Meet our friend Little Sooti

If you haven't met Little Sooti, then you must!

Visit her and you will see why. She has gorgeous style and an eye for all things beautiful...and I'm not just saying this because she likes our work or because she's asked us to be a regular guest on her blog as the Party Experts - which, of course, we are (wink, wink)!!

My Little Man turns 1

Mr 1's big day finally arrived...and it was pouring!

Nevertheless, the party continued as planned. The perfect, outdoor location sheltered us from the peltering rain which turned into a sprinkling shower and eventually ceased, fifteen minutes before the party began.

We had lots of hungry mouths to feed. Noodle boxes were just the right size, plus a touch of argyle created the perfect finishing touch! Personalised wooden cutlery was another detail that wowed the guests.

Our jelly cups turned into jelly shots because of the warm weather, but this did not stop anyone! Packaged cupcakes are not only a great take home party favour for your guests, but they look oh so gorgeous. It also meant that we didn't have to worry about cutting up and serving cake so it's great for picnic parties.

The lolly buffet was a hit with all the little (and big) kids!

A simple yet effective alternative to balloons - flags!

We hope you enjoyed the pics as much as we enjoyed putting the whole party together!

A huge thank you to Ron from Beautiful West Photography who did an amazing job.

Something boyish...

So you have a boy and you are in search of party decorations that aren't too 'pretty' but have style?

I think the latest trend would be the good ol' fashioned pinwheel. Simple, fun but still 'man-ly'. That's why I've spent the last two nights this week putting together pinwheels for my little man's first birthday party. Not only do I have some great table decorations, but I also have callouses on my thumbs to show for it.

In an ideal world, I would have been organised weeks ago and ordered my pinwheels from Pinwhirls. I was pretty chuffed that I was thinking decorations two weeks before the party, but sadly, I had still missed the boat! Determined not to let this thwart my plans, I set about getting all the bits and pieces I needed, as well as find some not-too-complicated 'how-to' instructions. You won't believe just how many different ways you can make a windmill.

Heather Bailey, from hellomynameisheather has instructions on how to make a real pinwheel masterpiece. Fortunately for me (it looked tricky), this design was a little too girly for my little man so I decided to stick to the more simple and traditional pinwheel. Pigeonhole have instructions on how to make a pinwheel.

With a helping hand from DH (to drill small holes into the sticks), here are my masterpieces (stay tuned for many more pics of the big day)...