Ditch the lolly bags with these great DIY printable cupcake favors. Decorate the table and send a piece of the party home with each child. Simply print, cut and stick these super gorgeous cupcake favors and place a cupcake inside each one and pop the lid on. Fantastic Toys creator and designer, based in Minneapolis, USA, is a toy maker and makes everything from his own patterns.
Visit the Fantastic Toys Etsy shop here.
Made By Maisie dolls are just adorable and would be a welcome addition to any little girls circle of friends. Handmade in Brisbane by Catherine, whos love for 1930's reproduction fabric lead to the beginning Made By Maisie.
Available online at Made By Maisie
{Mini Gaga welcomes We Heart Books. Katie & Lou have joined us as regular contributors opening up the doors into the wonderful world of Children's literature. We Heart Books is an online children's bookstore ran by Katie & Lou, two Melbourne mums, Both with a great passion for children's literature}
Reading aloud at bedtime can be a truly beautiful experience for both parent and child. The perfect bedtime book is one with a gentle rhythm, to relax and calm after a long day of play and stimulation. Author and illustrator Betsy Snyder has created that perfect book with Sweet Dreams Lullaby.
Each spread of this gorgeous picture book reveals delightful dreamscapes for children to imagine as they drift off to sleep. The text is gently rhythmic and conjures up visions of nature's bedtime. From butterflies giving goodnight kisses, to stars whispering and twinkling up above, all of Mother Nature bids sleepy little ones - "Sweet Dreams".
Comforting to toddlers is that little rabbit is pictured brushing his teeth and snuggling down with a goodnight kiss from mum, a ritual that may be shared in their own home. Children can be reassured that everyone; ducks, hummingbirds, frogs, owls and even Mama birds all settle down for the night safe and sound.
Betsy's collage illustrations are soft and warm, like a beautiful blanket enveloping and wrapping you tight. The colours she uses mirror the setting sun, turning the sky from yellows to deep purples and blues as night falls.
Peaceful and soothing in every sense makes Sweet Dreams Lullaby a very special picture book and a must have for every child's book shelf.
Tiny stars are shining bright,
whispering a warm "good night."
wish on twinkles up above
and dream of everything you love.
Guide Dogs NSW/ACT develop a training program tailored to each child's individual needs, age and skill level. The program then grows with the child, starting with pre-cane skills, moving through to cane training, bus travel, and use of residual vision and other senses.
Their Orientation and Mobility Instructors work with everyone involved in the child's life to reinforce this training - at home, pre-school, school and in the community.
They also provide information and support for families, child-care centres, schools and other agencies. As advocates for people who have impaired vision, they can provide recommendations for environmental changes to school grounds and playgrounds.
By working together, Guide Dogs NSW/ACT can help children who have impaired vision to achieve their potential in every aspect of life.
Toddlers and preschoolers
Guide Dogs NSW/ACT works with very young children who have a variety of individual needs, motivating them to do things independently. By teaching these children to move and explore their environment, and to use their senses to gather information about their surroundings.
School-aged children
As children begin to travel further afield, they require a more specialised program. They provide Orientation and Mobility training so that school-aged kids can travel safely, and have choices about when and where they go.
Orientation training teaches children to use their senses to gather clues about their surrounding environment. For example, on a trip from home to the corner shop, they may orient themselves by the sound of music from a café or traffic noises at a busy intersection.
Mobility training familiarises children with essential concepts of the world around them, and may include the use of a mobility cane. They may learn to cross a road safely and to identify kerbs, footpaths and zebra crossings.
Children may also learn to travel independently around school grounds and, if necessary, between school and home.
Children who attend special schools receive training in class and on community excursions, learning to travel confidently with a carer on public transport and in shopping centres.
There are many ways in which you can help Guide Dogs raised the needed funds to assist vision impaired people around the country. You can join Puppy Pals, make direct donations or purchase Guide Dog merchandise from their online shop.
Graphic designer and Sydney sider Cate Holst makes gift giving a family affair with her printable Go Make Me 3D cards, envelopes, gift tags and favor wrappers. Mother days is just around the corner and what better way to save a few dollars and print, cut & glue your way to the most adorable accompaniment to a bag full of home made macarons (see last post), homemade chocolates or store brought candy.
Available for download from Cate's Etsy shop Go Make Me for $6 USD.
Raspberry Macaron Bouquet Recipe
WARNING: the following links can be addictive, click at own risk.
