This weekend was the big day – Miss 5′s birthday party! My own first memories of birthdays past began at my fifth birthday.  I remember mum making a “Dolly Varden” cake from the Women’s Weekly cookbook, complete with faux Barbie inside the cake.  I remember receiving the coolest gifts from my friends and family; my first “lipstick”, a set of fashion plates (which I have since recovered via the magic of eBay) and a special dress with matching hair ribbons.  As I thought about my own fifth birthday, it occurred to me that so much of what happened on that day and the type of gifts I received, have gone a long way to shaping who I am today.  And so it was that I decided that this birthday had to be a cracker for my own daughter,  something that she would remember for the rest of her life as a fabulous pink dream.

All these intentions are well and good, but just how the heck do you pull something like this off without a team of event organisers and caterers at your finger tips? Here are my tips for making your own Unicorn Pony Party.

Pick Your Colour

When you’re a five year old girl, you just can’t go past pink. Sugary sweet it can do your head in, so pick your shade wisely. We decided that “Musk Stick Pink” would be our shade of choice, and then applied that to everything we possibly could.  It helps if you already have a bit of a colour theme to your home decorating and can scam pieces from your own collection to help pump up the ambiance. I brought out every pink table cloth, bowl, picture frame, flower and outfit I possibly could.  Even Mr SKM got in on the act wearing a pink and red shirt!

Carry Your Colour Theme Through to the Food

The easiest way to make your party table look fancy is to carry you colour theme over to the food.  When your catering for kids, this is 100 times easier than trying to come up with adult versions of coloured food! So we had every pink and white lolly we could think of, musk sticks, marshmallows, jelly snakes, white chocolate cover red licorice… enough to make your teeth fall out just looking at it. Savoury food was covered by those ever popular “little boys” also, reddish in colour, and the usual mini quiches, pies etc.. and for desert (as if all those lollies weren’t enough) mini pavlovas with pink whipped cream and raspberries.

Pink Cake Too!

Rather than staying up till midnight the night before, creating some elaborate confection that was way above my culinary skills, I decided to stick to cupcakes again this year.  I still haven’t gotten the hang of that perfect icing yet, and spent much of the previous evening licking strawberry frosting off my elbows as the piping bags continued to burst mid swirl.  They passed the taste test with flying colours though.

Goodie Bags!

Every good party comes with goodie bags, but after such a sugar laden day, I didn’t think that sending people’s children home with yet more sweets would be the best idea. As some of you know first hand, mixing both sugar and red food colouring is akin to baby crack, so sending them home with yet another stash would have probably seen me relegated to parental purgatory.  The goodie bags are a fun, cheap and easy way to win good party points with all your guests. Once again, make sure to stick to your colour theme, but think of things that can be used over again and aren’t simply going to break or end up in land fill.  They needn’t be expensive, but just make them look pretty!

For our stash we put together little pink organza bags containing My Little Pony makeup sized bags, super cute doggie sticky note pads, scented erasers shaped like cookies, and a little Cuppa Chup lolly pop.

The Piece de Resistance

All the best parties have one event that makes them the stuff of legends.  The stuff that shapes memories and imagination.  When I was asked for a Unicorn Pony for her birthday I knew I had a challenge on my hands. But with the magic of the internet, a little saving up, some glue and glitter; I managed to work a miracle.

Behold – The Unicorn Pony!

And now after all that, I plan to retire from partying for at least another month… until Miss One turns Two!

There is only one thing happening here all weekend – Preparing for the big 5th Birthday party of Miss 4! She officially turned five last Wednesday but has decided not to get any older until tomorrow with all her friends here. Hence, I have spent all day today and the better part of the week, preparing this extravaganza of pinkness.  There will be balloons, cake, lollies and all the other pre-requisites for inducing comas in five year olds.  The big news of the day is that we have a Unicorn coming!  This means that I have just unglued my fingers after creating his horn.  I won’t spoil it with all the details, but I will give you a blow by blow account after the big day.  So until then I shall continue icing my kitchen bench and hoping some of it ends up on the cake!

About the way I look right now...

Please be entertained whilst I continue my cooking madness…….

Links à la Mode : June 25th

• 39th and Broadway: Ever wonder who really determines how your clothes fit? An interview with a technical designer
• alixrose: You have the perfect outfit, but whats the one thing that can keep it from becoming fabulous?
• A Typical Atypical: A deep dive into the reasoning behind shoe obsessions
• Awakened Aesthetic: Affordable ways to bring urban fashion into your decor without getting tacky
• Bobbins and Bombshells: Fashionable History – A look into 1920′s swimwear and bathing suits.
• Bonne Vie: When Bloggers Unite – The Hotel Max Edition
• Decline Designs: Defining Your Personal Style – Having “Go-To” Outfits
• Fasshonaburu: Digging through a high end sales to find purchase-worhty pieces, and tips on how to not go over budget
• Fashion Consciou$: Fashion Flashback – Return of the culottes
• Fashion Pulse Daily: The evolution of the gladiator to the “mandiator”
• Freya: A little gown guide for your summer wedding
• hkShoeGeek: Harnesses – A collection of favorites for every style and price range
• Idiosyncratic Style: A guide for casual wedding attire
• Independent Fashion Bloggers: You just don’t compare…
• Retro Chick : Mary Queen of Charity Shops – Now it’s all over, some final thoughts
• Shoe Daydreams: Are you on board with the latest trend – Over The Knee boots?
• Tatiana Supports the Arts: Indie Designer Spotlight – ALEX&RA, designed by Alexandra Cipparone
• The Bare Skinny: Not everything has to be black and white – inspiration for adding color to your wardrobe
• The Coveted: Shu Uemura’s inspired lashes
• Unfunded: Respect your elders – Rock the vintage!
• Work Chic: Chic hosiery options if you still have to wear them in the summer heat!
• 

My fashion inspirations are many and varied. The key for me is not to re create a literal, paint by numbers version of what I love, but to take the elements that appeal and work them into my own unique style. Yes, there are times that call for true to era vintage reproduction, but that is not usually in the course of my day to day life.  Having the freedom to dress the way we want is one of the great benefits of living in 2009.  There may be some restrictions in your attire given your employment, but for the most part, the restrictions we place on ourselves come from us alone and our notions of what is practical and acceptable for our position.  And while there is an entire string of posts I could devote to this topic, instead I’m going to present you with a showcase of my many and varied inspirations.

