Toddler Table Makeover / Hack

This was James' first birthday present from me and his daddy. We figured he'd need a little table soon for colouring/eating and I wanted to make him something special that he could use for while.

I was inspired by the Ikea Hack of the Latt Table (which in Australia retails for $40).. but seeing as we don't have an Ikea near us I decided to get this Junior Table & Chair Set from Babies r Us (for $45).

My first step was to assemble the table, I used a drill to tighten the screws (a lot quicker than doing it manually). I then sanded the chairs so that I could spray paint them (in hindsight I wish I'd gone with regular paint as the spray paint kept bubbling and dripping - so annoying!).



I sprayed them with White Knights Squirts Spray Paint in Dusk Grey.

My next step was to cover the print with contact paper. I then traced the inside of the seat on a blank piece of paper to get the right measurements, I then cut this and used it as a template.



Once I'd cut the print I super-glued it to the chair.

I then repeated the same process for the table.

 I decided to make a different version for my beautiful niece for her birthday too..



I won't lie, it was very time consuming (especially the spray painting), but I'm really happy with how they both turned out. I love that they are unique and something the kiddies will be able to use for years to come.

What do you guys think?



xx

DIY Cake Smash

I couldn't resist doing a cake smash for James' first birthday! I think they are so adorable. I considered getting a professional shoot done but thought it would be more fun (and a lot cheaper) to do it myself. I did it the morning after his birthday party so that we could use his cake for the lolly buffet and "happy birthday" candle blow-out. The morning was a great time to do it as he was happy and full of beans (as opposed to tired and cranky which is what he was like at the end of his party).

I was originally planning to do it outside on the grass but it was raining and miserable so I decided to do it in the corner of the living room. Luckily we've got wooden floorboards so I didn't have to worry about hanging a drop sheet. I kept the props pretty simple with left over balloons from the party, a mulicoloured banner and giant letters. Cute, easy and inexpensive. You could also use other props like streamers, pom poms, chairs, chalkboards etc. Just don't go too overboard!

As I'm not the best baker in the world, I asked my friend to help make this gorgeous butter-cream beehive smash cake for James. I then added a few sugar bees (purchased from eBay) as a finishing touch. Photo-wise, I think it turned out really well. It also tasted amazing! James kept breaking pieces off and trying to give them to me - so I gobbled them up (it would have been rude to say no) and as you can see, James loved it too!




I kept him in the same outfit as his party to keep it consistent, plus I think it's adorable. I thought about making him a little crown - but knowing him, he'd rip it off straight away. I also think overalls would have been cute. A lot of bubs go topless for these shoots but I prefer it when they wear fun outfits (for girls I think tutu's are a must!).




This is definitely a two person job! One to take photos and the other to keep them from crawling off. Having two people also makes it easier to clean up! After the shoot, I cleaned James up (jumped in the shower with me) while Rob put the left over cake away and cleaned the floor.



I'm so happy with how the photos turned out and I think James had a great time digging into that cake. I definitely recommend doing your own cake smash if you've got the time (and a good camera) as they are so much fun!

xx

James' First Birthday

James is officially one today! I still can't believe it - my baby has grown into a little boy!

We had his party on Sunday (mother's day here in Australia) and as you can probably guess we went with a Winnie the Pooh theme. I started planning his birthday months ago haha. It was fun to organise although the day before and the day of were pretty exhausting! I think it was worth it though, as it was a fun afternoon for my little guy and everyone had a great time.

Unfortunately the weather was pretty miserable. We originally planned to have the party inside and outside (as our place is tiny) but squeezing us all inside and away from the rain, didn't end up being as bad as I thought it would be.

I set up my first ever lolly buffet and I'm really happy with how it turned out. As I mentioned earlier I'd love to start a small lolly buffet business, so this was my first step towards doing so. My gorgeous and talented friend Carol made the beehive cookies and smash cake - they looked amazing and tasted even better! We did a smash cake shoot the next day with James which was soo cute! I'll do a separate post on that soon.

I definitely think that James' 1st birthday party was a success. I have to be honest though, it was a lot more stressful than I had imagined a 1 year old's party to be.. but that's probably just my personality! I tend to get stressed about having everything perfect which, let's face it, it never is.. especially when there are babies involved!

xx