Icing Designs

We HEART Bonbon Balloons!

2012-02-28T15:38:00.021-08:00

What screams celebration louder than balloons!?! We love them, they are so festive and there are so many styles and colors to choose from! We've blogged about our love of balloons before here. We also have an entire pinterest page devoted to them! But today we came across a balloon shop like no other...Bonbon Balloons! Have you heard of them!?! Based in London, they create the most unique balloons you'll ever see! They come in a variety of colors tied with the sweetest hand-crafted strings! They will even send you balloon as a gift, so that when the box is opened the balloons float up and present a personal message! We will let the photos speak for themselves. We love the confetti filled ones, what do you think...pretty amazing huh!?!

Loralee Lewis

2012-02-26T12:58:00.027-08:00

We are constantly inspired by so many designers, stylists and party/event planners. There is truly so much talent to admire. We could spend hours just swooning over all of the beautiful parties and weddings that are seamlessly crafted detail by detail. We love to be able to feature the talent of others on our blog and we are so thrilled that we have the opportunity not only to feature, but to share an interview that we did with the phenomenally talented, Loralee Lewis! Loralee is a paper designer and event stylist, who's style is impeccable and unique with a real vintage flair. Her concentration on little details come together to create such beautiful events! It is no wonder that her work has been featured in many popular magazines and that she has Academy Award winning clients! We first heard about Loralee when our sweet and incredibly talented friend, Kate Landers, featured Loralee's work with her Nutcracker themed party and then again at Kate’s signature baby boy shower! We have really enjoyed following Loralee’s work, we know you will enjoy Loralee's story and will fall in love with her work too!

Icing: Could you tell us a little bit about how you got your start?

Loralee: I got my start by blogging back in 2007 with my sister, Annie, on the "no fuss fabulous" blog. We gained a readership, and in 2010 I posted a party invitation that I had used for my daughter on the site. Someone saw it and bought 400 invitations from me directly because she liked the look. I learned then that there was a business
opportunity here.

Icing: Where do you draw inspiration from?

Loralee: I draw inspiration from anything pretty. I love vintage images in particular because they make me laugh and are frequently so beautiful. I draw a lot of inspiration from things I see in children's magazines as well and from fashion mags (classic ones: Vogue, Marie Claire, etc.)

Icing: Who are some of the people/party planners that inspire you?

Loralee: I love the community of party planners and creators. There are almost too many to name, as all of them have inspired me at one time or another, and I frequently find as much inspiration from individuals doing a single event as I do from "the pros." I gain a lot of insight during collaborations with event stylists, and they push me to improve and push the envelope further on my product offering.

Icing: Do you have any tricks up your sleeve to help people who have not created many parties of their own that would like to give it a try?

Loralee:
A. Pre-pack the kids' menus; I don't use buffets for food. I always have everything prepped and bagged and I keep it simple (e.g. peanut butter sandwich, grapes, carrots). This makes it easy to feed them, as I frequently work with preschoolers.

B. Doing a nice party is not as hard as it seems. Plan ahead and sketch out what you want it to look like. Start with a table and decorate it. Choose a few colors and stick with them. Pretty desserts can be found anywhere and on any budget, you don't have
to go the Neiman Marcus bakery, and an otherwise "average" looking cupcake can be dressed up with a simple wrap and tag to look extraordinary.

C. Good photography is the most neglected virtue of party planners. Ask around and find a friend who has a nice camera to help with the photos. It's unfortunate how many people throw amazing events but don't have photos that capture the grandeur.

Icing: What has been one of your favorite projects to work on to date?

Loralee: A favorite project recently was an event for a television network where we did a POP theme in January and it was done in bright yellows and greens. Everyone felt like springtime while they were in attendance and we tried some new things, like using tiny vases for drinks and experimenting with Jell-O at the dessert table. Super fun!

Thank you so much Loralee for sharing your time and talent with us!

Photos: Queen Bee Birthday Party for Loralee's sweet little girl, Horse Show Party for Babekins Magazine, Kate Lander's signature baby boy shower for which Loralee created the paper party goods, Sharnel Dollar's Mary Poppins birthday party for which Loralee created paper party goods, Vintage pool party paper party goods, Loralee's Airline Baby Shower, Bebe Shower paper party goods by Loralee

{More photos from all of the events can be found on Loralee's Blog}

DIY tissue paper and fringe cupcake toppers

2012-02-23T16:13:00.016-08:00

We are working on a really beautiful gold and creme themed baby shower that will take place this weekend. We are really excited to see how it all comes together. One of the diy projects we are working on is a creme colored tissue paper flower with a gold fringe center! We obviously love making paper flowers, and these are so easy to make and look so pretty on top of your cupcakes!

Materials:

tissue paper

gold fabric or ribbon

lollipop sticks

hot glue

scissors

hole punch

We are topping mini cupcakes, so we cut mini circles our of our tissue paper, about 2". If you are making them for regular sized cupcakes you can cut your circles larger. Just layer your tissue paper and cut out circles...don't worry about them being perfect, the more imperfect you cut cut the more shapely the flower. You are going to use about 6 circles per cupcake topper. Punch a hole in the center of the layered tissue paper.
Cut a 1" strip of your gold ribbon or fabric {we found a spool of this thick gold ribbon in the dollar bin at Jo Anne Fabrics}. Roll the ribbon and hot glue the bottom of it together. Then just cut strips taking care you don't cut all the way to the bottom, you just want to create a fringed look.
Next add a dab of hot glue to the top of your lollipop stick and slide your 6 layers of tissue paper on. {Exactly like our diy ombre flower cupcake toppers} Then add another dab of glue in the center of your flower and add your fringe piece. Immediately close the top layer of tissue around the fringe so that it attaches. Then just continue to bunch your tissue paper layer by layer.
It's that simple! Hope you will try these, they would look beautiful in any color...especially with spring approaching!!

Lael Cakes: Gilded Cakes

2012-02-21T17:24:00.000-08:00

Oh my, we have fallen in love with Lael Cakes, a custom cakery owned by Emily Lael! Based in Brooklyn, NY, this is no ordinary cakery, this a vegan and gluten free cakery that creates the most stunning and unique cakes! As you may know, we are loving the metallic trend that is quite popular right now. So we were just smitten with the gorgeous cakes that Emily created for a spread in Utterly Engaged! We just love the gold and black and the unique techniques she uses to create cake that are almost to pretty to eat! We hope you will take the time to read this great interview Emily did and her full feature in Utterly Engaged!

photos by Jen Huang Photography

BHLDN Grand Opening Details

2012-02-18T16:32:00.000-08:00

As promised, we wold love to share some of the details of the Grand Opening of BHLDN, Chicago with you! We had a fabulous time! We had been admiring all of BHLDNs party goods, gorgeous dresses and accessories online since they started, but it was wonderful to see everything in person! The store is so much fun with a classy bridal ambiance and a fabulous vintage flair! The lower level was filled with lovely things to outfit your bridesmaids! A winding, wooden staircase takes you up to bridal heaven, there are even literally hand-painted angel wings hanging from the ceiling! The room is filled with gorgeous headpieces, including our personal favorite, Twigs and Honey...yea Myra! Glittery shoes and sparkly, beautiful accessories are displayed in and on glass cases for all to admire! The gowns are stunning and set up in a gorgeous bridal parlor...where we had the pleasure of meeting Darcy Miller of Martha Stewart Weddings...what a thrill!! We must say, probably since we are both already married, that our favorite room at of all was the party room!! Oh my goodness, it was literally "dreamy"! There was so much to look at and we found ourselves going back in a few times. We loved the glittery garlands, the beautifully colored paper poms and fans, the milk glass cake pedestals, all of the striped straws and so much more! There were so many amazing details to help make a bride and groom's day flawless! We had a blast, if you know someone planning a wedding we definitely recommend checking out BHLDN!!

Super "Sweet" Photoshoot

2012-02-16T16:42:00.000-08:00

When we started entering the blogging world "My Sweet and Saucy" was one of the first blogs were totally drawn to and inspired by! We even had the opportunity to interview Melody, the creative sweet genius behind the shop! She is just as sweet and inspiring as what she creates! Well, when Melody posted photos from a recent photo shoot that she did for Style Me Pretty, we instantly fell head over heels! If you follow us, you know we are always drawn to all things vintage inspired and handmade! We just love all of the details from this shoot including the gorgeous cake stands, dainty ruffled hobnob candy dishes, the stunning ombre ruffle cakes, the xo macarons and that amazing paper flower garland! All of the photos by Gabriel Ryan Photography are just lovely and how can you go wrong with a fabulous piece of furniture, to display all of that gorgeousness on, from Found Vintage Rentals!?!

Frosted Photos...

2012-02-14T16:24:00.000-08:00

One of the most popular items in our shop are our "frosted photo" cupcake flags, gift tags invitations and cards. We absolutely love creating them. Each and everyone is so unique, because they are made from personal photos! They are really great for first birthday parties with photos of your little ones first year, anniversary parties with photos of a couples life together and weddings with a couples engagement photos! Really, the possibilities are endless! We are over the moon when we get to create frosted photos with Elizabeth Messina's photography!! Her work is simply stunning and always lends itself perfectly to a little glitter! We had the amazing opportunity to create some frosted photo cupcake flags featuring Elizabeth's work in the past, that were featured on her blog, kiss the groom. We recently created some more cupcake flags and tags that turned out so pretty we just had to share.

Glittered heart garland

2012-02-12T15:02:00.000-08:00

In honor of Valentine's Day we wanted to share a diy for incredibly simple glittered heart garlands! These are really cute to use as vertically hanging garlands behind a sweet table or draped horizontally as a backdrop for photos!

Materials:
glittered paper
heart paper punch
fishing wire
double sided sticky tabs

Simply measure out your fishing wire to the length you would like each garland to be. {We like to create multiple garlands of various lenghts} Next punch out as many paper hearts as you would like to put on your garland...be sure to double to amount of hearts you are using because these garlands swing freely and you will see both sides. Then just put a sticky tab, glittered side down, on each heart, lay your fishing wire over top of it and stick another heart, glittered side up, on top of that! Repeat as many times as you need to create the length of garland you desire! Simple. Simple. Simple!

"tiny dancer" letter garland available in our shop!

pink and gold Valentine's Day inspired table

2012-02-09T11:53:00.001-08:00

Over the holidays, we were approached by Baby Lifestyles to create a Valentine's Day inspired table for their Feb/March issue! We decide to create something in one of our favorite color schemes...pink and gold! We also wanted it to be really simple and sweet. We made gold glittered heart garlands that we hung from the pink curtains we photographed in front of. We actually loved how they looked kind of of faded into the photos! In front of the table we hung one of our hand-glittered letter garlands, that read...je t'aime in pink and white so that it would stand out against the gold table cloth. We also made 3 heart cake toppers in different sizes to place on top of the white ruffled cake we made and displayed on top of ruffled white pedestals. Mini gold hearts topped a few of the cupcakes and the others were topped with our "je t'aime, j'adore, and l'amour" cupcake flags. We created little food tent cards to place in front of each item, complete with french silk ribbon and coordinating glittered hearts. We found course gold edible glitter and thought it would be great for the cookies...to add a little sparkle! Our apothecary jar was filled with pink and white meringues. Hope you enjoy!

DIY ombre tissue paper flowers

2012-02-06T16:40:00.000-08:00

As promised we are back today to share with you how to make the diy ombre tissue paper flowers! Our diy corespondent Katie actually showed us how to make a larger version of these flowers for a baby shower we are doing later this month. We thought it would be really cute to scale them down and use a pink ombre color scheme and top mini cupcakes with them! They are so easy to make you will not believe it!

Materials:
scissors
glue gun/glue
tooth pick
4 shades of tissue paper

Just take the same color tissue paper {2 of each color} that we used for the diy ombre tissue paper poms and cut 4x4 squares. Lay the squares of tissue paper on top of each other in color order from dark to light and cut the tissue paper into a circle. Simply punch a small circle in the center. {Be sure to use a punch with a small diameter circle} Take your toothpick and add a small dab of hot glue, starting with the lightest color {in this case white} start layering the tissue onto the toothpick until you have all of the colors on. You may need to add some more glue as you start layering.

After all of your tissue is securely on the toothpick just start to bunch the tissue. Repeat this with all of the layers until you have yourself a little flower! These look adorable in mini cupcakes and you can make them as big or small as you want them.

DIY ombre tissue paper poms

2012-02-05T13:19:00.000-08:00

Ombre has become such a popular trend in color use! It is a beautiful way to add interest to anything from dresses to cakes! We have to admit, we love it...just look at our new logo! Although, paper poms have been being used over sweet tables for a long time, we love them and don't think they will ever go out of style! We thought why not combine the two! So today we would love to share how to create your own diy ombre paper tissue poms!

Materials:
scissors
wire
tissue paper in 4 different shades
string or ribbon to hang

The steps are super easy! We used 4 shades of tissue paper from hot pink to white. Just take 2 sheets of each color and layer them from dark to light. Make sure the tissue paper is perfectly laid on top of each other and accordion fold the sheets.

Next just be find the center of the tissue and tie a wire around the center. This will secure your pom and give you a spot to hang them from.

Finally, just fan your paper out of each side and begin to fluff your poms! It is easiest to fluff your poms from the top to the center and then the bottom the center, that way you will get a really full pom! It's that easy!

We will be back tomorrow to show you how to make the ombre paper flowers!

Gorgeous Southern California Wedding

2012-02-02T16:06:00.000-08:00

We are so excited to have the opportunity to share this wedding with you! Not only is full of gorgeous diy detail, beautiful color and style and a stunning bride...it just happens to be our friend, photographer Becky Hill's wedding! Becky is our very good friend and{ diy corespondent} Katie's sister! As you have seen on our blog many times, Katie is incredibly talented and creative so you know that the details of her sister's wedding are going to be simply perfect!! We just adore Becky, she is so naturally beautiful, she literally lights up each and every photo with pure joy! We are pretty much smitten with all of the paper goods Katie created, like the " I love him" and "I love her" signs complete with bow tie and pink mini pom, the beautiful xoxo garland and the fabulous cupcake toppers! How beautiful is the arch of paper flowers {all made by hand by Katie} that Becky and Dave got married under! It added so much color, beauty and touch of whimsy! We are head over heels in love the details of the reception! Becky choose to have all different cakes as centerpieces on the tables {made by Sweet and Saucy}! They are all so lovely in pastel colors and don't even get us started on those amazing cake stands! Katie made ruffle fabric garlands that strung swept across the top of the sweet table, they give such a light and airy look! We just love everything about this wedding...we know you will too! Thank you SO much Becky and Dave for letting us share your very special and amazingly beautiful wedding day!!

photography: next exit {to see more photos of this wedding go here}

BHLDN's coming to Chicago!

2012-01-31T17:33:00.000-08:00

We are both long time lovers of Anthropologie...we can pretty much tell you we adore anything that comes out of that store! Recently, Anthropologie started a bridal collection called BHLDN! And, YES we are smitten with it all!! We have been admiring everything on their website, it is full of gorgeous bridal attire, accessories, decor and more! We are super excited to say that the second BHLDN store front will be opening in downtown Chicago in a few weeks. Even more excited to say that we will be there for the grand opening!! We can hardly wait, it is going to be so exciting! And perhaps even MORE exciting, Darcy Miller of Martha Stewart Weddings will be in attendance!!! We can not wait to share the details of the event with you!!!

DIY ombre sugar hearts

2012-01-28T18:43:00.000-08:00

So last week we fell in love with a gorgeous cake created by the amazing cake artist, Erica O'Brien! It was featured on The Wedding Chicks blog and lucky for us there was a DIY on how to create the ombre sugar hearts! We thought this was such a cute idea for Valentine's day, we just had to share! Those sugared hearts look pretty fabulous on that cake...don't you agree!?! {To see the DIY go here}

Photography: Brooke Allison Photography

Sweet Designs: Bake It, Craft It, Style It...

2012-01-26T16:04:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness, we are so excited...we just pre-ordered our copy of Amy Atlas's new book, Sweet Designs: Bake It, Craft It, Style It!! We are really thrilled for Amy, as she has inspired countless people! She is the "Queen of the Sweet Table"! So many of us are simply in awe of her talent! Amy has created some of the most beautiful, imaginative sweet/dessert tables ever! Her eye for design, color and style is simply off the charts! Although, we have never had the pleasure of meeting her, from the interviews we have read she is incredibly humble and kind! Amy's blog, " Sweet Designs" is an amazing place for tons of inspiration, insight and advice for readers, from Amy herself! It has been an honor and thrill for us to have been featured on her blog a few times! Her new hard-cover book is filled with recipes, diy projects, style secrets, display advice and so much more!! This would make such a fabulous gift for anyone you know who loves to create parties and of course one for you too!! Good luck to Amy with the sale of your book, we know it will be a huge success!

Valentine's Sweets...{Baby Lifestyles Feature....Coming Soon}

2012-01-24T16:43:00.001-08:00

Oh my...have we been busy!! We took a little break over Christmas and closed our shop, but when we reopened we got a bit overwhelmed with orders!! {Which is fabulous, but it makes it hard to keep up with facebook and our blog} We have also been busy working on something special for the February/March issue of Baby Lifestyles, where we will have an 8-page feature! We can not wait to share the photos with you, but in the mean-time we thought we would give you a little sneak peek! We also wanted to share with you that our original "La Patisserie" and "Sweet Shoppe" are back in our shop!

A Parisian Valentine's Day

2012-01-22T16:22:00.000-08:00

For Christmas Kellie got me the most beautiful French "bon bon" cocktail napkins...{among other lovely things!} from Sur La Table...one of our favorite stores to spend all day in!! While searching for some Valentine gifts there, to our absolute delight Sur La Table's Valentine collection is perfectly Parisian!! There are so many gift possibilities, how is a girl to choose!?! If you have a friend or a Valentine that loves Paris...Sur La Table has got you taken care of! Here are a few of our favorites!

