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Bishop's Stortford Party Kit Hire

party supplies and kits for hire in Bishops Stortford

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Beautiful sustainable and compostable partyware made from bamboo or palm leaves

Beautiful sustainable and compostable partyware made from bamboo or palm leaves

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sunshineandsmilesevents

Happy New Year lovelies - I know I'm late but afte

Happy New Year lovelies - I know I'm late but after the chaos of Christmas, back to school and back to work, all my new year plans and big ideas always get pushed to end of January/February to ease the pressure.

I've struggled with self doubt since becoming a mum really (fairly certain I'm not the only one....) and Sunshine & Smiles has certainly suffered because of my self doubt, I'm always thinking things like oh nobody is going to be interested in what your offering for hire or that fab eco swap you've found so there's no point sharing it etc.

So this morning, while sitting on the train heading in to London for a day in the day job office, I decided to re-read my Facebook reviews. There's not many, but they've helped restore my faith in me a bit and remind me that people are interested. So I'm going to be sharing all kinds of eco / sustainable / crafty / whatever makes me happy stuff, all things which can make any day an event because life is too short to only celebrate (and decorate) for the big events.

I might even build up the courage to go live!

Have a fabulous Friday lovelies

I'm always asking people to send me photos of the

I'm always asking people to send me photos of the party kits in action but am rubbish at taking photos when I use them myself!

These are the few I get yesterday. Basic kit, serveware kit and camo decor kit with ammo box add on in action.

#ecoalternatives #ecobirthday #supportsmallbusiness #partykit #partydecor #camobirthday

The Nerf Battle 7th Birthday Party was a big suces

The Nerf Battle 7th Birthday Party was a big sucess. Massive thank you to everyone for coming and huge thank you to Tanya from @excelactivitygroup for a fab Nerf Battle and Jade and the team at @1life_mountfitchetromeera, fabulous venue as always and I know I said it was the last one but I get a feeling we might be back next year!

The day has come, it's Nerf Battle Birthday Party

The day has come, it's Nerf Battle Birthday Party day and we are party ready!! Three boxes with everything needed for a fab party, well appart from the food and drinks obviously!

Box 1 - plates, cups, jugs and serveware
Box 2 - camouflage and Nerf table coverings and decorations
Crate - all the bits and pieces you might need - blue tac, string, scissors, matches, candles, cocktail sticks, kitchen roll, bin bags, tea towels and of course candles

Now to make a mountain of sandwiches and have a cuppa while lunch is doing its thing in the slow cooker. Then round up the troops (possibly in full camo gear) and head of to set up the party this afternoon.

#supportsmallbusiness #partyready #nerfbattle #ecoalternatives #reuse #mumlife #partykit

It's full party mode here. My youngest is 7 on Mo

It's full party mode here. My youngest is 7 on Monday so on Sunday he's having his last big birthday party - more on that later/tomorrow.

It's going to be exhausting so I'm all set to collapse on the sofa once the boys are in bed with a glass of fizz, this fabulous sounding kaolin clay mask and jasmine incense burner from the lovelies at @graceandmayhome

As much as I'm excited for the party I think I'm more excited for the facemask afterwards!

If you want to give it a try you can get 10% off on the @graceandmayhome website with the code SUNSHINEANDSMILES

#supportsmallbusiness #partyready #metime #relax #mumlife #ecobusiness

I wish you could smell this!!! This is a must for

I wish you could smell this!!! This is a must for the coffee lovers amongst you. This is my absolute favourite body scrub and I get it from the amazing @graceandmayhome (along with lots of other goodies I'll be sharing throughout the week).

I've been leaning towards making all the usual day to day stuff more of an event while still trying to be eco friendly and sustainable and a coffee scrub first thing in the morning is definitely a good start!

#coffee #everydayevents #sustainable #ecoalternatives #supportsmallbusiness

Woo hoo!! Thank you to everyone who has hired fro

Woo hoo!!

Thank you to everyone who has hired from me over the last 12 months!

Only my cups and plates count for the audit so the figure above doesn't include all the single use serve ware and decorations also save from landfill.

A massive thank you from me and the planet for your support.

#reusereducerecycle #ecoalternatives #ecobirthday #smallbusiness #partykit #reusablerevolution

Thanks @sustainableish for explaining Earth Oversh

Thanks @sustainableish for explaining Earth Overshoot Day.

