Love & Sugar Kisses

Puppy Cake

2012-02-21T14:21:00.001-05:00

I LOVE puppies for a birthday party theme! Ok...I might be a little biased since my daughter had a Puppy Party last year. But I think it is so cute and works well for a boy or a girl, so I was super thrilled when I was contacted to make a puppy themed cake for a little girl's birthday. I was even more thrilled when the mom wanted me to make the same topper I made for my daughter's puppy cake!

On delivery day, my camera had major issues and I was unable to take any pictures (what a heartbreaker!). BUT...luckily the mom took some pictures of the cake that she shared with me (Thank YOU!!!).

We designed the cake to match the fun party colors...lime green, purple & blue...and of course paw prints! The cake was a chocolate cake with cookies n cream filling which is always a hit with the kids (and maybe a few grown ups too)!

A cheerful & fun puppy party for a sweet girl!

Woodland Baby Shower Cake

2012-02-18T09:07:00.001-05:00

I recently had the pleasure of working with Wendy of Wendy Updegraff Photography to create a cake for her sister's baby shower. Wendy, her sister and her mom are a seriously talented trio who put together amazing parties. It's always an honor to play a small part in any of their celebrations. Wendy's sister Jamie chose a woodland themed shower, which is a perfect theme when you are expecting a sweet baby boy!

The cake inspiration came from the beautifully illustrated invitation from Whimsy Whimsical. As soon as I saw that invitation, I knew I wanted to create those sweet woodland animals out of fondant! But my favorite part to make was the teeny tiny cupcakes.

The cake was a chocolate cake with salted caramel Swiss meringue buttercream filling, which is quickly becoming one of my most requested combos. The top tier is covered in chocolate fondant and the bottom in vanilla fondant.

The shower was absolutely gorgeous with so many beautiful details. You would be amazed to know how much the family did themselves...from sewing the tablecloths, making the centerpieces (the wood used was cut by Wendy's husband) and when their mom told me she cut the wooden banner signs with her jigsaw I about fell over! Check out the gorgeous photos Wendy took and all the fabulous details over at Wendy Updegraff Photography!

*all photos provided by Wendy Updegraff Photography

Strawberry Shortcake {Inspired} Cake

2012-02-17T16:54:00.000-05:00

Two of our family friends are sweet twin girls who are turning 4! They love Strawberry Shortcake and so to celebrate their birthday, I made them a strawberry cake!

They asked for the cake to be strawberry with strawberry buttercream filling, so this cake was strawberry inside & out!

Since I'm ruffle-crazed lately, I had to include a ruffle border with a cute little bow.

Happy Birthday to two of the sweetest little girls I know!

Valentine's Day Parties {Round up}

2012-02-13T22:43:00.000-05:00

I decided to keep things simple for Valentine's Day this year and am planning on a "sweet heart" breakfast for my girls instead of a party. But I wanted to share a few of the pretty Valentine's Day celebrations done by my sweet Piggy Bank Parties crew members...

Mariah of Giggles Galore always puts together the sweetest parties and her Valentine's Day Kissing Booth Party is no exception! Check out all the adorable details over at Giggles Galore!

You can always count on Cineca of Dreamin' N Details to rock the cute details of any event. Her Valentine's Rustic Love party does just that! So many sweet details & I especially love that frame backdrop!

I love that Aimee of Aimee Broussard Events created a special Valentine's Breakfast for her sweetie! Don't miss the beautiful personalized placemats that she "whipped up"...they are super FAB!

Mayra of In Flight captured the soft romantic aspect of Valentine's Day with her Vintage Valentine Blush inspiration shoot! I really love that she shows how easy it is to take a beautiful romantic theme and also make it kid friendly!

I work with such a talented crew of creative minds and we recently collaborated on a Vintage Valentines Inspiration shoot! In addition to the fabulous ladies mentioned above, the collaboration also featured projects from Do & J Driver (the creative force behind Piggy Bank Parties), Tara the Shindig Diva, Jenny of Crossing the Bugger-Dixon Line, Dorothy of Life is Sweet in Michigan and me! The crew was also joined by two fabulous sponsors...Lynlee's Petite Cakes and Sweet Temptations! We had so many fabulous ideas that they had to be split into two posts...check them out...Vintage Valentine's Inspiration!

I hope you enjoy a Valentine's Day full of LOVE!

My Brand New FABULOUS Look!!

2012-02-09T13:40:00.001-05:00

Did you notice anything new around here??? Like maybe my fabulous new digs??? I'm so excited to reveal my blog makeover from Michele of Intrigue Design Studio!

