Tips + Ideas

Sarah Lim In Parties & Events, Tips + Ideas

‘5 Styling Tips For A Cosy Party at Home’ by I Heart Party

Image by iheartparty

It’s already December! Just because we’re social distancing, doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate this magical holiday season with a small party at home. :) It’s a good opportunity to end the year well and make it special for our family and loved ones. To make sure we’re equipped with some home party decor styling tips, we had a chat with the talented event stylist Alice Tan from iheartparty. If you’re planning to host a small party soon, or even if its just for your family, here are five tips to help you get started.

1. I’m hosting a small party at my home and I would like to decorate the place really well. Where do I begin and what does the process look like?

This is where the fun begins! You can start by choosing a theme and colour palette. Easy tip, go on to Pinterest and look for some inspiration or use a colour palatte tool like Cooler to help you find a suitable palette. Then create a budget so that you don’t overspend. Don’t feel discouraged if you have a limited budget to work with. There’s always a creative solution for party decorating!

Image by iheartparty

Grace Tan In Family + Children Portraits, Life, Musings, Parties & Events, Portraits, Tips + Ideas

Tips for Planning Children’s Parties

When I was growing up, I remember the most epic birthday party I had was when I was 8. Growing up in Malacca in the 80s, it wasn’t really common to have major parties for children my age, but my parents had organized my birthday at the new McDonald’s restaurant (the one and only in Malacca at that time!). It was totally memorable for me, especially since my mom baked a gorgeous cake for me, and my friends and I packed into the walk-in freezer to see how long we could stand the cold. I am grateful to my parents for organizing such a party for me.

Now that I have children of own and with the growing influence of Pinterest, DIY groups on Facebook etc, I feel a little ‘pressured’ to do something fun. So a few years ago when my daughter turned 5 and my son turned 3, I organised 2 parties – a unicorn party for my 5 year old and a fireman party for my 3 year old. It was quite fun doing some of the DIY stuff on my own, but unlike my mother, I can only bake instant cakes from those pre-mixes in the supermarket. (Needless to say, I didn’t bake these cakes).

It was a little stressful, but after all that organising, here are some tips to share with other mums who intend to plan their own child’s birthday parties.

1. If you are not good at something, hire someone to do it.

I realised that I was putting additional stress on myself in making some of the decorations myself. I went shopping for goody bags, was busy sorting out the guest list, planning food, AND thinking of how to keep everything under budget. Unless you are the kind of mum who truly enjoys this process, the best way to avoid unnecessary stress is to hire someone to do things for you. There are many great decorators / stylists who are great at what they do! (For my son’s 1st birthday, I had an Up themed party and hired Moments). For his 3rd year party, all I did was call the local fire station, do a site visit, and then let the firemen entertain the kids! (You need to give a donation to hold the party at the local fire station. Some fire stations do not allow parties)

Sarah Lim In Portraits, Tips + Ideas

Make Up & Hairstyling Tips by Charlyn Leang

Meet Charlyn Leang, the talented makeup artist and hairstylist who has made so many of our clients look fabulous for their photoshoot! Yes, she’s also part of our “secret sauce” to producing great photos.

Charlyn has been a freelance makeup artist and hairstylist for about 15 years now. What does she love about her job?

“Working with different people because each person brings a unique look and facial features to work with,”

she tells us.

“Then, once we are done. That moment when I get to take a step back and look at the person who is like an ‘artwork’, it’s very satisfying and it makes me very happy.”

An artist who can appreciate any face like a beautiful piece of artwork? Now that’s what we want!

We asked her to share tips on what to do before a headshot session – even before meeting the make up artist. Here are her top three tips:

Diane In Musings, Tips + Ideas

DIY: How to Make Your Own Lightbox

It’s a DIY day again! Now you might wonder, photography isn’t my profession, so why would I want to make a mini lightbox? Well… besides being a fun craft activity when you make one, a mini lightbox can come in very handy for anyone.

For example, if you want to sell off second-hand items online, you need to take a photo of each item and upload it. Using a mini light box will make your photos look super professional – just like the product photos you see on shopping stores online. Grab the attention of potential buyers faster, declutter your life, and earn some extra cash in the process!

So let’s begin.

Diane In Musings, Tips + Ideas

How To Make A DIY Notebook With Old Photos

Remember the days where you would print out all your photos – even the most random ones? Well, if they’re still around – don’t throw them! Use them to make a DIY notebook! And if you have tons of scrap paper lying around – especially the ones that were only used on one side – this DIY hack will help you save some trees.

Some people cut them in half to create a raw notepad like this:

But why not take it a step further, and personalise your notebook so it looks more like this one below?

Here’s what you need: