Hide & Seek, a Photoshoot and a Fundraising Gala.

Well plenty has been going on since the last post.

Mothers day was really lovely. I got some beautiful new jammies that i did not get out of all day. We kicked the morning off with present opening in bed, a super delicious hot buffet breakfast, courtesey of my darling, followed, naturally, by a game of hide in seek in teams. Robbie didn't think of hiding for real to begin with, (throwing a towel over himself in the corner of the room), but as the game went on he began to get quite creative, to the point where we couldn't find him for ages. It was such great fun, Hide and seek is a winner for all ages, I defy you not to giggle when the seeker walks right past you!!

Robbie's genius hiding spot

Last night with the help and encouragement of my sister I finally got 95% of the products photographed and uploaded to the website…Yay, some progress at last. It was a fun activity but very, very time consuming.  The only listed product online that is currently without some photos, is the premium banners for each range. They should be up in a week.

The big sis helping set up for the Baby Shower shoot

This week, I was approached to donate some products for a fundraising gala for the Geelong Hospital. The Gala is called Bronte’s Ball and aims to raise funds for the oncology treatment room, saving the kids and their families from having to travel to Melbourne for treatment. Bronte, whom the gala is named after is a local to Ocean Grove. Robbie's dad has lived  in Ocean Grove for around 25 years or more & Robbie grew up in Geelong, so it was nice to be giving back to a community from which he came. 

 I felt honored to contribute and will be putting together an exclusive party kit, that is not currently available on the website. I will keep you updated with how that goes and hopefully they raise a ton of money and ease an already difficult time for the kids and their families.

Last of all, I submitted the professional photos that were taken at my sisters hens, to a party showcasing website and we were chosen as one of the featured parties, check out the link here.

Well it's only Tuesday and already I am busy busy busy. This weekend I have a friends little boys 1st birthday party and I am doing the paper pieces for this and also helping with set up, (I bought some cute trucks to use as cupcake stands for the party)....oh yes a little baking too. I am going to be using the race car range of products there. I will be taking some pics and will share them here with you next post, Might be the first addition to the 'Real Parties' section of the LilySky website too.

It's interesting. I discovered a passion for creating the paper goods from the numerous American mum blog sites who were showcasing parties and sharing ideas, designs and tutorials. However, the party culture here in Australia is quite different from America and I think that is where LilySky will translate better here than importing the goods from America. There is an air of pomposness....(is that a word?)...an over the top feel to many of their themes and designs, particularly for the little kids parties. They can often be 'a little too much' for our more down to earth attitudes, (which echo through all classes). That being said I don't believe we don't want gorgeous and fun, even extravagant well designed pieces and parties, but I do believe this would be best achieved by a 'native', hmmm a token one at that ;) - huh I bet many of you haven't even thought that much about parties, party goods and party attitudes, well there you go, I did warn you  'A love of all things party' perhaps it should read, 'An obsession with all things party' lol.  

All that being said, be sure to check out all the new photos on the website at LilySky.  If you know anyone thinking about planning an upcoming party, do send them my way. Kids party or not. There is a small existing range of goods on there at the moment but I love to come up with custom pieces for crazy themes so i can create anything from scratch!

Have a great rest of the week all. Hopefully we see a lil more sunshine and a lot less rain.......Oh and i will be creating the 'mandatory' facebook page this week, you know you want to be a friend to LilySky!!                                             

Moving forward

A quick post tonight. There is lots going on with the business at the moment. Just picked up some beautiful quality heavy card stock to print all the new paper goods on. Which means a photo shoot should be on the cards for the next week and finally some pics can go up of the banners, finally. Easily one of our most popular items, they're so fun and double as a keepsake, particularly for those milestone birthdays and occasions. I recently had an enquiry for a parisian themed 21st, so by no means are they just for the littlies!

Don't forget to check out the site here and keep checking back for more products and 'Real party' additions.

