Sunrise Creations Blog

Photo display boards are a really nice way to display some of your favourite photos in and around your home.

The also make a great feature-piece on large, blank walls, or create a personal, yet stunning accent to any room.

You can make your own display board, or pick one up online, or at places such as scrapbooking outlets, photo processing shops or Spotlight. No matter where you get your board, it’s what you do with it that will make it a feature.

They are also highly personal, so make it really special.

You may like to have your favourite snapshots of great times with people you love; the images you caught unexpectedly that make you smile, or remind you of a fun moment.

Simple framed board with patterned background by Country Living

It may be a random display of your family, featuring photographs that highlight each family member’s personality, which features well in kitchen and living areas, or capturing the essence of a particular day, celebration or other special moment.

The display in itself can tell the story of a person, featuring a careful selection of images, or a special day, including specific moments, guests or other happenings.

Family feature display by Woman's Day

For themed living areas, or bedrooms, you may like to create a feature board, with similar coloured or themed pictures. It may be your daughter dressed in her favourite fairy princess dress ups. You may prefer a theme, featuring images of beaches, trees or your favourite animals.

Country style ribbon board by Christine Chitnis

Ultimately, your photo display board can be created around what it’s purpose is; to make you smile, inspire and motivate you, to add character and colour to a room, or just remind you of special moments in your life.

If you like the style of the ribbon board pictured here, Christine has a tutorial on her site showing exactly how you can make one.

Your photo board is what it is to you … so go create.

Without a doubt Christmas Day is one of the biggest feasts of the year. Whether you celebrate it traditionally with roast meat, vegetables, ham, plum pudding and all the trimmings – or Aussie style with seafood and cold salads, we all know that dessert is an all-important feature of Christmas Day.

We thought we would do a little hunting around and find some truly gorgeous Christmas Dessert Tables to inspire you and get you thinking about your own Christmas Dessert Table this year.

1. Christmas Drinks Dessert Table from the blog Mrs A in the Cove. Featuring Chocolate dipped pretzels, Raspberry Cupcakes, Cookie Pops, Meringues, Macaroons, Chocolate dipped wafter sticks, Mini chocolate bars and Candy Canes.

 

 

2. This is also from Mrs A in the Cove but features some more traditional desserts such as: "The Trifle", Tim Tam Cookie Pops, Rum Balls, Chocolate dipped wafers, Chocolate dipped strawberries, Meringues, Christmas Pudding, Ginger Biscuits and jaffas.

 

3. Mini Dessert Table.

The Christmas Dessert Table doesn’t have to be full of a huge assortment of desserts nor be lavishly decorated. This mini dessert table from A Little Delightful is simple and sweet and includes little snowmen on lollypop sticks, fresh milk in glass bottles, Oreo pops dipped in white chocolate, meringue stars, chocolate dipped pretzels and mini chocolate puddings.

 

4 .Christmas Gingerbread Dessert Table

This was actually from a Kids Gingerbread House Making Party – from the blog Jenny’s Cookies which has some really gorgeous photos. The dessert table included hot chocolate on a stick, north pole cupcakes, Christmas hot chocolate and cake pops amongst other things!

 

If you need some more ideas for Aussie dessert inspirations have a look at the collection at taste.com.au –summer berry trifle, mulled wine sorbet with clove biscuts, kiwifruit, pineapple and passionfruit parfait and heaps more ideas for your 2011 Christmas Dessert Table!

Have you been given the task of planning a party for an elderly friend or relative?  If so, there are a few things to consider when planning the party so that the party recipient enjoys themselves.

Firstly, take into account the time of the party.  Elderly people don’t have as much stamina as they used to so it is often wise to plan the party as a lunchtime affair rather than at night.
Consider the persons mobility levels.  Are they using walkers, wheelchairs, canes etc and does the venue cater to their needs in this regard.  Consider not only entering the venue but also getting around the venue and most importantly the availability of toilets and the ease of use for someone with a walking aid etc.

Another consideration is the style of food.  Most elderly people have lunch as their main meal of the day and only snack in the evening.  Consider this when creating the menu for the event to ensure their needs are taken care of and they can still enjoy their party without worrying about what they need to eat.

Plan any special photos to be taken at the start of the event that way if the guest of honour feels overwhelmed or tired they won’t feel that they are ruining the party for everyone if they leave earlier than anticipated.

Most elderly people love to revisit the things they remember from the past.  Delicious sponges and delicate finger sandwiches always meant elegance.  Music from their era helps to set a mood so look for music from the stage shows of the time such as Showboat.  Singers like Howard Keel or Deanna Durbin are popular too.
Elegant table settings with the fine china tea set that is only used on special days will make them feel right at home. 

If the party is for a special occasion such as a wedding anniversary, a nice touch is to use a photo invitation from our range and include a wedding photo of the happy couple.

When arranging gifts it is always wise to have everyone contribute to one big gift that will be much more appreciated than dozens of small gifts.  Let’s face it – even at 30 we can get too many toasters let alone at 80 or 90!  Think about what the person might need replacing at home that they perhaps can’t afford – do they need a new TV? If all else fails, a digital photo frame is a great idea and you can arrange before hand for everyone to email photos to a central person who could load them all onto a USB drive to be used with the frame.  Be sure to buy a frame that is 10 inches or larger to make viewing easier.