Would love to hear what ideas you all have to #MoveTheDate

Posted @withregram • @sustainableish Today is #earthovershootdayDay

WTF is Earth Overshoot Day?
Glad you asked.

Earth Overshoot Day marks the point in the year where we've used up the amount of resources that the planet can regenerate in a year.
So after this point we're basically going into debt and 'borrowing' (stealing) resources from future generations.
We're using up the resources NOW, and they literally won't be available to future generations.

In 1971, we were pretty much living within our resources, and Earth Overshoot Day was 25th December.

9 years ago when I first came across the concept, we overshot on Aug 3rd.

Today, globally, we are using up 1.75 earths worth of resources each year.

You don't need to be a climate scientist, or an 'eco-maniac' to recognise that we only have one planet, and that if we keep consuming more than we can replace, then at some point this is going to catch up with us.

IT'S NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM THOUGH!!

Just as we've moved the date as society has grown and become more fossil fuel dependent and consumer focussed, and behaviours have changed, we can absolutely move the date in the opposite direction!

🌳 Reforesting 350 million hectares of forest would move the date of #EarthOvershootDay by 8 days

🚌 🚶‍♀️🚲 If we reduce our Footprint from driving by 50% around the world and assume one-third of car miles are replaced by public transportation and the rest by biking and walking, #EarthOvershootDay would move back 13 days

🥗 If we reduced global meat consumption by 50% and replaced these calories through a vegetarian diet, we would move #EarthOvershootDay 17 days (including 10 days from reduction of methane emissions)

So TODAY, could you pledge to:

🙌 Support gold standard re-forestation projects - check out organisations like @just_one_tree

🙌 Cut your car usage by 10/20/50%?
Apparently 38% of journeys in the UK are under 2 miles - replacing at least some of these with 🚶‍♀️or 🚲

🙌 Cut your meat consumption by 50%?
Start with @meatfreemonday and go from there!

Happy birthday to me 🎂🥂🍾 Boys broke up f

Happy birthday to me 🎂🥂🍾

Boys broke up from school yesterday so we're off to the park for a picnic with friends later. I'll no doubt be embarrassing walking down the road with my pink hair and now traditional birthday tutu 🤣

And yep, I decorate for my own birthday too!

I absolutely love birthdays, even my own, getting old is a blessing in my book.

The same amazing flamingo bunting from @buntingtreasures comes out every year. Along with the wall pieces I made out of some foam board and an deflated helium balloons

The flamingos are cake toppers from an amazing cake @nioscakesandmore made for me a couple of years ago.

And as for the presents, I choose them myself as I knew what I wanted but still wanted them wrapped - some fat quarters and ribbon from my large collection did just the trick and already back in the box for the next birthday.

Have a fabulous day lovelies whatever your up to xx

#happybirthdaytome #41isfabulous #reuse #birthdaydecor #flamingos #ecobirthday #fabricwrapping

I always work better with a deadline and some acco

I always work better with a deadline and some accountability! So I've got until May 2023 to sort my knackered knee out and raise as much money for @crukraceforlife

I'll share the like to my fundraising page once it's sorted but I would also love some company so if you fancy joining me in Harlow Town Park on 7 May 2023 for a 5km sort of run sort of walk let me know!

#raceforlife #couchto5k #cancersucks #runwithme

Happy Thursday lovelies, I've been very quiet for

Happy Thursday lovelies, I've been very quiet for a while, you know how it is, kids, day job, life in general just taking over.

But, I'm back! I've been thinking about adding something to Sunshine and Smiles and would love to know what you think, you can ready all about it over on the blog - link is in my bio.

Don't worry party kits aren't going anywhere! In fact the kit is off out to a 6th birthday party this weekend!

#ecoalternatives #ecoideas #partykit #reuse #bishopstrotfordmums #ecofriendly

These amazing birthday badges are now available as

These amazing birthday badges are now available as an add on to any party kit hire. Thank you to the amazing @curlysuecrafts

I'm a bit late to the party but who's signed up fo

I'm a bit late to the party but who's signed up for #plasticfreejuly ??

What easy plastic free switches have you made?

I've got a fabulous keep cup which I don't always remember but from now on if I don't remember the cup I don't get the coffee!

