Introducing our Halloween Sprinkles … pre-orders now open!

Here at Pixie HQ we love any excuse to celebrate so we are very excited that Halloween is a Saturday this year as that means more Halloween themed parties & events!

We have been busy sourcing some great products and we couldn’t wait to share some of them with you so for the first time ever we are launching our Halloween baking collection early and offering a pre-order deal so you can secure your order now!

Basic Witch – 4oz (1/2 cup) jar $17.99

Walking Dead – 4oz (1/2 cup) jar $17.99

Simply pre-order & pre-pay for any 2 bottles of Halloween sprinkles and receive a FREE pack of baking cups (20pk) and we will ship your order as soon as our stock arrives.

And if Covid-19 tries to spoil our trick or treating this year at least we can all have fun with some spooktacular baking!

Goosebumps – 4oz (1/2 cup) jar $17.99

Pumpkin Cream – 4oz (1/2 cup) jar $17.99     Skull Candies – 4oz (1/2 cup) jar $14.99

Orders are open NOW and will run while stocks last only

To order please come & see us in store or email us the following details:

• Your choice of sprinkles
• Your choice of baking case colour (pink, green or purple)
• Your name, email address, phone number and shipping address

We will email back a confirmation including shipping costs and invoice for payment.

Orders must be pre-paid to secure your sprinkles, stock will only be allocated upon receipt of full payment and will be dispatched as soon as stocks arrive.

We will let you know when your sprinkles are on their way!

Here’s a few other baking products you may also like which you are welcome to add to your order and we can ship everything together for you. You can also check out our full Halloween baking section here: https://www.pixiepartysupplies.co.nz/halloween-baking-products

Sprinks choco drops – 200g jar - $9.99 each

Vizyon fondant – 250g - $12.99 each

Bat shaped cookie cutter - $5.99 each

Introducing our newest Pixie … Laura. Laura is a trained culinary arts professional and has recently joined our team, bringing her baking experience to share with our customers. She’s available at our retail store Thursdays and Saturdays so if you have any baking questions call in and see her for some tips.

She will also be regularly featured on our blog sharing some tips & ideas for using our baking products. Here’s her first blog …

☆ Little Galaxy (Vanilla and Raspberry) Cupcakes ☆

These cute cupcakes are super easy to make! Feel free to get creative with your own choice of colours and flavours. This time I’ve used our Sundays Purple Polka Dot Baking Cups and Galaxy Acrylic Cupcake Toppers The cupcake recipe is from Chelsea, you can find the original recipe here: https://www.chelsea.co.nz/browse-recipes/raspberry-and-vanilla-cupcakes/

Cupcakes (15 portions):

• 225g standard flour

• 1tsp baking powder

• Pinch salt

• 125g butter, softened

• 175g caster sugar

• 2tsp vanilla extract

• 2 eggs

• 125ml milk

• 100g fresh or frozen raspberries – or you can use our Fresh As freeze dried raspberries

Batter:

Preheat your oven to 170° (or 150° fan bake). Line your baking tray with the cupcake cases.

1. Start by sifting the flour, salt and baking powder. Using an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth, gradually add the sugar and keep beating until you get a fluffy and light consistency. Add the vanilla extract and one by one, the eggs. Make sure each one is completely mixed before adding the next one. Add the flour with the milk alternately.

Mix everything very well but be careful not to overmix.

2. Pour mixture into the cases, filling 2/3, push 2 raspberries into the batter.

3. Bake for 15 minutes until light golden. When you introduce a skewer and it comes out clean it means the batter is fully cooked. Wait 5 minutes before taking the cases out of the tray. Finish cooling them down.

Once cooled, decorate your cupcakes with buttercream, toppers & edible glitter. I’ve used pink buttercream and the piping nozzle was an Open Star Tip 1M You can either make your own buttercream or use our ready-made Sprinks pink buttercream

Or if you prefer a runny icing check out this berry icing recipe:

• 250g berry flavoured icing sugar

• 10g butter, softened

• 1 Tbsp milk

1. Mix the icing sugar and butter in a heatproof bowl. Gradually add the milk and stir with a wooden spoon until you see a firm consistency.

2. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, as Bain Marie. Keep stirring on low heat for 5 minutes or until you see that the sugar has been dissolved and the icing is runny. (You can also add a bit of pink colouring to make it a more vibrant colour). Remove it from the heat and transfer the mix to a piping bag, use the design you prefer. You can also spread it nicely with a spatula.

3. Decorate with toppers and edible glitter.

Here’s a pic showing the berry icing:

We would love to see pics of our products in use so if you have baked with some of our products feel free to send them through to us.

And stay tuned for lots more baking inspiration, tips & ideas from our team!

Introducing our 2020 Father’s Day collection

Father’s Day is just around the corner so why not celebrate that special someone in your life and surprise him with a bunch of balloons for Father’s Day. Whether it’s your Dad, Step-Dad, Granddad, or someone special who has filled that role in your life we hope you will find something in our collection to suit them. Everything is while stocks last only so we recommend ordering now to avoid disappointment.

Pre-orders are open for balloon bunches for Father’s Day now - you can either call in store (once we are back to level 2!) or send us an email to arrange. Bouquet pricing quoted below includes balloons, helium, ribbon, hi-float solution for any latex balloons (to ensure they last the full day) & a balloon weight. Prices quoted below valid until 31/09/2020 and are for pick up from our retail store only. 

NOTE: we are usually closed on Sundays but we will be open from 9am-11am on Father’s Day (Sunday 6^th September 2020)

Here is a link to the full collection online, it's all available in store too: Father’s Day

You are welcome to change the colours of the latex balloons included, let us know your preference and we will do our best to accommodate your request – the foil star on the top of the first bunch can also be substituted for another colour.

Don’t see anything you like? come into our store (once we return to level 2!) or send us an email and we can help you design the bunch just perfect for you and your Dad. 

To all our Dads, Granddads, Step-Dads out there – We wish you a fabulous Father’s Day on the 6^th and hope you get totally spoilt. From the team at Pixie Party Supplies.

A DIY “Flower Power Baby” Party

Our retail sales manager’s daughter turned the big 18 – so our retail sales manager (Tracey) put together a Flower Power Inspired Party to celebrate this milestone birthday.

One of the goals for this party was for it to be all DIY. From learning to bake and making the cake, to all the decorations, even
to making all the furniture including a bar! Here’s how she did it.

Party Furniture

The furniture was the biggest job of this party. We started with a whole range of different sized wooden pallets and after many weeks of planning, prepping, painting and assembling we ended up with a bar, some chairs and two tables on wheels.

For the amazing colours for the table tops and bar top and to get them to match the party colours, we used Vintro Chalk paint, and our wonderful friends at Dooney and Daughters set us up in their paint area with the paints that we needed. Don’t the colours look so vibrant!

The Outdoor Chill-ax Party Zone (for all 18 year olds!)

We wanted the outside to be a place for the 18 year olds to be able to go to - away from the adults ;) Once we had the furniture, we even made the cushions to match the theme. We did this by buying cheap pillows (yep standard pillows), cut them in half and then made cushion covers from…can you guess?... teatowels!

And viola – we added a marque tent with fairy lights, some yellow marble balloons, some rainbow orbz balloons (all air filled and tied up with curling ribbon) and the scene is set.

The MOST Important Bit…The Cake!

The next biggest job was making the cake. Tracey had NEVER made and decorated a cake before, so this was the next challenge – so after a lot of learning and practicing she was ready to make the cake. The base of the cake was 2 x 8“ cakes on top of each other to make a VW, and the top layer was a psychedelic marbled 6“ cake using gel food colouring to create the marble effect. Once the
cakes were baked, we made a range of fondant flowers in different colours to decorate the base.

