Celebrating Valentine’s day is serious business around here, so this year my girls and I decided to have a mother daughter tea party for some of our friends. We had so much fun planning the menu and the activities.

When our guests first arrived we started out with a fun craft. I pre-cut a chain of paper dolls for each girl out of card stock, inspired by this one, and they used lots of fun pink and red papers and embellishments to decorate them.

My favourite detail was the cute skirts made out of cupcake wrappers.

After the craft it was time for lunch. I set the dinning room table for our lunch and used the buffet for a dessert table.

For the table I used a simple runner and some white orchids and heart shaped candles. I used my pink depression glass tea cups for everyone, and lots of pink serving pieces.

Of course every tea party demands some tea. I found this fun idea at Party Frosting to add hearts to the sugar cubes, with a simple edible food marker. Such a sweet little detail and so easy.

For the little girls I made pink hot chocolate.

I started with white hot chocolate mix (from the bulk barn) and added a little red food colouring. They loved it, especially served from a tea pot just like moms. I made some simple heart shaped marshmallows out of store bought marshmallows and a mini heart shaped cookie cutter (see more instructions here). One tip, this time I prepared them ahead of time, and dusted the cut, sticky parts with a little extra powdered sugar so they won’t stick together on the plate -it worked great.

The main attraction was the food. We had a variety of tea sandwiches to start with.

I made mini-BLT’s with mini Ciabatta buns, bacon, Boston bib lettuce, cocktail tomatoes, s and p, and a little Miracle Whip -what can I say, I love the tangie zip!

I used these sweet heart toothpick embellished with the Happy Heart free pintables drink flags I found at Catch My Party.

I also made egg salad, and served it on mini butter croissants, with a few sprigs of mixed greens.

There was also cucumber and cream cheese fingers. I made some sweet little jam sandwiches into hearts for the kids too.

All the little girls seem to love all the little food -just their size!

On the table there were also some homemade scones -raisin and plain. They were served with the traditional toppings of butter, jam and clotted cream! You know it’s a tea party when there’s clotted cream in the house!

We all had a great time at the tea party, tomorrow I’ll share with you the sweetest Valentine’s Day dessert table that we all enjoyed next.

Life is a party, and if you’re lucky it’s a Valentine’s Day Tea Party!

This post is linked up at Between Naps on the Porch, Tatertots and Jello, and Whipperberry.

Last summer I came upon a little letter collection at a garage sale. They’d been given a not-so-great crackle paint job, but I saw their potential! Nothing a little glitter couldn’t fix -I heart glitter.

I gave them a quick coat of spray paint to cover the still black backs, and the uneven crackle. I was originally going to do the two X’s pink, and the O white. I couldn’t find a great shade of pink glitter at my favourite store (the dollar store). I did contemplate a trip to Michaels, but the closest one -well isn’t close, and I thought the fancy glitter would be expensive. But, then I found a little gradated Martha package at Walmart for 5 something! Perfect!

I glittered one in each colour and made these little cuties the star of my Valentine’s day mantel.

Here they are with my felted sweater heart garland from last week.

So sweet, so glittery. Does it get any better than upcyling with glitter? Life is a party, at least around here where we’re getting ready for our Valentine’s day tea party!

This post is linked up at the French Country Cottage, Home Stories A 2 Z, Whipper Berry, and 52 Mantels.

I made this sweet Valentine’s Day felted heart garland today. I started out with some felted sweaters. You can see how to felt old wool sweaters here. I cut out a bunch of hearts in different sizes, and arranged them in a random pattern.

To make the garland, get out your sewing machine, and start feeding them, leaving different sized gaps between each heart.

It’s really simple to do, you just stitch through the first heart and keep stitching with nothing in the machine for a second or two to create the gap, then feed in your next heart. Repeat until you’re done. Easy peasy.

Arent’ they pretty? I hung mine up on the mantel when they were done.

They would also look really great as a ribbon on a present I think. More on the mantel soon.

May all the hearts in your life be as soft and sweet as these.

