Too Cute Cupcake Cuties

Now there is a cupcake design for ANY special occasion…. I am in LOVE with these from Cupcake Cuties. They are so easy to put together and will definitely have everyone talking at your next party! They have so many different styles ranging from wedding, birthday, sports, holiday, seasonal, food and other events.

Any Sunday football game would be perfect to have these or even for a Superbowl party!

Special Occasions

Food themed

Perfect Holiday Themes

This would be fun for a bachelorette party or any adult party :)

They even have a Cupcake Cutie of the Month Club! If you are the baker at work, for your family or you are a teacher this is a great club to be in. This way you can get a kit every month with 24 self adhesive sleeves and all of the necessary toppings.

Happy baking and decorating :)



A Time of Thanks....

Can you believe that Thanksgiving is a week away!? It is my FAVorite holiday! Holiday's are big events as well. Especially when you have all of your family gathering on one day... it can be a long day but packed with memories, good laughs and delicious food!

The table...this is the most important spot to decorate for Thanksgiving or any fall event. Plus I think Fall is such a great time of year to decorate - you can really use all sorts of natural elements and your table will pop.

We have a large family for the holidays so every year we try and put some name tags down just so we don’t leave anyone out. Check out these cute ideas!

 

 Fabric leaf cut outs held together with ribbon and their name...

I adore these Crate & Barrel leaves....I use them in my house every fall to decorate my bay window and they look real (without the mess)!

Center Stage

I don't think the table décor needs to take away from the meal either. So I would recommend keeping it simple. A large bowl full of gourds, multiple size/color pumpkins with leaves scattered and a few candles, and many more options.

This is elegant enough to be a wedding or shower centerpiece too. Love it!

{Martha Stewart}

If you have some containers at home use some items to fill them for extra color. Fresh cranberries, acorns, nuts, beans and corn. Or you can be creative with your vegetables and put your candles inside of them… artichokes, wrap green beans around the candle or asparagus…you can really make a nice harvest look with fresh items on hand.

{Photo: Good Housekeeping & Budget Wise Home} 

Don’t forget Thanksgiving is a time to remember what we are most thankful for. In the past we have made everyone say what they are thankful for (without anyone repeating what another said) prior to dinner. Or you can have everyone write it down and hang it on a branch or a little tree.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!!



Simple Smiles....

What makes you smile? For me its the small things in life... like coming home to flowers on the table from my husband, a phone call from a good friend or a cute card in the mailbox in the midst of junk and bills. Yes! The little things are what stands out and the personal touches like a hand written card - which is great especially in the modern era of "virtual connectivity".

{Close your eyes and make a wish...}

I really LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these cards.....my good friend E'Lisa has opened her own Etsy shop.  'Spread Some Happy' fine art greeting cards are designed by the ever so talented E'Lisa and are all photographs she has taken along her travels and added just the right words to make them such a perfect fit for anyone. 

These cards can be sold individually or in bundles of 5. You can even create your own bundle by choosing from 16 different designs or you can choose from her prepackaged designs offered in the shop.  Below are a few of my favorite hand picked cards...

{When Life gives you lemons...}

{You are my sunshine.}

{Friends are like trees. They grow together.}

When I saw this card I knew it was perfect for my NBFF Amy for her birthday - and it was perfect....she loved it! :)

These fine art cards are perfect for any occasion: Birthday, Anniversary, Friendship, Wedding, Thank you, Inspirational, Encouragement, Thinking of you, Just Because, New baby, Sympathy, Get Well and many more! Order some today! 

P.S. In case you didn't know...she is an ubber talented photographer so check her out!

Have a fabulous day!!

A Personal Touch...

I always think its the extra personsal touches you can add to your special event. I am loving personalized Stamps right now. Just think when you get that wedding invitation or baby invite and it has a personalized picture in the upper right corner.

Another great personal touch to add to your next event is memorial vases. At weddings there is usually a table set up for loved ones that have passed for everyone to remember them. Photos, candles and flowers are usually on the table. But a great keepsake for even after your event are these fabulous floating wedding memorial candle holders that are personalized!

This can be reused as a vase later on or just a nice memorial for a loved one to cherish. 

When thinking personalized...think gifts too! There are so many new ideas to make items personalized rather than just a plain flask and some initials (not that isn't a great gift but after a few weddings you may have a collection).

• Think of getting groomsmen tickets to their favorite sporting event
• Jewlrey boxes/watch cases personalized
• Cosmetic bags with sassy embroidered letters to match their style
• Hand written thank you's/notes

  

PS. Did I mention Fall is my FAVORITE season? There are so many things to come on the blog...stay tuned! 

Brooches & Knobs...OH MY!!!!

There are so many different options you can do with a bouquet now a days. Some are simple and elegant, some have fruit, berries and even twigs, acorns etc. But I have to say when I first saw these I fell in LOVE!

{Image from 100 Layer Cake}

Have you ever thought about what happens to old door knobs? Where do they go? Some have character and style that should be used again!

