My First Cupcake Post!

Even though I love love **love** making cards- my first love will always be cupcakes! I have always loved to bake, but I wanted to get better at decorating- so I took some Wilton classes at M's. The classes were *wonderful*, and I soon discovered that I really enjoy making individual treats for people to enjoy!! My style is really simple, but pretty and decadent; I really like to dress my cupcakes up so people feel like they are getting their own little fancy treat!

So here are two "fan favorites" that seem to get requested most often:

The Red Velvet Bars feature a smooth red velvet cake with fresh cream cheese icing spread in the middle of the bar. I top off the bars with just a couple of swirls of the icing and then garnish with hand chopped pecans. For those allergic to nuts- I sprinkle the tops with cinnamon! Mmmmm...

The Drizzle Rich Cupcakes are the most requested and feature a buttery vanilla cake topped with chocolate icing (sadly I haven't mastered chocolate icing just yet :( so- Ms. Crocker does the j-o-b!). The pizazz comes when I drizzle smooth white chocolate over the milk chocolate and top it all off with melted caramel. Yum!!! Now, some might think that it's way too much, but they are usually pleasantly surprised - the cake is light enough that you really get to enjoy the chocolates and caramel without being overwhelmed!!

Diva on a Dime!

My friend had a make-up party and wanted to do something simple and elegant to set the tone for the event. So I created individual custom invitations using a gray scale monochromatic color scheme.

For the thank you card, we did the Joy Fold card in the same color scheme. For the embossing, we used the Divine Swirls Cuttlebug folder. Instead of the traditional Joy Fold closure, we used ribbon delicately knotted in the middle.

For the favors, I made the 2-5-7-10 box. This was an incredible easy box to make and I love that you can make it with just one sheet of 8.5 X 11 paper. While making the box, I noticed that I could fold it small enough to fit into a Cuttlebug folder, so just experimenting, I decided to emboss the entire box before I assembled it - and I loved how it turned out! A quick 60 second assembly followed by some sheer ribbon- and it was done!

Here is the link to the 2-5-7-10 box: http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/resources/tutorials/2_5_7_10_box/

The party turned out great- everyone had a fabulous time!

The First "Crafty Saturday"!

Since I moved back to Alaska, I have become hooked on paper crafting & I really wanted to participate in a craft day. Fortunately for me- I wasn't the only one! So last weekend, 6 of us got together for our very first "Crafty Saturday"! It was so much fun!

Everyone came with projects to work on and some of us did demos of various Cricut & Cuttlebug techniques. We also bought snacks, but we were having so much fun- we almost forgot to eat!! At the end of the day, we decided that since we had such a great time- we are going to do it every month! I can't wait until next month!!

So-- here are some pics from our first "Crafty Saturday"!


Kind of a random shot- but this was my work area! LOL!

Shameka was a total newbie to crafting- and these are her first two cards! She did a fabulous job!!

This is one of Debbie's projects- a really cute birthday card! Great colors!

Frederica showed how to create wall art using Provo Craft Vinyl and the new Stand & Salute cart! She's a pro at this!

Gracey created a wonderful birthday card using the cutest layered cupcake! Loving the birthday theme going on!

Lyn made some excellent sea-inspired note cards for her mom! Her mom's going to love them!

In the midst of all of my picture taking- I worked on a couple of projects as well!

Like I said before-- WE HAD A GREAT TIME!! :D

Happy 3rd Birthday!!

Inside of Card

I created this card for one of my little friends who was turning 3!! She loves the Backyardigans so with the help of nickjr.com I put together this little card for her. Whenever I use a ShortCuts as a card base, I can never bring myself to write on the inside of the card (lol) so I usually make a little insert that slides in/out of the side/bottom of the card. I hope this likes it!

Card base: Medium sized ShortCuts

PP: The Spring Glitter Mat Stack by DCWV

Character: www.Nickjr.com

Letters: Opposites Attract

I rounded the corners using a Fiskers Corner Rounder

My First Glass Etching Project!

My family is having a reunion this weekend and my aunt wanted to honor my uncle for having achieved 21 years of sobriety. (We are all SO PROUD of him!) She saw the Cricut infomercial, and knowing that I had one, called me up and requested "an etched glass replica of the AA coin"... Out of all of the things my wonderful E can do - she requests the one thing I was *terrified* to try!! ...Family!.. LOL

I'd been wanting to try etching for a long while- but was a little scared about how difficult it might be.... But after some great encouragement from Jeannie- **THANKS JEANNIE!!** - I went for it. It's not perfect, but I think it turned out okay for my first try! At least my aunt said she loved it!! :)

For this project I used a 16" beveled mirror I got from M's. To ensure correct sizing, I cut and recorded the sizes of all the letters and shapes and placed them on the mirror.

Then I cut the words and shapes using ProvoCraft vinyl. To assemble the triangle, I used strips of vinyl.

Finally, working from the inside out, going layer by layer, I etched all of the elements. When the entire project was complete, I used glass cleaner to remove all watermark, fingerprints, etc.

All in all- it was pretty easy project after I got everything layed out- the more elements you have the more time consuming your project is going to be. Etching is super simple! I look forward to more projects!!!