Check out the rest of Sur La Table's Valentine collection here!

Let is Snow...

2012-01-21T08:34:00.000-08:00

{For some reason our "let it snow" post got deleted} We wanted to re-post it because we are going to be offering these new letter garlands in our shop. They are very similar to our current letter garlands but the edges of the crepe paper is also glittered...just to add a little more sparkle! Check out our Etsy shop for more information!

New to our Shop...

2012-01-19T19:39:00.001-08:00

Valentine's Day is right around the corner! Can you believe it!?! We wanted our design for Valentine's Day to be something that we could offer all year long! As you may have noticed by our posts last week, we are loving the color combination of pink and gold...and if you follow us at all you know we adore Paris! So, our newest illustration is pink and gold French macarons in a bell jar! This design is offered in invitations, note cards, cupcake flags, tags, oversized cupcake flags and letter garlands! All of these are now being offered in our Etsy shop! We are going to give away a set of our note cards with this illustration...all you have to do is leave us a comment and we will choose a winner at random on Wednesday and announce on Facebook! These would be a perfect gift to give your sweet valentine!!

A Vintage Winter "One-derland" Birthday Party

2012-01-18T13:48:00.000-08:00

Seri and Michelle of "Little Miss Party" recently sent us photos of the most gorgeous first birthday party! The theme was a "vintage winter one-derland"! We were immediatly swooning over the delicate, feminine, pink, soft gold, ivory and burlap brown color palette! The party took place in a fabulous loft that overlooks downtown Manhattan. Seri and Michelle set up a winter picnic area where they served a beautiful brunch...by the way we adore the fabric garland featuring all of the highlighted colors. They served winter crudite in glass cubes that they covered with burlap fabric and pretty ribbon. The drink station featured a garland of photos of the birthday girl's first year. And what party would be complete without a dessert table!?! It was complete with hot chocolate, gold dusted cake pops, mini cupcakes, chocolate covered pretzels, s'mores pops, deulce de lece meringues, white powdered donuts, peppermint covered and snowflake shaped pretzels and chocolate covered Oreos! Sounds like quite a spread! They sent thier guests home with "1" chocolate lollipops made by vintage confections! Congratulations ladies, you created a gorgeous, memorable party for Colette, the sweet little birthday girl!!!

Photography: Raquel Bianca Event Space: Ramscale Food: Cobblestone Catering Cake pops: Kreated by Kristan Mini Cupcakes and cake: Sugar Sweet Sunshine "1" lollipops: Vintage Confections

Happy Birthday Kellie

2012-01-16T08:59:00.001-08:00

Today is Kellie's birthday! I want to wish her the "sweetest" birthday yet!I want to share a little bit about who Kellie is with you. She is constantly inspiring and encouraging me in all aspects of my life! She is one of the most selfless, thoughtful, faithful and positive people I have ever met. She is humble, even though her creativity and talent is beyond amazing! She is a phenomenal mother and wife, she inspires me to be better everyday! She in every sense of the word a blessing in my life. When we started Icing together, we had no idea where it would take us. So far it has been such an amazing ride and has only brought us closer together. It is so amazing to be able to do what you love so much everyday but to be able to share it with someone is the best party by far! So happy birthday to my sweet sweet friend! I can not tell you how much I love you and cherish our very special friendship! xoxo

Valentine's Day...Part 1

2012-01-15T15:52:00.000-08:00

We literally can not believe that Christmas has come and gone and we are already onto Valentine's Day! We have been working on something really special this year, that we can not wait to share with you! {Of course, it has a little Parisian twist!} As for now, we are bringing back our "Owl Love You Forever" collection! Owls are really popular this year and this illustration is perfect for Valentine's day or a birthday celebration! Its really girly, glittery and super sweet! We are also giving away a set of "Owl Love You Forever" cupcake flags...just leave us a note on how you would use them and we will choose a winner at random on Friday!

"Chocolat" Letter Garland Giveaway

2012-01-12T16:00:00.000-08:00

As promised, we are giving away a "Chocolat" ruffled and hand-glittered letter garland. This would be perfect for a little chocolate Valentine's Day dessert table! It would even make a "sweet" gift for a chocolate lover! Just leave us a comment {here or on fb} on what you would do with it if you are the winner! We will choose a winner at random and announce on Monday! Happy Weekend!

"Les Truffes Au Chocolat"

2012-01-11T12:40:00.000-08:00

When we started blogging and reading blogs one of the very first blogs we fell in love with was Tartelette created by Helene Dujardin! Helene's delightful blog can only be described as a feast for your senses! Helene is a former pastry chef for a French restaurant and now works as a food photographer, food stylist and food writer. Her style is impeccable, she has a way of making food look and sound like literal works of art! Today we are lucky enough to have Helene share her Les Truffes Au Chocolat {dark chocolate truffles} recipe with us...a perfect addition to our "chocolate week"! Truffles are such a decadent, luscious and satisfying chocolate treat...perhaps one of the first "mini desserts"!?! They make such a lovely gift, wrapped up in a gorgeous box and are a perfect small dessert to display on a sweet table! Wouldn't it be "sweet" to make these Les Truffes Au Chocolat for your Valentine this year!

"Les Truffes Au Chocolat"

Recipe courtesy of Helene Dujardin

8 1/4 oz bittersweet dark chocolate (chopped, broken, or chips)

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 large egg yolks

1 cup powdered sugar, unsifted

cocoa powder for dusting

Melt the chocolate in a large bowl set over a pot of simmering water (make sure that the bowl fits snuggly over the pot so that very little steam escapes). Stir occasionaly. Remove from the heat and add the butter, one tablespoon at a time. Stir until completely incorporated. Add the egg yolks and powdered sugar whisking until the batter is smooth.Refrigerate until firm, about 2 hours. When ready to roll, scoop out balls of ganache with a spoon, roll them in between your palms fairly quickly and set them on a baking sheet. Cover loosely with a piece of plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day, roll them in the cocoa powder and keep refrigerated until ready to eat.Yields 35 to 45 truffles, depending on size.

Tartelette Blog

Helene Dujardin

Please join us tomorrow as we giveaway a "Chocolat" ruffled and hand-glittered letter garland! Perfect for your next "chocolate" party!!

Some of our favorite chocolate cookbooks!

2012-01-09T18:29:00.000-08:00

To continue with chocolate week we thought we would share some of our favorite chocolate cookbooks with you! These books are filled with gorgeous photos, drool worthy recipes and tons of chocolate inspiration!

1. Chocolate Chocolate by Lisa Yockelson
2. The Essence of Chocolate by Robert Steinberg and John Scharffenberger
3. Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey: Desserts for the Serious Sweet Tooth
4. Choclatique: 150 Simply Elegant Desserts by Ed Engoron
5. The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook by Elinor Klivans

Chocolate Week...

2012-01-08T14:39:00.000-08:00

What is more delectable than chocolate? It is such an integral ingredient to baking the perfect treat. There is literally no end to the ways that it can be used. It combines flawlessly with so many different flavors to create the most amazing desserts! Could you possibly dream of turning down a delicate chocolate cupcake with a swirl of delicious fudge frosting!?! It photographs beautifully and stirs up an instant crave the second you see it! We love chocolate so much we decided to dedicate an entire week to it! What is your favorite chocolate indulgence

To see more of our favorite chocolate photos visit our "chocolat" pinboard on pinterest!

photos via: browndresswithwhitedots.tumblr.com, alifeofbeautyandgrace.tumblr.com, pinterest, notetosarah.tumblr.com, inthecitywithcrystalin.tumblr, inspiredbythis.com, thebottomoftheironingbasket.tumblr.com, mysweetandsaucy.com, dough-puncher.blogspot.coom

Inspired by...Metallics, Tassels and Sequence

2012-01-03T16:23:00.000-08:00

Well, if you have been following our blog you know that we have always loved anything with ruffles or rosettes, anything feminine and glittery and of course anything French or vintage! As your read in our last post we are loving the gorgeous combination of blush pink and gold! The colors make a fantastic palette to create from! We are also inspired by all of the other amazing metallics and backdrops created from them, we are loving tassels and sequence this year too! When done correctly metallics can be absolutely jaw dropping, especially when combined with lovely pastel....like the blush pink and gold or a soft dusty blue and silver! Tassels or fringe and sequence are fabulous decor pieces and when they are created with these amazing color combinations you simply can not go wrong!!

photos via: martha stewart photo con poulous (top left and bottom left),citified.blogspot.com, confetti system, flickr, weddingsinwinnipeg.ca, cpnfettisystem.tumblr.com, project wedding, abeautifulmess.typepad, glamour.com, stylemepretty.com, confetti system (x2)

Inspired by...pink and gold

2012-01-01T19:52:00.000-08:00

Welcome 2012! We are so excited about this year and can't wait to see what it holds. We are inspired by so many things this year! First off...color...we are loving pink and gold! A lovely blush pink and a lustrous, glimmering gold compliment each other so beautifully! The combination is elegant, sophisticated and feminine and a little Parisian! This is such a beautiful color palette to create a gorgeous event around! What colors are inspiring you this year!?!