By now you would have noticed the dessert table trend of cake pops and french macarons. My new favorite daily must read blog, is that of a brilliant pastry chef, food photographer and food stylist, US based Tartelette has combined these two hot trend items in to one very stylish and delicious addition to a dessert table, Raspberry Macaron bouquets. Tartelette's other macaron recipes here
Raspberry Mascarpone Macarons:
For the shells:
90 g egg whites (use eggs whites that have been preferably left 3-5 days in the fridge)
25 g granulated sugar
200 g powdered sugar
110 g almonds (slivered, blanched, sliced, or meal)
1 tablespoon cherry pink powdered food coloring
Prepare the macarons:
In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, (think bubble bath foam) gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue (think shaving cream). Do not overbeat your meringue or it will be too dry. Place the powdered sugar and almonds and powdered color in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold the mass carefully until you obtain a batter that falls back on itself after counting to 10. Give quick strokes at first to break the mass and slow down. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.
Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (Ateco #807 or #809) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper or silicone mats lined baking sheets. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 280F. When ready, bake for 15 to 20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool. Once baked and if you are not using them right away, store them in an airtight container out of the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer.
For the filling:
4 oz mascarpone, room temperature
2-3 tablespoon good quality raspberry preserves
In a small bowl, whisk together the mascarpone and preserves together until well incorporated. Fill a small piping bag with a large plain tip (Ateco #809) with it and pipe in the center of each shell. Let the shell mature at least 24 hours in the fridge so all the flavors have the chance to meld together.
A very special to thank you to Helen for allowing Mini Gaga to feature her brilliant jaw dropping work. Please do leave a comment to show your appreciation to Helen.
Please note that these images are the copyright of Helen M from Tartelette and can not used with permission. Her portfolio can be viewed here.
Tomorrow my dearest friends' youngest daughter, D turns 4, and they are celebrating with a fairy party in our local gardens, I've been around at there house for the afternoon making carmel popcorn in cupcakes wrappers (thanks sarah) and pink chocolate dipped pretzels and shortbread heart shaped biscuits. D is smack bang in the middle of my two boys as far as age goes, and they both play equally well with her, My eldest attends kinder with her on a Tuesday and my youngest and I usually hang with her and her mum on a friday, while the older kids are at school and kinder. My little J often declares his undying love for her, and only her. So Happy 4th Birthday D. A special mention goes out to Leonie from Twiggi for saving the day with overnight delivery of the very pink party ware.
These fairy doors are a magical addition to any little girls life. In the walls of family homes, in tree trunks and under ferns in the garden, Fairies come and go through these magical doors. As fairies are magical creatures, these doors can only be opened by fairies. You may be able to see when a fairy starts using your door as they often leave some fairy dust behind.
Available online at Tribe
Keep little toes cozy this winter with a box full of colorful cheeky little socks. Each Cheeky Little Box of Socks contains 6 pairs of socks, designed to complement Cheeky Little Soles footwear. With extra elastic ribbing around the ankle to keep babies and toddlers socks in place.
Cheeky Little Socks come in crisp, colourful designs, with a different colour palate available for boys and girls.
Features of Cheeky Little Box of Socks
▪ 6 pairs/colours per box
▪ come packaged in a recyclable Cheeky Little Sock Box
▪ extra elasticized ribbing to help them from slipping down
▪ made from 65% cotton, 32% polyester and 3% spandex
Available online at Cheeky Little Soles
Celebrate Earth Day with these great eco friendly products from Styled Baby, including toxic free rubber teethers, soy and bamboo clothing, bamboo and organic cotton sleep bags, bamboo pj’s, bedding and toys. From fantastic labels like Baby Soy, Babyjo, Vulli, ErgoPouch, Little Bamboo, And The Little Dog Laughed and Little Innoscents.
Enter EarthDay at checkout to receive a special Earth Day discount of 10% of all products in store when you spend $30 or more, including sale items. Sorry discount does not extend to the shipping fees. Offer expires 24th of April.
Shabby Shoppe downloadable confectionary apparel jpeg files are great for adding a special touch to your daughters birthday party. Just print, cut and assemble as per instructions and all for under $5 US dollars. The XOXO collection includes noodle boxes, popcorn boxes, crayon boxes, gift bags, purses, strawberries and circle tags for embellishing with more than one design in each. Just one look and you will not be able to resist the instant download.