I LOVE everything Michele did! She took my rambling email full of random likes and dislikes, sprinkled with a few unrelated links and turned that it into everything you see here! First my new logo...

It completely captures the colorful, fun & modern vibe I was going for. It looks awesome on my new business cards and pretty much everywhere!! Then of course there's the whole blog...I love the colors, the fonts, the sweet little hearts sprinkled around. And my social media buttons...aren't they the cutest???

If you are looking for a FAB graphic designer, contact Michele at Intrigue Design Studio and I promise you, she will Rock your world!!!

Thank you Michele, for being super cool to work with! I look forward to more projects with you!

{DIY} Tutu Party Backdrop

2012-02-06T12:12:00.001-05:00

I had alot of fun planning my daughter's recent Piggy Ballerina Party! I loved being able to combine the silliness of cute piggies with pretty ballerina inspired touches. One of my favorite party decorations that I created was the tulle backdrop for the sweets table!

I loved that background and wish I could have kept it up forever, it was so pretty! Today, I'm going to show you how easy it is to make one!

Supplies:
curtain rod
(2) 3M adhesive wall hooks
tulle...lots of tulle (appx 4 yards)
(2) fabric flowers (optional)

I love 3M Adhesive Wall Hooks! I tend to change my mind ALOT about where I hang things and these removable hooks have saved my walls from many many holes! When I decided to use an inexpensive curtain rod to attach the tulle to, I knew the removable hooks would be the perfect solution to hang it up!

While it wasn't difficult to cut the tulle, it was a bit time consuming...but well worth the effort. I used 3 different colors of tulle and alternated strips on the curtain rod. I cut the tulle into strips approximately 3-4 inches wide. I didn't measure and just eyeballed it. Then I tied each strip onto the curtain rod.

I just kept cutting and adding strips until I achieved the right amount of fullness...you may like more or less. I used somewhere around 4 yards of tulle total. To make things easier, I only cut the tulle once (the width) and left the length just as it was. I figured I could always trim it shorter if needed, but I found the length to be just perfect!

I originally intended to cover the ends of the curtain rods with a fabric flower. However, in my party day rush I completely forget. Luckily they weren't very visible, particularly with my pretty poms from Pom Flair covering a little of it up. But you can certainly add a flower for extra color and to finish it a little more.

There you have a very simple to make tulle background that will be perfect for any girly themed party!

Bridal Shower Cake {Brackets & Flowers}

2012-01-29T09:18:00.000-05:00

This weekend I had the pleasure of making a cake for a bridal shower! The cake design is based on the fun invitation. I loved the cool & bold brackets and knew I wanted to use those on the cake!

The bride's and groom's monogram will be 3 R's so we just went with the single R on top! I added a ruffly flower for some pretty contrast and because who doesn't love a ruffly flower?

The cake was a chocolate cake filled with salted caramel Swiss meringue buttercream...a yummy combination!

I really loved making this fun cake!

Friday's Fabulous Five {Valentine's Cocktails}

2012-01-27T09:04:00.000-05:00

Valentine's Day is a few weeks away and if you are looking for some ideas to celebrate with your sweetie, then I have FIVE cocktail recipes to add a little extra fun to your celebration!

A perfect lovers drink would be Skyy Vodka Love Potion #9! And raise your hand if you're not ashamed to say you loved the movie...it's not just me right???

Strawberries and champagne are a classic romantic pairing, and this champagne mixed with strawberry puree featured on Laurie Arons Blog sounds delicious!

This next cocktail isn't necessarily a "romantic" cocktail, but it's pink and I'm so excited about the marshmallow infused vodka that I had to include it! Love this Marshmallow Caketini from Rock UR Party!

Again, champagne is the quintessential romantic drink and this Ruby Yacht Cocktail from Two Tarts combines champagne with fresh pomegranate juice! It looks so pretty and sounds delicious!

And finally, nothing says Valentine's and Love like a French kiss {wink wink}! Here is a beautiful cocktail featured on Marie Claire...The French Kiss!

So there you have FIVE FABULOUS cocktails to help you and your honey bunch celebrate a romantic Valentine's evening!

Happy Friday and Keep it FABULOUS!

Friday's Fabulous Five {Kids' Valentines}

2012-01-20T08:37:00.000-05:00

Friday's FABULOUS FIVE is baaaaack!

Happy Friday!

My kindergartner is all excited to hand out Valentine Treats this year so I've been rounding up some cute ideas! Here's FIVE fun treats for the school kid crowd...

