HALLOWEEN: 30+ Non-Scary Crafts, Bakes and Decorations

Halloween is quickly approaching and after the year we've all had/are having it's the perfect excuse for a happy distraction. Although it is usually a time of the year associated with being scared, gruesome finds and spooky decorations, it doesn't have to be like that. I have three young children, so am mindful of avoiding the scarier side to Halloween and instead use the opportunity to craft, bake and do fun activities that aren't too scary. If, like me, you prefer to keep Halloween a non-scary time then hopefully this blog post is filled with loads of ideas and inspiration. 

EASTER: 55+ Baking, Crafts and Decoration Pinterest Ideas

Easter baking, crafts and decorations are all so beautiful and fresh. Spring has just started, colourful flowers are everywhere and cute lambs are filling the countryside fields. Easter has passed so quickly for the past few years, as Isabella was born on Good Friday in 2015 and then her first birthday/my return to work happened the year after. However, this year Easter is a few weeks away from her birthday so I'm planning on concentrating more on it again. Pinterest is filled with so many fun ideas for baking, crafts and the most beautiful decorations I can only dream about. Below are just some of my favourite Pinterest ideas, for even more inspiration then head over to my E A S T E R board.  

TODDLER: Playroom Update with Teeny Beanies

A while ago (in fact almost a year ago now!) I wrote about how we had decided to change our dining room/second living room into a playroom for Isabella - you can read the post here. It would be an area we could store Isabella's toys, make it baby safe and set up fun activities. Looking back I really wish I had set up the playroom while I was still pregnant because setting up a room with a toddler waddling around isn't easy! Isabella, like almost all children, enjoys making a mess and isn't so good at tidying it back up again. Having said that as her comprehension improves she is beginning to follow instructions to put specific toys away. I guess the playroom is the place she can make as much mess as she likes, but the neat/tidy/photograph taker in me wants it to look Instagram ready at all times....as if.

WEDDING: The Hanging Lantern Company

Hanging paper lanterns are on the of the wedding decorations that makes me the most excited. They are so striking and unique, I think it's one of the decorations our guests will remember the most as they are so big and spectacular! Paper lanterns can create very different looks depending on how you hang them and the size of them. If you've not really come across them before then I'd highly recommend a browse of Pinterest, the images are so inspiring they'll make you want them for your next big occasion.

(Photo Credit)

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The Hanging Lantern Company is the largest supplier of lanterns with a range that only starts with round paper lanterns! They have over 500 different styles of paper lanterns and tissue pom poms, along with every lighting accessory you'd need. The size of lanterns vary from 4 inches to 36 inches. We're planning on having a variety of paper lanterns hanging from the middle of the two tipis (like the second picture above) so we needed quite a lot of lanterns! We were spoilt for choice on The Hanging Lantern Company website on style and colour. We haven't got a colour scheme as such but we're trying to keep to pastel colours, of which there is a large choice of paper lanterns. We went for 8 inch White Paper Lanterns* (£2.49 each), 12 inch Baby Blue Paper Lanterns* (£2.99 each ) and 12 inch Robin Egg Paper Lanterns (£2.99 each). All of the prices are cheaper if you buy in bulk - you can buy them in sets of 1, 5, 10, 20, 50 and 100.    

^Robin Egg^

^White^

^Baby Blue^

^All the pastels together^

The Hanging Lantern Company also sell a fantastic product called Buttonlites. They are small lights that last 36+ hours and hang inside the paper lanterns, so you can light them up when it's dark. The Buttonlites* (£1.99 each) can't have their battery replaced but they can be turned on and off for the 36+ hours they give out light. There are a range of Buttonlites - warm, cool, colour changing and candle flicker light depending on the finished look you're going for. You can also put these Buttonlites in flower arrangements to light them up for effect. We are going to light up just the white lanterns, as there will be a lot of fairy lights around the tipis already we didn't want to make it too light.

The lanterns with the Buttonlites in...

I can't wait to see what they look like hanging from the middle of the tipis!

Feel free to leave a comment - I love reading every single one :)

 

* I received a discount for 

 these products but

all opinions are my own.

WEDDING: Perfect Details

As the bigger aspects of our wedding are getting booked, we can now focus on the smaller details. The parts people will remember and that really give that extra finishing touch to our wedding. When I came across the Perfect Details website I was impressed with not only their range but their prices too. I blogged about the beautiful Personalised Wooden Apple Crate available on their website last week, you can read the post here. Usually when it comes to weddings everything is a lot more expensive than it usually would be but Perfect Details have some great items in the sale, all of which are £10 and under!

My top picks from the Perfect Details website...

 

Bride & Groom Garland £5.95 reduced to £2.99

Rustic Photo Frame £4.95 reduced to £2.49

Wooden Wedding Arrow Sign £2.75

Frosted Bud Vases in Silver (Pack of 8) £15.50 reduced to £6.99

Wicker Lantern £22.99 reduced to £11.49

Flower Confetti from £3

Personalised Vintage 'Married' Sign £24.99

The rustic feel we are having at our wedding means that we are having candles and lanterns everywhere. In the middle of one of the tipi's we're having a fire pit, where our guests can warm up in the evening or toast marshmallows. We're also going to have lanterns lighting up the walk way to the tipi and in the entrance. The Large Mesh Lantern* (£14.99 reduced to £7.49) from Perfect Details gives off a unique pattern of light. As the glass lantern is covered in mesh, the candle light is patterned resulting in a relaxing atmosphere. The lantern has a handle, which means you can either have it on the floor or hanging. I think it would look lovely hanging off those poles with a hook you can spike into the ground (I'm not sure of their proper name). Candles and lanterns create the most relaxed atmosphere, perfect as the sun sets over our wedding.

After spending hours browsing Pinterest (click here to have a nosey at my Pinterest, it's full of wedding inspiration and generally pretty pictures!) I came across the idea of having paper lanterns hanging from the very high ceiling of the tipi's. They would work as part of the decoration and they're very effective too. Here's the kind of affect paper lanterns can have at weddings.... 

(Photo Credit)

Aren't they striking? I love how fun they are, we just haven't worked out how we get them hanging from the top of the tipi's yet! Perfect Details stock a vast range of  round paper lanterns*, see the full range here. They have sizes varying from 4 inches to 14 and almost every colour you could want, from Beige to Lime Green to Dark Purple!

These are all 16 inch and I especially love the lavender and violet colours, so subtle yet effective!

What your favourite item from the Perfect Details website?

Feel free to leave me a comment :)