Happy Friday Everyone!
I hope you like my little Christmas makeover we have had here on the blog.
I love the festive season so a little decorating to celebrate the season is always fun!

We have had a very busy few months with some wonderful new products arriving in the store – some specially for Christmas and others which will be around for a while so today a little round of a few of my favourite products and a little giveaway to help you with your Christmas favours!

First up is a few of the recent packaging items that have hit the store.
You may recognise the first little box from my post here from the Tomkat Studio Gift Guide – perfect for cookies, biscuits or treats.  They come in packs of 10 and are called a small takeaway box.
The window patisserie box is also perfect for your sweet creations and I will show you a few more ideas using this box over the coming weeks.
We have added a number of new sizes in the cello bags that are ideal for parties all year round – some are sealable and others are just plain.
The large meal boxes are also great at this time of the year for all of those outdoor parties and picnics.
All these items can be found in the Favour Bags Boxes and Bottles section of the website.

Next up are some great Christmas items that have been added for the current season.

Some Merry Christmas Twill and the always popular Christmas Tree lollipops which come in 5 different colours.
The very cute Reindeer tags that can be used on presents, on the Christmas Tree or as a favour in themselves – they also come in star and heart shapes.
Christmas Skinny wrap rolls of paper are perfect for those who like to add just a little bit of Christmas to their wrapping. Pop them around a plain box and instantly that spare box you had becomes a Christmas gift.
And finally the other exciting addition to the store is the single coloured twine – the red and grey work perfectly for Christmas!
You can find all of these items in the Christmas Section on the website.

So now it is on to the giveaway!  It seems that cute packing ideas have been on my mind lately so this weeks giveaway is a great selection of goodies that I have used recently for the various online articles I have been busy creating.

The prize will include:
6 x Mini apothecary jars
1 x Pack of Skinny Cello Bags
1 x Set of Small Takeaway Boxes
1 x Pack of Chevron Bitty Bags
1 x Merry Christmas Stamp

All you need to do to enter is leave a comment on this blog post telling me which item in the Sweet Style online store is your favourite for Christmas favours!

Entry is only open to Australian residents – I will draw the winner via random org next Friday 30th November.

Best of Luck!

I have a gorgeous table to show off today by my lovely friend Jacki from Blissfully Sweet Cakes.

Jacki’s eldest son Liam celebrated his FIrst Holy Communion last week so Jacki wanted to create something that was not overly religious in the traditional sense but still meaningful.  To help with this Nicole from Pretty and Print created a stained glass window themed invitation and from their Jacki created a stunning table that kept to this wonderful theme. Enjoy some wonderful photos and Jacki’s words about how the table came to life below.

I wanted a crisp white look matched with the blues and greens of the design theme. I did not want anything too cluttered and while toying around with some ideas, the string art backdrop idea came to life. As my table was not large, I needed to keep my items clean and uncluttered. My colour coordinated sweets (thank you!) became another part of the backdrop and instead of fancy candy jars, I used regular straight edged drinking glasses. For this table, I made a lot of the props and serving ware myself. The back long riser for the candies was made with a simple long piece of wood and decorative raised feet on either end gave it the height it needed. Simple rectangle platters were made the same way at the front of the table and both were painted white. My lime green cake stands were made from IKEA candle sticks with round boards affixed to the top and then given a spray paint finish.

 

 

It is always such a pleasure to be involved in beautiful projects so when my lovely friend Kim from The Tomkat Studio asked me to put together something to include in her 2012 Gift Guide I jumped at the chance.

The beautiful Gift Guide which was released today is full of wonderful inspiration for the Christmas Season and includes some gorgeous contributions from great party girls.

I put together a Shortbread Star Cookie Recipe and packaging ideas which were are all super easy to create.

Kim has created a great Christmas tag which is available as a  free download so all you need to do is print out your tags, make your cookies and package them up.  I have used a selection of favour boxes, bags and twine all available in both the Sweet Style online store and the Tomkat Studio online store.  The favour tag looks great when used with the fancy sign punch.

I have used a two different colour combinations – one traditional red and green and something a little prettier for those of you who like me love to add pink into their christmas.

Perfect Christmas favours for both young and old!

Favour Bags used – Chevron Biddy Bags, Horizontal Stripe Bags all available in the favour bag section
Favour Box used – Takeaway Box Small
Twine – available in the Twine, Ribbon and Tags section
Fancy Sign Punch – available in the Stamps and Craft section

To see the entire Gift Guide please follow the link here and don’t forget to download your free printable tag.

Photography: Leanne Ambrogio for Sweet Style

The talented and ever so lovely Dewi from Sweet Bloom Cakes is showing us one of her favourite cakes from this weekend just past.

This stunning 4 tier ruffle cake was created for an elegant wedding in Sydney.  Dewi really does make the most stunning cakes that make the incredible centrepiece at any wedding or on any dessert table.

To visit Dewi’s website follow the link here or visit her on Facebook here

Nicole from Pretty and Print has joined us today to give us yet another fabulous idea for your Christmas Favours.  Her Reindeer Noses were a big hit last Christmas – they really do look so cute!
Nicole says …

Rendeer Nose’s are such a fantastic, simple, and easy gift idea.  With the weeks creeping closer to that time of the year you might like to keep these in mind as a cute gift idea for class mates, work collegues, teachers and family and friends.

Pretty & Print has 4 different printable bag topper designs available in both personlalised and fill in versions. These are available from the Etsy Shop: www.etsy.com/shop/prettyandprint

All you need is a packet of both Maltesers and Jaffas (maybe a Red Gum Ball if your outside of Australia).

You can either pop them in some 110mm wide cello bags or jazz them up a little in some of Sweet Styles “Glass Test Tube Favour Bottles”. Such a cute idea and so much fun:)

 

About Nicole…

Nicole Hanna is the owner, designer & paper whisperer behind Pretty & Print, which combines my love of pretty paper, printables, craft and all things design. Please pop by and visit me on Facebook to discover more paper inspiration, printables and creations.

You can find Nicole on Facebook here