As this was her first “official” cake, she was very nervous, so decorated the base of the cake on a plain silver cake board. To transfer the heavy cake to the final board, the grass cake board, was very scary, as the cake was now quite heavy, but the King Cake Lifter was so easy to use and took all the “scary” out of moving the cake to the board.

Add mint marbled candles and wooden number cake toppers and the cake was complete. And we used a white cake stand from our hire range to display the cake.

Food and Drink

We made other food ideas as well, here are just a few of them. Here you can see the daisy cupcakes – vanilla cupcakes with buttercream and sprinkles , and a fondant flower on the top. They looked amazing on the white daisy cupcake stand from our hire range.

These polished wooden rounds from our hire range helped set the theme for our other food. These salmon and cucumber rounds looked great on them. And mini meatballs were also a huge success. Serving these in our mini catering cubes with wooden cocktail forks made them delicious and easy to eat.

And you can’t have a 70s flower power theme without hedgehogs!!!

Our alcoholic punch in the large glass drinks dispenser from our hire range looked bright and colourful and they hold many litres of drink, so we were able to just set it up and leave it.

Photo opportunities for those all-important insta pics

In terms of decorations for photo opportunities - a 70s vinyl wall was one of the photo backdrops. We scoured many second hand and op shops for some of the best 70s records to make this backdrop.

We also made a streamer wall with coloured streamers to match the theme colours and a gold foil curtain for some sparkle. Simply set up a length of fishing wire, throw the streamers over and cut to length, then throw them over again. Next, cut up the gold foil curtain and add some sparkle through it. Lastly, add large helium filled number balloons and it was a perfect photo backdrop.

The setup – setting the scene

Our jumbo balloons in the party colours with ivy garlands were absolutely perfect around the food table and at the front entrance. And the little balloon flowers tied at the base was a great finishing touch.

An addition of a mini balloon garland and our silver air-filled letter balloons to spell out Flower Power was perfect for the food table. We also used the rustic crates and polished rounds from our hire range to add to the more rustic flower theme of the party.

Introducing our newest party hire package …. Racing Cars 

We’re excited to launch our newest addition to our hire range. Our ‘Racing Cars’ themed pack contains some great pieces to help set the scene. You can view all our themed packs here: children's themed party hire packs and our full hire range: hire products

We’ve styled our window display this week using the hire package to give you some ideas. Here’s some pics: 

As well as the party hire package we have also used some other items from our hire range which co-ordinated well with the black & white colour scheme …

black cake stands & white cupcake stand – check out our full range of cake & cupcake stands here

candy jars & glass drinks dispensers with simple themed signs added – check out our full range of jars & dispensers here: candy jars and drinks dispensers

our mesh wall was perfect to display our colour co-ordinated balloon garland – check out the details here

black & white plinths – check out all our plinths here

and a simple ‘Pit Crew Only’ sign was a fun addition to use with our bollards – check out the details here

We’ve got some great party ware which is perfect for this theme … Disney Cars and Black & White check. Here’s a few of our fav items, you can view the full range of products here: Disney Cars and Black & White check

And we were feeling inspired so we’ve been collecting some fun ideas over on Pinterest, here’s a few of our favourite ideas and you can see everything on this board: racing car party inspiration

source: cars jelly cups and 'transmission fluid' & more fun racing car party ideas

source: fruit traffic lights and cars hotdogs

And we love this very clever idea of having a tunnel through the cake for the cars to go through!

source: racing car themed cake

If you have done a racing car themed party we would love to see your party pics too! And feel free to add a link in the comments to any other fun ideas you’ve come across.

How to make up our confetti balloon wand kits

Our confetti balloon wand kits are a great party activity but we do recommend some adult help! Here's the link to order: DIY confetti balloon wand kits

If the children are little you may wish to make them up prior to the party & hand them out as they come in or give them out as party favours to take home. We would suggest you make a few extras up as they are balloons so they will pop if they touch anything sharp!

