Sunday, October 31, 2010

Pink Ribbon Morning Tea Fundraiser


On Saturday morning, I held my Pink Ribbon morning tea to raise money for breast cancer research. I organized as much as I could on Friday and was so exhausted by the time evening came around that I ended up falling asleep in the middle of watching my usual favourite Friday night lifestyle shows. However, this meant I was not stressed yesterday morning and was cutting the last sandwich just as my first guests arrived.

I couldn’t really avoid using pink to decorate since it is the colour associated with this fundraiser. However seeing as the last three parties I have organized have incorporated pink somewhere in the colour scheme, I tried to create a pretty spring inspired table instead which was mainly white with the addition of a few bright colours. This year I decided to keep the numbers smaller to have a more intimate party and so while I did add a few special touches to the table, I didn’t go overboard. I managed to take some photos to share with you all using our new DSLR (which I am loving) so here are a few details…



I made the invites myself on Microsoft Publisher. I used a photo I had previously taken and manipulated it in a photo program to give it more of a ‘painted effect’.




Instead of selling Pink Ribbon merchandise, this year I decided to hold a raffle to raise money. I bought a pretty white hydrangea plant as the prize and sold tickets to enter.




The only decorations I used as such were three accordion paper flowers which I stuck to the wall in the corner for a burst of ‘pink’. They were easy to make using decorative paper (thin paper worked best) and you can make these yourself using the tutorial by Disney of Ruffles and Stuff featured at City Cradle Design.




When I woke yesterday morning, there was quite a strong breeze outside, so I made the call to hold my morning tea indoors rather than out on the patio (luckily our windows had been cleaned earlier in the week for the first time in months so we could still enjoy the view of our garden). I covered the dining table with a white linen tablecloth and placed a table runner which is embroidered with bright spring-like blooms down the middle. I used white crockery and white platters for all the food.




To brighten the table, I bought a bunch of ranunculus which I divided between two jars I had covered in textured white paper. I was initially searching for a pink bunch which I couldn’t find when I went to buy them. However, I am actually glad I came home with the bunch I ended up with as the mix of colours really added to the spring colour palette I was aiming for.






As a gift to guests to thank them for coming to my party, I made some pretty little boxes which each had a Cath Kidston soap inside. The boxes I used were ‘no-glue’ boxes which I had discovered on the Internet a while back and saved in my ‘to make’ folder. I used the pattern on the Lil Magoolie blog as a template and simply traced around them on white card (I used quite sturdy Bazzill card). I glued a decorative Cath Kidston print onto the boxes and tied them with pink embroidery thread using a very small punch to make the holes.











For the food, I made sausage rolls, finger sandwiches (chicken and chives with aioli and curried egg and lettuce), chocolate brownies, powder puffs and jelly cheesecake. I will share the recipe for these powder puffs later in the week for those who are interested.





I really enjoyed putting together this year’s fundraiser and liked having a smaller, cosier gathering. It was a great excuse to plan and put together a little party for such a worthwhile cause and I hope I may have inspired some of you out there to host something similar yourself next year.

38 comments:

  1. I am utterly amazed Amanda! It all looks so beautiful..and yummy. Well done for supporting such a wonderful cause, you must feel very proud of yourself. Rachaelxx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks so much for your kind words Rachael x

    ReplyDelete
  3. That looks really beautiful - you are a star Amanda. Love the invitation I must try that. Xo

    ReplyDelete
  4. Amanda, how absolutely wonderful!!
    you definitely should be very proud for supporting such a great cause.

    everything looks absolutely beautiful ♥

    ReplyDelete
  5. Amanda!! I certainly hope you are very proud of yourself!! What a fabulous morning tea and I could not think of a more worthy cause. Your decorations, food and party favours are just so beautiful and so well thought out!! I am so pleased to see the gorgeous photo of you enjoying yourself:) JUST BEAUTIFUL my sweet friend. Hugs to you ~ Txx

    ReplyDelete
  6. It all looks gorgeous Amanda! The table is so pretty and the food looks delicious. Maybe a recipe for the jelly cheesecake? :) xx

    ReplyDelete
  7. O.M.G

    WOW. You have a real flair for parties and design and all things lovely!

    Congratulations, everything looked amazing.

    xx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Simone - no worries, I'll share the jelly cheesecake recipe later on in the week too :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Well done Amanda and for such a worthy cause!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. This is absolutely extraordinary, Amanda! Your effort and attention to detail are just fantastic. And thanks for sharing the tips for the decorations and boxes. I've bookmarked them to use later. You should do something about this talent of yours! J x

    ReplyDelete
  11. Wow! Now I am really annoyed that I had to work! It looks absolutely lovely! Love the pic of Katherine and MC :) Well done xo

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Amanda, it all looks lovely. You went to so much trouble for such a wonderful cause. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves and you managed to raise some money. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Amanda, you are amazing! It all looks soooooo beautiful, every single touch and all the yummy food! Just amazing! And what a generous kind spirit you have to put so much effort for not only your friends but also for fund raising. I'm so proud of you my sweet and how beautiful are those pics with your new DSLR (I'm v jealous!).
    High fives and hugs,
    Jxx

    ReplyDelete
  14. Amand,a that is awesome!! Everything looks really lovely and yet so accessible for other people to follow your lead. I reallylove that you didnt focus only on the 'pink ribbon' side of things, the spring theme is so much more lovely and realistic too. Have you heard of the SCAR project? I was actually going to blog about it tonight,how ironic is that!? I will leave it for another day. http://thescarproject.org/home.html

    ReplyDelete
  15. It all looks lovely! So nicely put together with attention to detail. I love the pink accordion flowers - I think I would like to make some of those! Kylie xx

    ReplyDelete
  16. Yes, I agree with all of the above my dear... looks like a beautiful morning and for a wonderful cause! Well done :) x

    ReplyDelete
  17. amanda everything looks just wonderful! you did a great job and it sounds like it was a good successful party. well done!

