A little 'French Country'...

 Sharing a sweet French Country tablescape...

 Garden gathered roses in a rustic chippy vase...

 placed on a metal worked and glass plate stand...

 With bird finial...

 Cute, don't you think?

 Can you smell the deliciousness of the roses?

 My grandmother's antique pearls 

 look stunning in this tablescape...

  I love the way they catch the light...

 And add a little class and elegance...

 Placed upon the favourite butterfly table runner...

It brings me joy every time I walk past the table!

You can learn how to sew an easy-to-make table runner by visiting HERE.

I make them all the time, because I adore changing up my tablescapes with new fabrics, and special ones to fit the seasonal decorations.

For updates about the latest blog posts,

you can join for free HERE.

#frenchcountrystyling #simpletablescapes

A Teacup of Pretty!

Today I picked the smallest of posies...

And it looked simply fabulous in my antique china teacup.

 So pretty in fact the camera just clicked...

 and clicked...

 and clicked...

 so that I could share these pretty images with you.

 Sweet alyssum and zinnias in shades of white...

 Pansies...

And mini purple balloon flowers...

In a sweet china teacup displayed on purple ruffled fabric.

Now that's a vignette sure to make you all smile!

Alstroemeria - Princess Lilies...

Sweet princess lilies.

It is a dwarf alstroemeria.

This one is called Louise (zaprilou)

And she is a stunner!  

Alstroemeria has a notorious reputation 

of becoming weedy, 

and being more than just a little bit overpowering in the garden.

But the "Princess Lily" range are simply fabulous

 as they are dwarf in size, 

which is much more suited to the home garden.

The bonus is they have a long flowering season

with a glorious, vibrant colour range...

As well as those endearing whisker markings on the blooms!

The "Princess Lilies" are ideal for growing in containers.

It is incredibly drought-tolerant.

And they are simply perfect for a smaller garden!

For more information, visit:

https://www.irt.org.au/the-good-life/caring-for-your-alstroemerias-princess-lillies/

Get updates about the latest blog posts,

by joining for free HERE.

#alstroemeria #pink #flowers #princesslily

'Cake Works' 21st Birthday Cake...

Oh, how your children grow!

My baby has just turned 21!

Time just did not allow a homemade cake design to eventuate, 

 I enlisted the help of Annalies at 'Cake Works'!
http://www.cakeworksnz.com/

We chose a picture from among the hundreds of cakes on Pinterest.

So this is the pic (from Bella Cupcakes) 

That was emailed to Annalies at 'Cake Works',

with instructions that she was to add

  lemon yellow flowers to her own version of this design.
So right now I am doing a HUGE 'SHOUTOUT' to Annalies at 'CAKEWORKS'
because the cake she created was AMAZING!

Don't you agree?

With delicate flowers in the softest pastels...

On an aqua colored icing with beautiful white stenciling. 

It was simply gorgeous! 
Almost too gorgeous to cut....

Painted Door Mat...

 Take one plain and boring black rubber mat.

A can of spray paint in your chosen colour...

And spray, spray, spray,

until black disappears!

 LOOKING FABULOUS!

Just what my door entrance needed...

a bright funky POP of colour!

AH but ALAS...

less than 24 hours later

the gorgeous GEORGE was back to his naughty habits 
of chewing everything not nailed down!

Remember GEORGE...
Butter wouldn't melt in my mouth, worlds most adorable 
but most destructable Hungarian Vizla...

(read his story here:)

http://miabellapassion.blogspot.co.nz/2013/08/george.html

Nothing a little glue can't fix I decided...
the mat was glued back together,
 and now has a new home at the craft room door entrance!

And so far so good...

George has left it alone!
I am now on the look out for 'George-proof' mat ideas for the front porch.
A mat that may have to be made from steel!

For updates about the latest blog posts,

you can join for free HERE.

#frontdoormatideas

Cognac Diamonds...

Sharing a little bit of BLING with you all today...

with pure and natural diamonds ...

Now this is my kind of photo shoot...

(and my kind of ring!)

Stunningly beautiful with the gems set in a gorgeous art deco setting...

The diamonds are white and brown coloured.
Yes - BROWN!

Have you ever seen brown diamonds before?

For more information visit:
what-are-champagne-or-cognac-diamonds-and-why-should-you-choose-one?

The darker colour is called a 'cognac' diamond.
The paler colour of a 'champagne' diamond.

The earthy palette of this diamond colour is simply divine.

They are mined at Argyle Mine in the Eastern Kimberly region of Western Australia.

The colour of the cognac diamond is attributed to internal graining, which

 It is caused by a structural irregularity in the diamond's crystal lattice.

I'm in LOVE with cognac diamonds!

Get updates about the latest blog posts,

by joining for free HERE.

#allaboutcognacdiamonds #cognacdiamonds

Today is the tomorrow...

Here is a little bit  of inspiration 
being creative with digital imagery is so much fun!

The rose photo is from 'Mia Bella Gardens'...
and the message is this...

Today 

is the tomorrow

you

dreamed about

yesterday...

Beautiful, don't you think?

Christmas Themed Dessert Party

I know it is becoming a bit habitual but

dessert is a Mia Bella PASSION without a doubt!

So I just had to fit in one more dessert party night before Christmas Day!

And what a fabulous, fabulous time had by all!

Drinks and desserts!

Oh YUM!

 Preparation started  three days before the party.

 with the making of the royal icing Christmas trees.

 Christmas biscuits were baked.

 The snowflake shaped ones iced with royal icing in blue,
Here's a video link to show you how to do this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9Tru7c32i0

The round ginger sugar cookies were flooded with white royal icing

 in a way depicting melted snow.

Then a white marshmallow placed on top for the snowman's head.

Then three small sugar ball buttons were added. 

 Brown royal icing arms,

 and hands...

A bow tie and a cute wee face,
for melted snowmen cookies.  

I used the 'Ginger Sugar Cookie' Foodnetwork recipe 

which you will find HERE for both the Christmas Star and Melted Snowman cookies.

The table was dressed with am Christmas green and white gingham cloth.
Along with fruity dessert wine and lollies in jars. 

 Bon bons for some Christmas fun.

 Fruit kebabs.

A raspberry cheesecake.

 Bowls of berries.

Everything on the table had little homemade desciption cards!

 The cheesecake recipe is currently a 'secret' for   a collection of new recipes I'm creating for 'the cookbook'
(another work in progress).
But it passed the taste test with flying colours with comments like:
Best Cheesecake ever tasted!
Better than Grandmas secret recipe cheesecake!

Mini bunting with star brads and Christmas wishes made from coloured chopsticks and coloured papers. 
topped the delicious Hummingbird Cake with delectable cream cheese icing.

The big red bow

looked fabulous against the green of the icing Christmas trees...

White platters, and the cake on a matching cake stand.

and then it was time to party!

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#christmasdessertpartyideas