I am welcoming my sister aboard the LilySky journey, she will be helping out with all the "fun" paper work,(the spreadsheet kind!), finance, and even some crafty hands on stuff. We are already working on a new project that is both unique and heaps of fun....Party related of course, and a seperate enterprise to the LilySky goods, but i shall keep you all, (my millions of readers and followers), in suspense and update you on that once we're closer to launching it.

I finally got my hands on a Melbourne Child mag today and I was really pleased with how the ad looks. As I have been so super busy working really hard on the LilySky website and getting products created and out, I have no exciting news to add. I was excited about the business moving forward and finally getting a shoot lined up, so be sure to come back and check out the the images of the banners, and all the other products by the end of next week.

Friday tomorrow all and mothers day on Sunday. Hope you have got some special gifts for your mummies and a delicious menu in mind to give mum the night off from cooking.

Those creeping fears, a mini update and a random photo!!

It's been quite a while since my last blog. I must admit it is for a variety of reasons but one of the main ones is that i had decided that blogging was not quite as popular here as it is overseas, also, finding the time to blog was tricky so i had assumed finding the time to sit down and read one would be equally challenging. Particularly for my fellow SAHmummies.

Despite this I have decided to continue with it, perhaps it was just one of those many negative and procrastinating  thoughts that allowed me to escape the guilt of not keeping up with it, the reality is, there is no reason why i can't succeed.... There is no reason anyone of us can't succeed. Of course you  just have to  give it a go!....hmm wow, i didn't expect this paragraph to become an exercise in self help, but oh well - there it is lol. I guess I have been feeling those creeping fears of failure lately, but I am quick to dissolve them before they take hold and  my mind starts believing it!

I am focusing all and any spare time i have on making the lilysky website visually appealing aswell as functional. I am trying to really get the products up  there, I have a range of goods completed and am arranging a photoshoot this week, I mean you can't shop online without the pics!!! So hopefully there will be better and more pics up by the end of the week. The Melbourne child magazine - Party Issue is currently being distributed, so this means that I will be getting more traffic through the site and who knows a bunch of orders too!!

Random picture insert time:

This is the kit kat m&m cake i made for my nephews 14th birthday this year, so simple, (especially after working on fondant covered cakes), but still so effective and DELISH!!! here is where i got the idea and the tutorial too.

I just bought some really cute clip art and digital paper last week and am using that to form my new 'Sweet Spring' range of paper goods/party supplies. It's really cute graphics are perfect for a baby shower and another set being created now, perfect for a 1^st birthday party, (that range, the Lil Giraffe range, should be online by end of the week). Check out the new baby shower “Sweet Spring” range here.

Time to move off topic, although this blog was primarily about my ‘LilySky journey’ it was also just a journal of sorts too. This week after scouring my usual blogs for party inspiration, I noticed many of them were showing rooms in their homes and wow, they all look like they were set up just for a magazine cover!! Which got me thinking and those creative juices flowing….Most of the rooms in my house could do with a bit of styling, now its about finding the funds and the time!!  

Random picture insert time:

I love in this pic of this old kitchen the turqouoise wall covered in framed prints and the little prints just above the bench space.

I have been insanely busy this week, working on expanding the lilysky range, getting the website up and looking good, I am helping out a girlfriend with her upcoming 30th, I have a little mans 1st birthday coming up in two weeks, his family are race car mad, (sprint car racing to be exact!) and his lovely mummy has let me come in and use my race car range at his party to shoot some photos of the range for the website. I will be sure to share the pics with you here.

May 2011 edition of Melbourne child magazine

 

Hope you are all having a great week, Hump day tomorrow. Be sure to check out the party edition of Melbourne child and keep your eyes peeled for my ad. I am offering free postage this month anywhere in Australia in honor of my first print ad. I hope to get a facebook page up in the next few weeks, I just want to ensure the website is ready and looking great before I stream even more traffic that way. Although it is under construction, www.lilyskyparties.com.au is up and displaying new products daily. You are able to purchase immediately.

Have a great week all.