{First Birthday Party} Cupcakes in Turquoise, Pink and Green

Little Ella (what a cutie she is!) is turning one, and she celebrated her big day this weekend with a one-of-a-kind cupcake party.

Ella is an adorable little girl, and she just happens to have the sweetest parents. Her mom, Sarah, came up with the idea of the cupcake party and the colors of turquoise, pink and green. What a cute combination! Mikaelah and I were trilled to be a part of these party preparations.

I fell in love with all the scrapbook paper devoted to cupcakes! Especially this one. We incorporated this pattern into a variety of items for little Ella's party, but we wanted to do something extra special, so this is what we came up with ...

And you know the little cutie is going to smash her way into her very own birthday cake (and probably make a huge and adorable mess). So we created this small banner to string across the front of her high chair. Continuing the cupcake theme, of course.





We loved putting this banner together. The problem was, there were just TOO MANY cute papers and patterns to choose from! (The polka dot ones are among my favorites.)

Ohhh, now this is a fun project that I had really been wanting to try! Cupcake toppers.
 

And then some coordinating cupcake wrappers.

Ok, this is where Sarah (mom to the little cutie) comes in. She came of with the idea of a cupcake making table for the children at the party. Sarah even prepared a little station for the kids to decorate their own little boxes to take the cupcakes home in. Such a fun idea, and a great way to get the little ones involved in the cupcake making =)

To go along with the cupcake making station, Mikaelah and I created these table signs.

I love how the colors really pop on this door sign that we created for the party.

This tulle cupcake wreath was a project Mikaelah took on, and I was thrilled with how it turned out! What can I say, I love cupcakes. Oh yes, and polka dots, too!

Another Mikaelah project: Have you seen some of the ribbon topiaries she has made for previous parties? Well, these are the baby version of them, and they're simply adorable. Some of the larger topiaries can be found here and here.

So can you tell we had a lot of fun making these for Ella's party? We really did enjoy having the opportunity to do all of this for her. What a fun theme, and what a fun birthday for her.

Happy 1st Birthday, Ella!

Anna

Custom Gift Bag Tags: Butterflies, Tulle and Mary Kay

A friend recently approached us about creating custom gift bag tags for her growing Mary Kay business. Cassandra was looking for something to attach to clients' orders as an extra special thank you, and I think these will do the trick. (I just love how they turned out!)

The colors and the butterfly go along with Mary Kay's theme this seminar year, so we incorporated them into the tags. And the white tulle added a feminine touch.

The tags were created with one of two greetings on the front, and one of two inspirational quotes on the back.

Loved creating these and making them personalized, and we'd love to do more future custom orders. So let us know if you're looking for something similar, and we'd be happy to create some for you or your business.

***

Cassandra is an independent beauty consultant for Mary Kay. Want to know more about Mary Kay or Cassandra? You can find on Facebook or on the Mary Kay website. You can also contact her at cassandra.burns@marykay.com or (812) 457-1404.
 


Anna

{Bridal Bouquets} Tiffany Blue, Black, White and Pink

Mikaelah and I recently helped create some very pretty bouquets for a friend's upcoming wedding.

Loved the colors in these ... especially loved the black ribbon with white polka dots! These floral arrangements coordinate with the wedding shower that we styled a while back. It's really fun to see how everything from the shower ties in with what will be represented on the wedding day =)

I love the bride's bouquet. So simple and sweet. The white ribbon on her bouquet has an incredibly special meaning to her as well, so we were very happy to be able to work that in for her.

The bride and groom have only a few more weeks to the big day. Best wishes to you both!

Anna

DIY Decoupage Picture Frame

I've been wanting to do something like this for a while, and the inspiration really hit yesterday.

I had an old frame that I was getting ready to throw away. (Actually, I already had thrown it away when I got this idea, so I had to dig it out about 11:30 at night!) The black frame I used was actually really nice, but it was COVERED in hairspray. As you can guess, it had been hanging in my bathroom for years, and developed a very sticky surface. So I just wanted to trash it and get a new one.

But why trash it, when all it really needs is either a very good scrubbing (which I gave up on) or a brand-new surface?

So I got out my tools and went to town. But there wasn't much I even needed for this project.

The old, sticky picture frame, obviously. It's an 8-by-10 with matting for a 5-by-7 photo.

Scrap paper. I used a combination of blacks and whites because, well, that's what I had on hand. But in the end, the cut out pieces sort of resemble a patchwork quilt, and I love it!

Elmer's glue and water, mixed into your very own homemade decoupage. A recipe online said to mix about 1 cup of Elmer's and 1/3 cup of water. I didn't need that much, so I just eyeballed it and used smaller amounts of each. I also used a small sponge paintbrush to apply the glue. (But honestly, I used my fingers to apply the glue more than the brush!)

Then I got started. I used the scrapbook paper and cut out various shapes. Mostly longer pieces, and with mostly straight lines.

Start by brushing a layer of glue onto the frame's surface. Position the paper where you want it, and then paint another layer of glue over the top.

I overlapped the layers a lot. And after I had the surface mostly covered, I went back with contrasting paper to create even more layers.

See the crayons in the background? No, this project didn't call for crayons, but my daughter Avery's coloring project certainly did. =)

And there you go! A brand-new picture frame created with what would have gone in the trash.

Total cost for this picture frame redo? Well, I bought a new bottle of Elmer's, which was on sale (hooray for back-to-school time!) for 40 cents! The paper I already had. So a whopping 40 cents for this baby!

I stuck a piece of white card stock behind the photo of my little cutie and called it a day.

And now I have it displayed in my living room. Project complete!

 Happy crafting!

Anna

Here's where I'm linking up to: