Party


An Ice Cream Party


July 7, 2014

Did you know that July is International Ice Cream Month!  Yes a whole month to celebrate that wonderful delicacy that in our house is the sure fire way to bring a smile to my kids faces!

You can imagine then, the excitement when I told them that Harry’s Ice Cream asked me to pick my favourite ingredients to put into my very own Sweet Style Ice Cream flavour so we could have our very own ice cream party to test it out!    Let me just say that for my 8 year old this was like granting her the ultimate gift!

So what flavour did I pick?  Two of my favourite ingredients – Chocolate and Honeycomb! Mmmm!

Here is what went down when I allowed 9 kids to set up and create their own ice cream bar – no styling required, just 3 great Harry’s Ice Cream Flavours (Sweet Style Choc Honeycomb, Pavlova and Sticky Date Pudding), loads of toppings and lots of sunshine and giggles!

What would you choose if you were to make your own bespoke flavour?

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Photography :: Leanne Ambrogio for Sweet Style
Ice Cream :: Kindly donated by Harry’s Ice Cream Co
Styling :: The Kids

To join in the fun of International Ice Cream Month pick up your Harry’s Ice Cream from any Woolworths store nationally.

 


Favour Bags


June 23, 2014

We are in birthday mode here in our house with Indi turning 5 this week!  I am currently working out what favour bags to  make up for her upcoming party and thought I would look back at what I have done in the past!

There are some cute but very simple ones in there so I thought I show you what I have done in the past that tied in with the various party themes we have done.

Calico Bags and Favour Pails always look very smart – the first was for Indi’s Sprinkles and Confetti Party last year and the second one is from Sienna’s Flamingo themed Pool Party

Themed cookies in pretty bags are simple and the great Paper Eskimo Treat Bag is one of my favourites.  Beautifully wrapped chocolate bars are also still a big hit!

A skinny jar filled with delicious colour themed lollies was the pick for Sienna’s movie party and this bag of popcorn with a thank wrap around it was something made up for a client to give to her guests.

This last idea below was from a party I photographed for my friend Dewi from Sweet Bloom Cakes.  She made up a great pack of treats to give to her guests which included chocolate bars, a cake in a jar plus chocolate – all served in a cute berry box and wrapped with twine!

Lots of fun inspiration there from parties of the past! Off to work out what we can do next.

 


Adore Book


May 13, 2014

Have you seen the latest creation from Loni Parker – the lovely lady behind Adore Magazine?  Loni has been hard at work for the past year producing her first hard cover book.   Here are a few photos I shared this week via instagram – I even have a little feature on page 184 where I give my Dessert Table hints and tips.

You can pick up your copy by visiting the Adore Magazine website.


The Perfect Icing & a Giveaway Winner


April 24, 2014

Before I tell you the winner of this weeks Royal Albert Giveaway it is time to share with you the recipe for the absolutely perfect, totally amazing icing that you can see on these delicious cupcakes!

Again the recipe is by Gillian from Crumbs of Comfort Cake Design who I witnessed whipping up these delights for me!

She calls it the cheats version of Swiss Meringue Butercream – I call it naughty but oh so yummy!

Cheats Swiss Meringue Buttercream
250 butter
250 copha
750 soft icing sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons magic pav
1/4 cup water
The butter and copha needs to be soft.  Melt the copha if it’s super hard and pop it in the fridge once it starts to go cloudy again it’s ready to mix.
Beat the batter and copha really well until light with no lumps. Add half the sugar and mix to combine. Add magic pav to remainder of icing sugar and add to mix.  After 30 secs add the water (and flavour and/or colour).
Beat for ten minutes .. This makes sure it’s not gritty
 
And so now to the winner of this weeks Cake Stand Giveaway
Congratulations to entry no 1 – Anne Canalese
Please email me with your address details and so I can send off your prize!
Photography & Styling :: Leanne Ambrogio | Sweet Style
Recipe :: Gillian Brown | Crumbs of Comfort Cake Design
Teaware Range :: Royal Albert Australia
Flowers :: Fiona Kate

 

The Perfect Icing & a Giveaway Winner
Recipe Type: Dessert
Author: Leanne
Cheats Swiss Meringue Buttercream 250 butter 250 copha 750 soft icing sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons magic pav 1/4 cup water The butter and copha needs to be soft.  Melt the copha if it’s super hard and pop it in the fridge once it starts to go cloudy again it’s ready to mix. Beat the batter and copha really well until light with no lumps. Add half the sugar and mix to combine. Add magic pav to remainder of icing sugar and add to mix.  After 30 secs add the water (and flavour and/or colour). Beat for ten minutes .. This makes sure it’s not gritty
Ingredients
  • 250 butter
  • 250 copha
  • 750 soft icing sugar
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons magic pav
  • 1/4 cup water
Instructions
  1. The butter and copha needs to be soft. Melt the copha if it’s super hard and pop it in the fridge once it starts to go cloudy again it’s ready to mix.
  2. Beat the batter and copha really well until light with no lumps. Add half the sugar and mix to combine. Add magic pav to remainder of icing sugar and add to mix.
  3. After 30 secs add the water (and flavour and/or colour).
  4. Beat for ten minutes .. .This makes sure it’s not gritty

Sofia Turns 8


March 31, 2014

We have had an amazing cake filled week after Sofia turned 8 last week!  Celebrations started the day before her actual birthday which was Monday 24th with the arrival of guinea pigs and continued right through until her party this past Sunday!

Sofia decided on a gymnastics themed party for her birthday so we booked our local gymnastics centre and invited her school friends to join us.  I asked Nicole from Pretty and Print to design a custom invite going with the colours of red and pink!  Nicole always comes up with the perfect design and we are then able to continue this theme through the other small details of the party.

In keeping with my 2014 philosophy of keeping things very simple I decided that the main elements for the party would be a gorgeous cake, a cute little lunch box with a small snack and a party bag for our guests.  It is never easy to create the gorgeous and elaborate spreads when the party is not in your home and to be honest they are certainly not called for every year!  A few small details that show you have taken time to really think about your little party guests makes the party special and unique to you!

We served our guests a mini finger bun and some fresh fruit in a cute box with yum on the top!   By packing everything up in individual little boxes made transporting and setting up for the girls simple and easy.  There was only a quick 15 minute break for the girls to sit and have a snack so not too much food was required.The stunning extended tier cake was made by Jacki from Blissfully Sweet Cakes – Jacki made the cake to match the invitation.  She did look particularly stunning on top of one of my red glass cake stands (which you can purchase here).

Of course these great paper eskimo lolly bags were a perfect match – I just added a custom thank you tag to the front of the bag and our theme was complete.As you can see, a few simple and special details turned our birthday celebration into a unique gymnastics party without too much fuss.

Photography:  Leanne Ambrogio | Sweet Style