Cupcakes and Polkadots

Magnetic Chalkboards

2011-09-15T20:03:00.001-07:00

I started with a Magnetic primer made by Rust-Oleum. They recommended 3 coats for a strong hold but after each coat I tested the magnet, and it took me 6 coats to achieve a good strong hold
The first one I did, I primed a board with the paint and the second one I painted straight onto the wall.

To get the chalk board paint, I mixed 1 cup of latex paint any color with 2 tablespoons of non-sanded tile grout. (Can be picked up at Home Depot or hardware store)

Cupcakes and Polkadots Craft Room

2011-09-15T19:42:00.000-07:00

Recently I have been on a kick to get creative before the girls started back to school. It started with the idea I wanted to get the girls hair bows for school... then realized I was capable of making them much more inexpensive than buying them from the store. Then I thought... it would be nice to spice up thier rooms with something fun to so I painted magnetic chalkboards for them to hang stuff and write note reminders. While on this kick I started getting emails asking to show how to make the hair bows. This lead to the idea why not start a class and teach the stuff I love to do. This is how the Cupcakes and Polkadots Craft Room was born. I'm very excited to see others people getting creative and the response has been wonderful. I love being able to share tips and ideas with others! Here's to being CRAFTY!

Here are some of the things we've done so far...
This was our Hair Bow Class, four basic bows, korker ribbon, vintage flower, lollipop flower, and the boutique bow.

Wedding DIY and behind the scenes blooper!

2011-07-30T13:39:00.000-07:00

July has been a busy month of Parties! Loving every minute of all the prep work, but what I love the most is the final picture. When all the details come together for a picture perfect party!

These were the boutineers for the Grooms men. Simple, modern and chic.

The Brides dress was so elegant I wanted her flowers to match, so I tied in a little bling to add that sparkle!

The setting was so beautiful there wasn't much I had to do to make it anymore beautiful. The ceremony took place facing the Lake. Set with a stage and an arch way. The arch was a DIY project made from PVC pipe and two buckets of concrete. Draped it with tuling, then added flower arrangements and ribbon. I LOVED the little lanterns that lined the isle. I dressed them up with flowers and ribbon, dropped some rose petals and operation ceremony decor was complete!

Another DIY project, were the table number holders. These can be used with dual purpose, add a wire or use as a chalk board. I started with a wood post, had Home Depot cut them into blocks. Then drilled a small hole at the top.
Painted them black...

Then glued an alligator clip to a stick of wire.
Whala~ table no. holders.
Because the brides maids dresses had a sliver shimmer to them, we wanted to tie in something "silver" so I decided to add some "bling" to the napkins that would be on the table. These were a month in the making! I think in the end I did over 300 of them... I'm not sure if it was the gluing and cutting that I like so much or just the fact that I loved all the glitter! The funniest part was I got the most compliments on these by teenage girls! They loved them... made me think this would be a fun detail for a sweet 16 party!! Again... super easy to make. I cut up paper towel holders spray painted them silver, then mod podged them, dipped them in glitter, then sealed them with acrylic gloss spray to keep the glitter from falling off.

Here is my blooper! It never fails! There is always something I miss until after the party is over. This one is still bugging me!! If you look closely at this lovely picture you'll see a typo on the date. Mind you this picture was on display all evening for 300 guest to look at! I printed this off serveral times took it to staples and had them alter it two times. I set it up at the wedding, took several pictures of it, had discussions over it and even gave it to the mother of the groom! I never once noticed the extra zero, till I posted the picture today! All I can do is laugh at it now... Reality is... there will always be a flaw somewhere cause I'm far from perfect!

All in all it was a beautiful wedding and I was thrilled to be apart of it.

2011-07-07T21:37:00.000-07:00

Happy 5th Birthday Lauren!
We had 6 adorable girls for the ice cream party today.
I wanted a vintage chic feel, though I'm not so sure that's what I got. I think in the end it was more "pretty country chic." I still loved the color scheme of the yellow, cobolt blue and red polka dot accents. Over all it was a perfect party, great weather, and cute group of girls!

We planted little flowers in our polka dot pots.

Goodie bags!

Mini ice cream cupcakes

Mason jar cups.

I found these PERFECT plates at Target. They had the same flower as the invitations!

Mason jars with wire hanging hooks make for cute flower vases.

Sparks will fly on the 3rd of July!

2011-07-05T17:38:00.001-07:00

Every year we celebrate the 4th of July with a big backyard party. I prefer to celebrate it on the 3rd of July and then sit back and relax on the 4th of July!

Smore sticks are becoming my favorite things for backyard parties. They have all the fun stuff a smore would have, minus the ew and goo of melted marshmallow all over the kids!

