from the blue shed

tea party

Don't you just love it when you head off to the op shop with certain treasures in mind, and they are there in abundance??? I needed to outfit a tea party for 10 small people and wanted to get them a teacup and saucer each. I not only found 10 teacups, but 10 small tea and espresso cups in various muted colors that looked perfect together. Along with saucers,10 small plates and a tennis racket, for $23 bucks! All of the guests brought along something yummy to share. Another great collaborative effort. I will share a few of the recipes on another post, if I'm allowed, as they are too good not too.  

  

 
A lovely morning to say goodbye to our globe trotting friends who are going to be sadly missed. Remember guys, we expect you back in 2 years. Any later and we start auctioning off your possessions!

 

dinosaur party

Today we had Rowen's dinosaur birthday party. After a big week planning, all the dino details came together. We invited Rowen's little friend's, of which there are only a few. It made for a calm and enjoyable morning. I don't usually organize games until the third birthday so we set up a few activities and just let them play. We don't have a sandpit so I made a big calico mat for a dinosaur sandpit. I cut the edge to make it look a bit leafy. I thought the mat made it a bit of a special spot (and would make it easier to clean up after the party!) We had a playdough table with dinosaur cookie cutters and the cubby now fully equipped with all sorts of great kitchen appliances and miniature food that she received for her birthday.
 
The pinata gods once again tried to mess with me but I said "NAY!" An accidental purchase of quick dry glue for the papier mache mix, and it was almost another no go. I finally got to make that pinata I have been dying to make. A leafy planet with hanging dinosaurs "buried" underground.
 
 
Being almost easter there are a lot of eggs around. We filled the pinata with these plastic eggs filled with a few lollies some plastic dinosaurs and sheets of dinosaur stickers.
  
On the menu;
Cheese and vegemite stegosaurus puffs.
  
Cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches
   
Adam's Fruitosaurus.
  

Here's my  naked dragon rat in his pre-historic garden. I think he's smiling.  
  

I have given out biscuits as lollie bags for a few parties now. I Generally over do it with lollies on the cake so I don't think a bag of them to take home as well is a great idea. These dinos in a bag were definitely the best yet. I had never iced a biscuit before. What fun! I read somewhere to make the icing a bit wetter and paint it on. This worked out really well. Unfortunately plastic doesn't photograph brilliantly.
 
  
With both of the girls parties at the beginning of the year and only 6 weeks apart, it is a long wait till next party. I am sure I can come up with an excuse or two to squeeze a couple in between. For now, I am going to put my feet up. Feeling a bit tired and it's only a few hours till our dinner guests arrive.
I know I know, I'm completely mad. 

the treasure hunt

Remnants of the party are still scattered all over the kitchen, but I just can't wait to go through all the photos and share the festivities with you. After a lot of research (thank you Zoe) and some brain storming to come up with some riddles (definitely the hardest part) it all came together. I thought I would share the play by play with you as all the suggestions given to me were very helpful and the kids had a ball!
 
 All of the explorers met at our local park. This park only had a swing set but had lots of trees to work with. The first clue asked them to look for a sack hung high in the trees. The sack contained an explorers bag for each of the children. They collected a little something for their bag after they found each clue. This would become their lolly/treat bag at the end of the party. 

I bought a few yards of calico for the draw string bags. Once I had a system down, it was quite a quick and easy process to sew all 18 of them! The bags were empty except for one that contained the next clue.

 
  They were then lead to the sand at the base of the swing set. There they all had to dig to find a stone each. One of them had the next clue tied to it. 

I bought a couple of bags of river stones from the $2 shop and drew a design on each one so they knew they had found the right stones.
 

  Next they were off to find a bunch of balloons tied in a tree. Each balloon had glitter in it so each child that popped a balloon had a magical sparkly explosion. One of the balloons carried the next clue.

Then they were off the find an obstacle course. I thought everything would fall apart at this point. Our age group was from 3 to 4 year olds with only two children 5 and 6. They all managed to wait fairly patiently in line for their turn and even accomplished the course very successfully. Phew, almost there.
Finally they were to find the pinata that was hanging in a tree. I would love to say that my brilliant pinata finally came to fruition and it looked fabulous blowing in the breeze with the pretty dangly bits I imagined but at 7pm last night it was still wet. It just wasn't meant to be. My friend however just happened to have one in her office, waiting for a rainy day (thanks Gee!) 
The final clue that was inside the pinata had the kids walk back to our house for party food and cake. Zoe had drawn stepping stones along the footpath with sidewalk chalk for the kids to walk along. Very cute. 

The menu

fruit kebabs 
ribbon sandwiches ( three slices of bread with a spread between each piece. Cut into skinny strips with the crusts cut off, a childhood favorite of mine) 
strawberry cake marshmallow stacks - inspired but my friend Anna, chocolate dipped marshmallows, and Bakerella. I wanted to do both treats and thought I would combine them together with a strawberry to cut the sugary sweetness. Needless to say, they were a hit. Bakerella is brilliant! You must check it out.
fruit juice punch
treasure chest cake

 

 

I think this was our best party yet. Up until now, we have just done party food and let the kids run around. My husband even congratulated me on my ability to roll with the punches (pinata drama) No meltdowns this year. Perhaps I am learning to curb my control freak behavior. 
Off to over see the putting away of laundry. Just kidding. I'm not that bad.