Archive for the ‘Cupcakes’ Category
I am a huge follower of Groopdealz. I buy WAY too much stuff from their site. I decided to contact them and see if they’d be interested in selling one of my collections. They politely agreed so I threw together just a little Valentine’s Day printable collection. Three days and a big mess later, I finally had my collection done. Since I threw this together so last minute (I’m really not a planner), I had to use some local vendors. In addition, as you may know, I am also pregnant and didn’t feel like making everything so I ended up buying a few items that I would have normally made. Normally I try and do everything, but this pregnancy I am listening to my body a lot more and cutting myself some slack- even if that means buying cookies, instead of making them!
I’m totally in love with the ombre look and chevron stripes and wanted to create a collection that was both sweet and stylish all at the same time. I’m really into pink and teal right now (I’m using the same colors for my gender reveal party next month) and thought those would be the perfect Valentine’s Day colors to focus on! Once I have an idea, the pieces usually start to fall into place.
I wanted a very sweet, yet simple display-nothing too over the top. I put up my backdrop stand which I created for Skyler’s Lego Party last year. If you’d like to make your own, here are the instructions. Then I grabbed my drapes from upstairs and hung them to create a soft flowing backdrop. I went to my local hardware store, which shall remain nameless, since I “lifted” 50 or so paint swatches and don’t want to incriminate myself any further. I was inspired by a DIY Paint Swatch Ombre Chandelier that I had seen on pinterest. My plan was to create heart shaped ombre garland which I attached on top of the drapes and was ready to go.
For the table itself, I always start with my fabulous tablevogue table cloth. Then I used my white dish ware and a white picture frame from Goodwill that my husband painted for me. It was the perfect centerpiece. The menu consisted of candy, cupcake cakes, powdered donuts, cookies, and milk- everything sweet just the way I like it.
I had a ton of fun creating candy necklace charms. I thought this would make a fun Valentine’s Day gift. I took my Fiskers Scalloped Heart Shaped Punch and punched out little tags. Then I used my eyelet punch and put an eyelet into the heart and used wire to attach the charm to the candy necklace. Super simple, yet adorable.
My printable collection includes everything you see here (except the invitations, which are available in my shop) and more.You can buy it for the next 48 hours for 55% off at Groopdealz.com!!
11″ x 17″ Placemats, one in each color (2 total) 4″ x 6″ Mini Signs (4 designs) 4.25″ x 4″ Fold over bag toppers (one page of each color) 4″ x 3″ Place cards/Food labels (when folded 3″ x 2″)- blank (one page of each color) 3″ long Gift Tags (9 designs, one page of each color) 2″ Cupcake Toppers/Party Circles (4 designs, 12 per sheet) 3″ x 3.5″ Happy Valentine’s Day Bag Labels/Tags Double-sided fill in Valentine Drink/Straw flags (4 designs, 16 per page) Water bottle labels (4 designs, one page of each color) Candy Bar Wrapper (2 designs) Candy Necklace Charms (6 designs, 3 of each color)
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VENDOR CREDITS
Printables, Styling, and Photography: Modern Moments Designs Chevron Bags, Straws, and Rock Candy : Fancy That White Footed Round Bowl, Cupcake Liners: Shop Sweet Lulu Table Cloth: tablevogue Cookies: Beaverton Bakery Cakepops: Modern Moments Designs, inspired by Sweet Lauren Cakes Mini White Frames: Ikea Heart Shaped Plates: Target
So, this has been a long time coming. Many of you may have already seen some of the amazing shower photos on Hostess with the Mostess. One of the many perks of being a contributor is that I get to feature some of my own work on Jenn’s site. The downfall is that I am usually more concerned about getting Jenn all the information, that I forget about my own blog. Also, all of these items are NOW available in my shop.
My dear friend, Courtney Jade, took a million photos and there are so MANY that you haven’t seen. Since the party, Laura’s shower has been featured on a ton of websites/blog sites and several countries too including Hostess Blog {Part 1} and {Part 2}, Courtney Jade Photography Events, Marabous {Bridal Shower} and {Dessert Buffet}, and So Lovely Moments, and I hope more. . .
