Hard to believe just 2 weeks ago, I was
smack-bang in the middle of planning my Dad’s surprise 65th birthday
and retirement party!
The invitations had gone out weeks earlier, and were made using the "My Digital Studio" programme ...
We had 70+ guests coming, and the night before
{2 weeks ago today} I was up till 3am making the Guest Book, and all the other little
final touches, before falling asleep on the couch, in the process of painting my
nails, luckily I got the top on the nail polish bottle, before my tired eyelids
closed!
The night before the party, there was a magnificent
sunset over the Bay, which I was lucky enough to capture before darkness fell.
On the day of the party {March 15th},
it was my job to sidetrack Dad for 3 hours, from 11am till 2pm, whilst my Mom,
hubby, kids and Auntie decorated the church Hall. We also had rellies coming in
from out of town, so they needed access to the house too!
I took Dad on a tiki tour around the region,
the first stop was Eyebright.
Little did Dad know that a couple of hours
later, the owner of Eyebright, and Dad’s former work-mate would be at the
party, and be one of the guest speakers!
When we arrived at Eyebright, the lovely sales
assistant said to me {in front of Dad} “Wow you look fantastic, are you on the
way to a special party?”!!!
I had to say no, but when Dad’s back was
turned, I later told her the top secret information about Dad’s surprise party!
On our way out of the shop, the sales
assistant said to Dad and I “Have a great day!” {wink wink!!!}.
As we were {unbeknownst to Dad} ahead of
schedule, I then took Dad on a drive out to Mapua, where we had lunch at The
Naked Bun, which was delicious! We both had Pies, Dad’s was Fish with a crumb
topping, mine was “Chicken, Mushroom and Leek”, we shared a bowl of hot chips,
and then had a yummy dessert, Dad had a Berry Crumble and I had had Tiramisu.
After lunch we headed down to the Mapua waterfront
for a walk about, before heading back to Stoke.
I could tell Dad was getting a bit miffed,
because I kept receiving text messages, little did he know that all these messages
related to the party!
On the way back home, we should have gone straight
ahead at the traffic lights, but instead I indicated and pulled into the lane
to turn right. Dad pounced on me, and gave me such a fright, as he thought we
were in the wrong lane, I just said, “No worries Dad, just thought we would
take the scenic route”!
We pulled into the church car-park, and all of
a sudden it dawned on Dad that we were there for his surprise party!
When Dad and I went to go inside the Church
Hall, there were 70+ guests waiting to see Dad, and I got a tad claustrophobic
and hid in the corner, and started opening his birthday cards!
I did however make a fantastic display of all
the gorgeous cards!
The tables were decorated with re-purposed
coffee jars and Stampin’ Up! “Tea For Two” Designer Series Paper, and raffia,
and were filled with gorgeous faux flowers, I had to pull Mum’s faux hydrangeas
apart, as I ran out of flowers, but they all the “vases” looked gorgeous!
The birthday cake was on display right from
the beginning of the party, as there were so many little details on the cake, so
everyone got a chance to view it.
Dad loves to garden, and has a Bachelor of
Horticulture from Lincoln University, and is also President of the Nelson Cacti
Society, so a garden themed cake was decided on.
My best-friend Jen did an amazing job, from
her concept plan, right through to the finished cake, everyone was in awe of
her talent!
It was hard culling the photos down to just these
6 photos, as I took about 30, and each photo showed another new detail about the
amazeballs cake!
I assisted with assembly {and coffee making},
and made the Glass Houses, which were made from acetate {OHP Film}, and each window
pane was scored to give a bevelled pane effect.
We used the "Card In A Box" pattern to make the Glass Houses.
Jen had made in the preceding days Carrots, Cauliflowers, Peas, Pumpkins, Tomatoes, all from fondant.
The finishing touch was the cute “Clive” who stood
in the garden, next to the sign, on one side saying “Clive’s Garden” and on the
other “Happy 65th Birthday” {which was made by Moi}!
As Dad had recently {unbeknownst to Mum} purchased {another}
1000 Cacti, and was storing them at my house, I decided to have these Cacti {grrr
grrr!!!} mentioned throughout the speeches.
I made some {pretend} Tequila for Dad, as Tequila
is made from Cacti, and renamed the Tequila “Jose Cliveo” {instead of Jose Cuervo},
and presented it to Dad during the speeches.
I thought an xtra cute idea would be for each of
the grandchildren to walk up in age order, and give Dad a cactus as a gift, this
brought the house down! The kids were so well behaved throughout the whole
afternoon, and looked so gorgeous all dolled up in their Sunday bests!
Time flew by, and before we knew it, it was time to
begin the task of clearing the room, and to say goodbye to all the guests, some of whom travelled from as far a field as Christchurch.
The family all met up again at my brothers for
dinner, and we had the ole fashioned kiwi “Fish and Chips” for tea.
It as a fantastic day, but it has taken a week for
me to recover!
The card I made for Dad is a blue version, of the
one that I made in my “Create With Kathe” Craft Class for 6th March,
I also matched back the Guest Book, Pen, and table vases …
Shabby Chic Hardwood Card
My
new favourite stamp is the “Hardwood” stamp from the Seasonal catalogue,
available through till 30 June 2014.
Stamps
sets also used are “Petite Petals” {and matching Petite Petals Punch}, “Flower
Shop” (and matching Pansy Punch}, “Mixed Bunch” {and matching Blossom Punch},
“That’s The Ticket” {and matching Ticket Duo Builder Punch}, and “Lovely
Romance”.
The
fancy fold is made using the “Circle Card Thinlits” Dies, you get 10 different dies
in this cute little pack, and all for just $67.95!!!
The
Bird Builder Punch is used for the leaves, and the veins are drawn on with the
Old Olive Stampin’ Maker.
Classic
Stampin’ Pads used are Coastal Cabana, Pacific Point, and Sahara Sand.
The
stamp with the words “I think you are amazing just wanna let you know” is from
the “Lovely Romance” stamp set, and is coloured using the Old Olive, Pacific
Point and Pool Party Stampin’ Markers.
Candy
Dots in Pool Party and a scattering of Rhinestones complete this gorgeous card.
Recipe Ingredient List
Stamp Sets: “Flower Shop”, “Hardwood”, “Lovely
Romance”, “Mixed Bunch”, “Petite Petals”, and “That’s The Ticket”
Ink: Coastal Cabana, Old Olive, Pool Party, Sahara
Sand, and Old Olive, Pacific Point and Pool Party Stampin’ Markers
Cardstock: Naturals White, Old Olive, “Tea
For Two” DSP {and My Digital Studio download}
Punches: Bird Builder, Blossom, Pansy, Petite Petals, Ticket
Duo Builder
Framelits/Dies: “Circle
Card Thinlits” Dies
Xtras:
Candy Dots. Candy Dot Brad Bases, Rhinestone Basic Jewels
Special Tools: Big Shot,
Stampin’ Scrub and Stampin’ Cleaner,
Stampin’ Trimmer
All photos in this article are taken by Moi!
