As You Wish Events’ Latest

The latest weddings and events created by As You Wish Events Ltd.

May 28 2014

A Little Time Out

Author: Nadine Crozier • Discussion: No Comments
A Pamper Party

In amongst the hectic lives we live it is important to take a little time out every now and then to relax and pamper ourselves.  After a fairly stressful start to the year I decided that for my birthday that was exactly what I was going to do.

I wanted to be able share the experience with a few of my good friends.  I also wanted the experience to be similar to that of going to an actual day spa, but without having to leave the comfort of my own home.  I didn’t think this would work if we had to do the treatments ourselves, which meant finding a company that would do these for us.    So I went looking, and found Beauty Patrol.  Their staff are fully trained and the ladies that came to us had a lot of experience and did great work.  Beauty Patrol offer a great selection of pamper party treatment menus and at a very reasonable price, I might add.  All that was left to organise was a relaxing environment and some tasty food.

Pamper Party Image 1

Pamper Party Food & Favours

The Menu:

For the food I decided that a couple of fresh and healthy options would be ideal.  So we served a roast vegetable salad with Haloumi Cheese and Honey Mustard Dressing, as well as some fresh summer fruits.  And of course no pampering is complete without a little indulgence so I included some triple chocolate cupcakes.

The Favours:

I love party favours, they are a simple way of saying how much you love and appreciate your guests.  I also think for an occasion such as this it adds just that little extra to the atmosphere of luxury.  So in keeping with the natural and neutral theme, I purchased some flax ketes from the $ value store and some beauty sets off Trade Me to go in them.  I also added a chocolate bar that I wrapped with my thank you note, that matched the rest of my stationery.

Pamper Party 2

The Environment

 The Environment:

Usually when I write about parties I talk about the decorations, because they play a large role in setting the atmosphere.  However in this case setting the atmosphere was more about clearing things away, rather than setting things up.  I moved out all the unnecessary items that usually clutter our living room.  This instantly made the room more relaxing.  Then apart from a few flowers and a scented candle, everything else I put out was there to be used by my guests.  I made sure we had plenty of towels, water bottles, magazines, a couple of foot spas, and a few additional pamper products like lotions and face masks.

Summing Up:

Overall, it was everything I had hoped and planned for.   One pampered afternoon with friends.

If you have any questions or comments please feel free to share them with us in the space below.  If you’d like us to organise a pamper party for you then please contact us via email for more information.

Vendor Credits:
  • Party Printables: As You Wish Events Ltd
  • Décor & Styling: As You Wish Events Ltd
  • Catering: As You Wish Events Ltd
  • Beauty Therapists: Beauty Patrol

 

 

 

 

 

Mar 12 2014

The Construction Party

Author: Nadine Crozier • Discussion: No Comments

 

The Construction Party Header

Back in February I had the privilege of designing a Construction themed birthday party for a young man who was turning six years old.  This was such a great theme to do as there was no shortage of ideas.

Party Highlights:
  • Once again I was really pleased with how the printables turned out.  Out of these the Toolbox Favour box and the little flags have to be my favourites.
  • I loved planning and making the food to match the theme.
  • I was so pleased to find yellow plastic construction party hats at a $ value store and the tool shaped erasers at Manna Christian Store in Henderson – they fitted the theme perfectly.
  • The ‘Build your own Gingerbread House’ activity was a hit, entertaining guests both young and old.
  • And probably the best part for me was the Birthday Boy’s unmistakable excitement and awe for how it all came together.

 Construction Party Blog - The Decor

Party Décor:

The weather was brilliant for this outdoor party.  As the guests arrived they were directed to the backyard by signs made especially for the occasion.  One of the first things they would have seen on reaching the backyard was the big birthday banner, from the Construction party printable collection.  We created the dining space by using the gazebo and a couple of giant road cones paired with ‘Caution’ tape.  We also used the ‘Caution’ tape to wrap around the backs of the chairs and the backdrop for the food table.  The guest table had two small road cone centrepieces and a hessian table runner, along with place settings consisting of a placemat, plate, serviette, themed drink bottle and favour box.

Party Favours:

Each guest received a construction party hat along with a Toolbox, favour box.  These were a little tricky to put together but looked great in the end.  Each favour box contained a tool shaped eraser, pencil and a ‘Builder’s Notebook’.  The covers for the notebooks were from the printable collection which we wrapped around some little notebooks we found at a $ value store.

Construction Party Blog - The Entertainment

The Entertainment:

There was no shortage of things to do at this party.  The main activity was to ‘Build your own Gingerbread House’.  Each guest was given their own ‘kit set’ containing everything they would need for building their house.  After giving a quick demonstration and appointing a couple of the dads as the foremen for the job site, we left them to it.  As the party progressed the guests played ‘Pin the Bucket on the Digger’ – simply a theme appropriate version of ‘Pin the tail on the Donkey’; played with the build a picture set and listened to our storyteller read one of the popular ‘Little Yellow Digger’ books.