Here are all the details from the shower starting from the beginning, but now all of this is past tense. I was lazy and didn’t feel like re-writing it all. Sorry. . . here are all the details. . .
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My dear friend, Laura is getting married in August and her twin sister, Lindsey was in charge of throwing her a beautiful bridal shower. She started planning months prior, which is a good thing because we had a lot of work to do! I was lucky enough to help out with the designing and styling.
Lindsey took inspiration from many different places, but Paige of Paiges of Style was a huge inspiration to us all. Lindsey wanted the shower to be romantic and stylish. Her color palette included shades of gray along with pretty corals and shades of soft pink. Lindsey also wanted to include many vintage pieces to tie the theme together. We also added the chevron stipe pattern for a clean and timeless feel.
The shower was held in a terraced backyard. It was a very intimate bridal shower with 30 of Laura’s closest friends and family members. We served brunch along with many sweet pastries and desserts. The shower featured the main food table and a drink bar. Lindsey styled and designed this whole fabulous drink area. The incredible table came from a second-hand store. Lindsey, along with the help of her Mom, did an incredible job refurbishing it. It looked so amazing and to think they only bought it for $30, what a steal!
Since the party was outside, we still wanted it to feel warm and inviting. We set up several vignettes throughout including the seating area, gift station, and of course the bar. The backyard really went through a major transformation and looked so beautiful! Each table was also styled. The centerpieces were comprised of bundles of books. The mother-of-the-bride, took paper back books, removed the covers, and tied them with twine. She also incorporated scrabble tiles that said “Bride to be.” She pinned beautiful vintage broaches on them, which happen to be the broaches that will be on the bridesmaid bouquets for the wedding. We then topped the book bundles with beautiful vases full of peonies. In the center of the peonies we placed floral pins to glam them up a bit. Lastly, we we used the same flags that we used on the straws and placed those around the base of the vases. They were stunning!
Thanks to all the people who helped make this shower possible. We seriously had a whole group of people who selflessly pitched in. We couldn’t have done it without each and every one of you. We spent countless hours cutting, gluing, and making sure every detail was perfect!
Here are a few photos of Emerson. He accompanied me to the shower. Also, here is a photo of the gift that my Mom and I put together for Laura.
Ready to see more? Stay tuned for Part 2 coming soon. . .
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VENDOR CREDITS: – Event Styling – Modern Moments Designs, Laura Grim & Lindsey Ter Har {Double Take} & D’Lorah Ter Har – Invitation & Party Printables – Modern Moments Designs – Paper Straws – Shop Sweet Lulu – Fondant Peony Flowers – Two Sugar Babies – Tables, Chairs, & Linen Rentals – The Party Pros – Donut Holes – Every Day is a Donut Day – Macarons – Jade Teahouse – Edible Cookie Designs – Frost – Coasters & Parchment Bags – Run Ellie Run – Chocolate Cups and Chocolate Sticks – Whole Foods – Large Gray Frame – IKEA (spray painted Gray to match the party) – Ribbon – Fabric Depot – Table Cloth –Table Vogue – Photography – Courtney Jade Photography
Apr 09
30th Birthday ReCap
Now that I’ve been 30 for 20 days now, I think it’s time for me to recap my birthday! Before I get into all the details, I want to thank my amazing husband for planning an amazing weekend! My birthday was so special! He did an incredible job planning everything. Thank you Lincoln for loving me, being my best friend, and an amazing party planner (who knew, right?)!!!
Okay, now where was I? Oh right, my big 3-0 weekend extravaganza!!!! Lincoln came home early from work on Friday (3/18, two days before my birthday) and presented me with the most amazing cake ever!!! It was another beautiful creation from my aunt Honey (you might remember the guitar cake she created for Jackson’s Rock Star Birthday Party), inspired by this cake by CakeJournal! Pretty Amazing, right? It was a banana cake (my favorite) and tasted like a little piece of heaven. I know that I probably gained some lbs after eating a good portion of this on my own! I have no regrets!
The above photo is the cake created by Cake Journal (photo courtesy of Cake Journal). Now, look at my cake below. They look pretty similar, right? I love this cake so much!!