Now at our school, sweets are not allowed so this "non sweet" Valentine from Disney's Family Fun is perfect! Plus it encourages kids to write...something the teacher will appreciate!

Another great "non-sweet" Valentine is also perfect for the boys! This fun one from The Crafting Chicks also includes the {free printable}!

But if you are looking for some sweet Valentine treats, I'm in LOVE with this fun Fortune Cookie Valentine from Martha Stewart. The cookies are felt but the treats are real!

For some cool rockin' Valentines, I love this Pop Rocks idea from A Small Snippet! She has also provided the {free} printable tag as well!

And finally, I adore this next idea that uses a picture of your child. Not only would this idea from Funky Polkadot Giraffe make a fun class Valentine, but it would be pretty cool for the grandparents as well!

So there you have FIVE FABULOUS Valentine ideas for the kids!

I hope you have an awesome weekend!

Piggy Ballerina Milk Bottles

2012-01-19T11:40:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite decorations for my recent Piggy Ballerina Party was the ballerina milk bottles!

Today, I'm over at Piggy Bank Parties sharing the easy tutorial on how to make these cute bottles! Head on over and check it out!

Piggy Ballerina Party

2012-01-18T08:40:00.001-05:00

When it came time to plan my daughter's 3rd birthday, my very strong-minded baby girl was very clear about what her party theme would be...Piggy Ballerina! She LOVES all things pink and her favorite animal is a pig. How she put that together with a ballerina, I'm not quite sure...but I set out to throw her a pretty pink Piggy Ballerina party!

I worked with Piggy Bank Parties for the party printables and custom illustration and they delivered a BEAUTIFUL piggy ballerina (named Tulip) that was everything I imagined and MORE!

It began with the sweet invitation, which I embellished with some ribbon & tulle...

All the decorations were shades of pink with some yellow, gingham and of course tulle...

Each girl's place setting included a party hat (which I made), name card, utensils & straw wrapped with scrapbook paper and of course, a pink piggy!

I placed pink ceramic piggy banks throughout the party...

I used alot of printables (including this fun Keep Calm one) and ribbon to dress up our party space...

This was an afternoon party, so the food was kept to some sweet treats and snacks...

I made tutu-inspired ruffled fondant toppers with the birthday girl's initials and topped some cookies...

I made a tulle backdrop (tutorial here) which I decorated with beautiful poms from Pom Flair. A framed initial hung in the center.

The drinks included water and strawberry soda. The soda bottles were tied with tulle...

I made ruffles to dress up the paper cups and tied some more tulle onto the paper straws...

I fell in love with an idea from Jenny of Crossing the Bugger-Dixon Line for a Birthday Library. At each birthday you choose a book related to the party theme and have each guest sign it. I loved it!! I set up a table for that purpose...using a framed request and a glittery mini name banner from The Purple Pug.

I was ecstatic that I was able to find a book about a piggy ballerina!

Each girl was asked to wear a leotard and then I provided tutus...which I hung on ribbon...

Then the girls were given the sparkly treatment...

I was beyond thrilled to find non-toxic nail polish that fit the party theme PERFECTLY...

My sister-in-law painted the girls' nails...

While I gave them glitter tattoos...

Our beautiful ballerinas...

Showing off their pretty nails...

The birthday girl and her court...

After they spent some time twirling around (it's amazing how putting on a tutu makes you instantly feel like a ballerina)...they sat down to glam up their piggy banks...

Then it was cake time...(you can read more details about it on my cake post).

I served strawberry milk at my daughter's request. I knew I wanted to use the fun milk bottles, but I wanted to make them fit the party so I dressed them up! My original intent was to make something edible for the top. When that didn't go as expected, Piggy Bank Parties came to my rescue with these bottle toppers. They were even better than what I had in mind originally. How adorable is this???

I used pink gable boxes for the goody bags...

In addition to the ceramic piggy banks, I also gave each guest a stuffed piggy. How cute is this little face?

Do of Piggy Bank Parties surprised me with a sweet little printable...precious ballerina slippers!! I added some ribbon for a finishing touch and the girls loved them!

I can definitely say that my sweet baby girl had a very Happy Birthday!