Construction Party Blog - The Food

The Party Food:

This was an exciting menu to put together.  We had:

  • Chocolate Fudge cupcakes – displayed with wrappers and toppers from the Construction Party printable collection.
  • Hard hat cake pops
  • Tool-shaped cookies
  • Mini Boulder Burgers – displayed with little flags from the Construction Party printable collection.
  • Popcorn served in cones from the Construction Party printable collection.
  • Drill bit curly fries
  • Road Works Pudding Cups.

The buffet table was set up using a variety of toolboxes and an old nail box along with a few other pieces we had handy.  We used labels from the Construction Party printable collection to tie everything together.  At the centre of the buffet table was the amazing ‘Digger’ birthday cake made by a family friend.

Summing Up:

Overall this was a fabulous party to put together.  The most challenging part was dealing with the heat from the sun – but once we had everything properly positioned under the gazebo and umbrella we were good to go.  Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, especially the Birthday Boy.

If you have any questions or comments regarding how we put this theme together or if you would like us to create a party for you then please contact us either via email or through the comments section below.

 Vendor Credits:
  • Party Printables: As You Wish Events Ltd
  • Décor & Styling: As You Wish Events Ltd
  • Catering: As You Wish Events Ltd
  • Photography: Christine Kehinde
  • Cones hired from Hirepool
  • Caution tape purchased at Super Cheap Auto

 

 

 

 

Jan 15 2014

Fairy Princess Party

Author: Nadine Crozier • Discussion: 1 Comment

 

Fairy Princess Party

One of my earlier printable designs recently underwent a fairy-makeover for my niece’s 5th birthday party.  The weather was just perfect for the outdoor party which took place in their back yard last weekend.

Party Highlights:
  • The pretty pink and white ‘Fairy Princess’ party printables.
  • The Dress Up stations with ornate pink mirrors.
  • Gran dressing up as the ‘Fairy Grandmother’ who read the guests a beautiful book in the ‘Storytime Tent’.
  • The Fairy Princess Pudding cups and Fruit Wands.
  • And when I asked my niece her favourite thing she said “the presents”.

Fairy Princess Party Pt1

Party Décor:

This time around we started out with our party printables which gave us the colour scheme of pink and white and a splash of purple. Much of the décor was determined by the activities we had planned.  I had some old white carpet runners sitting in my storeroom waiting to be thrown out, but instead I decided to cut them down to mat sizes and draw designs on them.  I then used these to define the areas for eating, dress up and story time.  I wanted to keep the eating area looking clean and bright – which was achieved through the use of white tablecloths and a white satin backdrop. This also created a background on which the party printables could really stand out.  A few other items I had in my storeroom were the two little white tables that I was able to pair with ornate pink mirrors from The Warehouse to create child-sized dressing tables for the Dress Up station.  The ‘Storytime Tent’ was made from a Mosquito Net that I got on special at Briscoes along with all the cushions I could find.

 Party Favours:

As part of the party printable set, we designed a lovely little handbag box.  In each box was a mini chocolate bar, a pink balloon, a sparkly hairclip and a lip gloss.

Fairy Princess Party Pt2The Entertainment:

Instead of games we opted for three activities.  We had the ‘Make Your Own Wand’ craft; the Dress Up Station and Story time.  As the guests arrived they were able to join in with making their own wand and once they were done they were free to play with the dress ups or wherever else there imagination took them.  Towards the end of lunch we sung happy birthday and the beautiful cake was cut.  At the same time Gran came out dressed up as the ‘Fairy-Grandmother’ to read all the guests the story of ‘The Rose Princess and the Special Gift’.  This was then followed by the opening of the presents.

Fairy Princess Party Pt3

The Food:

On the menu we had:

  • Castle Club Sandwiches – these were served in little lunch boxes placed at each guest’s place setting.
  • Crinkle Cut Fries
  • Popcorn
  • Chicken Bites – served in little cupcake cases purchased at Countdown.
  • White Chocolate Cake Pops
  • Vanilla Cupcakes – displayed with wrappers and toppers from the Fairy Princess printable collection
  • Fairy Princess Pudding Cups
  • Fruit Wands
  • And a mini candy buffet with 3 types of theme coloured lollies.

The buffet was set up using a collection of glassware, white platters and a box that I covered in stripy paper.  The fabulous centrepiece on the buffet was the amazing doll cake made by Sweet Bites Cakes – a decadent chocolate mudcake – yummy!

Summing Up:

It was really fun to transform my sister’s backyard into a fairy princess’ garden.  Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves having plenty of activities do and yummy treats to eat.

If you have any questions or comments regarding how we put this theme together or if you would like us to create a party for you then please contact us either via email or through the comments section below.