Fresh lemons in lemonade is a must!The menu is a vital part to all my parties. It's not a party without lots of good food! This years menu consisted of BBQ beef sloppy-joes, hot dogs, kettle corn chips, grape salad, broccoli salad, potato salad, coleslaw, cheese cake, cupcakes, cookies, water melon, bacon cheese deviled eggs, and lots more yummy food that was brought in by the guest.

I was really hoping the pool was going to be ready in tip top shape for the kids to swim in. Unfortunately it didn't work out according to my plan. As the pool was being filled with water, the liner started to detach, allowing us to only fill it half way. The kids still had a blast and it was kind of a blessing in disguise. I didn't have to worry as much about the kids swimming in 24inches of water opposed to 52 inches of water.

Sparklers are a must! While waiting for the outdoor movie to be set up the kids ran around with their magic wands!

Another fun filled year celebrating the 4th of July!

The Mustache Party!!

2011-05-15T20:25:00.000-07:00

For my husbands birthday party this year, I decided to throw him a "Mustache Party!" I knew this was going to be a fun one! I can't help but laugh at a great mustache! It was all about the details.

I did these mustache cups with a Sharpie oil paint marker, then sealed it with Mod Podge to keep it from scratching off the glass.

These also played as part of the party favor. Each guest took home their cup.

To add some flair to the party I used ties as party decor. (Ordered in bulk off Ebay)

I really wanted to do a mustache cake, but my husband was not on board with that... there was something about "eating" facial hair that just didn't sit right with him. We went with the ties for the cake.

Each guest was handed a mustache upon arrival, then sat at the photo booth, complete with props, for a picture.

It's not a party with out games!! We had pin the mustache on Burt Reynolds, which was hysterical. A couple drinks and spinning wasn't the best combination for some.
We also did "Minute to Win it" where each couple had a challenge to complete in one minute to win! That was very entertaining and made for lots of laughter!

Each guest also received a chocolate mustache and a take home party bag.
The bags were done with a simple iron on I designed from the computer, then tied with a tag.

The Bakery Shop!

2011-05-06T14:03:00.000-07:00

This week Cupcakes and Polkadots did lots of baking for
Teacher Appreciation Week
and Girl Scouts Daisy Troop 275! Lots of Fun!!

This year's theme for Teacher Appreciation Week's was lady bugs. So we played off that and did ladybug cake balls and packaged them with a tag, " Maple is the best SPOT to learn because of you!" Each of the teachers will receive one on Monday morning!

Girl Scouts Daisy Troop 275 had fun eating their "Smoore Sticks." These were super easy and fun! We used giant marshmallows, dipped in chocolate, and rolled into gram cracker crumbs, then stuck them with a pretzel stick.

All things Cupcakes!

2011-04-28T15:42:00.000-07:00

This was a great party! Gotta love baking cupcakes to truly enjoy it!
Of coarse the invitation sets the tone for the party.
Every great party starts with a great invitation!
These were just blank note cards.
I printed the information on a label and posted it inside.
(Though I prefer to print straight onto the card the
size wasn't matching up my printer.)
Simple and cute.

Our welcome sign on the front door.

The girls ate these as the actual "birthday cupcakes."

These were are supply buckets and party favors. The ribbon to our aprons were stuffed inside while our cute little magnets attached to the outside.

Our craft: Aprons for baking. Start with a handkerchief, simple stitch around the edge and across a folded corner, then use ribbon, thread it threw the stitched area, this creates your straps and tie. We also applied an iron on to add a little "dazzle"

Jumbo cupcake mold! Love it!

Add some frosting and sprinkles!

I have to laugh... I always find the "flaws" in the picture after the fact! Now why wasn't that tub of red sprinkles put in a cute little glass bowl like the rest!!?? Next time...

These were the take home boxes for the cupcakes they decorated.

"Thank You for Coming!" our party take home bags filled with all things CUPCAKES! along with their apron, magnets, and decorated cupcake.

It's never to early for Halloween!

2011-04-03T18:10:00.000-07:00

We LOVE Halloween! Not so much for the scary stories, or the witches and goblins. I love the creative side of Halloween! The craft of creating a costume, and the art of baking, and the reason it gives me for hosting a party! Our family loves to dress up, the kids are already planning their costumes, they know if you can dream it, mom will make it!

This particular party was a pumpkin carving party. We invited family friends and their kids over to carve pumpkins. The kids had a blast!
In the end I think the adults ended up doing all the pumpkin carving.

Spider web table cloth.
I got this idea from seeing a book on Origami, and I thought why couldn't I apply the same concept to a table cloth... Whaa la... it was a little tricky but it did work.

Mummy Cupcakes and Ghost pretzel sticks.
The kids loved these.

It's a Barbie Party!

2011-03-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

This is Kate. She turned 3! Welcome to her Barbie Party...

Cupcakes are always a must... the more sprinkles the more they sparkle!