photo credits: erineverafter.blogspot.com, pinterest, prettystuff.tumblr, parisapartment.wordpress, marthastewart.com, coutureeventssd, heartbeatoz.tumblr.com, tumblr.com, mysweetandsaucy.com

Party Poppers...A New Year's Must

2011-12-29T15:45:00.000-08:00

What is New Year's with our party poppers!?! We love them, they are so much fun to hand out a party! They can be made so easily with gorgeous papers and ribbons and filled with "sweets" of your choice! Here are some of our favorite ones and Here is a great DIY if you want to make your own to bring in the New Year with a "pop"!

photos via: stylemepretty.com, afieldjournal.com, rebeccathuss.com, hgtv.com, holiday-crafts-and-creations.com, elseachelsea.typepad

Marie Antoinette Inspired Dessert Table

2011-12-28T16:57:00.000-08:00

Oh how we love anything Marie Antoinette inspired...but when you mix in Melody from My Sweet and Saucy and Tori Spelling you know its going to be amazing! sTORIbook Weddings, that airs on Oxygen, has become a new favorite of ours to watch! Melody has had the opportunity to work on a few gorgeous weddings that Tori and her husband Dean have created. They recently featured, a Marie Antoinette inspired wedding that was absolutely swoon worthy! The dusty blue cake with golden trim detail was simply beautiful! Heavenly Blooms created stunning floral arrangements complete with feathers that gave the perfect Victorian feel. The mini pink cupcakes with gold embellishments, blue and gold French macarons and hand-decorated cookies are spectacular! We are always so impressed with everything that comes out of Melody's kitchen, and this display was no exception!

Happy Holidays

2011-12-20T12:56:00.000-08:00

We will be taking a short break from blogging to spend time with our family for the holidays! We hope you all have a wonderful and blessed holiday surrounded by family and good friends.
Sweetly, Melissa and Kellie
image via Country Living

DIY Snowflake Chandelier

2011-12-11T15:16:00.001-08:00

We were so excited to have our diy snowflake chandelier featured on Design Dazzle this weekend! We wanted to create something that would look wintery and beautiful over a small sweet table and that could be re-used as a decoration later. We used glittered silver and white paper so when the light hits the snowflakes it shimmers and twinkles...its looks so pretty! Check out our easy step by step diy instructions here!

Candy Cane Ice Cream

2011-12-08T16:57:00.000-08:00

Oh how we love the holidays and all of the amazing sweets that accompany the season! We also love a gorgeous Swedish baking blog called Call Me Cupcake! {We are sure you are all familiar with it} Linda is an amazingly talented baker and photographer....which make a perfect pair! Her blog is simply lovely and never ceases to inspire us! She recently posted a perfect holiday treat...candy cane ice cream! The photos are so wintery and beautiful and who can resist a homemade ice cream recipe!?!

100 Ideas of Christmas Wonderful

2011-12-06T18:29:00.000-08:00

We were recently asked by Toni of Design Dazzle to come up with a diy project for her "100 Ideas of Christmas Wonderful"! Of course we were delighted to come up with something for her blog and we are really excited to share it with you as well. But...you'll have to wait to see it until it is featured on Toni's blog! We would love for you to take a peek at all of the great holiday ideas that Design Dazzle has been featuring, and we thought we would at least give you a hint as to what we created!

HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY SWEET LEELA

2011-12-06T05:34:00.000-08:00

Today is Kellie's youngest daughter's 5th birthday!!! Where did 5 years go!?! I just want to wish her the best birthday yet, with a year full of happiness and joy! We are so blessed to know her and have her in our lives! She is just the sweetest and such a very special girl! She is so beautiful inside and out...just like her momma! We can not wait to celebrate with her today! Happy Birthday Sweet Leela....we love you!!!

Glitter Ball Ornaments

2011-12-04T14:53:00.000-08:00

We just thought we would share a super simple DIY with you today! It is kind of a combination of two previous DIYs we've shared! {The fairy dust pots and tulle pom poms} We used it as a gift idea with our "Nutcracker Sweet" table! They are just simple, clear plastic Christmas bulbs (that you can buy at any craft store), filled with the glitter color of your choice. We added a little tulle pom pom and a pink satin ribbon and they are a perfect little gift, decoration to add to your beautifully wrapped holiday package or of course a traditional Christmas tree ornament!

Materials:
Clear plastic Christmas bulb
Glitter
Satin ribbon
tulle pom pom

Just take off the ornament top and fill your bulb about half way with glitter. You can make a little paper funnel to put the glitter in the bulb. Then just put the top back on, tie a satin ribbon on and glue a tulle pom pom {diy for poms poms here} on the front! How simple is that!?!

Sweetest Cinderella Birthday Party

2011-12-01T13:36:00.001-08:00

Ok, get ready to swoon over this absolutely adorable Cinderella Birthday party created by Jenni of Dear Lillie for her sweet little girl, Lillie! This party is so enchanting, charming and just perfect for a little princess! We just adore all of the details and if you can believe this Jenni did this whole party for just around 50.00!!! Lillie turned 3 years old this year, could she be any cuter!?! Look at her gorgeous pink dress that Jenni's mom made her, her little white gloves and her beautiful princess crown that Jenni and Lillie made together! We love the vines and white lights together, it adds such a magical feel to the room! How darling is the Cinderella garland that dances across the mirror!?! The little mouse by the clock is the perfect fairytale touch! The Cinderella silhouette plates are so beautiful...what little girl would not love to eat their sweets off of one of those!?! Every little detail created the perfect amount of magic for the sweetest Cinderella party!

Pretty Packages

2011-11-29T17:18:00.000-08:00

There is just something about a beautifully wrapped package! With shimmer, metallics and fabulous jewel toned colors really be "in" this holiday season we thought these packages were pretty perfect! Rosettes, cupcake liners, throw some sequence detail in and we are pretty much head over heels! Wouldn't you love to receive or give one of these fun, festive packages!?!

Wrapping ideas found on Hey Look

DIY Mini Rosette Cupcake Stands

2011-11-27T15:37:00.001-08:00

We have been having so much fun filling orders for our rosette lollipops! But, there are always so many left over paper scraps and we just knew there had to be something that we could create out of them! So...we came up with mini rosette cupcake stands!! They are so easy to make, festive and perfect to display your mini cupcakes, bon bons or other mini treats!

Materials:

2 strips of 1" decorative card stock for rosette (we used 12" paper so the strip is 1" in width and 12" in length)

1" width 3" length strip of decorative card stock for stand

glue gun

scissors

1" circle paper punch

Take your 2 strips of 1" card stock and accordion style fold them. Then glue the end of one of the strips to the end of the other strip, then glue the other ends together to form a circle. Fold the circle inward and bring center together to form a rosette, turn the rosette over (to show the bottom of the paper) and glue a punched out circle of paper (use your paper punch) to secure the rosette in place. Turn the rosette over to show the decorative paper and glue another circle on top. Take the paper for your stand and just wrap it around and hot it glue it to secure it closed. Then just put some hot glue around the top of the stand and glue/secure it to your rosette! (Make sure your seam from your stand is in the back).

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-23T16:33:00.000-08:00

Wishing you and your family and wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday! We hope it is filled with abundant blessings, health, happiness and full bellies! Love, Melissa and Kellie
photo via: {abeautifulmess}

Now Available...

2011-11-20T17:05:00.001-08:00

We hope you enjoyed viewing our new "Nutcracker Sweet" holiday collection! Now all of the designs are available in our shop. We hope you can use them to add a little magic to one of your holiday parties! All of the designs are available in invitations, cards, cupcake flags, oversized cupcake flags, gift tags and letter garlands!

Clara and the Cupcake Nutcracker

Sugarplum Fairy

American Beauty Rose {Waltz of the Flowers}
Nutcracker "Sweet"

Letter Garland

Oversized Cupcake Flags

Nutcracker "Sweet"

2011-11-17T18:00:00.001-08:00

We are so excited to introduce our new holiday line, the "Nutcracker Sweet"! Going to see the Nutcracker is one of the most magical things to do over the holidays! I was blessed enough to dance in it for many years. We have been talking about creating these special designs for quite some time now! We present you with Clara and the Nutcracker complete with a cupcake hat, the Sugarplum Fairy and The American Beauty Rose from Waltz of the Flowers!

The Nutcracker, is of course, based on Clara and the gift of a magical Nutcracker doll given to her by her godfather, Drosselmeyer. Clara is smitten with her doll, until it is promptly broken by one of the boys at the party. Drosselmeyer fixes it with a magical handkerchief, but Clara has no idea what is in store for her as she falls asleep with the Nutcracker under the Christmas tree that evening. As her adored Nutcracker doll turns into a prince they set on an unforgettable adventure.

Clara and the prince are drawn into a magical land of sweets, escorted by the Sugarplum Fairy!

During thier journey they are treated to a celebration of dances including "Waltz of the Flowers" featuring the American Beauty Rose! What a magical journey...or was it a dream? As the Nutcracker draws to a close Clara awakes under the Christmas tree with her cherished Nutcracker.

All of these designs will be available in our shop later today!

