Preparation of Cora's party

Lately, has been crazily hectic for me ! As you know from my facebook or instagram that I'm busy with Cora's party. All along Papa Seah do not want any party as those money can bring us to a staycation or short holiday trip and entertaining guests can be tiring. Just one fine day, I was busy searching for ideas at Pinterest for some stuff then I saw this ' Tea Party ' and have a idea so propose to Papa Seah. He gave a thought about it and say yes cause I was telling him that budget of $200 and everything by scratch from me. Just want a small party for Cora since she didn't had one when she's one year old. PLUS $200 for a party is HARD TO SAY NO right !!!


But who knows I got lucky ! Papa Seah decided to increase my budget to $400. It's not easy to plan a birthday party + doing it yourself.

Theme

So first thing after settling down with the budget is to find a theme. I choose Tea party x Alice in wonderland ( morning ) so only light refreshment will be served ! If you choose a timing in the noon or evening either lunch or dinner need to be served so if it's morning I can do a light refreshment ! No need to burn the pocket for caterer.

Guest list

Given by the budget, I will need to keep it short and sweet. Invited most of her childhood friends since bump to birth to toddler. Beside it will make a great catch up session for the parents. Because this party am focusing more on the kids than the adult. So there's activities for the kids as well. My aim is 10 kids but somehow rather am keeping it at 7 kids + Cora. Less is more at times.


Invitation cards

These days e-invite is almost FREE ! I thought since it's a small party why not make things more pretty? There's a lot of nice invitation cards ideas online especially Pinterest ( Oh yes ! I LOVE PINTEREST ). Got mine from there as well, edited abit, print, write the name and add on a tea bag and mail them out after confirmation with friends.

Choose a fruity tea so kids and/or pregnant mum can drink as well ! Since there's no caffeine

 

Decoration

If you have alot of time, you may shop them at Taobao, Amazon and etc. I've gotten really adorable Alice in wonderland plates, tea cup with saucer for the kids but sadly it didn't arrive on time ): Spent bout $60 there but in the end got to find some other plates and cups very last minute for the kids & additional cost to the budget $$$.

Other decorations you can get at Taobao, it's really cheap like a few cents for ballon ( alphabet/number in gold or silver foil) ! As compare to Spotlight $4 for one.

Since my theme is Alice in wonderland x Tea party, what's a party without any Alice decoration right? 1) Paint the roses red - draw a tree on cardboard, diy white crepe paper for the roses.  2) Stick the smile on Cheshire cat - hand draw Cheshire cat, paint it in colour & prepare a few smile for the cat.

I wanted to go with this movie Cheshire cat but Papa Seah it's abit too scary =.="

So I will go with this cute cartoon Cheshire cat then !

As seen in the cartoon, same tree that the cards who are painting the roses red cause the queen hate em white :p 

 With the " roses" on the tree and all ready for the kids to paint them red !

Birthday dress 

It's like one month time to Cora party or so, quickly source local shop to design and customize Cora dress. The first one who I found was bad ! Nontheless, I got lucky another shop manage to slot me in despite she's quite full for the month of May.

I gave her the design & customize it from Gwen ( Ig: @tullelove_by_gwen ), great customer service, know what I want, able to meet her deadline that she gave me, & she have magical hands who turn boring cloth to beautiful awesome dress. That received a lot of compliments and even the guest lift  up her dress to see the great details !

The same dress that I dream of ! You have no idea how much I really love this dress ( it will be silly if I have one and do twinning with Cora right ! Haha )

 
Goodie bag 

It's really depend on what you wanna give to your guests ! As for me, I do not mind spending alittle extra on the goodie bag by giving fellow mummy earning some income. #supportlocalbusiness She has help me and been really nice to me while I was pregnant (:

So I customize this teapot tic tac toe that comes with cookies and teacup ! If the child is too young for tic tac toe, she/he can always pretend play it ! On top of that, I'm making teabags for the guests to bring home as well. So it's like a set of tea time pretend play !

 

 Lovely and great work piece by this creative ( ig or facebook : Handmadewithlove by Ivy ), She also conduct art craft lessons on weekend. It's affordable and FUN !

Food
I plan to spend $100 or less on it, since I'm going ot prepare everything by myself. E.g. Sandwiches, chicken wings, drinks, yogurt parfait, popcorn, cupcakes, cookies etc will share more on the next post). Also, got Cora birthday cake from my trustworthy homebaker Charlene ( Ig @charlenesheavenlybakes ) who I met in a event. Nice and very friendly lady & & & not forgetting her vanilla cupcakes/cakes is to die for ! Those are my and Cora favorite * drooling*


Dessert tables rental

I got very lucky that a mummy friend offered me her beautiful cake stand, cupcake tiers & plate ! Without her, it's so hard to find a rental that's near west most of them that I have search are all located in the east ( eg Tampines, simei ). Which is out of way for me TOTALLY !

