Cupcake Cuteness: Baking Ideas & Fun Finds

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Do you love cupcakes? I don't know what it is about those adorable little treats that puts a smile on my face everytime. Whether homemade or boutique bought, I love a delicious cupcake topped with smooth and creamy icing-and the more creative of a design, the better. This post is for you ladies out there that love cupcakes (and anything cupcake related) as much as I do!

CUPCAKE POPS

How adorable are these? Wouldn't these be great for a little girl's birthday party? My friend Lily first introduced me to cake balls which were essentially cake with a hard chocolate coating, I tried red velevet which were delish! If you want to try these cupcake pops or smaybe ome cake balls/pops or just some spooky hallowe'en cupcakes, visit Bakerella for more info.

GIANT CUPCAKE PAN

This  year I wanted to do something a little different for my birthday cake. Since I wasn't celebrating a big year and I wasn't planning a party or having a gathering, I decided to pick up the Wilton Giant Cupcake Pan to bake my birthday cake. When I saw it at Michael's, I just knew I had to have it! I got to use a 40% off coupon which made it that much sweeter. Think about it- you could make so many fun and different birthday cakes for adults and kids alike from this one pan! Wouldn't this be a wonderful idea as a baby's 1st Birthday cake. No need to spend a lot of money on an individual cake. Let them tear that one to pieces and shove their little fingers in it and save the larger cake exclusively for the birthday guests.

CUPCAKE PIN CUSHION

Calling also sewers! This pin cushion is super cute and available on Etsy. This would be such a cute gift for a friend or yourself! I love that they are made from recycled and re-purposed vintage chenille bedspreads from the 1940's and 1950's-how cool!

CUPCAKE BOX BABY ONSIES

These would make such and adorable and original gift. A package of six onesies inside a cupcake box that are in the shape of actual cupcakes! Another wonderful and unique find on Etsy from Claudia's Boutique.

CUPCAKE APRON (MOMMY& ME SET)

For all you ladies who know someone that loves to bake with their daughter, how cute would these matching aprons be as a giftAnother creative and handmade find from Etsy.

CUPCAKE SOAPS

 

This summer while I was visiting Toronto to see my family and friends I had a little birthday party. One of my girlfriends got me something thoughtful-cupcake soaps! They are just too pretty to lather up with, but I've put them to good use on display! I found a pair of glass cake stands with lids at Ross for just $14.99. I used to use them for displaying treats but now I have a treat that won't expire. They are on display on my kitchen counter. they were a gift purchased in a Toronto boutique so I don't have the store name, however you can find these all over the web including etsy like the strawberry one above.

PASSPORT COVER

This is an adorable gift for a little girl who is traveling for the first time or a teen who just wants to make her passport look fabulous! You can find it here.

CUPCAKE BOOKS

If you love to bake but feel like you've run out of ideas, why not pick up a cupcake book with hundreds of cupcake recipes. Sure, you can search online, but there's something about a compilation of glossy pages and mouth watering treats that is hard to resist! These books also make great gifts for all the cupcake-lovers you know. You can find these and many more at the Cake Journal Book Shop.

CUPCAKE TEES

Do you want something wearable to express your love for this famous treat? Why not grab a cupcake tshirt. You can find this one here.

CUPCAKE COSTUMES

If you were thinking of a fun costume for yourself or your daughter for a costume party, a cupcake costume could be adorable! I have never personally seen a cupcake costume ever. You can do a search and get a lot of fun ideas to make your own or look up patterns online.

I  SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST!

There is actually a website called All Things Cupcake! If you want to find more great ideas, recipes, fun ideas, order cupcakes, find costumes, birthday ideas, they've got it!

I would love to get my hands on some winning Christmas-themed cupcakes that I can bake this year. Here are two dozen that I baked for a ladies holiday gathering. It was a lot of fun-we had great conversation, yummy snacks and also did a white elephant gift exchange!

Vanilla Cupcakes and icing with Mint Spear candies and cinnamon fireballs.

My personal favorite cupcake flavors are banana, lemon, carrot cake and key lime pie. I guess you could say I like the fruity flavors that don't give me too much chocolate overload. What are yours? Do you have an amazing cupcake recipe you'd love to share? E-mail me or leave a comment and I'll post it in an upcoming blog post.

Have a SWEET day!

Monogram Monday

Anyone that knows me well could tell you that I love love love Monograms! They would also proceed to tell you that I adore everything nautical and beachy, hounds tooth prints, polka dots, damask prints, the eiffel tower and chandeliers but that's a post for another day. Monograms are just so classic and I just really enjoy seeing all the ways I can take something as generic as table napkins and transform them into something unique and customized. Monogrammed items also make for a classy, special gift too!

One of my first monogram projects was when I was about 13, it was a set of wine glasses for my parents using glass etching paste and stencils. I later used the same etching paste to customize a vanity mirror too.

Today I came across this elegant and FREE monogrammed clip art from the Martha website, while looking for some printables for making gift tags and to use on my handmade cards. I wish there were numbers too as I'm looking to make my dad a speacial card for his upcoming milestone birthday.

I know there are many other monogram lovers out there too so I thought I'd share some of the neat designs and ideas I came across this afternoon.....


Luggage Tags


These are from Etsy made with Martha Stewart papers which can be found here. Great to add some personalization to a beach bag, diaper bag or your luggage so it can easily be spotted!


Fall Table Napkins

These napkins are just in time for fall! Here are some great ideas for embroidery. You can also achieve the same look with some washable fabric paint and a stencil or an iron-on monogram letter.

Wall Art

Here are more fun and bright wall art designs like the one show above. You can use individual letters to spell your name, each with a different design, found here on Etsy.

Beach Goodies

This beach bag is a wonderful alternative to the typical canvas types. To the right, this Pottery Barn towel can be found here.

Bedding

Classic hotel style bedding with a monogram from Potterybarn. I actually found this by accident on a super cute blog called Monogram Momma.

Coasters

Last but not least, is a super easy project that you can make to create some custom monogram coasters.

I started off with a package of 4 glass coasters that included the coaster holder which I got from Marshall's for just $8. I took out the inserts behind the glass and substituted two of them with my hubby's monogram which is a 'P' and two of mine which are the 'K' shown. I simply opened a word document and created the letters and enlarged then, selected the colors I wanted and fit all four on the page and hit print.

I then cut them down to size and slid them into the photo holder (originally these were sold as photo coasters). I may one day do that down the road but for today I'm happy with what we have now. I may do some seashells or a pretty damask print, or make each a different design later on with some pretty scrapbook paper. They would make a wonderful hostess or Christmas gift and you can usually find these glass coasters at Bed, Bath & Beyond as well as many other discount retailers and even Target.

I may just have to buy this little pillow I found on Etsy, if they are ever back in stock. This pillow was meant for me! It has my first initial and when I visited this etsy shop I noticed the seller added it on my actual birthday! However, they sold out the very next day! If I can't order one, I may just have to sew a simple pillowcase and handstitch those little aqua buttons myself. After all, I've been known to create a few custom pillows of my own.

If you love monograms as much as I do, leave us a comment with a link to some of your monogram projects or some favorites that you've come across on the web.

Cheers!