Sunrise Creations Blog

The shops are awash with red, white and pink. TV commercials are telling us to make it a gift ‘they’ll never forget’.  There’s a distinct increase in the availability of heart shaped chocolates.  It seems we must be getting close to Valentine’s Day!  Before you fall victim to the clichéd expressions of love for your special person, throw the commercialised expectations out the window and make your Valentine’s Day special according to your own personal relationship.

The definition of romantic in its simple elegance is the displaying or expressing of love or strong affection.  Nothing mentioned about hand delivered flowers, candlelit dinners or expensive jewellery.  While these things are lovely ways to express how you feel and will no doubt receive a warm welcome, you can have a truly romantic Valentine’s Day just by thinking about your own personal relationship; knowing your partner, what they love (besides you – of course) and expressing this understanding in a way that you know will connect and resonate with them.

As we know with any gift or gesture, it’s always the thought that counts.  True romance on Valentine’s Day is putting thought into your own individual relationship and doing something which you know is meaningful and personal to you both.  It can be as simple as taking them to their favourite place to tell them how you feel.  But we can’t tell you exactly what you need to do this Valentine’s Day – you already have the answer with you.  Just think about it.

Valentine’s Day is on the 14th February and this year falls on a Tuesday.

(Heart petal image by Jody Stuart)

Our blog is so chock full of useful tips about how to take a great photo, ideas for photography subjects, uses for your photos and much more.  Sometimes it can be hard to find the information you are looking for. One of the most important topics we have covered is how to manage all of those precious photos so we thought we'd make it a little easier to sort through by listing some of the best posts here.

So, here are our 5 top posts that will help you sort, organise and store your precious photographic memories.

1. Storing your photos online.  One of our more recent posts which talks about backing up your images by storing them in online photo storage sites.

2. Ahhh - I can't find my photos!   Just how many photos do you have on your computer?  If you had to find one specific photo, how long would it take you?

3. How to choose photos for your album.  You can't save them all so here are some tips to help you work out what to keep and what to include in your album or photobook.

4. Do you have a corporate record?  Not all photos are personal.  Don't forget about your corporate photos.  They tell the story of your business so make sure you protect them.

5. Turn them into canvas.  We all have one favourite photo of our children that we want to preserve.  Turn it into a canvas print to hang on your wall.  That gives you 2 formats of your favourite photo.

We hope these ideas help you easily get sorted and organised.

It has been a while since we talked about photography and our technique with the camera.

I love to learn how other photographers get their results.  They always give me an idea or some inspiration to work with.  This video is a great example.  The topic is 'low light photography' but the tip is incredibly simple.  It's so simple that you might be tempted to overlook it, but don't do that.  It works.  Best of all, you can apply it to every shot you take.

I hope you find this as useful as I did.  I see many great photos in your future.

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.

There’s a heap of information and resources out there on making Halloween fun for the kids, but what about the adults? Surely they’re allowed some fun, too?

Halloween is, really, just another excuse to host a party. This time, you have a theme you don’t need to think to hard about.

Obviously, you want everyone to come in character; Halloween themed character, of course. The themeing doesn’t stop there however. Simple touches, like orange and black napkins, balloons, streamers and other decorations.

Add some cardboard skeletons, hang some bats and fake spider webs and cover the windows with black cloth and you’re on your way.

The right music will enhance the night dramatically – songs like Werewolves of London, Psycho Killer, Monster Mash, Black Magic Woman and Sympathy for the Devil are a good start. There are plenty more where they came from.

Food, of course, is an important element of any social gathering. You can make your Halloween party so much more fantastic with the right food. Drinks and cocktails – in the right colours of course; red, luminous green and black – served from IV drip bags, or in punch bowls filled with “body parts” (peeled grapes, chunks of watermelon) add to the effect.

You are looking for impact with your choice of food, so make sure that it looks effective and gets even an adult imagination wondering.  You might like to try something like "Eye of Newt" from the Betty Crocker Kitchen. Until you taste it, you won't be quite sure what it is...

Finger foods are also handy; like Mummy Dogs or Frankenstein Finger Dips (using carrots and … a dip!)

Of course, don't forget the drinks.  They have to match the theme, too.  I love the sound of the Green Ghoul cocktail.

Ingredients:

• 1 part Midori Melon Liqueur
• 1/2 part Strega Liqueur or Yellow Chartreuse
• 1/2 part Canton Ginger liqueur
• Ginger Beer or Ginger Ale

Preparation:

There’s plenty of food ideas out there on the web, but really, all you need to do is take a nice, easy recipe you know, and spooky it up! A dash of red and some squiggly lines makes brains or body parts in an instant.

You’re only limited by your imagination.

And how much fun you can handle!

The focus of any dessert table is the centrepiece and more often than not, it’s a floral arrangement.   While they are beautiful to look at, they aren’t the only type of centrepiece you could choose.  I like the different and the unusual but I also like the practical, too.  That’s why the idea of edible centrepieces appeals to me so much.  They can be pretty or they can be totally wild but they are always tasty.