2011-11-15T16:52:00.000-08:00

Ok, so who has not heard of pinterest by now!?! Well, we first heard about it last January when our sweet friends from Whipperberry blogged about it! We were instantly smitten and excited about the possibilities!! A virtual pinboard that can organize all of our ideas and favorite photos....what could be better!?! So we requested an invite and got one in our inbox....but there was one problem...its called obsession! We knew that it would be become a bit of an obsession and we were so busy trying to work on other things for our business. So, we never accepted the invite but of course enjoyed peeking at all of the amazing photos people posted! Finally, we could not hold out any longer and recently accepted our request and are now happily pinning away! So if you would like to take a peek at what we are pinning check us out here!

Here is one of our favorite cakes from our "let them eat cake" board!

Santa Claus is coming to town...

2011-11-14T10:50:00.000-08:00

With Thanksgiving being next week already that means Christmas is right around the corner! It truly is one of the best times of year, especially when you have little ones! We have decided to offer a few speciality items in our shop this holiday season! We have already shared our rosette lollipops with you, now we are really excited to share our "Santa Tags" with you! We are offering a set of 18 hand-illustrated and hand-glittered "personalized" tags for just 5.00! These are perfect to keep the Christmas magic alive in your little ones heart! They read, "Merry Christmas (we will personalize your child's name) Love, Santa" They have sticky tabs on the back so all you have to do is peel the paper off and stick them on your presents!

Give Thanks

2011-11-10T16:24:00.000-08:00

Can you believe Thanksgiving is less than 2 weeks away!?! We wanted to share a our new "Give Thanks" oversized cupcake flag with you! It would be perfect to place in a flower arrangement, or a jar full of pine cones or acorns as a festive centerpiece! It could be put on top of a special Thanksgiving cake or of course a perfect pumpkin pie! (We can shorten the stick to adjust for putting in a pie). So if you would like us to send one to you to use at your Thanksgiving festivities....just leave us a comment on what you would use it for. We will choose a winner at random on Monday! Have a great weekend!!

Adding a little sparkle to your party....

2011-11-08T17:04:00.000-08:00

We have been making lots of little changes and working on new ideas and ways to inspire you! To start, we are so excited to share our new logo with you! We loved our old logo, but didn't feel that it truly represented who we are as a business. Since all of our designs are hand-illustrated and feature a "sweet" in them, we thought our logo really needed to compliment that idea. We went through a bunch of different designs until we came up with this ruffle cake! We are also working on a new website, we don't have an exact time frame of when we will be launching it, but hopefully sometime early next year! But as for now, we hope you like our new logo...leave us a note and let us know what you think!

Here is a peek at our new business cards...we can't wait to glitter them!

Parisian Holiday Line

2011-11-06T17:13:00.000-08:00

We are excited to re-introduce our Parisian Holiday designs from last year! We will be offering a 25% discount on any of the items from this line from now until Novemeber 14th! We hope you will find something that you think is "sweet"! Stay tuned as we will be introducing our new holday collection soon! Can you guess what the theme will be?
"Douceurs de Noel" {Sweets for Christmas}

Parisian Macarons in a Bell Jar

Sweet Little Parisian Girl

Amour de Bebe Winter

Rosette Lollipop Ideas

2011-11-03T16:12:00.000-07:00

Wednesday we shared with you that we added our rosette lollipops to our Etsy shop for the holidays. Today, we wanted to share with you some fun ways to use them! Since the come in three different sizes they are very versatile! The large ones are great to use for photo props! How adorable would you little one look holding one of these for this years holiday card! We could even turn it into a "frosted photo" holiday card for you! The medium ones are great to display on a sweet table! They add color, height and lots of sparkle! You could even turn them into a rosette lollipop topiary like we did here. Of course the mini ones are great cupcake toppers and also look beautiful (without the stick) as a present topper! There are so many uses for them, we hope you find some great uses for yours!

Vintage Inspired Lollipop Rosettes

2011-11-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

We absolutely love creating DIY projects! One of our most popular DIYs has been our lollipop rosettes that we created last year for a "Paris" inspired party! We've had an overwhelming response from our customers asking us if we will make them for their parties! So...we thought why not create some and sell them in our shop for the holidays! So for a limited time we will be selling large, medium and cupcake sized vintage inspired "holiday" lollipop rosettes! They are going to be available in a variety of vintage inspired holiday colors! They are so much fun and have so many uses, we will share a great use with you later this week! These are now available in our Etsy shop!

Vintage Frames and Letter Garlands

2011-10-30T18:03:00.001-07:00

One of our most popular items in our shop is our letter garlands! They are so versatile and can be used for so many occasions from birthday parties to weddings and they come in any color combination you can dream of! We love creating them for our customers. They are really special because after they are used for an event they can be hung in a child's room or kept as a special keepsake!

We LOVE estate sales and thrift shops where we search for vintage items that we can use for our business and our homes! Last year we came across these awesome vintage frames...they only had two so we made a deal and each snagged one!! We thought about making them into trays or chalkboard frames. But, Kellie came up with the cutest idea...she made one of our letter garlands with her daughter's name and hung it in the frame! We loved the way it looked! She is going to use it as part of the decor for Leela's birthday party and then display in it her room when the party is over! We thought we would share some photos with you of how it turned out!

No gluing or sewing festive fall paper flag bunting

2011-10-27T16:56:00.000-07:00

So with Halloween being Monday...we thought we would share one more fun and festive DIY project with you! Buntings are so popular and so darn cute!! This bunting is so easy to create, no gluing, no sewing...what else could you ask for!?!
Materials:
Decorative holiday paper
Ribbon
Brads
Triangle template (create your own size)

We created the triangle template on the computer and decided we wanted the size to be 3½ x 4½. (You can use whatever size you want) Using the template cut out the triangles on the decorative paper. Once you have the desired amount of triangles cut out attached them to your ribbon using the brads. They are sharp enough that they will pierce the paper and ribbon, so there is no need to punch or cut a hole!

Voila....you have a festive fall bunting without gluing or sewing!!
Have a happy weekend!

Invisible Pops

2011-10-25T17:11:00.000-07:00

We have to say sugar work is one of the hardest things to master in the pastry world, but also one of the most rewarding to accomplish! Starting out can be a little bit frustrating, but here is a great project to get you started! We love these "invisible pops" from Martha Stewart! You can add pretty much anything to them, candy, seeds, nuts....how about some edible glitter!?! Its amazing what some corn syrup and sugar can create!

To check out the "how to" go here!

Ghostly Cupcake Toppers

2011-10-23T17:14:00.000-07:00

Can you believe Halloween is only one week away...where did October go!?! Well, we thought we would share one more Halloween inspired DIY project with you. These little ghosts will add a "spooky" touch to your cupcakes! Your little ones will love them and best of all...they are so easy to make its "scary"!

Materials:
small Styrofoam balls
lollipop sticks
4" square of tulle
4" square of lace
thin black ribbon
gems for eyes and mouth
(glue gun and scissors)

Just take your little Styrofoam ball and stick one of your lollipop sticks in it. If you need to add a little dab of glue to secure it you can.
Place your lace square over your tulle square and lay it over top of the Styrofoam ball, tie with your black ribbon. Then you can trim around the lace and tulle to get it to the length desired.
Next just hot glue two small gems for eyes and a larger one for a mouth and your little ghost is complete! How easy is that!?!

Monster Bash

2011-10-20T14:05:00.000-07:00

I used to work at the sweetest little bakery in our downtown area and we would always make these super cute "monster cookies"! The kids just loved them, we sold them as fast as we could make them! They are so much fun for Halloween or a monster themed birthday party! They are great because you can really get the kids involved! You could even have your little ones make these themselves at a birthday or Halloween party! You can use any color sprinkle you want so they can be "boy" or "girl" monsters too!

Materials:
Chocolate chip or sugar cookies
Sprinkles (color of your choice)
Frosting
M&Ms

Just fill one side of your cookie with frosting (adding a little bit more toward the front). Set your other cookie on top, press the back slightly harder to create an open mouth look. Cover the frosting with your sprinkles and add a swirl of frosting to create two eyes and one for a nose. Simply press two M&Ms into the swirled frosting to create an eye color and you are done!! Super easy right!?! The kids will love these and you will have so much fun making them!!

Glittered Pumpkins

2011-10-18T16:13:00.000-07:00

We just love autumn...the crisp, chilly air, the colorful leaves swirling around on the ground and of course all of the comfort foods that keep our bellies full! And what is autumn, without pumpkins!?! It is is so much fun taking the kids to pumpkin farm and seeing their eyes light up as they get to pick out their very own pumpkins. Of course it is great to carve silly faces on them and roast the seeds! But, as girls who incorporate glitter into their daily lives, we have to say we are love the look of glittered pumpkins! They are so pretty and perfect for a Halloween or Thanksgiving centerpieces! Did you know they are so easy to make too..maybe even easier than carving them!! All you need to do is coat them with a thin layer of acrylic craft paint or glue and cover them in your favorite glitter!

images via: afieldjournal.blogspot.com, tinywhitedaisies.tumblr.com, twigandthistle.com, mysweetsavannah.blogspot.com, sandrakleist.blogspot.com, With Style and Grace

"Sprinkled with Love" Donut Baby Shower

2011-10-17T06:51:00.000-07:00

If you read our blog regularly, you know we have a slight obsession with donuts! So of course we had to come up with a donut illustration and we had the perfect occasion to do so! Our sweet friend Katie is pregnant with her second baby girl and we really wanted to do something special for her...so we decided to throw her a little baby shower. Baby showers for second babies are called "sprinkles", so we wanted to play off of the theme “sprinkled with Love”! We also wanted the shower to include Siena, Katie’s daughter, to help get her excited about being a big sister!