Party Vendors:

Piggy Bank Parties: Printables & illustration design

The Purple Pug: Glittery mini name banners

Pom Flair: Poms

Abracadabra Zoo: Tutus
Love & Sugar Kisses: Cake & fondant toppers
The Sugar Diva: Straws
Oriental Trading: Gable boxes, craft supplies
Dollar Tree: Ceramic piggy banks, stuffed piggies
Piggy Paint: Non-toxic nail polish

Piggy Ballerina Cake

2012-01-15T10:49:00.000-05:00

For me, all party planning begins with the cake design! So when my daughter requested a Piggy Ballerina party ('cause she's a fun silly little girl like that) I instantly knew there would be pink ruffles!

This was such a cute party theme! Of course there was no better choice to design the illustration than Piggy Bank Parties! The talented Team Driver delivered a breathtakingly BEAUTIFUL hand drawn Tulip the Ballerina Piggy! You'll see lots more of her in my party post!

I was so excited to translate Tulip into a 3D fondant creation. What I love most about the illustration is her eyes! I knew I wanted to try and capture those blue eyes...

The finishing touch on the cake was the beautiful mini glittery name banner from The Purple Pug. It's hard to appreciate in a photo just how beautiful this hand-crafted glittery creation is. And I love that I get to save it!

The cake was strawberry, per the birthday girl's request...because she wanted all PINK! She just loved her Piggy Ballerina cake!!

I'll be sharing pictures from the party in my next post...stay tuned!

My Year in Cake {my favorites of 2011}

2011-12-27T12:51:00.000-05:00

As 2011 is winding down, it's time to reflect back...2011 was the year that I made the official leap from cake hobbyist to legitimate cake business! Like all new life ventures, it was at time terrifying, but always exhilarating!

I'm so thankful to all the friends, family and customers who allowed me to be a part of their special celebrations!! While I honestly love all the cakes I make, there are a few that stand out as my favorites from this year.

My daughter's Puppy Cake...

when I fell in love with making fondant figures!

My pirate cake...

my first cake for Icing Smiles, a non-profit organization that provides custom cakes for critically ill children.

My Wonder Woman cake...

I loved her as a child and I love her still!

2011 was definitely a year of the Rainbow...

and I was happy to get in on the fun!

2011 was also the year of Ruffles...

this cake is one of my all time favorites!

The Rock Star cake...

girly & cool...and I loved making that tutu skirt!

My final cake of 2011...

my first 3 tier cake and I just loved the fun modern design!

It's been a wonderful year and I look forward to all the fun & beautiful cakes I will get to make next year!

Snowman Playdate

2011-12-20T20:30:00.001-05:00

I had one of those last minute whims to host a Christmas playdate for my girls! I wasn't sure I could put anything cute together in a day's time, but I was inspired by Piggy Bank Parties! Do of Piggy Bank Parties recently put together a super cute Mrs Claus Cookie Party in 24 hours and shared lots of great tips on how to do it (be sure to check it out). So I decided to GO FOR IT!

I made ONE shopping trip to Walmart and then used items from around the house for everything else. I had recently won a wonderful gift certificate to Shindig Parties to Go, so I ordered Amanda's super fun Snowman printable set! The colors are one of my favorite combos...pink, blue & green!

I was fortunate that I had many things left over from my daughter's birthday party this summer, which featured pink & blue polka dots. Everything matched the printables perfectly! The snowflakes and bells were left over from other projects.

I printed out one of the larger signs & framed it!

The table was set using more items left over from my daughter's birthday party. I threw some fake snow on the table, a few snowman printables, some more snowflakes and put all our craft supplies in the center of the table. And yeah...that's the same burlap runner I used at Thanksgiving!

I bought all pre-made snacks for the party since I knew I would have no time to bake!

The girls loved their hot cocoa with festive marshmallows! They come in so many fun flavors...peppermint, chocolate & gingerbread!

I love cake pops, but there was definitely no time for that! Amanda of Shindig shared this AWESOME idea of using Lindt Truffles to make the pops! I added some fondant scarves to mine!

I completely forgot to take pictures of lunch, but I promise I fed the kids actual food! I made cream cheese & jelly sandwiches cut out with a snowman cookie cutter...snowman noses (baby carrots)...crackers & juice!

For a fun activity, we created Snow Sock Dudes...a super cute project from The Purple Pug. The only supplies I had to buy were the socks...I had everything else at home already!

We all just LOVED our adorable snow dudes. Although my sister-in-law dubbed them "snow dudettes" ;)

For a party favor, I made little packets of Snowman Soup! This cute idea was pinned about a million times on Pinterest. I used one of my snowman printables and then typed up the cute little saying.

So I threw this fun little get together in less than 24 hours...and the cost?? Well I'm going to break it down for you

Piggy Bank Parties style!