Fruit Bouquets

I love the look of these colourful and fresh fruit bouquets, don’t you?  They would be suitable for parties for children or adults.  In fact, it might encourage some children to try fruit they would never normally eat.  These arrangements are by Edible Blooms.

Chocolate Centrepieces

How could you go past a chocolate sculpture?  Isn’t this creation amazing?  It’s all chocolate and was created by Sisko Chocolate.  It’s elegant and textural and totally, eye-catchingly unique.  Please go to Sisko and look at their work.  It's divine.  Have a look at the wall of chocolate butterflies.  Incredible.

Macaroon Marvels

At first glance you wouldn’t realise that these displays were made of macaroons and cookies, would you?  These delicious looking arrangements use flowers as an added decoration.  (Perhaps the disguise makes them safe from little fingers for just that bit longer!)   These designs were made by Cookie Couture.

Cheese Cakes

Yes, these really are cakes of cheese – wheels, to be precise.  If you don’t have a sweet tooth, you might prefer an elegant arrangement like these ones from Wheely Cheesy Cakes.  They don’t look like wheels of cheese, do they?  What a pretty way to decorate your table.

There are lots of other styles of centrepiece you could use.  Don’t stick to the usual floral arrangements.  Add some interest and then eat it up. 

I love seeing new and unusual things, especially decorations.  They are such an important part of setting a mood and creating an atmosphere, particularly for parties.

I was wandering through Etsy today and I found a store called Fake Cupcake Creations.  Aren't they fabulous? 

Can you picture these cakes in a fantasy setting?  Think Alice in Wonderland or even a cake palace.  How colourful and decorative are they?

Fake Cupcake Creations make fake cakes for all occasions.  The Halloween ones are ghoulishly delightful.  If you are a real cupcake fan, you can also buy a headband with a creamy cupcake sitting on top!

This store is a feast for the senses so  pop in and have a good look around.  Your imagination will go wild!

A brief guide about bridesmaids from Nicolas Girard on Vimeo.

Gone are the days of equating the word ‘party’ with garbage bins full of throw away plastic and paper rubbish at clean up time. These days when we celebrate many of us want to know that the environment isn’t going to suffer unnecessarily just so that we can have a good time.

Consider using washable and re-usable cutlery, crockery or plastic plates, table cloths and serviettes, perhaps providing only finger foods on washable platters or even cutting banana leaves into different shapes for use as individual plates.

There are many different options available for disposable party products that have been made from recycled materials such as the bamboo range from An Eco Dream .  No one wants to wash the dishes after a party and these product free you from the sink without harming the environment.  There are so many other fun ways to achieve a unique party experience without having a negative impact on the environment.

Make a list of items you need for your party, starting from your invitations and working your way through to pack-up time and find a fun and environmentally friendly alternative for each one.

Electronic invitations are onet way to remove paper from the invitation equation and for informal occasions they are great.  For something important, though, I still love real, paper, personalised invitations.  There is nothing like them.  If you are choosing paper invitations, make them personal and include a photo so that they become a keepsake. 

A great alternative to balloons can be paper lanterns and other decorations made from recycled paper and cardboard and materials from your garden. Decking your halls with garlands, vines, grasses and flowers gives a stunning effect in place of streamers.

Catering with organic, natural and healthy foods is not only fun and much easier these days with the ready
availability of natural food colours and dyes, you are less likely to end up with a group of manic children and you can relax, knowing that they are enjoying party food that is actually good for them too.

With a little bit of planning you can still put on just about any kind of party and give it a few eco friendly tweaks so that it sits comfortably with your own sense of environmental responsibility.

(image by Aneta Blaszczyk)

Every girl deserves a girls night out every now and then (or more often for the lucky ones).  Whilst going to the movies with your girlfriends or catching up for coffee and cake is always fun to do, why not create a girls night out with a difference and really show your friends what it’s like to have a girls night out?

Start by making sure everyone is available on a particular date but don’t let them in on what is happening.  Just tell them that they need to keep the date free.   Decide what you want to do for your special girls night out.  You could have a cocktail party at a local bar, a pamper party at a local beauty parlour or even a progressive dinner where you attend one restaurant for entrée, one for main and another for dessert and coffee.  Cost out the evening to ensure it is affordable for everyone.

Have a look at our range of party invitations.  We can create some stunning invitations using photos of your girlfriends on previous get togethers. Why not make it a formal style invitation to give your evening a little bit extra glamour?  Be sure to include the time, date, place and any special requirements the guests will need.  For some extra special pampering you could hire a limousine and arrange for everyone to meet at one location where the limousine will pick you up.  Be sure to include the cost of the night out in your invitations unless you are feeling extremely generous. 

If you have girls attending who don’t know each other, think about creating some tasteful name tags for the girls to wear or you could just create some fun ones that say you are on a girls night out so beware! 

The limit to how much fun you have depends on how much you enjoy organising surprise events where everyone gets to enjoy a night of friendship and fun.

Make your girls night out something to remember and don’t forget to take the camera with you – there are sure to be shots you don’t want to miss.