We thought it would be really fun to have a donut tasting bar. We set out plain and flavored donut holes from a local bakery on a long white plate. On each side of the donuts we set up jars with homemade caramel and hot fudge sauces and apothecary jars with chocolate chips and toasted coconut. We created a little “donut bar” sign to set on the table as well. We also set up a three-tiered pedestal with graham crackers, pretzels, marshmallows and strawberries so that people could use the sauces as fondu if they wanted to.

We also made mini cupcakes with pink buttercream and a mini donut on top! At the ends of the table we set up “donut” shaped cookies that were pink with white sprinkles, we placed them next to pink bags that we glued doilies onto, so that everyone could take one home...(or eat it there if they wanted.) As another take home gift we made mini jars filled with caramel and hot fudge sauces with one of our “sprinkled donut” tags that read, “thank you for sprinkling Katie and Siena with much love”. We also created a “Sprinkled with Love” letter garland to hang across the front of the table.

We made fabric covered embroidery hoops in the color scheme of Katie’s nursery to create a backdrop for the table. (We let her take them home after the shower so she could hang them in the nursery) We also used some of the fabric as a runner on the table to offset the white table cloth and used the rest of the fabric to cover the mini sauce jars that everyone took home. We used lace and pink ribbon to tie around mason jars with pink and white polka dot straws filled with pink lemonade for the kids. We also got disposable coffee cups and tied an elastic ruffle ribbon around them and put a donut circle tag on them for the adults to have their coffee out of.

We served really simple plates of fresh vegetables and assorted cheeses, crackers and candied nuts.

We made Katie a corsage to wear out of paper flowers so that she could save it in her baby book!
Katie’s sister, Becky was recently married and Katie created the most gorgeous ruffle garland backdrop for a photo booth at her wedding. So Becky brought the gorgeous backdrop with her and a chalkboard. We all took turns writing a note to the baby on the chalkboard and Becky took photos of us so that Katie could save the photos for her baby book! It was such a fun idea and great way to remember that special day!

Pink bags and pink and white polka dot straws: Sweet Lulu
Mini donuts on to pof cupcakes: Dough a Deer
Paper coffee cups: Think Garnish
Paper party goods: Icing Designs
Photography: Becky Hill Photography and Icing Designs

"Spooky" Letter Garland Giveaway

2011-10-13T14:27:00.000-07:00

Do you love decorating for Halloween!?! Our letter garlands look great hanging across a mirror or a mantle or across the front of a sweet table! Would you like to add a glittery..."Spooky" letter garland to your decor? Just leave us a comment on how you would use this. We will choose a winner at random on Monday and send this one to you!

Love Potion No. 9 Witches Cauldron

2011-10-11T17:40:00.000-07:00

Remember our little "fairy dust pots" that we made for our sweet fairy party!?! Well, they were so much fun to make that we thought we should make a Halloween inspired one too! These would be great for a children's costume party! They would look so cute lined up on a sweet table or perfect for a take home gifts! These were inspired by a witches cauldron...a cauldron full of glitter of course!

Materials:
Mini plastic jars (found at Hobby Lobby)
purple Martha Stewart glitter
Black satin ribbon
Purple felt
Decorative gems
"Love Potion No. 9" tag (.50 cents Icing Designs)
Lollipop stick
Strip of brown card stock
Hot glue gun/glue

Take your jar and fill with the glitter (we just filled a little less than half way up). We created a little funnel out of paper just to keep the glitter from going all over.
To create the little broom just take a strip of brown card stock or construction paper and fold it in half. Cut little strips into it to create the bristles. Wrap it around and glue it to the lollipop stick. We also tied a little black bow around the top of the paper, it is optional...but super cute! (Just fluff out the paper strips to make the broom look fuller.)

Next take your "Love Potion No. 9" tag and tie it around the top of the bottle neck with a black ribbon. Trim the ends of the ribbon and stick your little broom through the front.

Wrap your black ribbon around the cap to cover it. To make the witches hat just take your purple felt and cut a circle (big enough to hang over the top of the cap). Cut another triangular shaped piece of felt to make the top of the hat. Simply wrap the triangular piece around hot gluing it to secure it in the witches hat shape. Glue the top onto the bottom and you have your hat! We also tied a little ribbon around the hat and glued a decorative gem in the center!

Simply twist your top onto the glitter bottle and you have yourself a little Love Potion No. 9 witches cauldron!

Find A Cure Framed Illustrations

2011-10-09T17:24:00.000-07:00

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! This is an issue that is very important to us. It is nearly impossible to not know at least one person who has been personally affected by this disease. One of the first illustrations that we added to our Etsy shop when we opened was our "Find a Cure" design. This year we wanted to do something special for Breast Cancer Awareness month. We are adding custom framed "Find a Cure" illustrations to our shop for a limited time. Each frame is a little bit different, since they are hand-made, but each contains one of our custom, hand-illustrated, hand-glittered "Find a Cure" designs. We are doing this in loving memory of Kellie's amazing mother-in-law who passed away from Breast Cancer and in honor of my brave and beautiful cousin Jenny who is suffering from this illness now and in honor of all of the women who have been affected by Breast Cancer.

Mini Giveaway Donut Style

2011-10-06T16:45:00.000-07:00

We hope you enjoyed seeing out new "sprinkled donut" illustration! Well...we overprinted some tags and we would love to share them with you! They are perfect to put on a little present or tie up a sweet treat! Just leave us a comment and let us know what you would use them for and we will pick a winner at random Monday and send a set to you!

(Please note the tags the winner will receive do not have writing on them)
{Photos via Becky Hill Photography}

New to our shop...Sprinkled Donut Design

2011-10-04T16:46:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to share our new "Sprinkled Donut" design with you!! We created this for our super sweet friend and DIY corespondent Katie!! We threw a special baby shower for her and her adorable daughter Siena last week, as she is pregnant with her second baby girl!! We are anxiously awaiting her arrival and can not wait to meet her!! We will share the baby shower photos with you soon, but until then here is our new design (available in our Etsy shop) and a sneak peek of the shower!

Caramel Apple Cake

2011-10-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

So on Friday we asked our facebook readers what kinds of desserts they look forward to most in the fall, apple or pumpkin!?! Most people said pumpkin and that is what we would say too! So we thought it would be fun to share a delicious pumpkin recipe today, however, in the midst of searching for something amazing to share, we came across this blog...The Great Cake Company! We researched it a little bit and realized this cake shop is located in the Chicagoland area, pretty close to where we are located! We love local businesses and supporting them! Jamie, the owner of The Great Cake Company, is a self taught cake artist and let us tell you, we are impressed! One of the cakes that really caught our attention and we thought was perfect for this time of year is her Caramel Apple Cake! Just the sight of her photo is enough to make your mouth water! What could be a better fall dessert than Caramel Apple Cake!?! We can not wait to try this recipe...can you!?!

To get this recipe check out Jamie's blog! {Caramel Apple Cake}

The Sweetest First Birthday

2011-09-29T17:40:00.000-07:00

As you already know, we just adore Meg Fish not only as a photographer but as a person! We are so excited to share Meg's baby girl, Ella's first birthday party with you! Meg has such an amazing sense of organic style and is a lover of rustic elegance...as are we! She told us a while back that she was planning a "vintage crowns" party....what a beautiful first birthday theme! Meg had the idea to hang frosted photo tags of Ella from the first year of her life on branches so that all of the guests could write notes to Ella on the back...how sweet is that!?! She created gorgeous table scapes with beautiful sweets and perfect cupcakes from Enjoy Cupcakes! How gorgeous is that enchanting cake table, we love how the airy fabric hangs from the tree and drapes over the table! The whimsical pink ruffle cake set under a beautiful bell jar is adorned with one of the crowns from Meg's new business Crowned Embellishments, gorgeous right! And, where do we even begin...is Ella not the sweetest little doll!?! Thank you so much to Meg for sharing Ella's special day with us, it looks like her first birthday was just perfect!

photos by Meg Fish
styled by Bluebird Cotillion
cakes by Enjoy Cupcakes, los olivos
frosted photos Icing Designs

Hey Gorgeous...Seriously Gorgeous!