Vendor Credits:
  • Party Printables: As You Wish Events Ltd
  • Décor & Styling: As You Wish Events Ltd
  • Catering: As You Wish Events Ltd
  • Photography: Adam Ferris
  • Cake: Sweet Bites Cakes

 

Jan 01 2014

Christmas Foyer Decor

Author: Nadine Crozier • Discussion: No Comments

This year I was asked to decorate our church’s foyer for the Christmas season.  The flyer for the Christmas Production served as my inspiration which lead to a colour scheme of gold, black, and white with a touch of silver and yellow.  Although the church had a collection of decorations such as the trees and a few ornaments, some shopping was still needed to create a look that was new.  My favourite shopping finds were from The Clearance Shed where I found the extra large gold baubles and stylish cushion covers.

One of the permanent features in the foyer is a large blackboard wall.  On this wall my assistant and I drew up the same scene at was pictured on the Christmas Production flyer.  The mural was done completely in chalk, apart from the gold banner which was printed onto paper, cut out and stuck on.

Christmas Foyer Decor 1

The lowest cost item with the biggest impact had to be the wall hangings.  The frames had been sitting around for a while having been recused from the recycling pile.  I pulled these apart and using some stripy wrapping paper and some beautiful chalkboard printables I found online at Nest of Poises and Love, Pomegranate House I put them together again to create some stunning wall hangings – all for the cost of the wrapping paper.

Christmas Foyer Decor 2

The look was finished off with a few clusters of faux presents and some icicle fairy lights.  Overall a reasonably low cost project that looked fabulous.

Dec 11 2013

Jungle Safari Birthday Party

Author: Nadine Crozier • Discussion: 2 Comments

This year As You Wish has begun to expand into the area of Kid’s Parties.  Recently we had the opportunity to create a Jungle Safari party for a young man who was turning 2 years old.  We had a great deal of fun designing and hosting this party.

Party Highlights:
  • Our Jungle Safari Party Printables
  • Jungle Safari themed food
  • Party Favours of binoculars and straw hats
  • The ‘Backyard Safari Hunt’
  • The giant leaf placemats and wooden boat plates and cutlery.

Jungle Safari Decor

Party Décor:

We began with our colour scheme of green, yellow and orange. From there we set about designing the printables that brought the theme together.  We wanted to keep everything as natural looking as possible so hessian seemed like the right choice for the table covers and as accents on the drink bottles and lolly jars. For the backdrop to the buffet table we purchased brush fencing from Mitre 10 Mega. To bring a balance to the browns, greenery was added in the form of artificial areca palms hired from First Scene and large artificial leaves as placemats. The table setting was completed with disposable wooden boat plates and cutlery from Disposable Tableware Ltd; bright yellow polka-dot serviettes from Pak ‘n’ Save and personalised glass drink bottles.  Lastly we added some brightly coloured child sized chairs and helium balloons.

Party Favours:

Each child received a Safari Straw Hat and a pair of Binoculars that were personalised with name tags from our Jungle Safari printable collection.  Not only did the children take these home at the end of the party but they also came in handy for the Backyard Safari Hunt.

The Entertainment:

Being that the party was for younger children the usually party games weren’t necessarily going to work – so instead it became all about play.  To keep costs down we made use of the clients toys and sandpit.  To that we added a play dough station.  As the party progressed all the children put on their Safari Straw Hats and grabbed their Binoculars and went outside to search for all the wild toy animals that had been hidden in the garden earlier.  Towards the end of the party it was Story time with one of our storytellers, who read ‘The Jungle Run’ by Tony Mitton to the children.

Jungle Safari Food

The Food:

On the menu we had:

  • Monkey Mac ‘n’ Cheese
  • Wild Mini Burgers
  • Jungle Vine Fries (Homemade Curley Fries)
  • Popcorn in cones from the Jungle Safari printable collection
  • Bananas
  • Cake Pops
  • Cupcakes displayed with wrappers and toppers from the Jungle Safari printable collection
  • Jungle Jellies – three flavoured jellies with a crocodile lolly set into it.
  • And 3 types of Jungle themed lollies.

The buffet was set out on wooden gifts boxes and labelled with labels form the Jungle Safari printable collection.  Last but not least, was the amazing cake.  This was made by Beth from All Things Nice and was decorated with Animal Figurines that were purchased from Toy World.

Summing Up:

Overall this was a fantastic party with plenty of activities and food for the children to enjoy.  I loved the way the vibrant colour scheme complimented the Jungle Safari theme and how it all came together so nicely on the day.

If you have any questions or comments regarding how we put this theme together or if you would like us to create a party for you then please contact us either via email or through the comments section below.

 

Additional Shopping Credits:
  • Party Printables: As You Wish Events Ltd
  • Décor & Styling: As You Wish Events Ltd
  • Catering: As You Wish Events Ltd
  • Photography: Adam Ferris
  • Hessian purchased from: Dargaville Sewing & Curtain Centre and Spotlight
  • Party Favours were purchased from: Binoculars = Kmart; Straw Hats = Spotlight