Lincoln also gave me one of my birthday presents. He was so cute. All week he kept trying to give me my presents. He was so excited and totally adorable. A few weeks prior I was blogging or something and he said, “It would be cool if you could turn your blog into a book.” I agreed with him. That would be cool, right? Well, that’s exactly what my husband did. He did a ton of research and ended up finding a company called SharedBook. They take blogs and makes them into books among other things. Yahooo!!!! This was by far, one of my most favorite gifts! It was so thoughtful, personal, and something that is near and dear to my heart. Here are some shots of my book. My blog as a book, so much fun!
I included a few pages on my DIY Mini Cupcake Stand Tutorial. I choose those pages because that is one of my posts that is re-posted over and over. It makes me happy when people repost my blog posts! That’s one of the best compliments!
We went to dinner that night at PF Changs (one of my favorite restaurants) with many of my closest friends. If you didn’t get invited, it was Lincoln’s fault. He did his best to remember everyone, but keep in mind, he is new at this party planning thing! We ate, we drank, I played match maker (you know who you are) and we had a wonderful time. I drank a few “Poolsides” too, which is one of my favorite drinks. We ate some of my enormous cake and Laura made these adorable place settings. I couldn’t get enough of them. I saved every single flower too! Watch for these to appear in an upcoming party of mine! Well, that was a great birthday, right? Oh no, it wasn’t over yet!!! There was much, much more to come!!!! It was like the party that never ended!
Saturday (1 day before the big 3-0) was a normal day. We woke up. I took Skyler to baseball practice. We dropped the older boys off at my amazingly talented brother-in-law and sister-in-law’s house for my nephew’s birthday party! My adorable nephew, Finn was turning 4 and having a super-heros party. Skyler and Jackson even got to have a sleepover. They were super excited. We dropped Emerson off at Lincoln’s Mom’s house and we were kid free. This was the first time that I had ever been away from Emerson overnight (remember this because this will haunt me. Did I mention that I am still nursing him?). Before we even left Lincoln’s Mom’s drive way he said, “I already miss my dudes.” He’s super cute!!!
So, no kids whatever should we do with ourselves? Check into a beautiful, trendy hotel, yes please! Lincoln had planned a night away at the Nines which is a beautiful hotel in downtown Portland. I’m always talking about wanting to go on vacation or have a good nights sleep. All that nagging really paid off! If you’ve never been to the Nines, you really must stay there! I can’t say enough wonderful thing about it! When I walked into our room, I almost died. I couldn’t have done a better job decorating it myself! Okay, so I would pick different bedside lamps and make a few other changes, but overall it was my dream bedroom! I am going to try and recreate it. So, if anyone knows where I can find this incredible hanging light and the beautiful fabric on these arm chairs, I would be very grateful!
What do you think? Isn’t the room amazing? The hotel is beautifully decorated. I’d love to just move in permanently! Wouldn’t that be fun? In my dreams, maybe! Ahaha! Okay, snap back to reality. I guess I wasn’t totally dreaming, we were kid FREE. We really didn’t know what to do with ourselves. We almost always have the kids with us except for the occasional date night out. We sort of had to ease into the kid-less mentality, but it didn’t take too long for us to get back into the swing of things. We packed as many things into our “stay-cation” as we could. We went to happy-hour at Departure, an almost Jetsons like restaurant and lounge located on the 15th floor of the Nines, shopping at Pioneer Place, and then we came back to get ready for our night out on the down. We decided to go to dinner at a local bar, Thirsty Lion. Lincoln and I love pub food and we enjoy going to new places (plus, a ton of our friends go there). Lincoln really wanted to go listen to live music and to our surprise The Bradley Band was playing! They are a cover band that played a ton of awesome music like Sublime! Linc and I use to listen to Sublime when we were dating in high school. After dinner and a few too many drinks, we made our way to the dance floor and danced for what seemed like hours. To be honest, I have no idea how long we danced.