2011-09-28T16:19:00.000-07:00

So a while ago we started following a lovely blog called "Hey Gorgeous"! Rhi is one seriously talented and amazing girl, she styles and coordinates so of the most "gorgeous" weddings and inspiration shoots! Well, it was Rhi and her husband Andrew's first wedding anniversary last week and she posted very familiar photos of their wedding on her blog! We knew we had seen some of the photos before because they caught our attention in the past. Well, they are all over pinterest and the wedding was also featured on Style Me Pretty! Ok...this wedding is literally one of the most beautiful, romantic, dreamy, vintage inspired weddings we have seen! No detail went untouched and there were a ton of amazing DIY touches!

Where do we start, Rhi's Enzoani gown just knocked our socks off...how amazing is that sash, she looked absolutely stunning! If you follow our blog, you know we are smitten with the romantic look of lace and we adore the way that black lace was used throughout the wedding! The oversized peach balloons were such a special and beautiful addition to the day. The couple released the balloons in honor and memory of Rhi's Nan who had passed away. All of the centerpiece vases were purchased from the Dollar Store, sprayed with glue and wrapped ivory and black lace around. Rhi and her neighbor even made the seating chart, which was made out of an old skid, ivory lace, shipping labels and clothespins that she spray-painted gray. We also just love, love, love the "dessert dresser" that Rhi salvaged and restored. The guests were able to bring homemade desserts and candies home as a thank you for coming! And the cake...so, so pretty! We really just love everything about this wedding, what a truly "gorgeous" and special day and what a beautiful couple!

Photography: Amanda Wilcher Photographers

Contemporary Bride Magazine Feature

2011-09-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

We are really excited to have had our "frosted photo" tags, featuring engagement photos by Elizabeth Messina, published in Contemporary Bride's most recent magazine! Our frosted photos have been highly popular for us with weddings, birthday parties, engagements, anniversaries and lost of other events! They are a great way to display your photos as cupcake flags, tags or even photo garlands and are always a conversation piece! Thanks so much to Contemporary Bride for the feature, we are so excited to be part of it!

DIY Paper Flower Cake Wreaths

2011-09-21T16:33:00.000-07:00

We hope you were able to take a peek at our post yesterday on how to make 4 different gorgeous paper flowers (thanks to our lovely and sweet DIY corespondent Katie)! Well, today we would love to share with you a great way to use them! All you need is a grapevine wreath that you can find at your local craft or dollar store. Just take your paper flowers and hot glue them in various spots around the wreath to create a beautiful decoration to put around your cake! We made a simple chocolate ruffle cake and placed it on a plain white cake stand and you can see how the wreath really dresses it up enough to serve at any party! You can even place a few of the flowers on top of the cake to add some color.

You can even use this wreath to display your ruffle pumpkin!

DIY Paper Flowers

2011-09-20T16:25:00.000-07:00

Oh how we love paper flowers, let us count the ways! Well at least 4 ways! We certainly do have a weakness for paper flowers, they are so versatile, beautiful and easy to make! Thanks to our lovely DIY corespondent Katie, we are going to show you how to create 4 different paper flowers...that can be used in a variety of ways! Tomorrow we will share some fabulous ways to use these flowers!

Materials:
Canson Colorline Art Paper in any color you wish (this paper is the easiest to manipulate, for paper flowers, rather than heavier card stock)
Flower Template: For this flower a template for a flower shape found on Martha Stewart that was originally meant for fabric flowers was used. (Go here for template)
Scissors
Glue gun/glue

Directions:
1. Trace template onto paper and cut out 4 flower shapes
2. On two of the flower shapes, score down the center of each petal and fold inward
3. Glue one of the folded flower shapes on top of the other, staggering the petals
3. Fold the other two flower shapes in quarters, hot gluing the at the tip to keep the fold secure
4. Bend the tip of the fold and glue it into the center of the flower
5. You can bend and open the petals if need be

Materials:
Canson Colorline Art Paper in any color you wish
Scissors
Glue gun/glue
Flower lei in coordinating color

Directions:
1. Make your own patterns for a basic petal shape. The large petal is about 3" long and the small petal is about 21/2" long
2. Trace template onto paper and cut 5 large petals and 5 small petals. Also cut out one circle about 1/12" and another circle about 1"
3. Cut a small slit in the bottom of each petal
4. For each petal, place a small amount of glue on one side of the slit and fold the other side over slightly, gluing it on top
5. Use scissors to curl each petal. You can curl any way you wish. For this flower, we curled the petals toward the center
6. Take large petals and glue them around the larger circle, slightly overlapping each petal
7. Do the same with your smaller petals and smaller circle
8. Glue the smaller petals inside the larger petals
9. Cut a small piece of the lei. Fold the cut edges under and glue in the center of your flower. You can use paper to make the center of the flowers also

Materials:
Canson Colorline Art Paper in any color you wish
Scissors or decorative edge scissors
Glue gun/glue

Directions:
1. Cut out 6-8 circles using decorative edge scissors in any size. These are about 2-21/2". The larger your circles, the more you will need. If you are using regular scissors, do not to to make the edges of your circles perfect
2. Leave one circle as it is. Fold the other circles into quarters, gluing at the tip to keep the fold secure
3. Glue four of the folded circles onto your unfolded circle like a pie
4. Bend the tip of the fold on 2-3 more circles and glue to the center of your flower

Materials:
Paper
1" scallop punch
Scissors
Glue gun/glue

Directions:
1. Cut 3 circles using punch
2. Cut to make slits at each scallop all the way around the circle
3. Bend the petals inward and glue the circles on top of each other

Check out this AMAZING paper flower arch Katie made for her sister's gorgeous wedding this summer!

photo via Next Exit Photography

White Ruffled Pumpkin

2011-09-18T16:57:00.001-07:00

We are really excited to share a new DIY project with you from our sweet corespondent Katie! You know how we adore ruffles and who does not love the look of white pumpkins! This is a really fun project that could not be more perfect for the fast approaching fall season! You would never believe what a beautiful centerpiece this makes either! We will show you how later this week.

Materials:
Sewing machine (optional, but much quicker!)
Foam craft pumpkin any size. I found this one at the dollar store!
Cotton muslin or other light weight cotton material cut into 2-3" wide strips
Pins
Stick or branch

Directions:
1. Cut a small circle in the top of the pumpkin, removing the foam stem.
2 Depending on the width of your strips, you will need about 7-8 unruffled strips and 7-8 ruffled strips. Measure and cut your material by placing the end in the hole at the top of your pumpkin and tucking the material underneath. Cut 7 strips the exact length you measure. Cut 7 strips that are 3 times the length of your other strips.
3. Ruffle the 7 longer strips using your sewing machine or this great DIY from Hank and Hunt for The Sweetest Occasion! (You can use single strips of material instead of two for this project.)
4. Pin your unruffled strips onto your pumpkin by pinning into the hole at the top and pinning underneath the pumpkin. Leave even space between each strip.
5. Pin your ruffled strips using the same technique, overlapping your unruffled strips.

6. Place a stick and a few curly grapevine branches into the hole at the top and your pumpkin complete!

photos via Icing Designs

S'mores Doughnuts

2011-09-15T18:01:00.000-07:00

We are huge fans of Helene Dujardin and her lovely blog Tartelette! And, you may already know about our obsession with doughnuts, right!?! Last year, Helene featured a recipe by Lara Ferroni from her book "Doughnuts: Simple and Delicious Recipes to Make at Home"! Now, this doughnut took our obsession to an entirely new level! Yes folks, we are talking about S'mores doughnuts! Genius right...combining fried dough with chocolate, graham cracker and marshmallow...how can you go wrong!?! Helene and Lara were gracious enough to let us share the photos and recipe with you! We hope you will also pick up a copy of Lara's book...the recipes and photos will turn anyone you know into a doughnut lover in no time at all!

S'Mores Doughnuts

Makes 8 to 12

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, divided
10 graham crackers, finely crushed
2 teaspoons superfine sugar
1 batch Basic Raised dough (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon milk or water
twelve 1-ounce squares milk or dark chocolate
48 mini marshmallows

Stir together 3 tablespoons of the melted butter, graham crackers and sugar. Cover and set aside.

Prepare the dough as directed through the proofing stage. Roll the dough to just a bit more than 1/4 -inch thick. Cut into 3-inch diameter rounds. Roll out half of the rounds to about a 3 1/4-inch diameter. To assemble, lightly brush each wider round with the milk or water and place a square of chocolate and 4 mini marshmallows in the center of each. Top with the smaller rounds and lightly pinch to seal. Then recut with the same cutter to seal the edges.

Fry the doughnuts as directed and let cool for only 3 minutes. Brush each doughnut with a little melted butter, then dip into the graham cracker mixture. Serve immediately.

Basic Raised Dough:

3 tablespoons (22grams) active dry yeast, divided
1 cup of whole milk, heated to 110ºF, divided
2 to 2 1/2 cups bread flour, divided
2 tablespoons (30 grams) superfine sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 egg yolks
½ stick (4 tablespoons / 2 oz) unsalted butter or vegetable shortening
vegetable oil for frying

In a medium bowl, dissolve 2 tablespoons of the yeast into ¾ cup of the milk. Add ¾ cup of flour and stir to create a smooth paste. Cover and let rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes.