Here is a unique twist on a door knob bouquet... I announce to you the Door Knob Bouquet.....squeeee!

{Image from 100 Layer Cake}

Simple, elegant and a perfect forever keepsake! No need to worry about trying to dry out your flowers just right....now you can put this anywhere in your home and look at it all the time and think of that fabulous wedding day or special occasion!

Don't just stop with the bride....think of your bridesmaids too! This would be a great DIY  project with all of your girls. Search etsy, antique shops, thrift stores, craft stores, and your local Anthropologie for a collection of knobs that are just your taste.

{Image from Fantasy Floral Designs}

Taking this a step further what about brooches....I mean there are so many different ones out there. Not to mention a perfect way to incorporate family heirlooms and jewels and that certainly adds a personal touch! Not to mention something old.

{Image from Fantasy Floral Designs}

You can find brooches at antique shops, vintage jewelery stores, thrift stores, ask around your family/friends/neighbors, garage sales and etsy.

This bouquet would make a nice keepsake or you could give brooches away to your bridal party as keepsakes. Maybe even get a brooch that reminds you of each of your bridesmaids and place it in your bouquet so that you can give them something extra special at the end of the night.

Suhm-thing.....SWEET!

So now that I am working in Birmingham I am starting to see how much it has changed over time from when I was growing up. Now they have so many neat stores with different things...I really want to highlight this new gem I found...Suhm-Thing. First, I LOVE the name! Second, this store has everything from picture frames, fun bowls, platters, jewelery, bags, perfume and more!! This is the perfect store for finding your next hostess, bridesmaid, birthday or any kind of unique gift!!

Personalized hand-stamped jewelry (custom made) is a perfect gift for Mothers, Brides-to-Be, Friends or just you! Made with sterling silver, each charm is hand stamped with names or personalization to create a custom piece that is as unique as it is beautiful. All necklaces come on an 18” or 20” sterling silver chain, ball chain or hemp string.

BRIDE ALERT: You could use one of these charms on your garter with your wedding date/your monogram or a special number to both of you...love this!!!

These be.ology shirts are really neat. They are designed to show who you are, inspire to be and who you want to be.

Modern Notes candles offer luxury scents with affordability. Who doesn't love that?! They have many scents including: Ginger & White Tea, Jasmine, Flower Market, Fig Leaf, Fresh Cut Peony, Mandarin & Tangerine and more!

This store is so refreshing and unique and the prices are fabulous! I would recommend you pop in there soon!

Cupcake Glamour

The new trend has been instead of wedding cakes to do cupcakes. They can be dressed up on trays, different platters and toppers.  If you still love the traditional wedding cake - you can get a small one to cut for photos and to save some for next year. But why not make it easier and skip all the "cake cutting" for everyone and just sever cupcakes?!

 Bonus: You can do many different flavor combinations. love it!!!

{favorite}

A good friend of mine, Kendra just started up an etsy shop Cupcake Glamour. Her shop features custom made cupcake toppers that are a glamorous touch to any wedding, bridal/baby shower, birthday, holiday or any other party you may have!

These are so fun for a Halloween party! I think I will need to get some - I love doing Halloween cupcakes.

My friend Kim had her wedding close after Christmas and part of her decorations were snowflakes - these would have fit in perfectly!

So when you are planning your next event click over to Cupcake Glamour and check out Kendra's designs. If you don't see the right design message her and you can work together to make your vision a glamorous topper :)

Happy Trendy Thursday!

The Dirty 30 Welcome's Chris!!!

This was such a pleasure to work on...I met Chris 6 years ago at the media company we both worked for and after I got engaged he told me all about his wife E'Lisa and their photography company - E.C. Campbell Photography. E'Lisa came to work for the same company in my department and through our wedding and working together we became great friends. They radiate love and only positive energy. So when my dear friend E'Lisa came to me late last year wanting to plan something for her husband Chris's big three-oh, I was THRILLED! Chris is very low key and relaxed... so with some thought I figured what guy doesn't love a good ball game...with that we went to the Detroit Tiger's game and had a after party at Hockeytown Cafe. The night was amazing and he was SURPRISED!!!!!

It also happened to be Elvis night at Comerica Park, a friend of ours Don McLean, performed in the stadium and made it on ESPN SportsCenter - holla!!!

We gave out a bag of peanuts for a favor to everyone and put little stickers on them to add some personal touch.

Chris had an amazing time with all of his family and friends. The weather was perfect and we won the game to boot.

{favorite}

After the game we moved our party across the street to the Hockeytown Cafe.

I have to give props to Costco for following all of my directions for this A-M-Azing cake!

love it!

And as E'lisa put it so perfectly: "buying 25 tigers tickets in the same section: $800. a beer and a hot dog: $20. surprising my husband on his 30th birthday with all his friends and family at the tigers game: priceless."

Amazing Night!! Happy Birthday Chris!!!