Party deco trend: tassel garlands

One of our favourite party deco trends are paper tassel garlands ...
the soft, floaty look of a tissue paper tassel garlands can be a stylish addition to any celebration!

They are great used outdoors as they look especially lovely when the breeze catches them (check your weather forecast first though!)

mint tassel garland

rainbow tassel garland

Stunning across the front of a candy buffet table & fun to use as part of your photo backdrop 

pink tassel garland

Pretty to hang across a window

mint tassel garland

Or why not tie to your pinata for an extra slash of colour?

watermelon pinata

And don’t just save them for a party … pop one up in the kids rooms across a wall or hang from the ceiling

pastel tassel garland

You can also use them with giant helium filled balloons, just knot each tassel to the string so they don't all slide to the bottom! or you can purchase pre-made balloon tassel tails

balloon tassel tail

The balloon tails look great with pinatas too

silver heart pinata

If you've got any other ideas please let us know! just comment below :0)

How to find a wedding photographer

In this issue of our wedding blog series we have asked the very talented Sheera of Sheera Gordon Photography for some tips on how to find a wedding photographer ...

1. Research

I guess the first step to finding a Wedding Photographer is research. The most obvious and usually the first port of call is the Internet. Most brides to be like to look at wedding blogs, Facebook pages and sites like Pinterest for inspiration and through that you will find lots of great Wedding Photographers.  Another great way is to ask friends, family or colleagues.  You can’t beat a word of mouth recommendation.

2. Style

Once you've started researching online or in magazines you will be drawn to a certain “style” of wedding photography.  Whether it’s soft and ethereal, dramatic, formal or candid.  Once you know what kind of style appeals to you it makes your search easier, you can then narrow down a list of possible photographers and start the ball rolling on getting in touch.

3. Contact/Meet Up

Personally I like to meet potential clients face to face, usually over a coffee.   It’s a chance to discuss what you, as the client wants and what you can expect from your Wedding Photographer. It’s also a great opportunity as a client to see if you feel comfortable with the photographer and you hit it off, this is very important, as you will be spending a lot of time together on your big day. You will look stunning on your big day and you want that reflected in your photographs so you need to be relaxed and trust your Photographer.

4. Finally….

Once you've made a decision, book, book, book!  Wedding photographers book up quickly each season so make sure you don’t miss out on your first choice.  Once you're all booked you can relax as one more thing has been crossed of the list of thing to do.

To see some of Sheera's fabulous portfolio including weddings, food, lifestyle, portrait and beauty please check out her website: www.sheeragordon.co.nz

What about the grooms favourite things?!

While doing some research for our wedding series I came across this fun pic on Pinterest & it got me thinking about how to include the grooms hobbies/interests/favourite things in your wedding celebrations so I've found a few ideas to share in this issue of our wedding series ....

{image source: stylemepretty.com}

How about a bespoke buttonhole? I love these ones from Fritts Rosenow. They're based in the US but they do ship internationally.

{image source: Fritts Rosenow}

Cuff links are another easy way to let the groom include their own style. Superheros seem to be a popular choice. Check out these fab ones I found from London Design on Etsy, they've got lots of different designs so pop over & check them out.

{image source: London Design on Etsy}

Or tie pins. These are another Etsy find, from Visiting Cinderella

{image source: Visiting Cinderella}

And don't forget the photos!

{image source: funsubstance.com}

And here's one from my wedding album (10 years ago this year!), can you tell my hubby is from Dunedin? 

 

If you've got any other ideas we would love to hear from you so feel free to add a comment here or stop by our facebook page.

The Pixie Crew Out & About in August

Last month was a crazy month for us - we exhibited at both the Food Show and the Baby Show in Auckland and we launched our new improved website.

This years Food Show in Auckland was a fantastic event and it was our first time exhibiting there. It was very full on - there were over 33,000 visitors over 4 days. We sold lots of pretty party products & meet lots of lovely people. Here's some of the great photos that we had taken at the show. A big thanks to Sheera Gordon Photography for the amazing job she did photographing our stand. Here's a few of the pics:

And I thought you might like a giggle ... at the Food Show lots of people told us we should have dressed up so as promised I dressed up for the Baby Show. Here I am as Minnie Mouse dressed in my fab tutu made by Mariana from Mayhem Creations NZ. My Fairy Princess helper was the lovely Emma from Bumble Beads

And here's a few photos of our stand:

And I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of my lovely helpers for the expos:

Emma from Bumble Beads: Emma makes gorgeous jewellery made from her handcrafted glass beads (lampworking), semi-precious stones, shells, pearls and crystals. Please stop by her facebook page or website to check out her. You can also find details of all of the regular markets that she sells at on her facebook page.