If you are making these up prior to the party we suggest making them up on the day as the clear balloons do gradually go cloudy and they will start to shrink a little – how long the balloons with stay clear & fully inflated for depends on environmental conditions such as temperature & humidity hence our suggestion of doing them on the day. Also keep them inside until you are ready to use them as the sun makes them go cloudy quicker!

Before you start:

In addition to the items in your kit you will also need a balloon pump to inflate the balloons, if you don’t have one we do have these available for purchase here: balloon pump. You may also wish to use a small funnel to help with filling the balloons. And if you want to attach the ribbon around the balloon stick you can use a hot glue gun to secure this or sellotape.

Step 1 – add the confetti to the balloon

How much confetti should you use per balloon? We use approx. 1g per balloon but you can use more if you prefer. Our packs come with a 20g bag of confetti. If you have a 10pk of confetti wands you can use 2g if you want a fuller look. Or if you have the 20pk of wands you will only have 1g for each but you can purchase extra bags of confetti.

Tip: why not purchase an extra bag of confetti in a different colour & mix them! You can see all the colour options here: balloon confetti (Note: we recommend the 1cm metallic confetti for these mini balloons).

There are two ways to add your confetti … the easiest is to have one person hold open the balloon by putting in your fingers & stretching the neck (note: be careful if you have long finger nails as you can put a hole in the balloon!) and a second person add the confetti. Add a small amount at a time.

Alternatively if you have a small funnel you can use this … if you are filling the balloons by yourself this is the easiest way (note: please check first that there are no rough edges on the funnel as you can put a hole in the balloon!). If you add a small amount at a time if it isn’t easily falling through the funnel you can gently push it down using one of the balloon sticks.

Step 2 – inflate your balloon

We recommend using a balloon pump to inflate the mini balloons. We have these available for purchase here: balloon pump 

Once you have inflated your balloon tie the neck in a knot as you would usually tie a latex balloon.

Note: these balloons are mini balloons which will inflate to a maximum of 5”, don’t over-inflate or they may pop!

Tip: most of the confetti will be sitting in the bottom of the balloon – if you want it to ‘stick’ around the sides you can achieve this look by creating static … just rub all around the balloon, turning the balloon as you go so you are rubbing the area where the confetti is touching at the time. If you have problem creating the static with your hand try rubbing on a jersey or the carpet.

Step 3 – add your ribbon

Each pack comes with a 100m roll of curling ribbon so you will have plenty to use on your wands. You can either attach it to the balloon or attach it to the balloon stick.

Tip: if you want to cover the balloon stick with ribbon you can use hot glue to secure it but make sure you put the cup on the stick first so that you don’t get glue at the top of the stick as it will be too thick then to go into the cup

Step 4 – attach the cup & stick

Next twist the neck of the balloon through the cup to secure it & the push the balloon stick into the cup

And Voila … your wand is ready to have some fun!

We know lots of you have unfortunately had to cancel or post-pone events, or you're going ahead with a little celebration virtually or just in your ‘bubble’. In these uncertain times we think it's so important to keep celebrating the milestones & occasions even when can't get together in person. We're here to help in any way we can so please get in touch with our team. 

We have been busy putting together lots of balloon bunch ideas for lots of different occasions. We are offering contactless pick up by appointment from our retail store during alert level 3 for pre-booked & pre-paid orders. You can find the full details of how we’re operating under alert level 3 here: FAQ’s

Alternatively we can arrange a delivery via Urgent Couriers within Auckland. Delivery fees during standard working hours Mon-Fri start from $25 - if you let us know how many bunches you need and the delivery address we are happy to provide a quote for you. Please note: courier deliveries are contactless but for all balloon deliveries someone will need to be home to accept the delivery so the balloons don’t fly away! 

These bunches are also a great option if you want to send something to a friend or family member in Auckland just to let them know you're thinking of them on their special day. We also have a range of greeting cards which we are happy to add for you. You can check them out here: greeting cards. If you send us the message we are happy to write this in for you and include with the bunch. Please note: courier deliveries are contactless but for all balloon deliveries someone will need to be home to accept the delivery so the balloons don’t fly away! 

