Our housewarming

And so we had our housewarming on Saturday night. And it was beautiful.

I thought I'd be stressed and that people wouldn't turn up and we might end up with a lot of food going to waste. Nope. everything went perfectly and I can't wait for the next party.

I've always been a bit of a hostess but never really had anyone to host. People always want to go out and drink. A lot. I enjoy a good few drinks and was suitably hungover on Sunday, but I prefer good food and good company to shots and beers.

I was hoping for a sophisticated party and that's exactly what I got. Everyone came over to the house, bottle in hand. The food (An assortment of crostinis - king prawn with chilli mayo, goat's cheese & chorizo and coronation chicken. Crudites. Dips. Crisps. Mini sausages (oh so sophisticated!). Wedges. Cakes. Sweets. And a champagne, strawberry, mint and lime cocktail that went down very well) all disappeared - not a crisp left in the bowl. The music was good (the Other Half thinks himself a DJ). Everyone loved the decorations and various lights I'd palced around the house. The Other Half was so helpul all day (thank you!!) and the new table arrived on Saturday morning - which provided the perfect social setting.

I had the best time and I'm now in full hostess mood. I really couldn't have asked for a better night.

And here are a few snaps from the evening if you're interested:

Party preparations

I’m loving my resolution of making more time for crafts – everyday at work I’m counting down the hours until I can go home and carry on with one of my projects. For some reason, having a specific timeframe makes me do more during the week. I used to think I should relax in front of the TV after work and leave crafting until the weekend – but why?

For the housewarming on Saturday I’ve decided to make a few different things:

• Colourful bunting;
• Paper pom poms in various sizes;
• Balloon string ornaments (maybe – we’ll see if I have enough time);
• Decorated jam jars for drinks;
• Small banners to show people what’s in each drink or plate of food.

None of these are very ambitious, but I’m having a great time.

Last night I made paper bunting – really easy but really satisfying. I had a big pack of pastel coloured paper (I chose pink, green, yellow and blue), an ancient hole puncher that I never use, scissors, colourful thread, good old pritt stick and some random flower cut outs – I have no idea where they came from.

I basically folded the paper into a square and then folded the square in half so I had two triangles. Then, I made two holes in each triangle, making sure that they weren’t too close to the edge of the paper. I cut out some letters from contrasting coloured paper (I chose to spell CROESO – the Welsh word for WELCOME) before gluing them onto the triangles, along with the random flowers. I placed the thread through the holes and voila – I had colourful paper bunting.

I’m sure there are some stunning pieces out there that are wonderfully decorated, but I kind of like my simple but cute version. Also, this is way quicker – and cheaper!

However, this has given me some confidence to know that I can make pretty things, and I hope to make some more.

I’ve also already made a couple of the paper pom poms which I’d like to show you (two are already on Instagram) and I’ll make a few more things this week and keep you updated with my party planning.

I hope I enjoy the party as much as the planning…