At some point we stumbled back to our hotel room and called it a night. We had every intention to go to late night happy hour at Urban Farmer, which was also located in the same building as our hotel. In fact, our room looked down upon the restaurant. Even though we didn’t make it there. Here are a few shots from our room. Someday we’ll make it back there!
The next morning, late morning, we woke up in our luxurious bed! Finally, it was my 30th birthday! I was hung over, still in some of my cloths from the night before, and oh yeah, in a ton of pain! You remember the part about me still nursing? Well, that was the most uncomfortable feeling of my entire life. WARNING!! This is going to be some major TMI (too much information) so if you can’t handle it, skip down to the next paragraph! Last chance! I woke up with rock hard boobs. I mean, I don’t think I’ve felt pain like that since my milk came in with Skyler almost 6 years ago! What should I do? I had no idea how to fix this problem, short of hooking up a make shift pump and turing it to overdrive! I really had contemplated bringing my pump, but had already packed away all of the key components in storage! Honestly, I didn’t think I would be in so much pain! So, I did what any desperate Mom would do! I self-expressed as much milk as I could to relieve the pressure! I literally, by hand (pun intended!) pumped off a huge glass of milk. After I recovered from severe pain, we showered, got ready, and said good-bye to our incredible hotel room!! I missed it the moment I shut the door!
Notice something unusual about my milk? The color perhaps? Well, it was “teal” from the Poolsides a few nights before. YIKES! The dye in those drinks can’t be good for you, but they do taste yummy!
Still recovering from the night before, after all, I am 30 now and I just can’t bounce back like I could in my younger days, we went and got coffee at Starbucks. Okay, so I don’t even like coffee. I always get Caramel Sauce Hot Chocolate, but Linc loves coffee! After that, we stopped by William-Sonoma and I bought my cupcake core (which I have already used several times, I might add) and then headed to breakfast.
We were meeting my Mom, Dad, sister’s, Jamie and Kellie, my grandma, and my babies for breakfast. The talented Miss Courtney Jade had told us about this really cool pancake house in Southeast Portland called Slappy Cakes. I knew we had to check it out! It is a full service breakfast restaurant where you can make your pancakes right at your table! It was so good and really fun! I can’t wait to go back there. They had this “house” syrup that was a Strawberry vinegar based syrup. Sounds gross, right? Actually, it was so yummy! I’m hoping they’ll share their recipe with me!
I told you we had a full weekend extravaganza!!! I know it was killing Lincoln, but we went back to my Mom’s house and FINALLY opened all of my birthday presents. To be honest, at my age there’s nothing I really need. Just getting together with friends and family was enough of a treat! With that being said, I did get some amazing gifts. I got several gift cards so I can take myself on a shopping spree (I always enjoy buying new cloths and not having to pay for them out of my own pocket makes it even better), some cupcake earrings, a ton of awesome cookbooks (and one that I already had which you will benefit from), some incredible Rosanna pieces, bottles of wine, and a bunch of other thoughtful gifts! It seriously was the best birthday that I could have ever asked for! I am the luckiest girl in the world to have such wonderful friends and family! I could not have asked for a better weekend! Now, I just can’t wait to do it again (everything except the whole engorgement thing) next year! I’ll leave you with one of my beautifully wrapped presents in cupcake paper, no less!!!
Are you ready for Part 2 of Jackson’s awesome Rock Star Birthday Party?? I know, you’ve been dying to see the rest of the photos and to get every last detail, right? I won’t keep you waiting any longer.
{DIY FAUX DRUM SET} I wanted to include some other “rock” elements in the party! I first saw this DIY Drum Set on Oh Dee Doh. I thought it was such cool way to add a bit of height and functionality to the Dessert Table. For the “Faux” Drum Set, I sent my hubby to Ace Hardware to pick up some empty paint cans. I had originally thought about painting them, but I love the look of the shinny metallic metal. The large bucket in the middle was white and we (my husband does all the spray painting because I tend to be a little wild and untrustworthy with spray paint) painted that to match. Then I cut out some nautical rock stars with my vinyl cutter and used them to embellish the buckets.