Combine the remaining milk and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the rested flour mixture along with the sugar, salt, vanilla, and egg yolks. Mix until smooth. Turn off the mixer and add ½ cup of the remaining flour. Mix on low for about 30 seconds. Add the butter and mix until it becomes incorporated, about 30 seconds. Switch to a dough hook and add more flour, about ¼ cup at a time with the mixer turned off, kneading the dough at medium speed between additions, until the dough pulls completely away from the sides of the bowl and is smooth and not too sticky. It will be very soft and moist, but not so sticky that you can’t roll it out. You may have flour left over. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (and up to 12 hours).

Line a baking sheet with a lightly floured non-terry dish towel. Roll out the dough on a slightly floured surface to ½ inch thick. With a doughnut or cookie cutter (can use a glass, too) cut out 3-inch-diameter rounds with 1-inch-diameter holes (for filled doughnuts, don’t cut out the holes).

Place the doughnuts on the baking sheet at least 1 inch apart and cover with plastic wrap. Let sit in a warm spot to proof until they almost double in size, 5 to 20 minutes, testing at five-minute intervals. To test whether the dough is ready, touch lightly with a fingertip. If it springs back immediately, it needs more time. If it springs back slowly, it is ready. If it does not spring back at all, it has overproofed; no worries- you can punch it down and re-roll it once.

While the doughnuts are proofing, heat a heavy-bottomed pot with at least 2 inches of oil until a thermometer registers 360F. With a metal spatula, carefully place the doughnuts in the oil. Fry for 1 to 2 minutes per side or until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon, drain on a wire rack over a paper towel, and let cool before glazing.

Razzle Dazzle

2011-09-14T17:26:00.000-07:00

When it comes to My Sweet and Saucy cakes and sweet tables we are always...always in awe! Melody and her team are over the top creative and innovative and so unique! This wedding we spotted on My Sweet and Saucy absolutely dazzles! This wedding was photographed beautifully by Emily Faulknor, with paper designs from Posh Paperie and gorgeous desserts by My Sweet and Saucy!

How amazing is this sweet table with that amazingly elegant cake centerpiece! It sets such a beautiful tone for the rest of the lovely desserts like the strawberry macarons, shot glasses filled with creme brulee, peanut butter cupcakes, cake pops and so many other delectable treats!

To see more from this fabulous wedding go here!

We Heart Ashley Meaders

2011-09-11T17:27:00.000-07:00

If you have been following us, you know we are huge fans of DIY projects! We love to incorporate them into all of our parties! We just think it adds such a personal touch and feel! We also love seeing everyone else's DIY projects and creativity! One of our secret crushes is Ashley Meaders...she is amazingly creative and creates and designs some of the coolest projects! She will even design and create totally original projects for your wedding or event! You must check her website out here! Here are some of our favorites!

Remembering September 11, 2001

2011-09-10T17:29:00.000-07:00

Our hearts are filled much sorrow as we remember that tragic September day, ten years ago. We are reflecting on what we were doing that day as the tragedy of 9/11 unfolded and the thoughts that were going through our minds and being burned into our hearts forever. We reflect on the thoughts that must have been going through our Presidents mind, how he would respond and how he had the responsibility and fate of a nation lying in his hands. Ten years later, our country rose out of those ashes with heads held high and we as a nation marched forward. We remember all of those who lives were lost, all of the heros that were made, all of those who survived and whos lives were changed forever...we were all Americans on that day...please never forget!

All our love to those who were personally affected by that day, September 11, 2001.

"Let us therefore come Boldly to the throne of Grace, that we may find Mercy and Grace in time of Need." Hebrews 4:16

all images via msn.com

European Romance

2011-09-08T16:23:00.000-07:00

My oh my....when we saw this wedding on Martha Stewart Weddings we were blown away by all of its grace and beauty! It is simply one of the most elegant and romantic weddings we have seen! Although this wedding took place just a few miles from New York City, it literally gives the feel of being swept away to a beautiful, intimate countryside European village.
The bride wore a stunning silk-tulle, French lace and ostrich-feather dress the she designs herself! The groom wore a Ralph Lauren Black Label Tuxedo. The bride also created her niece's flower girl dresses. We love the colors pallet and feathered neck collars!

The blush, romantic colors of the roses, ranunculus, pieris, hellebores and dusty miller are blended perfectly together to create a lovely bridal bouquet.

The beautiful couple was married in front of a grand fireplace draped with a floral garland.
The escort cards were cuffed around long, slender white candles.

Ok, now on to the dessert table...where do we start!?! It is like peering into a whimsical perfectly colored French patisserie. The couple choose to serve a French croquembouche in leiu of a wedding cake...which we love! French croquembouche's are so gorgeous and are such a beautiful, unique option to serving cake. They are essentially creme puffs held together with caramel and usually decorated with delicate sugar flowers. The dessert table was like a confectionery dreamworld and also displayed beautiful madeleines, mini eclairs and French macarons. We loved the interesting pineapple shaped (a symbol of friendship) madeline structure, it added such interest and beauty to the table!

To see more of this timelessly romantic wedding visit Martha Stewart Weddings!

Halloween Paper Party Goods

2011-09-06T17:03:00.000-07:00

Can you believe that October is right around the corner!?! Well, if you are planning a party for your little ghost or goblin our new "Halloween Candy Monograms" are available in our shop! They can be bought as invitations, cards, cupcake flags, tags or even as a letter garland! We even added our "Halloween Sweet Shoppe" and "Sweet Little Halloween Spider" from last year! To celebrate the upcoming fall season we are offering a 20% discount on any Halloween item from our shop until September 16th!

We heart "Pretty Delicious"

2011-09-04T09:36:00.000-07:00

As much as we LOVE our sweets....we are also both very into health conscious eating! We love whole, unprocessed (REAL) foods, organic foods and markets...and make it a way of life in our homes. Last week I came across the most amazing book...I can't lie I was totally attracted to the cover...its so, so fabulous! But as I looked through it, I was immediately excited to go to the market, purchase ingredients and start cooking! I really wanted to surprise Kellie with a copy of this book for Christmas as well, but I just couldn't keep it a secret for that long...I had to share it with her right away because I knew she would LOVE it (and she did)!

"Pretty Delicious", by the amazing and gorgeous Candice Kumai, is the book we are referring to! You may remember Candice from the premiere season of Top Chef on Bravo. She is also the founder of Stiletto Chef (which you will absolutely adore if you are into amazing, "skinny" healthful foods, gorgeous photography and styling!

Everything about this book is perfection! The recipes are healthful and super flavorful! Candice's philosophy for "Pretty Delicious" is easy on the "waistline and wallet"! Her recipes are amazing and delicious...believe me I've already made a bunch on them! And, don't worry there are scrumptious recipes for all of your with a sweet tooth too! If you don't have this book, you simply must get it! It would also make an amazing holiday gift for those foodies in your life...if you can keep it a secret for that long!

You can buy "Pretty Delicious" here!

Pink Vanilla Cotton Candy Cake

2011-08-31T17:24:00.000-07:00

So a while back we started following the "sweetest" blog called "Sprinkle Bakes"! It is all about making gorgeous desserts...what is not to love!?! Heather shares fabulous recipes and beautiful photos of her creations. We absolutely fell in love with one of latest posts, pink vanilla cotton candy cake! Its like a whimsical, sugary masterpiece that a girls birthday dreams are made of! After getting the awesome gift of a cotton candy machine for her birthday, this pinkalicious cake was brought to life! To check our this recipe and all of her other amazing creations check out "Sprinkle Bakes"!

Endless Summer...Outdoor Movie Party

2011-08-30T17:13:00.001-07:00

Well the end of summer is quickly approaching! Everyone loves one last party before the hustle and bustle of the school year starts...and we just happen to love the idea of an "outdoor movie party"! You simply can not go wrong, what could be better than grabbing some popcorn and candy and laying out under the stars watching a great movie with your best friends! We love all of these fabulous ideas for a vintage inspired outdoor movie party from Design Sponge!

Photos via Brandon Kidd, Rentals from Found Rentals

Timeless Elegance

2011-08-28T10:20:00.000-07:00

Black and white is such a timeless, elegant and dramatic color combination! It can share the spotlight with so many other colors; a blush pink to add a touch of romance, the sparkle of silver to add some glitz and glam, or even a pop of yellow to bring in a bright, festive flair. With all of the beautiful options, you can not go wrong with the ultra-chic combination of black and white!

Photo credits: Jose Villa, Davina Plus Daniel Photography, sidebysideblog.blogspot.com, theknot.com, inspiredbythis.com, Style Me Pretty, Style Me Pretty, Sweet and Saucy, Davina Plus Daniel Photography, projectwedding.com, Davina Plus Daniel Photography, projectwedding.com, Style Me Pretty via weheartit.com,

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Contemporary Bride Magazine Feature

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DIY Paper Flowers

White Ruffled Pumpkin

S'mores Doughnuts

Razzle Dazzle

We Heart Ashley Meaders

Remembering September 11, 2001

European Romance

Halloween Paper Party Goods

We heart "Pretty Delicious"

Pink Vanilla Cotton Candy Cake

Endless Summer...Outdoor Movie Party

Timeless Elegance