Welcome to the world of the Japanese Hime Gyaru – or Princess Girl.  Not to be confused with sympathetic Japanese street styles Sweet Lolita or Gyaru Style, Hime Gyaru is what has been referred to as “Lolita Grows Up”. Trust those innovative Japanese girls to come up with this one.  A fashion based on the real and imagined stylings of 17th century France, Marie Antoinette and her infamous style, Hime Gyaru relies heavily on pastel coloured ornamentation, big hair and sparkly embellishments. And for someone into Kawaii for all its kitsch and happy value, this is one look I love.

The Hair – The bigger the better. Teased and pouffy, with long tendrels to curl dreamily around your finger while you wait for your BFF to SMS you back on your bejweelled and bedazzeled iPhone. All that teasing leaves plenty of canvas to adorn with roses, pearls, tiara and even a small bird or two.

The Nails – Princess Girls should never have to work a day in their lives.  While waiting for Prince charming to whisk them away, they can while away the hours making each finger tip a different work of art, creating a 3D sculpture of flowers, pearls, glitter and the odd Hello Kitty head to add to the drama. It is completely OTT, totally impractical and stunningly crazy in a way that I adore.

The Dress – Fully skirted, to the knee, preferable in a pastel floral and with layers of petticoats. It has a heart shaped or square neckline to better show of the string of pearls with Swarovski bow adornment attached.

The Shoes – Generally mules with a lady like heel, nothing too clunky or heavy, and adorned with large rosettes across the bridge. Even the winter weight enclosed toe styles will come complete with large bows, more Swarovski, commonly seen with an ankle strap to draw the eye to those fine, delicate Princess proportions and a lady like heel height.

Shop – The two most famous Himegyaru labels are Jesus Diamante (no idea where they came up with that name!) and Liz Lisa. If you plan to shop these stores you will have to both read Japanese and have some serious cash to spend.  Jesus Diamante caters to the more full on Princess look, where Liz Lisa carries a range of what is termed ‘Casual Hime’ style.  That is taking the key elements of this intense styling and paring it back somewhat, to be able to work it with denim and a more day to day friendly look.

Play – I have already whiled away a good hour our two playing this dress up game.  A clever fan of the Himegyaru style designed this game piece to allow you to dress and style you own little Princess Girl, giving her new hair, outfits and accessories.  This one is a popular after breakfast game for my girls.

Watch – There is loads and loads of himegyaru information on You Tube, but this has to be one of my favorite videos. (Sorry I can’t embedd it here). It sees the hosts of a popular Japanese television show explore the style first hand.  Meeting and greeting some real life Hime girls on the street, then heading into Jesus Diamante for a makeover.   I wish I knew what the hosts were actually saying!

It may not be your cup of tea, but there is no denying the fun to be had with this one!

Stop the press! Today’s post has been halted to bring you the news of this appalling act of art theft. Diva – the accessory store that so many of my Australian readers, including myself buy from, has done the dirty on Shana Logic, stealing their independent artist’s designs.  We all know that the fashion world is rife with “inspiration” pieces and plain old knock offs, but usually those that are doing the copying, are creating “diffusion’ pieces from the bigger labels.  Not that that issue makes the behavior any more acceptable, but to steal the work of small independent designers, then mass produce it in your own factories at dirt cheap (read cheap labour) prices, is abhorrent.

Image from the Shana Logic Site

Shana Logic has been a beacon for independant designers to get their work out their at a reasonable price and encourage other budding artists to give it a go.  The best course of action is for those of us who like to spend our discretionary accessory money at Diva, is to STOP. Right away.  We already knew that their designs were not full of originality or creativity; let’s face it.  The fact that they are fast and on trend appeals to our sense of ‘now’ and ‘cheap’.  But this is taking it a step too far and I for one will NOT be buying any of these pieces at DIVA, no matter how quickly they can satisfy a craving. I will be showing my support by buying the originals, from the ORIGINAL artists at Shana Logic. And I suggest you do too.

Say NO to Art Theft!

Wearing camo print is dangerous ground for anyone. It is associated with so many things I am not, and so many things I don’t want to be.  But when I found this skirt about six years ago, its styling and weight won me over.  It doesn’t make a regular appearance, but when it does it always puts me in a good mood. Can you tell?

I was heading into the vintage fair so I needed some ‘sensible’ shoes for all that walking, and something to keep out the seaside chill. I’m still recovering from a week of illness so staying warm and comfortable was high on the list. I don’t always like to wear a big coat or jacket if I can help it, because it can just become one more thing you have to carry as the day goes on.  And this is where a pair of arm warmers come in handy. Perfect for the morning and you can just roll them up in your bag when it gets too warm. They do always make me feel a “little match girl” though, which tends to increase the silliness of the mood.

Outfit Details:

Shirt – Entrace     Skirt – PTO

Boots – Very old RMK’s, really need to find new ones

Rings – Silver sparkles from Diva and Kuromi from the Sanrio Shop

Hair Bow – by Toxic from  Vicious Venus

Arm warmers – DIY

Lipstick – Loreal Colour Riche – Fatal Crystal 361

Lashes – 1000 Hours corner lashes