& Papa Seah manage to borrow the kids tables & chairs from a preschool (:
  
So the final question is " Did I exceed my budget ? "

The rough cost of my spending

$115 ( Birthday dress) + [$60+$35](kids plates/cups/etc)+  $80 ( food)+ $108 (goodie bag)+ $10 (misc )=$408.


OOOPSSS ! I was sooooooooooo close by :p 

Honestly, it wasn't that easy to plan to diy everything by myself but it's worth it !

Stay tune for the next post which is the actual day party (: More pictures, I promise !!!!!!


Yours truly,
Larissa

DIY Upcycle Cardboard House

Today I'm going to share with you upcycle project : Build your own cardboard house ! Those who follow my instagram, definitely know I've build one for my girl and she's crazy about it. #cheapfun

It's rather easy to make one but it takes alot of efforts and days for me to complete it ! Firstly, am lucky to be able to pick up a huge box from neighborhood block BUT unfortunate the top sides of the box are removed. You cannot have a house without a roof ! Ended up, I went to ArtFriend to purchase two cardboard for the rooftop. So if you are lucky to find a perfect huge box you can proceed straight !


So follow the picture below, start drawing lines on the box, design like how you want the house to be  & CUT IT or rather cut it agar agar ( roughly ) ! As simple as it sound, but cardboard itself is quite hard to cut. I've broke my craft scissor during the process :p



You'll need :

• A pair of tough kitchen scissor or pen knife
• Huge box especially those for washing machine or fridge
• Masking tape
• Contact paper/paint/fairy light ( optional )

During the process of drawing ! Cora was so excited about mama building her a house ! 

After building, look at this cheeky girl ! Playing non-stop peek-a-boo with me 

If you think you have alittle extra to spend on this cardboard house, you can either paint it or just get contact paper and start sticking it to make the house more beautiful ! * look at those tiny hands*

 Fixing some inner flaws ! Like uneven edge that might be too rough for the kid to play with so just masking tape it :D

& tada tada, I've build finish the house (: Put a blanket inside so Cora can lay down like her own comfort of home ! Also put some fairy light to make it more pretty.  

Sometimes, I find Cora has a better life than me ! At the age of 2, she have her own ' house' & kitchen when the parents ( papa & mama) are still waiting for our own bto to come :/

Have fun building up your cardboard house ! Would love to see your creation for the kids (:

Yours truly,
Larissa

The BEST flu remedy you will know & to make your own

Usually the first blog is the moooooooost boring post ever ! Especially to re-start from where I used to be ( Used to blog quite frequently when I was younger & had couple of sponsorship, media invites and whatsoever) , honestly it's not easy but I believe hard work will paid off eventually & people will notice my hard work again.

If you have no idea who I am, basically am just a stay home mum who believe in learning through play, and diy stuff. I do really crazy messy sensory play for my daughter from 6 months onward and now she's turning 2 next month. Time flies fast ! I've revamp her IKEA Duktig kitchen, Cardboard house and right now busy with her IKEA Latt table and chairs.I will definitely share on those that I've mentioned in next few posts.

Cora has been going to 2 hourly playgroup since March & have been sick on & off. Kids virus are potent ! It's absolutely normal for kids to fall sick easily when they go to school. Running nose, dripping mucous & cough takes turn to rotate in the school.

Previously, every month I will suffered from sinusitis & Cora all along her immune system isn't fantastic too. So I've found a remedy and been using it for months ! Take 2 tbsp/adult a day when flu/sinusitis onset and recovered within 3 days. Been feeding Cora daily to boost her immune system so far so good, not having any flu despite her classmates are still sick. Also, introduce it to mummy friends but they bought on store.

So today, am gonna share with readers my recipe for Flu bugs which is homemade Elderberry syrup! Am sure store bought elderberry syrup works the same but homemade one definitely have NO nasty, chemical, it taste better for sure, home made is definitely the best, EASY to make & CHEAPER too !

Benefits of Elderberry

Elderberries naturally contain A, B, and C and stimulate the immune system. Israeli researchers found that the complex sugars in elderberries support the immune system in fighting cold and flu. They developed several formulas based on these complex sugars that have been clinically shown to help ameliorate all kinds of cold/flu. In fact:

" Dr. Madeleine Mumcuoglu, of Hadassah-Hebrew University in Israel found that elderberry disarms the enzyme viruses use to penetrate healthy cells in the lining of the nose and throat. Taken before infection, it prevents infection. Taken after infection, it prevents spread of the virus through the respiratory tract. In a clinical trial, 20% of study subjects reported significant improvement within 24 hours, 70% by 48 hours, and 90% claimed complete cure in three days. In contrast, subjects receiving the placebo required 6 days to recover."

You will need :

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup dried black elderberries
• 3 1/2 cups of water
• 2 & half tbsp fresh or dried ginger root
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves or clove powder
• 1 cup raw honey 

Most items you can purchase at iherbs & get 5% off your next iherbs order simply key " CLC121 " to redeem it.