{DIY CUSTOM GUITAR PICKS} These have to be one of my favorite elements from the party! I looked into having custom guitar picks made, but it was way out of my budget. My husband mentioned he had heard about a “guitar pick punch” and I knew I had to track it down. To my surprise and delight, I found a Pick Punch and all the supplies at a really reasonable price. I printed out photos and other designs that matched the theme on full sheet label stock. I trimmed the sheet into strips (I could fit two rows across) and applied the full sheet label stock to the pick plastic. Then I used the pick punch, just like you would a paper punch, and punched out each pick! I loved each and every one. Now if you were really going to strum with them, the label stock may not hold up, but because I was just decorating with them they were perfect! These were scattered throughout the party! We used them almost like confetti! We also taped them to the front of the acrylic serving trays to add a touch of color and detail.
{DETAILED DESSERT TABLE} The Dessert Table is always the focal point and “wow” factor at my parties. I love creating dessert tables that are a bit out of the ordinary! First, I always start off with my Table Vogue table cloth. It’s my “staple” for any party! It provides a nice clean slate to build from. I love it so much and I am considering buying the red one. Next, I used shiny stars in pink, teal, and black that I purchased at The Lippman Co. and scattered them across the table to add some color and visual elements.
I placed two of my acrylic serving trays that were featured in my wine club party and Lincoln’s Circa 1980’s Surprise Birthday party in the center of the table. I simply flipped them over and they became the perfect riser. Next, I staggered my “Faux” Drum Set on top. Inside the drum buckets, I placed Rockin’ Rubber Ducks, Good N’ Plenties, Pop Rocks, Grapefruit Slices, and bags of Cotton Candy. I also scattered cupcakes across the acrylic trays. In a glass vase filled with Good N’ Plenties, I added the black and white stripe candy bags with a metal candy scoop. On the bags which I purchase from Shop Sweet Lu Lu, I created a label that read “Swag Bag, candy for the soul.” Can I just say I wanted to purchase everything in Shop Sweet Lu Lu’s shop? Jessie, from Shop Sweet Lu Lu was incredible to work with. She was so helpful and had a ton of ideas that really made this party special! Thanks Jessie.
{SUGAR ROCKS} The only thing Jackson asked for was a guitar cake. I had already ordered the super cute guitar cupcake toppers from Two Sugar Babies. Charynn is amazing to work with too! She is always willing to work with me on custom designs that match my parties. It totally takes the stress out of decorating cupcakes the morning of the big event! Just bake, frost, and apply! It’s as easy as that! Now back to Jackson’s Guitar Cake request. . . I called my Aunt Honey with Cakes by Taste of Honey and she came through for me. She made this epic guitar cake complete with guitar strings. It was awesome! Jackson loved it and that’s what really matters, right?
I’ve been blog stalking Bakerella for a long while now. I even got her amazing Cake Pop Cookbook for Christmas from my darling Mother-in-law. Believe it or not, I haven’t included cake pops in any of my parties until now. I experimented with making guitars, but they looked too phallic for a kids party. I decided to make stars instead. My Mom and Sister were nice enough to draw stripes on them with an edible food marker. My Dad made me two wooden Cake Pop Stands too. My parties are family affairs. All hands on deck. I take/steal/borrow all the help I can get.
A party isn’t complete without cookies. Well this party was definitely complete because we had two different kinds of cookies. Renee from Bee’s Knees Creative made the PERFECT cookies. They seriously matched everything perfectly! They were almost too pretty to eat, so I just closed my eyes and took a huge bite. Hahaha! The other cookies I made. My dear friend Jennifer just started Frost Edible Designs. She printed these edible frosting sheets for me. I was her first customer! I made shortbread cookies and used Marian from Sweetopia’s Royal Icing Recipe. I added some disco dust, maybe a tab too much. Is that possible? Whatever! They were sparkly and I liked them!
Candy is a key element to any great dessert table. I love candy! I tried to use pink, black, and white candy throughout. I created custom candy wrappers for nerds, chocolate bars, and push up pops. This was the first time I’ve covered candy with custom wrappers. It was so simple and easy to do, but made a huge impact. Definitely worth the time and effort. I created labels for the cotton candy too. They came in these ugly pastic bear containers, so we repackaged them and added a label.