Prices stated below are valid until 31^st May 2020, after this date please contact us to confirm pricing.

Prices below are for collection from our retail store, delivery is not included.

Prices include: balloons, helium, hi-float solution for any latex balloons in the bunch (so they will last 24 hrs), ribbon and a balloon weight.

Please note: during alert level 3 all bunches will be provided in balloon bags at an additional cost of $2 per bag / per bunch.

If you would prefer to choose different balloons for your bunch or would like to customise one of the above options with different colours we are happy to provide a quote for you. During alert level 3 the easiest way to contact us is by email: info@pixiepartysupplies.co.nz

Our Retail Sales Manager, Tracey has been busy trialing some of our baking products. She will be sharing her favourites on our blog to give you some tips & inspiration. First up ... cakesicles!

How to make plain Cake Popsicles (Cakesicles) using our Ice Pop Mould:

1. Start by baking vanilla cupcakes – I just used the standard Chelsea sugar vanilla cupcake recipe here: vanilla cupcakes

2. Melt approx 1/3 of a bag of candy melts (I used a multi-coloured candy melt, but you can use a plain colour as well) in a glass cup (put in the microwave for bursts of 30 secs until all melted – stir between each 3 sec burst).

3. Use about a tablespoon of the melted candy melts per mould and using a spoon smooth the candy melts around the mould – including the sides, leaving the middle for the cake mixture. It should be a few mm’s in thickness and be an even layer.

4. Push the lollipop sticks slightly into the mould (you will push them in further later). Pop into the fridge for about 10 mins or until the candy melts have hardened.

5. To make the cake mixture, crumble 2 of the vanilla cupcakes into a bowl. You are then going to mix in buttercream (I used the basic Chelsea buttercream recipe: basic buttercream icing)

You add the buttercream a small amount at a time, maybe a teaspoon at a time, until the mixture “clings” together and has a dough like consistency.

6. Take the mould from the fridge and then run a sharp knife over the top of the mould to remove any excess candy that may be around the edges to make it nice and smooth and level on the top. Then fill each mould with the cake mixture – approx. 15g per mould. Add it in a small amount at a time and push it into the mould, but don’t go fully to the edge and leave room at the top so you can add the candy melts to the top to get a nice flat layer which joins around the edges.

7. You can now push the sticks right in until they reach the bottom of the mould (so the end of the sticks are at the end of the bottom of the mould, if that makes sense). Put back in the fridge to chill the cake.

8. Melt more of the candy melts (about another 1/3 of the bag), spoon that mixture over the top of each mould, use a flat knife to spread the mixture over the top and ensure it is smooth. Make sure any cake is completely covered. The candy melts will start to set by
themselves (as the cake is chilled underneath), but you can then still put it in the fridge for about 10 minutes so it sets completely.

9. You can now pop the cakes out of the silicone mould and run a clean sharp knife around the edge to cut off any excess and make it smooth.

10. These are now ready to decorate – or serve as is.

We've put lots of decorating inspiration ideas together on one of our pinterest boards, you can see them all here: cake popsicle inspiration

Here are some of our favourite decorating ideas ...

source: cakesicles                                               source: cakesicle

source: unicorn cakesicles                                            source: narwhal cakesicles

source: cute cakesicles

& links to our products if you would like to try & recreate the looks ...

shop our sprinkle collection here: sprinkles

shop for edible flowers: edible flowers botanical blend

If you have made cakesicles we would love to see your pics too! And feel free to add a link in the comments to any other fun ideas you’ve come across.