 

Instructions

1. Pour water into medium saucepan and add elderberries, ginger, cinnamon and cloves (do not add honey!)
2. Bring to a boil and then cover and reduce to a simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour until the liquid has reduced by almost half. At that point, remove from heat and let cool enough to be handled. Mash the berries carefully using a spoon or other flat utensil. Pour through a strainer into a glass jar or bowl.
3. Discard the elderberries (or compost them!) and let the liquid cool to lukewarm. When it is no longer hot, add 1 cup of honey and stir well.
4. When honey is well mixed into the elderberry mixture, pour the syrup into a quart sized mason jar or 16 ounce glass bottle of some kind.
5. Ta Da! You just made homemade elderberry syrup! Store in the fridge and take daily for its immune boosting properties. Some sources recommend taking only during the week and not on the weekends to boost immunity.
6. Standard dose is ½ tsp to 1 tsp for kids and ½ Tbsp to 1 Tbsp for adults. If the flu does strike, take the normal dose every 2-3 hours instead of once a day until symptoms disappear.

How long does elderberry syrup last in the fridge?

The short answer is that it really depends. I’ve found that placing the finished syrup in a mason canning jar while it is still warm creates an air-tight seal and allows it to last much longer in the fridge, up to several months. As a general rule, it lasts about two weeks in the fridge. My current jar of elderberry syrup is about 2 months old and it still taste good as before in the fridge (:

Keep the flu at bay, make one today !

Yours truly,

Larissa

Sponsored review: Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Electric Steam Steriliser

Hi everybody !

I've received my very first sponsored product for this blog ( Also, in short first "toy" for mummy to play >.<).  

There are a lot of sterilizers in the market now as compare to the olden days when I see how my mum sterilize siblings's bottles & pacifiers ( I've three crazy younger siblings !). Just dump everything inside, wait till its boiling hot and tada you are done ! Easy, cheap & cost saving :D Who don't love it? But at the same time, it's proven that using this method in a long run it damages the teats.

It's important to sterilize your baby bottles/pacifiers because they are young & vulnerable to diseases/illness during their first year of life. If bottles are not wash or sterilize properly, we are doing more harm than good to them. So today, Im gonna introduce this product it's easy to use. easy to clean, space saving & quick to sterilize.

The sterilizer come with 4 tommee tipee bottles ( 1x 150ml bottle & 3 x 260ml bottles). 

The contents inside the box & it come with a manual book.

The manual book telling you how to fix & also to ensure best hygiene must sterilize without the bottles first. Also, there's a picture showing you how to put and sterilize your bottles :D

The box stated only for 5 bottles but I can put in 6 bottles ( mixture of big and small). 

For the base you need to add 80mls of water and put everything back, just click on the start button & wait for 5 mins +/- . You can get clean & sterilized bottles !

TADA after 5mins +/-, clean and sterilize bottles ! You can either remove all your bottles or just leave it & sterilizer counts down from three hours to zero it will stay sterilize throughout. 

My thoughts


It helps me to save a lot of time & if I were to use the boiling method, I don't think I have the luxury to stay in the kitchen and wait for the water to boil with a new born in my arms or something. Also, i no need to worry what if it's over boiled and damage not just the teat but also the bottle? Spilling hot water at the stove, okay I think Im too dramatic but it's good to be precaution and safety come first.

Just five mins, you will get clean and sterilized bottles/accessories without much worries ! Definitely a thumb up to it (: But, please becareful when you are using this sterilizer because clumsy preggy mum like me I thought after it have sterilized I can remove my bottles immediately so i just open and the steam hurts my hand. If not, I remove the entire thing by holding the center and the base remain while the steam/droplet of water drip down and it's still hot. *laugh* So please becareful don't be so clumsy as me ! Otherwise, everything is good & easy to use.


How to clean ?

Good question but I have just started using so other than just normal washing with water and air dry it. I've seen and heard some sterilizer after a long term of usage the base tend to get rusty or something. When I went to collect this sterilizer, the nice staff actually teach me a method on how to clean the base if it's rusty in a long term. Which is using Pigeon Liquid Cleanser just pour some and soak it for awhile then scrub it off, the rustiness/brown stains will remove effectively. I've not tried yet but this is what she told me, cause from what i know is use vinegar and lemon but the smell of vinegar not all can tolerate it. So, there's no harm trying using this cleaner (: Just something good to share !


Where to purchase it?

 Available at mothercare stores, $159/each ( including 4 tommee tippee bottles) & it comes with a 2 years warranty with the product. You can register your warranty at http://www.globaloutsourceasia.com/


P.S Product is proudly sponsored by Mothercare/Not Too Big.The product was sent to me for free and review purposes. My opinions are always honest, because all mum want the best for their child/children(: No point providing fake opinions.


Yours truly,

Larissa