Paper Tea Cups #1

I’ve been messing around with paper. I’m not sure exactly why I decided to make paper tea cups, but inspiration hit over the holidays and I couldn’t find one online. Hence the gauntlet was thrown down! I had to make one. It took me a lot longer than I anticipated. But I’m ecstatic with the results! This is by far and away my favourite template/ tutorial so far. AND I’ve got another version of it almost ready to upload next week.

These would be perfect as use for cupcakes, biscuits, little presents, used as gift boxes or just as gorgeous packaging. Paint them, embroider them, bedazzle them… The options are endless! I created a lid template so it becomes a very usable gift box but I had a lightening bolt moment last night and I’m now sure I’ve worked out how to make a lid that sits inside the cup so that the pretty outer lines of the tea cup aren’t ruined. I’ll include it with the other version of the tea cup that I’ll upload next week.

In only 11 sleeps Christmas is here! My husband and I are staying in Switzerland this year and so I’ve been able to let myself go a little crazy in the decoration department. In part because we’re not going to be spending it with our family and we still want it to feel special!

I didn’t want to spend a lot of money but wanted a big statement piece over the dining table, I had decided to hang a series of small Christmas tree’s upside down over the table (we’ve 5 quite hefty hooks in the ceiling for just such decorating purposes). But DM pooh-poohed the idea. Read more

Advent Atelier- Show and Tell

Just look at these gorgeous creations! They’re the result of my first kids atelier. I held a 2 hour class for 3 children and their respective mothers. Each child decorated and filled their own advent calendars. Their mothers assembled their calendars as well as filling and decorating them. I think everyone enjoyed themselves. I know I did! Read more

DIY Advent Calendar Atelier (Lausanne)

A quick message for all of you lovely Lausannois!

I’m running three ateliers (a minimum of 2 and a maximum 5 people at each):
On Friday the 23rd of November at 2:30pm to 4:30pm.
On Saturday the 24th at 3:00pm to 5:00pm
And on the 24th at 10:00am to 12:00pm for children with help/ supervision from their parents.

They’re held in English as my conversational french is not great and would mean you’d be frustrated and we’d still be there 5 hours later

For 50chf you get a pre-cut template and access to all the required materials for you to assemble your calendar. As well as access to art supplies (paints, pastels, pencils etc) for you to decorate it and 24 chocolates to put in your calendar (or to eat if you’ve got other little gifts in mind!).

Afternoon tea is also provided.I’ll be there to help you put them together and to provide aid wherever needed.If you’re interested, please contact me via email at info@nexttonicx.com or via the contact form on this site.

Information about the atelier for children (with parental supervision and assistance provided).
The bottom tray and inserts are already assembled. This means the children get to decorate the top and sides of their calendar and to fill them with their choice of chocolate/ lollies. I’ll do the final steps so that they depart with a complete calendar

Summer cocktail party 2012

Last weekend, Husband and I held our annual party.

Subconsciously we start preparing for Christmas as soon as it gets warm (being Australian, we’re used to hot weather when the man in the suit arrives on his surfboard pulled by kangaroos). So to soothe our somewhat confused selves, we host an annual party to celebrate everything fabulous from the past year.

Last year we had a Unbirthday party, complete with presents for the kids, pinatas, a Mad Hatter Cake and alcoholic beverages in teacups.

This year we went for something a little more adult in nature and held a cocktail party. We had an absolute ball with our guests and so didn’t get a lot of photos.

We served vodka and gin based cocktails

I made a flower ball to sit over the drinks tray. Initially I planned on making three but found myself running short on time and had to satisfy myself with one. I will be making more in future and including a tutorial!

A gorgeous hostess gift

Such a fabulous hostess gift to receive last night!

Gorgeous Laduree macarons in a 150 ans (years) commemorative box.

So next time you’re heading out to dinner and find yourself at a loss… take macarons!

Party preparation & wonderful guests!

I’m entering into an insanely busy week. But a good one!

My husband and I are holding our annual Summer party on Saturday. Every year around about this time we find ourselves humming Christmas tunes and subconsciously readying for the festivities that go along with Summer and Christmas in Australia. Last year we decided to do something about it! I love organising a good heels-up and we both throughly enjoying hosting a party for our friends, so the natural solution to our ‘But It’s Not Christmas Conundrum’ was to create an event!

We held our inaugural Summer party last year in the form of a Unbirthday party but this year we are hosting a party that’s a little more grownup and just a bit more simple, we’re holding a cocktail party. It currently looks like we’ll have about 30 people, which is a nice number (and about the maximum that the apartment will hold comfortably without having people overtaking the bedrooms).

Hot Air Balloon Decoration Tutorial

I promised on my Tumbler site when I posted about Meriel’s baby shower that I would create a tutorial for the ‘hot air balloon decorations’ I created for the event.

It involves some IKEA hacking but is really quite simple! I hope you have as much fun as I did creating them.

If you’re interested in the miniature bunting, let me know in the comments and if there is sufficient interest I’ll upload a template for them too.

Items I created for our Unbirthday Party

Finally, here are some more of the things I made for our Unbirthday party.

I created a miniature top hat using this kit I bought online. I have quite a stash of fabric from the early 60s in whole pieces and I finally convinced myself to sacrifice a little for this project. I was quite happy with the result!