Angela from Redspark Creative: We have been working with Redspark for a while now and we are pleased to recommend them for all your graphic design andmarketing materials :0) Our logo, business cards, leaflets, banner and our new website 'look & feel' have all been designed by Redspark. So if you're looking to put some spark into your marketing check out their website

Robyn from Sort Me Out Ltd: Robyn is a professional organiser based in Auckland who offers services to help organise your home, business or property. Feel free to check out her facebook page or website to find out more.

Liz from Go2Tutoring: They are based in Auckland and specialise in tutoring English, ESOL, Special Learning Needs, Gifted and Talented, Study skills and exam preparation and e-Learning. If you're interested in finding out more feel free to check out her facebook page or website.

Edit from Professional Yoga: Edit holds pregnancy yoga classes in Orakei, Auckland. She also offers private yoga lessons, Office / chair yoga, Relaxation, and Stress Management. Please stop by her facebook page to find out more details.

And thanks also to Jenny, Miquel, Asha and Rose for helping too :0) And of course to Sheera for the amazing photos!

Blast off!

I know that lots of our customers, fans & followers are organising rocket and space themed parties so thought I would share some ideas I've come across

These 'rocket dogs' made from dough wrapped hot dogs look fab!

{source: http://theyarecrafty.blogspot.co.nz}

Rocket shaped fruit kebabs - either make them up in advance or this could be a fun party activity, either have the fruit pre-cut for younger children then help them create their own fruit rocket or for older children let them cut out their own shapes using mini cookie cutters.

{source: http://pinterest.com & http://pinterest.com}

And maybe for when the weather is a bit warmer! ... Popsicle Blasta's

{source: http://www.tiptop.co.nz}

And to drink ... Rocket Fuel of course! Great served in these red star mini milk bottles with star design paper straws (bottles & straws both available from Pixie Party Supplies)

{source: http://www.creativepartyplace.com}

And here's some great cake ideas

{source: http://pinterest.com & http://ablissfulnest.com}

Start saving all your soft drink bottles to make these jet packs! You could use this as a party activity as well and get the kids to decorate them. You can find the tutorial and some other fun rocket party ideas here: http://www.andersruff.com

{source: http://www.andersruff.com}

And how about making some confetti popper rockets - looks like lots of fun! The tutorial can be found at http://alphamom.com

{source: http://alphamom.com}

An art table could be a fun idea for this theme - my daughter has been busy learning about space & planets at day care recently and has just brought home lots of fun creations which might give you some ideas of things you could pop on the art table - black paper (or card & black paint) for the sky, glitter/stickers/star shaped confetti for the stars, bottle tops & foil to make planets, tubes to make rockets and tape/paper/ribbon etc to decorate and I love the yellow & red feathers they've used, and the sun has been made from cupcake cases which gives a great effect.

 Make a rocket ship to take some cute party pics. You could also make it up before the party and take photos of the birthday boy/girl to use as the invitations or send the photos after the party as the thank yous.

{source: http://lifewayvbs.wordpress.com}

A few cute ideas for packaging party favours

{source: http://www.orientaltrading.com & http://pinterest.com }

And here are some of the rocket and space themed party products available at Pixie Party Supplies

The Rocket Blast range

Angry Birds Space

The Space Cadets range

We hope you like these ideas and if anyone has any others we would love for you to share them with us!

Giant balloons

I keep seeing giant balloons on blog posts, pinterest and facebook and have now decided to stock them at Pixie Party Supplies so thought I would share some ideas with you.

They look great when used in photo shoots, especially with babies and toddlers.

{source Pinterest and Leah Naomi design & photography}

They are also popular for weddings - use them in your photos, you can have them instead of flowers for the bridesmaids, have the flower girl and page boy carry them down the aisle, attach to table centre pieces at the reception or you could have a couple on the dance floor especially if you've got some children at the wedding.

{source Snippet And Ink}

{source Love My Dress}

{Source Pinterest}

And of course, they are great party decorations for any occasion :0)

{source Karas Party Ideas}