Sunday 2 September 2012

Natalie & Ellia.

  I am already swooning over the soon arrival of my baby niece, Ellia.  Natalie & I designed her shower from top to bottom, and with the help of some amazing people in our lives, it was a beautiful and super fun celebration. We had a stunning dessert table, an "Ellia's Homemade Accessories" station for designing baby hair pieces, enough homemade food to feed an army, and the company of 55 of our favorite ladies.

Everything about this baby shower is homemade, and orginal. We are honored to have such a generous and talented family and group of friends. Because of them we had a blast putting together all the details if this party.  We had our mamma & grandma chefs,  handy uncles and dads, and everyone in between pitching in to make everything perfect for Natalie & Ellia's Shower.

I'd say we pulled it off, what do you think?
Natalie's favorite flavor is cherry, so we made some homemade cherry pie pops with grandmas recipe, and our very talented cousins Maria and Tracey made chocolate cherry cookies and cherry cheesecakes!
 I made the spools with a delicious chocolate cake and chocolate ganache mixture and candy coating.  Cute and irresistible..hmm..
We rigged up Natalie's pink photography backdrop with some old iron screens we found in moms garage. Mom and I found the dresser for $15 at a a garage sale, and while my little sissy Bee painted the handles gold, the Daddy to be painted the furniture just in time for the party!
  The sewing hoops and vintage fabric are compliments of Natalie's fantastic mother in Law, Connie  & the big V. {Known to most as Value Village, aka. my second home}
 Natalie and I have mastered the homemade Macaroon! Wohoo! They are one of my top favorite cookies, especially with fresh lemon curd filling. I added a touch of gold and voila, a stunning display piece.
See those canolli in the background? They were creamy, crunchy and mouthwatering-ly perfect, another thanks for our outstanding baker of a cousin, Maria.
I never get sick of baking/eating mini pies...
We made these button banners and labels out of stuff we found in our many craft bins.
 The giant yarn Ellia letters took some time, but were definitely worth it. I made the bones from scrap boxes and a glue gun. Then Nat and I wrapped them with yarn and sewed on some buttons. I hope they find a home in Ellia's nursery!
You may notice an abundance of yarn balls everywhere, those are hand rolled by pretty much every lady we could charm into helping out, even our uncle did some rolling!
my $9 Value Village peach Singer sewing machine..
Grandmas famous almond cake and a stand I found in her basement went perfectly together.  Our good friend Cindy generously brought some delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies...we are such lucky girls!
My absolute favorite, homemade peanut butter marshmallow squares courtesy of my cousin Tracey.
I adore the homemade lace crowns Natalie made that we used around the yard as accent decor. 
  "Ellia's Homemade Accessories" table was a spot to make a special gift for Ellia.  There were clips /headbands, tons of flowers, gems, and bows for the guests to sew/glue together a hair accessory. Everyone hung their masterpieces with a gift tag for Ellia attached.
 
The sewing table is one of many gorgeous pieces brought to us by Connie, Ellia's other grandma.
Oh wait, did I mention the lunch menu? everything homemade from scratch by our talented mamma & grandma, with a honorable mention to Aunt Bung, Connie & little sis Bee for all their work in the kitchen.
 The favors were scrumptious buttery shortbread button cookies that Nat and I baked, and with the help of Darling & Daisies favorite girl Katie, sewed individually on to button holders.  Because everyone deserves to take a little yumminess home!
A beautiful and very pregnant Natalie showing off her new baby Toms.

2 of my favorites, Bee, Nat and Me! I love my sissies.

Such a perfect day. Next step, impatiently waiting to meet my niece :)

party for two | styled engagement shoot

{Check out this full feature here}

What do you do when your gorgeous friend gets a glistening diamond from her handsome boyfriend? You design and shoot a fabulous party for two, that's what! As happy as we were for the amazing couple when we found out about the engagement, I think we can all agree that the endless excuses to style shoots and parties this year is really what gets us excited.  This lovers dessert buffet was designed specifically for Alex and Aref, incorporating Alex's love for glitz and glam, and Aref's sweet tooth.

Buffets aren't only for parties, who wouldn't want a stylized party for two, and some incredible photos to remember it by? Thankfully for us, they shared the donuts. mmmmm...
style/design/: darling & daisy  |   custom sweets: darling & daisy       
photography: Natalie Spencer