I'm embarrassed to even post this picture.... all you cake decorators, I'm sure you are cringing! This was my first sad attempt to a Barbie cake. I'm not sure what happened...but she kept sinking into her dress... it could have had something to do with the fact that I removed her legs, so she had nothing to stand on.....

Little girls love sprinkles!

What's a party with out giant marshmallows!

Raspberry lemon aid and fruit punch.

Create your own cards for our craft. Little girls love stickers!

Treat boxes.

Place settings.

A "Hoppin" 1st Birthday

2011-03-29T12:29:00.000-07:00

This was my nephew Teegans 1st Birthday! They came from Florida to celebrate in Ohio with all the family and cousins. I was thrilled to host his party at our house! Our theme was based on a book that he loves called Little Blue Truck.

The cupcakes I made with some help from my friends at Sam's Club. I had them do open cuplet blue frosted cupcakes to look like "pond water" then I made the frogs ands fly's out of fondant. I got the idea from a picture I saw here. The green grass blades are apple flavored licorice cut into stripes. I found these and several other great candies from End of the Commons General Store.

This was a jumbo cupcake made for the smash cake.

Party favors.

Treat bags. These were simple, cut from craft foam and google eyes glued on.

Happy 1st Birthday Teegan!

The "Milkshake" Party

2011-03-29T07:38:00.000-07:00

Our Milkshakes! Each of the girls got to pick Chocolate or Strawberry for their milkshake. I wish that I would have moved this table spread to a side table so I would have had a nicer back drop for pictures.... Next time, I'll remember!

I wanted to the craft to go along with our theme, so I thought pop bottle magnets would be cute.

The Hamburger cupcakes turned out far better than I expected! After 3 hours of making these... I stopped counting the hours... Let's just say it was a late night! These were made from a yellow cake mix I baked into cupcakes, let cool in the freezer, then sliced in half. I baked a pan of thin brownies and cut out into circles, then frosted the condiments on with frosting. Topped it with sesame seeds stuck on with corn syrup. The kids loved them!

This was by far the best part of the party! Milkshake and Hamburger Cupcakes! I made the milkshake cupcakes by ordering plain frosted cupcakes from Sam's Club then removing them from the wrappers, dropping them into clear punch cups, cutting paper straws in 1/2, then topping it off with a red gumball.

We served simple kid friendly food, mini cheeseburgers, french fries, and popcorn. The popcorn was a huge hit with the kids!

After deciding on our theme, I started building off it. I wanted to play off the 1950's soda shop look. We went with old fashion pop bottles, a jute box decal, (which doesn't show up so great in the pictures), music notes, and records for room decor. It was a smaller party, so I wanted to keep it simple.

This was Peyton's 6th birthday and she had decided on a "Milkshake" theme. It all started with these cups! The paper straws were a must! Which I ordered from a store in Maine called Rock, Paper, Scissors. 144 straws for $7.00. (Thanks for the information peach-pearl.blogspot.com!) You can pick from lots of colors!

Getting off the ground...

2011-03-28T15:12:00.000-07:00

I've had my share of pity parties in the past few weeks...Why me?... Why is this my life?... Why can't I have a different one? Whinny...whaa...wha... I've decided to put my big girl panties on and stop pouting in the corner. Many times there are situations in life that God just deals to you because he knows you are capable of handling it. They are not always pleasant or ideally the situation we care to be in, but we're growing as we find our way through them. I am learning my life as a mother, a wife, a leader, and a friend come with its challenges, glory moments, and triumphs. Trying to shine as God designed me to, I am learning that we each are gifted and talented in our own unique way. In those darkest hours I find happiness in the Grace of God, resting assured he has a purpose and plan for me. Though I may never be the fittest, strongest Cross-fitter, or the thinnest, fancy, couture wearing mama at preschool pick up, or even the most organized, well time-managed, punctual, person, I am who God created me to be. He has gifted me a passion for celebrating life! In doing that I have found a love for parties. I like to think of myself as an "aspiring" party planner. "Aspiring" means to seek to attain a goal and to soar to new heights. There will always be those who do it better than me, and I will learn from them and I will always do it better than someone else, and I can teach them. I will always strive to be the very best that God created me and gifted me to be, with this I find true joy and contentment in life. Cupcakes and Polkadots is my creative outlet to show off what I am most passionate about, party planning. Pretty paper, polka dot cupcake holders, and fancy balloons make my heart skip a beat. I lay in bed and dream up visions for parties I'd love to throw. When I walk through the store, what most people would call a glass vase or simple plate, I see as a lolly pop holder or a the center piece of the next great party! My heart races at fabric and table clothes. My blood pressure sky rockets when precisely what I dreamt of, I just found on EBay! This is my hobby, this is what I find great pleasure in doing. Enjoy! Picture posted soon!