Isla + Siena turn one!

Last month I had the pleasure of attending a very special (and very stylish) 1st Birthday party.  The party was in celebration of a year of adorable twins Isla and Siena.  The girls' mum is the talented Emma of Your Wedding Flowers, so there was no doubt this would be an impressive event.  The brief Emma gave for the girls invitations was simply 'pink and sparkly'.

I created pink and gold confetti invites that introduced the occasion with the line 'sparkle and shine its' birthday time!'  Each invite was double wrapped in fine gold twine and finished with a sparkly number 1.  To add extra sparkle to the occasion, pink envelopes were lined with gold glitter paper.  This set the theme perfectly and it was followed through with some Piccolo Studio glitter crowns, a two tiered glitter and pink cake, amazing cookies, cupcakes, meringues and chocolate coated oreos.

The cake table Emma decorated was nothing short of spectacular, large marquee letters of the girls initials made a huge impact, and it was all framed by the beautiful ivy that climbs on the outside of the building.  Of course pretty posies of pale pink flowers were scattered amongst the 

sweet treats to complete the picture.

The food was the highest standard party food for a children's party I've ever been to!  The event was held inside Cronulla's Old Library Restaurant, which never disappoints.  The champagne flowed, the food was abundant and the children were entertained by a beautiful birthday fairy!

SUPPLIERS//

Venue + Catering: The Old Library Restaurant, Cronulla

Birthday cake, meringues + cupcakes: Paper and Poppies

Hand crafted cookies, Oreos, chocolate pyramids: Tastee Treats 4u

Flowers + Styling: Your Wedding Flowers

Mirrored Cake Topper: Arlo & Co 

Treat bags + balloons: Poppies for Grace

Birthday Fairy: Fairy Fun

Photography: Heart Clicks Photography

Stationery: Piccolo Studio Store

Leo's Florida Beach Party

I was so pleased when Leo's mum Katrina of beautiful kids boutique Aquarium Kidz contacted me to create some invitations and accessories for her children's Birthdays.  First up was a combined boy/girl confetti themed party for Katrina's eldest two children, followed by master Leo's first Birthday celebration.  My pale blue confetti invites finished with a glittery silver star set the theme for Leo's Florida celebration.

Here are a few words from talented Katrina on Leo's soiree...

After doing a big celebration for my two older kids at my house, I really wanted something low key for my little baby boy.  As it is getting too hot in Florida in May, the best place to be is somewhere by the water, so we decided to rent a beach house to have a barbecue with friends and have some water fun for the kids.

I decided to have a gender neutral and Leo's clouds and rainbows nursery matching party theme!  My older kids wanted to add stars and a moon, so that is what he got!

The ombre cake, rainbow, moon, cloud and star cookies and cupcakes were made by my friend, so I just added some pearlised white, grey and black balloons and a few helium star balloons to complete the dessert table.

Thanks to Katrina for sharing photos of Leo's special day 

and for the images of your gorgeous little family.  

You can follow Katrina's adventures over on Instagram at 

@kraskin and see the beautiful range of products on instagram @aquariumkidz or online at  the aquarium kidz website

Piccolo Studio products used to style Leo's Birthday included the pale blue confetti invites finished with metallic silver twine and glittery star, silver glitter star garland and number 1 and little star cupcake toppers.

coral coast living

Heads up to my Shire followers - there's a new shop in town and it is opening in a matter of days - it is definitely one to pop on your 'to visit' list.

I might be biased, but I think my sister in-law Rochelle has nailed it.  Having spent many years in retail and working as a visual merchandiser, Rochelle also previously owned and ran a successful Christmas store.

Coral Coast Living is stocking a beautiful range of gifts for kids and babies, homewares, beach towels and bags, jewellery and of course a large range of the Piccolo Studio collection.

The shop is really taking shape and is located in a very handy position with easy parking and a delicious bakery come cafe next door, making it the perfect place to grab those last minute gifts (she can also wrap a mean present) as we all need to do from time to time.

I will let you know once the doors open, word on the street is she will be up and running by the weekend!

Coral Coast living is located at Lilli Pilli Shoping Centre
Cnr Port Hacking Road and Wentworth Avenue, Caringbah South
Follow on Instagram @coralcoastliving
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baby feather's shower

Some images of a beautiful baby shower that was held on the weekend for my friend Kristen of Dwell and Drobe.

The sun was shining, the drinks were flowing and baby feather was certainly spoilt.

The amazing mother to be whipped up a storm of delicious home made dishes that would put a lot of restaurants to shame.  The menu included truss tomatoes with basil and bocconcni, roasted sweet potatoes with pomegranate and chilli, french chicken, oven baked salmon with chilli, rare roast beef and roasted cauliflower with capers and raisins -YUM!

After the main meals we were treated to a selection of macarons, the most stunning water colour feather cookies by Hello Naomi cookies and cakes, a tasty carrot cake topped with a custom sign made by Grain and Co. and a rhubarb yoghurt upside down cake baked by an aunty to be.

Such a lovely way to spend our Sunday afternoon.

Now we play the waiting game until we meed bubs x

Dwell and Drobe

Yesterday on a cold and windy day, four girlfriends and myself headed to Swansea for the grand opening of Dwell and Drobe - The newest home and lifestyle store in the Newcastle area.

We were never going to miss the store opening day, as the brains behind this new venture are our friends Kristen and Tristan Combridge.

These guys are having a big year, with their new home under construction, a baby on the way, and now their dream of owing in a lifestyle boutique becoming a reality - power couple!

Kristen has a background in marketing, fashion styling and visual merchandising.  She also runs a business servicing several Westfield shopping centres across NSW, in both personal styling and visual merchandising. Kristen also teaches regularly at The Fashion Institute in Sydney's Surry Hills; while Tristan works in mining, shapes surf boards in his spare time and has recently added design and furniture making to his repertoire of talents.

Dwell and Drobe is nothing short of amazing, with a fantastic range of products made by Australian designers and creatives.  Kristen has ensured the shelves are stocked with not only products that are 'on trend' but also classic, and given her background, the store is styled to perfection.

Dwell and Drobe are the largest Piccolo Studio stockist other than myself, and I couldn't be happier to have my work in such an amazing store.

Be sure to follow on Instagram - @dwellanddrobe and stay tuned for a Face Book and website in the near future.