The black bread boxes housed the majority of the candy! These were so cool and really fit with the party theme. They also made the perfect storage and made transporting all of these items to the party really convenient. Can you believe I got them on clearance at Target for $10 each? A total steal if you ask me! Inside one of the boxes I had the nerds, pushup pops, and chocolate bars. Inside the other one, we took gum balls in pink, black, white, and teal and layered them in clear plastic tubes (also purchased from Shop Sweet Lu Lu). I used Washi Tape (also from Shop Sweet Lu Lu, do you see pattern here?) to tape of the ends for two reasons. 1. I thought it looked really cool 2. I didn’t want gum balls to go flying all over the place if the kids started shaking them. Can I just add that one of my clients was kind enough to send those gum balls to me? She knew I was throwing a party for Jackson and I couldn’t find them locally so she sent them to me! Thank you so much Jennifer!
{ROCKSTARS NEED DRINKS TOO} One of our local grocery stores was going out of business and had discounted the entire store. I happened to see Jones Soda bottles and knew I had to include them in the party. I designed three different custom labels for the party using Jackson’s awesome photos. It wasn’t until I was done designing the labels that I realized you can get Personalized Labels direct from Jones Soda. I printed all of my labels for a lot cheaper. We attached black & white or pink & white stripy straws to the sides of all the bottles again with the Washi Tape . I also bring water for the adults too. This time I designed a label that read “This Water is Mine” and left a place for people to write in their names. That way people could keep track of them easier!
{PARTY FAVORS} The black and white polka dot gable boxes were full of fun party favors! We had blow up microphones, blow up guitars, tattoos, rockin’ silly bands, and guitar stickers. Additional favors were scattered throughout the party like the shutter shade glasses, rockin’ rubber ducks, and of course all the candy!
{SPECIAL THANK YOUS} I’d like to give a special thank you to my hubby for putting up with all of my shenanigans! He always pitches in to help out each and every time. Thank you to my partner in crime, Laura. She doesn’t even have any kids of her own, but she always helps me get ready for each party and provides me with amazing ideas! Thank you to my sisters for dealing with my craziness while we are setting up! I am type A and a total bossy older sister. Thank you so much! Elise, thank you for coming and helping out. We couldn’t have done it without you! Court– thanks again for the amazing photos that you took! They really were the catalyst for all of my party ideas! Ry– Thanks for slumin’ it and taking a few photos with my camera! Can’t wait to see how the photos turned out from your “real” camera. Thanks to Jenn too for providing us with Hostess Blog. It’s a constant source of inspiration and a platform to showcase amazing parties!
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VENDOR CREDITS
-Birthday Invitations, Return Address Label Wraps, Water Bottle Labels, Place Cards, Candy Labels, “Backstage Passes,” Posters, Soda Bottle Labels, Candy Bar Wrapper, Sucker Wrapper, Nerds Wrapper, T-shirts, Shortbread Cookies & Design, Cake Pops : Modern Moments Designs -Stripy Straws, Clear Tubes (gum balls were featured inside), Japanese Tape, 36″ balloons, polka dot balloons, polka dot gable boxes, Divine Twine, Striped bags: Shop Sweet Lu Lu -Black Bread Boxes: Target -Guitar, Music Notes, & Nautical Star Cookies: Bee’s Knees Creative -Edible Cookie Designs: Frost – Guitar Cake: Cakes by Taste of Honey (cakebyhoney@comcast.net in the Portland & Vancouver Area) -Guitar Fondant Cupcake Toppers: Two Sugar Babies -Rubber Ducks, Blow up Guitars, Paper Plates, Napkins, Stickers, Tattoos, Glasses: Oriental Trading Company -Stars, Blow Up Microphones, Birthday Candle, Nerds: The Lippman Co. -Venue: Sound Roots -Pick Punch (I used this to create the custom pics): Pick Punch -Photographs of Jackson (used on invite and all printables & photos of invitation): Courtney Jade Photography *Party Photographs were taken by Me, my hubby Lincoln, and the best photos were taken by my talented brother-in-law, Ryan Wilcox with You Look Nice Today Photography