    ReplyDelete
  18. Amanda... you've excelled yet again with another party triumph! You're such a star :)Everything looked glorious and I'm so pleased you shared lots of photos. I'm glad you're enjoying the new camera- I knew you would!
    Big hugs xx

    ReplyDelete
  19. Thank you all for your kind comments - it means so much to have your wonderful feedback!

    Bec - Am off to check out the SCAR project...

    ReplyDelete
  20. This is seriously gorgeous - you have such a talent! I love the tutorial for the pinwheels - thanks so much... Love all the colours you have used too and the food looks yummy - please do share the recipes.

    Rachie xo

    ReplyDelete
  21. Amanda, good for you!! Looks gorgeous and I love those gift boxes!! I also notice in one of your pics you got the piano in the end, so completely off this topic I'm wondering if you are now learning to play? Or are going to send Grace to lessons one day? Mine is sitting v neglected, but I am hoping Fern will be a maestro some day!! Arent they lovely to have anyway!!! xo

    ReplyDelete
  22. It looks great...and for a good cause too!!

    ReplyDelete
  23. Amanda, you are an inspiration, lovely table, delicious food, and all for a wonderful wonderful cause! Jane

    ReplyDelete
  24. Doesn't it feel so grown up to throw a tea party with fancy crockery and finger sandwiches! Looks like it was a great success and for such a good cause bet you felt a real satisfaction afterwards :)

    ReplyDelete
  25. Well done Amanda!! Everything looks just gorgeous. I can imagine how much careful planning you put into this - and for an amazing cause. Kudos to you my friend!! Thanks so much for the tutorial links and I am keenly waiting for those yummy recipes later this week. Have a great week!

    P.S. Who was the lucky winner of your giveaway? I can't get the page to load to see!! xxx

    ReplyDelete
  26. Oh my gosh Amanda - it all looks so beautiful! You are so talented at this sort of thing. I love the decorations on the wall and the sweet little boxes. What great inspiration!

    ReplyDelete
  27. ps I dreamt last night that you came by and visited me - was lovely! xx

    ReplyDelete
  28. How wonderful! Good on you and that table setting looks gorgeous :)

    ReplyDelete
  29. well done sweetie ..its really looks amazing!!,you should be very proud of yourself and what a wonderful cause..mwah melli xx

    ReplyDelete
  30. You did such a great job on everything!! Beautiful. And what a great idea!

    ReplyDelete
  31. It's all so lovely Amanda, I think you've done a wonderful job and I know ho much work it is getting things like this ready. The food looks perfect, I'm for the jelly cake recipe too : )

    ReplyDelete
  32. Such pretty picture - and I admire the fact that it's all for a good cause. Have a sweet day. The flowers are especially paintery.

    ReplyDelete
  33. This looks gorgeous and lots of fun. I love the gift box- what a lovely idea and the ranunculas look perfect!!! An inspiring idea to raise funds for a great cause. Emma. PS. Lovely to be back and to catch up again.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I was a guest at Amanda's morning tea and she made us feel very, very special with her exquisitely decorated table, absolutely delicious home-made cuisine and her pretty little boxes beautifully decorated and containing the prettiest little cake of soap inside....and all for an excellent cause. The fun of hoping to win the beautiful plant or a lovely vase as second prize made it even more special. Thankyou Amanda for making us feel special.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Hi Amanda
    I just loved looking through your photos and descriptions of all the lovely things and food you prepared. It looked fantastic.
    i would love to taste the power puffs. They were always a favourite of mine. Keep up your lovely cooking and decoration. I loved how you did the flowers too and the pink ruffles on the wall. Simple and striking. Love Aunty Barb Esperance

    ReplyDelete
  36. What a wonderful idea to host your own fundraiser for breast cancer and a beautiful tea and table you created as well. I like the colorful flowers as well. It was the perfect touch.

    ReplyDelete
  37. Wow, Amanda. Bravo! The table looks beautiful and what a great chef you are! I thought that you bought the desserts when I saw the pictures and I read that you made them. You made so many things! I'm not surprised you fell asleep during the show. You worked so hard! I would definitely love to have the recipes for the puffs. I love the little gift boxes you made for the guests. How sweet! I also like your decorations on the wall with the paper! This post has such great ideas and inspirations!! You know, I decided not to have a birthday party for my daughter and now I feel a bit shame after reading your beautiful party post.

    ReplyDelete
  38. lovely party, decor and gifties. So sweet, practical and lovely. Well done lady! xo

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for taking the time to leave a comment - it really makes my day!!