Hello lovelies, sorry I've been so quiet for so lo

Hello lovelies, sorry I've been so quiet for so long, life just kind of happened. Anyway, I hope you are all well.

So while I've been gone I've been thinking of ways to expand all things Sunshine & Smiles to spread the eco love and knowledge while the party barn and eco shop are still more dream than reality so was thinking along the lines of......

You're a tired, time poor, overwhelmed parent concerned about the climate crisis wanting to make some eco / sustainable changes but have no clue where to start. Would you be interested in a starter / subscription box that gave you the chance to try out a different product(s) each month and included some treats and a QR code to that months resources?

Would love to know what you think. Thank you 😘

I've started a Carbon Literacy course with the ama

I've started a Carbon Literacy course with the amazing @sustainableish today.

One of the things that really hit me is that to solve this problem we as individuals need to talk about it more. We don't for many reasons but in my case it's because I'm not sure anyone else is that bothered or will ask me questions I can't answer. But the point is that starting the conversation is the start of finding solutions and changes (I'll put some of the easier ones I've made/am planning to make in my stories) So I'm putting out there:

I AM REALLY CONCERNED ABOUT THE CLIMATE CRISIS

Would love to know what you think about it - let's start the conversation

Would also love to hear any eco swaps / changes you've made

Rach x

Photo credit - Ronan Furuta

#climatecrisis #weneedtotalk #starttheconversation #ecoswaps #bethechangeyouwanttosee

Hello amazing Insta family. Sorry I've been so ab

Hello amazing Insta family.

Sorry I've been so absent, home schooling and summer holidays got the better of me.

I'm hoping you can you help me please

As you know the climate crisis and ocean plastics are things that I'm really concerned about.

I truly believe we need to teach our children about these issues from a young age.

I set up a crowdfunding page to try and get the amazing Wild Tribe Hereos books in to all primary schools in Bishop's Stortford.

There are two days left for donations and if you can spare even £1 it would be a massive help.

If you can share with everyone you know that is equally as amazing!

If you want to know more about the books or the project then just shout.

THANK YOU!!xx

Https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/help-our-children-understand-environmental-issues

@wildtribeheroes

#climatecrisis #oceanplastics #teachourchildren #teachourkids #bishopstrotfordmums #bishopsstortford #ecoliving

Paper packaging from IKEA and washi tape makes for

Paper packaging from IKEA and washi tape makes for beautiful birthday presents. Paper can be easily recycled and no money spent. I'll be saving all paper packaging now!

What do you use to wrap presents?

#birthday #wrapping #reuse #washitape #brownpaperpackages #ecoideas #reusereducerecycle

Love how this turned out! And I couldn't waste th

Love how this turned out!

And I couldn't waste the off cuts so have turned a random chopping board in to a lovely mini serving tray type thing - just the right size for a couple of glasses of fizz 🥂

@fayejennifervinyldesign I might have to cover everything in your amazing vinyl!

#partydiy #flamingos #flamingoparty

So the big reception class party has had to be pus

So the big reception class party has had to be pushed back to September 😢

Which means it's now full speed ahead for my 40th flamingo luau! 🦩🦩🌺🌺🥂🍾

Absolutely love this amazing vinyl from @fayejennifervinyldesign

@hobbycrafthq is my go to for MDF or mache numbers

#birthdaycelebrations🎉 #partydiy #flamingoparty #flamingos #diypartydecor

You might have seen me talk about these books befo

You might have seen me talk about these books before. We discovered them last year and the boys and me love them! There any amazing way to get children thinking and taking about issues such as ocean plastics and climate change without terrifying them.

They're already in schools up and down the country but I think they should be in every school in the UK, in fact the world (I am a bit all or nothing!). To start with though I'm going with all primary schools and preschools in Bishop's Stortford and surrounding villages.

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/help-our-children-understand-environmental-issues

Link also in my bio

If I've tagged you it's because this is your Community and I'm hoping you'll be able to help by sharing the crowdfunding page with everyone you know or maybe making a donation if you can.

If you're not in Bishop's Stortford but would love the idea of the project then please get in touch.

Thank you!

#wildtribeheroes #booksinschool #ecoeducation #climatechangebooksforkids #endoceanplastics #bishopstortfordmums #bishopsstortfordschools #ecoliving #ecofriendlyliving #climateaction

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