Food & drink: $23.60
Decorations: $0 (if you were to purchase the printable set it would be $9.00)
Paper cups: $1.00
Craft supplies & goody bags $9.47
Total....$34.07

I used sooooo many things I already had on hand which kept the cost way down! Although it was just my daughters and Goddaughter, there was enough supplies and food for 7 children. I could have saved a few more dollars and bought less treats, but there would have been no leftovers and well...where's the fun in that?

Speaking of leftover treats...they are calling my name so I'm outta here ;) Wishing you a beautiful holiday!

Nutcracker Fondant Toppers

2011-12-15T08:43:00.000-05:00

The Nutcracker Ballet is one of my favorite Christmas traditions! I loved watching the show as a little girl and still love it today. So when I learned that my sweet baby girl's kindergarten class was going to put on a production of it, I was beyond thrilled!

Of course I had to make the class some special treats for their after-show celebration!! I decided to make cookies decorated with Nutcracker fondant toppers!

Nutcracker soldiers for the boys...

And Sugarplum Fairies for the girls...

You can't tell from the picture, but the fairies all have a shimmery finish to them...

I'm not even close to being an expert cookie maker...which is probably pretty evident in this next picture. But hopefully the cute toppers (& sugary frosting) will make up for my lack of cookie skills!

My little army of fairies and soldiers ready for packaging...

I placed each cookie into a bag and tied it up with some colorful twine (from The Twinery).

My daughter is bouncing off the walls with excitement over the show today!! She gets to perform once during the day for the school and then at night for all the parents. I can't wait to see my sweet baby in her first school production. My cookies & I will be there to cheer her & her classmates on!

Visions of Sugarplums are definitely
dancing in my head...

1st Birthday Cake {Butterflies, Chevron & Flowers}

2011-12-11T14:44:00.001-05:00

I recently made a cake for a sweet baby girl's 1st birthday! The design was inspired by the beautiful invitation and fabrics used for the party tables.

I really loved making this cake!

The cakes are frosted in buttercream and decorated with fondant pieces. The tiers are vanilla, strawberry & chocolate chip...something to please almost every taste!

I also made a smash cake for the little miss!

The mom did a fantastic job putting together this party and it featured so many beautiful details.! You will see lots more of this fabulous party in the future.

But I'll leave you with this shot of the dessert table...gorgeous!

Photos by Mark Brian Photography

Holiday Bark Round Up!

2011-12-08T08:48:00.000-05:00

I love all the festive fun of the holidays...parties, wrapping presents, celebrating with family...but it should be no surprise that one of my absolute favorite parts is the sweets! I love planning on what I'm going to make for others and of course I love eating them!

One of my favorite things to make & give is bark. It is so easy, so yummy and so versatile! Here's a few recipes I've found that I wanted to share with you. The hard part is deciding which ones to make!

Christmas is the only time of the year I enjoy peppermint and this Peppermint Bark is the quintessential holiday treat! Brought to you by the queen bee Martha Stewart...so you know it's going to be good!

I'm all about salted caramel these days, so this one is sure to be on my "to make" list...Salted Caramel Cashew Bark! This delicious treat is from one of my favorite baking sites, The Brown Eyed Baker!

For all you Oreo fans...here's a Cookies n' Cream Bark that you are going to love!

I remember making Christmas cookies with red & green MnMs as a child, so I just love this fun Christmas Crunch Bark from Mommy! I'm Hungry!

You can't go wrong with the combination of chocolate and caramel! Add in some pretzels and this Chocolate Caramel Pretzel Candy Bark is a winner! Featured on I {heart} naptime this looks as easy as it is yummy!

I am a huge fan of Bakers Royale where you can always find the most mouthwatering recipes! They have been featuring many incredible bark recipes for the holidays, so I'm sharing a few of my favorites! The link to each recipe is listed below.

1. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

2. Mint Chocolate Chip Bark

3. Samoas Bark

4. Turtle Bark

With all these delicious recipes, there's sure to be one or two...or three...or more that will be the perfect addition to your holiday baking list!

Happy Baking!

My Christmas Village

2011-12-07T09:50:00.000-05:00

I've always loved looking at Christmas villages. Those cute little houses just seemed so adorable! Despite how pretty I think they are, I never got into collecting them. But this year I was inspired by something in the craft store and I knew I was going to make a winter village!

The houses are little birdhouses that I discovered in the $1.00 bins at Michaels. I bought them during the after Thanksgiving sale and ended up paying 50 cents for each of them!