Introducing our newest party hire package …. Under Construction

We’re excited to launch our newest addition to our hire range. Our ‘Under Construction’ themed pack has all the essentials to set the scene. Contains table runners, kids hard hats, cones, stacking boxes & signage. You can view all our themed packs here: children's themed party hire packs and our full hire range: hire products

We’ve got two great party ware ranges which are perfect for this theme … Big Rig & Construction Zone, you can see them both here: construction party products

And we were feeling inspired so we’ve been collecting some fun ideas over on Pinterest, here’s a few of our favourite ideas and you can see everything on this board: construction party inspiration

source: nuts & bolts                                         source: barricade jelly

source: dirt cups                                                  source: cone game

And we love all the great cake ideas for this theme … here’s a couple of our favourites:

source: number 3 cake                                                source: dirt mountain cake

source: construction zone cake            source: candy zone cake      

If you have done a construction themed party we would love to see your party pics too! And feel free to add a link in the comments to any other fun ideas you’ve come across.

Teddies & Teddy bears picnics are such a cute idea for a party!

This is such a popular theme for birthdays & baby showers and we are regularly asked for ideas so we’ve pulled together some inspiration for you. Also featured here is the littlest Pixie’s teddy themed birthday party a few years ago at the Teddy Bear Factory.

If you’re going for a traditional themed teddy bears picnic we love the idea of including toadstools, rustic wooden rounds and other woodland themed items. Here’s some great parties featured over on the Kara’s Party Ideas blog:

https://www.catchmyparty.com/parties/evettes-teddy-bears-picnic

https://www.catchmyparty.com/parties/teddy-bear-picnic

Or how about a pretty tea party for the teddies and their owners to come to …

https://www.catchmyparty.com/parties/tea-party-27      https://www.catchmyparty.com/parties/teddy-bear-tea-party

The littlest Pixie has always loved the beach so we incorporated this into her theme with a fun “Teddies day at the beach” themed cake. This was lots of fun to make!

And we had seen these super cute teddy cars on pinterest and just had to try them!

For the afternoon tea we used our felt toadstool baskets which we filled with snacks and the girls got to take home their baskets

The entertainment was sorted as we went to the Teddy Bear Factory so all the girls got to stuff their own new soft toy

Decorations we kept simple since we had to transport everything and do a quick set up …. just a couple of bunches of teddy balloons & a giant number ‘8’ foil balloon

And it’s become a bit of a tradition for the birthday girl to have her pic taken with each of her friends & her giant number balloon each year – the number ‘8’ was perfect for this!

And here’s some fun ideas we’ve found over on pinterest, we’ve put these and lots more on our teddy party inspiration board, check it out here https://www.pinterest.nz/pixieparty/teddy-bear-party-inspiration/

source: https://www.kidspot.com.au/kitchen/recipes/tiny-teddy-trains/23km8icq

Source: https://www.radacutlery.com/blog/how-to-make-oatmeal-bear-cookies-recipe/

Source: https://www.kidspot.com.au/kitchen/recipes/tiny-teddies-bathtub/t985j26w

If you’re planning a teddy party then here are some of our products you might like:

.        

Woodland hire package: https://www.pixiepartysupplies.co.nz/childrens-themed-party-props-for-hire     

Teddy Balloons:

https://www.pixiepartysupplies.co.nz/cute-cuddly-teddy-bears-balloons

https://www.pixiepartysupplies.co.nz/teddy-bear-shaped-foil-balloon

Felt baskets: https://www.pixiepartysupplies.co.nz/felt-bags-2

Lunch boxes: https://www.pixiepartysupplies.co.nz/food-boxes-2

Wooden cutlery: https://www.pixiepartysupplies.co.nz/wooden-cutlery

Grass table runner: https://www.pixiepartysupplies.co.nz/grass-table-runner

Polka dot cupcake / baking cases – greaseproof inside so also great for single serves of fruit: https://www.pixiepartysupplies.co.nz/sundays-baking-cups-red-polka-dot

Grass cake board: https://www.pixiepartysupplies.co.nz/cake-board-grass-12-round

Pretty daisy chain napkins (matching invites, plates, cups & treat bags also available in this range): https://www.pixiepartysupplies.co.nz/daisy-chain-range

If you have done a teddy party we would love to see your party pics too! And feel free to add a link in the comments to any other fun ideas you’ve come across.