed, if you want your wedding to be something special and something on everyone’s mind, consider adding a Save The Date magnet to your wedding wishlist.  Guaranteed your guests will be impressed!

… and the lovely thing is that the panel judges must’ve agreed as we are now finalists in both categories.  Whilst the design award is judged solely on the judges’ discretion, the Best Service Business is in the ‘people’s choice’ category, meaning that the winner will be the one with the most votes.

Currently I Will Invitations is clinging tenaciously to a small lead and we would dearly love to stay there.  To us it means a great deal – the opportunity to be exposed, the kudos of being recognised for something you work hard at and most of all, a boost in being able to keep doing what we love…. designing things to make our clients smile!

If you have a spare second and would love to help, we would dearly love it.  It is easy, simply:

1. Register here . It’s fast and the main purpose is to make sure the entrants are not forging votes, so you will not receive copious emails.

2. Once your registration is approved (you will get an email to inform you of this) then go to this page and simply push on the button ‘like’.

One single vote may make the difference and any difference may mean the world to us.  Thank you!

Below is an article written about me in the North Central Review:

North Central Review Article