Down the rabbit hole . . .

Well, this is my first blog post and I literally feel like I have fallen down a rabbit hole, with all the foreignness of the technical requirements to create my own blog. It’s been a journey, but I’ve finally arrived!

The first event I’d like to share with you is a birthday party I held for my daughter, Portia on her eleventh birthday. She has always been captivated by Disney’s 1951 Alice in Wonderland movie, especially the scene from the woods with the mad hatter’s tea party. This was at night in the movie (Portia loves the mystery of it), so the party had to be in the evening.

Invitations were sent out inside little boxes from the two dollar shop. I like to put some effort into the invitations, as they set the scene for the party and create joyous anticipation! Link for printable on the front of the box here.

I love to create a party around a theme and take time before the event to do some research for inspiration. Research for this party involved buying a copy of Alice in Wonderland and reading it from cover to cover. I discovered some misconceptions I had held all my life as I read. I always thought Alice’s crazy world had been created by a gentleman experimenting with an early form of LSD, but how wrong I was! Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was first published in 1865 by an English mathematician, Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, writing under the pseudonym of Lewis Carroll. It is one of the best examples of the literary nonsense genre.  Reading the book definitely did mess with my head (my mind felt like it was warping) – not an entirely pleasant sensation for one who likes to feel in control! Nevertheless, it was entertaining and I discovered the source of some sayings that have passed into common usage.

Eight girls were invited to the party, and I’ve got to say this is a particularly giggly age group. Excitement was riding high!

I hung some vintage teacups from the branches of an eucalyptus tree in our backyard and set a table underneath. Some paper lanterns were hung over the table to set the scene. I raided my cupboards for items which would help me achieve the sophisticated high tea party meet crazy, whimsical world feel. It was a lot of fun! A separate table was created on the lawn from a packing crate covered with an old quilt and a strip of artificial turf. Cushions were placed around the low table for the girls to play cards during the party (very in keeping with the theme).

Food included playing card biscuits (store bought biscuits with royal icing cutouts), a fruit platter (made on a slice of whole watermelon cut out with heart cutters to hold berries), mini rainbow sandwiches with brightly coloured fillings (beetroot, sweet potato and carrot and green pea and avocado – all cooked and puréed with cream cheese), princess teacups (link here), cake pops, jam heart biscuits and strawberry jelly set in vintage teacups with strawberries. Op shops are always fun places to search for vintage items for parties. I also made clock face macaroons by sticking a free printable (link here ) to each side of a macaron with some icing. In keeping with the madcap theme, the cake was a confetti layer cake with pouring sprinkles illusion. Drinks were strawberry milk and iced tea poured from teapots.

I used this tutorial to dye some doilies to add some girly prettiness to the table. The other printables I used for place cards, food labels and the party bags came from here, here, here and here. I also used mini bottles at each place setting from the two dollar shop with a “drink me” printable glued on (printable here).

As well as party bags, the girls took home edible terrariums, which I created based on this tutorial.

All in all, the party was a huge success and much fun was had by all. In the words of Lewis Carroll, published in a letter to every child who loves Alice:

“ but it is good, even now, to think sometimes of that great morning when the “Son of Righteousness shall arise with healing in his wings”. Surely your gladness need not be the less for the thought that you will one day see a brighter dawn than this”