All in all just consider the person’s lifestyle and capabilities and cater to that and the party will be a resounding success.

Images:

Sponge -  recipe and image at Taste
Finger Sandwiches - recipe and image at Taste
Showboat -available from music stores like Sanity
Tea set and Cake stand from A Vintage Affair
Invitation from Sunrise Creations.

Baby showers don't always have to be in pink or blue decor.  They don't even have to be in pastels.  They can be in whatever colour you or the mother-to-be, prefers.

We love the look of dramatic red, black and white and think that it looks wonderful as a colour scheme for a baby shower. 

Don't limit yourself to traditional colours.  Experiment and create something wonderful.

Stockists and credits:

Bunting by Giggleberry Creations
Red Spotted Cupcake Stand by It's All About Kids
Red Paper Fan by Bride to Be
Black and White Dog Finger Puppet by Your Cheeky Monkey
Miniature Red Lanterns from Chinatown
Tea Infuser Favour by Baby Showers Australia
Baby Bath Towel Cake by Baby Cupcakes
Photographic inspiration by Sara Gray Photography.

Some of the most beautiful weddings and events that I have ever seen have had one thing in common.  They used a colour as their theme.  It began with the invitation and went through to the decoration and even to the thank you card.

Don't think it works?

Have a look at this collection and it will change your mind.   Wouldn't this be a stunning occasion?

Suppliers:

Wedding and bridesmaid gowns by I Do Gowns
Calla Lily invitations bySunrsise Creations
Calla Lily Bouquet from Tie The Knot
Stunning green and calla lily Spring Wedding Bouquet from Lily and Rose
Green themed cake from The Party Dress
Green party decor from The Underfunded Heiress
Peridot green earrings from The Style Hive
Green ring from Wedding By Color
Green shoes from Bridal Buds

If you are looking for something a little bit different and a little bit special for your reception or party, why not put on a High Tea?

High Tea has a colourful history in English culture, firstly becoming popular with the working people in about the 1600’s. It was a more substantial meal than a simple cake or biscuits so it was often called “meat tea” and developed a mildly celebratory feel, as it was served at the end of the working day, shortly after 5pm.
These days, rather than the traditional heavy meat stews and vegetable dishes, High Tea has become a versatile and elegant step up from a simple afternoon tea for entertaining.

No longer limited to a few sandwiches and cakes, the spread can be as extensive and varied as you choose, with a delicious array of hors d'oeuvre and desserts, cocktail snacks and finger foods, all accompanied by traditional cups of tea.

Of course other beverages can also be served too, but tea is the essential ingredient of a High Tea.

This elegant presentation is from Amy Atlas Eventsand if you need inspiration you really need to visit her site and look at her blog.  Her work is stunning.
   
 

The atmosphere of a High Tea can be more relaxed than a formal dining setting, while still allowing for a sense of elegance.  You can choose to have a formal seating plan but the nature of the catering allows for more mingling between your guests as there are no set courses to be seated for at any particular time.
 
You might like to have your event catered for by caterers like Truffled Catering of Newcastle or restaurants that specialise in High Tea catering.

Specialist hire companies like Antiquitea can provide all of the gorgeous china tea cups and teapots and table ware that make a tea party feel so unique. They are the tea party consultants, and they even do all of the washing up.

High Tea can be an elegant and beautiful alternative to a traditional reception.  You might even find it more relaxin and enjoyable.

As you know, I believe that by selecting a theme for an event it makes decisions about colours and decorating styles much easier.

When I create a theme for an event I like to gather inspiration from magazines and online.  The images help me develop a picture in my mind about the way I want the event to look.  I want to share an example with you.

This collection is inspiration for a vintage themed christening.

These ideas were collected from the following sources:

 Christening Kids- stunning antique styled christening gown 
Amazon-  fabric Bunting
 Handley Beard Event Planners- a stunning christening design
Vintage Rose Collection - superb rustic elegance
 Favor Ideas- gorgeous crystal stroller bonbonierre
Classic Function Centre - delightfully floataway table setting.
 Kara's Party Ideas-  a blog full of clever ideas including the pretty cake with booties.
Sunrise Creations - the pretty vintage styled invitation.

Get some fresh ideas from this pink and brown wedding Inspiration Board by Easy Weddings featuring one of our best selling Wedding Invitations below.




Inpiration board by Easy Weddings.
Images Courtesy of:
Sunrise Creations, Australia Wide, Cake Inspirations, QLD, weddingflowers.com, NSW, Flair, Formal Red, VIC, Young Designers Gallery, VIC, Prior Engagement, Australia Wide, The Powder Room, QLD, Event Perfection, VIC, Island Brides, TAS, My Flower Girl, NSW, Wittner Shoes, Australia wide, Sisko Chocolate, VIC, Tres Beau Luxury Boutique, NSW, Ace Car Hire, VIC, Vera Wang - , M Studio, NSW, Carbone Custom Made Clothiers, VIC, Lillit Florist, NSW, Spurling Bridal, Australia wide, Henry Roth, NSW, Angels Bridal and Formal, WA, Living SIlk, QLD, Alter Green Designs, VIC, Belle Adorn, NSW, Floreal, NSW, Peppers Formal Wear, NSW.