This post is linked up at Tatertots and Jello, Whipperberry, French Country Cottage, and Blue Cricket Design.

My sweet little God daughter Tara turned 4 today, and she had the most wonderful, most pink and purple, most princess-y party ever! From the moment we walked in the door it was magical. My friend Heather decorated the entrance with streamers, and the loot table, signs for any little girl of wonderful things to come! It also had the first activity, decorate your own tiara.

There were lots of princess activities to keep everyone busy at the party. There was a castle set up to play dolls at.

There was a playdough kitchen, with princess cookie cutters for some pretend baking.

There was also a game of pin the crown on the princess.

One of my favourite activities, and one of all the kids favourites too, based on the line up at one point, was the cookie decorating. Heather made princess cookies, and the kids decorated them with icing and candies.

Here’s the sweet birthday girl hard at work!

The main attraction was that the living room had been transformed into a princess beauty shop.

I love the garland of pink feather boas, mini lights, roses, and crystals, along with the pink mirrors so the little princesses could admire themselves! There were lots of beautiful princess gowns to wear.

There was also a princess vanity set up with heart sparkle nail polish, and glitter hairspray.

The little princesses were treated to having their make-up done by a great face-painter who did everything from princesses and fairies to royal tigers and kitty cats!

Here’s Maddie with the tiara she made, smiling with the birthday girl.

After all that fun, the kids enjoyed a snack fit for a princess!

Each chair was decorated with ribbon, tulle and a princess brooch -from the dollar store, oh how we love the dollar store especially when we need a little sparkle!

The clock was set to Cinderella time, and Heather decorated with these fun tulle pom-poms.

Each place setting was set with a silver paper doily place mat, cutlery decked out with jewel stickers, a princess wand, a rose, and lollipop ring.

On the menu were individual pink pudding with cookie spoons, pink popcorn, and beautiful cupcakes. There were also chocolate dipped marshmallows with pink and purple sugar sprinkles, and little castle and crown jam and cream cheese sandwiches.

Isn’t the fruit cute on these little pink skewers.

There was also a sweet princess cake, decorated with the a fun “4″ sparkler candle!

We had such a fun time being princesses for a day!

Happy Birthday Tara, the sweetest princess of all!

This post is linked up at Between Naps on the Porch, Whipperberry, and Tatertots and Jello.

We had a wonderful time ringing in the New Year with some old friends, and thought you might like to see some of the shiny details, before all the holiday decorations get packed away until next Christmas.

On the fireplace, I did a grouping of clocks. Some were ones I had, and a couple I found at thrift stores. It was fun to hear the loud ticking of all the clocks combined. In the living room I made a fun Happy New Year banner with my cricut, and hung it with some mirrored garland, and fun twinkle lights.

I had fun at the party store buying silver and black noise makers, hats, glow sticks, and beads. New Year’s eve seems to bring out the kid in all of us. I grouped them all on a nice silver tray on the coffee table, ready for the big count down.

My favourite of the decorations was the dinning room table. I used a silver runner for the base and grouped a collection of mirrored balls and candles. The mirrors made the candle light dance around the room, and it was so pretty.

We had a fun evening of eating, drinking, and laughing together! I set up the drinks in the kitchen, with a centrepiece of three different orchid pieces. A mini potted orchird, in a beautiful pot, some floating candles, with a few orchid blooms, and an arrangement of orchids and roses my sister brought me at Christmas.

We started out with lovely appetizers, and around 11 I put out a dessert buffet in the kitchen. There were lots of Christmas cookies, including these almond biscotti, a family favourite.

Along with the cookies, I made mini pavolas, and individual portions of Christmas pudding, my grandma’s old recipe. We also did mini ice cream cones with candy cane ice cream.

I made fun dessert picks out these great clocks from PS Make It Your Own. I cut them out and backed them with some fun glittery card stock. And, I also made some cute straws for drinks with these free drink flags from Bloom.

We had a great evening ringing in the New Year, and we’re all looking forward to living like life is a party in 2012! Happy New Year!

This post is linked up at Between Naps on the Porch.