1. RAINBOW OF CANAPÉS
This was really the idea around which we based the whole party, and it worked out better than any of us could have dreamt!
First we cut a rainbow shape out of card, then used a pencil on a string like a compass to mark out six (approximately even) bands. We stuck on coloured paper to make it look like a rainbow and covered the whole thing in cling film so that it wouldn't get soggy with all the food.
We then made canapés in the appropriate colours:
Red - mini tomato mozzarella salad - recipe here
Orange - smoked salmon bites - recipe here
- carrot sticks (don't think you need the recipe for them!)
Yellow - yellow peppers on paté - recipe here
Green - pea and mint paté - recipe here
Blue - earl grey shortbread with lavender icing - recipe here
Violet - beetroot and goat's cheese crackers - recipe here
We also made hummus, which was the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, whilst we had mini meringues for clouds!
Have a look at the recipes - I'm particularly proud of the earl grey shortbreads and the pea and mint paté!
2. BALLOON CHANDELIER
It isn't really a party without balloons, is it? Our balloon chandelier was inspired by the glass chandelier in the entrance of the Victoria and Albert museum.
We blew up a packet of pearlescent multi coloured balloons, dropping a small coin into each one - this weighs them down slightly and makes them hang in place, rather than floating around with the breeze. We then tied them together in threes and hung them over the central light fitting. Better keep the light off when you have these up, otherwise they might heat up too much and pop.
There was way more bunting than this, but the other pictures didn't turn out so well. You can make your own bunting, but to be honest it's so cheap you might as well buy it and then personalise it, like I did. To make the 'happy birthday' one, I just cut out letters from coloured paper and stuck them onto pre-bought paper bunting.
We used some to make a beautiful and colourful entrance to the party in the corridor - it's all in the details!
4. FAIRY LIGHTS
These colourful lanterns were attached with blue tack to a shelf in the hall - they're battery-powered so they could go anywhere. We also had some multi-coloured christmas tree lights spilling out of a large glass vase in an alcove, which created a beautiful effect.
If you're wondering about the bottles, my boyfriend brewed a special beer for the party and made his own labels - it's called 'Rainbrew'!
5. 6 LAYERED RAINBOW CAKE
This was a bit of a masterpiece, if I do say so myself. I made this with my sister and it took at least 2.5 hours! We also had a complete nightmare with food colouring (and actually these photos don't show up the colours as they really were). N.B. always use gel food colouring!
It involved making the biggest sponge mix I've ever seen, separating it out into 6 bowls and dying them different colours, before cooking the layers 2 at a time. We then made a butter and marscapone icing and embedded it with skittles and m&ms!
Recipe to come!
No comments:
Post a Comment