The birdhouses and the snowflakes were the only items I purchased for this project. Everything else was made from materials I already owned, making for one budget friendly little village!

I covered a box in wrapping paper and draped a piece of snow blanket over it. This is actually a twice-recycled box as it's the same one I used to hold our turkey pops on Thanksgiving.

I removed the rope from the top, painted each little house and added a pretty bow.

I was originally going to make a mini banner to string across the top, but I found these adorable tiny snowflakes at the craft store and had to use them. How cute are they?

To create the space to hang the snowflakes, I wrapped 2 wooden dowels in yarn. I love how fun this rainbow yarn looks! I hot glued each dowel onto the sides of the box and ran another string of yarn between them.

I loved how bright & cheery my little village looked, but I couldn't help but feel that it seemed empty. A few winter residents were needed.

I made these cute little birdies from scrapbook paper and added a ribbon for a scarf!

Now my holiday winter village is complete!

Friday's Fabulous Five {Christmas Sweets}

2011-12-02T09:04:00.000-05:00

Happy Friday! It's December, which for many people means the joy of the holidays!! Decorating, baking, gift giving and special times with family & friends all make for a very festive month!

Today I'm sharing a few great ideas for fun & festive treats I've found. They are perfect sweet gifts to share...and it's ok if you keep a few for yourself :)

Do you love hot chocolate...well how about Hot Chocolate on a Stick? I made these a few years ago and they were hit! My love of treats on sticks is well documented and this is one of my favs brought to you by The Giver's Log.

Speaking of hot cocoa...these candy cane marshmallows would look so pretty in your cup! A Field Journal has even provided the printable tag, so you can make, package & share.

If you're looking for a pretty but simple sweet treat to make, you will love these Chocolate Dipped Candy Canes from Brown Paper Packages. Packaged with a pretty bow, these would make a great little gift!

I'm a big fan of chocolate bark, but this Peppermint Bark is made a bit more special by making it in a pretty mold. How fun would this treat from Baked by Rachael be to give?

And finally, a treat that's perfect for kids & grown ups alike, these Oreo Snowman Pops just make me happy! This adorable sweet from The Idea Room, is sure to make anyone smile!

There you have FIVE FABULOUS sweet treats

to make & share!

I wish you a month full of joy & happiness

& LOTS of yummy fun!

{DIY} Mini Present Christmas Countdown

2011-11-29T22:51:00.010-05:00

I love making Christmas decorations and am excited to share my first one of the season with you...a Christmas countdown! I have two little ones (5 & almost 3) so the question "how many more days?" gets asked alot! I love to have a countdown on hand to help them keep track and build that Christmas excitement!

I'm going to show you how to create this cute & inexpensive mini-present countdown. And it all starts with these...

I love these little boxes and have been itching

to create something fun with them!

Here's a complete list of the supplies you will need:
-25 little boxes (I used the raisin ones but any little box will do)
-wrapping paper
-yarn (baker's twine or thin ribbon would work as well)
-wide ribbon (to hang them on)
-wooden clothes pins
-decorative ribbon (for the bows)
-scrapbook paper (I used 2 different sheets)
-printable numbers (provided below)
-hot glue
-tape
- 1 1/2" circle punch (optional)

First step is to remove the lids from the raisin boxes. Then wrap each one in wrapping paper. I used two different patterns of paper. Tie each little package with yarn to form a cute present.

Next, print the numbers provided below onto your scrapbook paper and cut out with a 1 1/2" circle punch. You could also use stickers for the numbers. Hot glue each number onto the clothespin.

Cut your ribbon to the desired length. I laid out my boxes on the floor and put them into a pattern that looked like a Christmas tree. I was then able to cut the ribbon pieces to the right length. I attached them to the wall with clear pushpins. I also made little bows with the additional ribbon and hot glued them on to the pushpins.

Hang all your boxes on your ribbon with the clothespins!

I plan on filling our boxes with slips of paper with different Christmas related activities....like reading stories, looking at Christmas lights, baking cookies, etc. But they are the perfect size for a little treat as well!

Here is the set of printable numbers I created. I wanted my numbers to alternate paper patterns, so I put the odds on one page and the evens on the other. Now, I'm not a printable wizard at all. This is a just a very simple Word document so feel free to use someone else's printable numbers or some cute stickers. Go ahead...you won't hurt my feelings ;)

I hope you enjoy this little Christmas countdown! Go on and get Christmas crafty!!

Advent Numbers

I'm linking this up to these great parties...

Giving Thanks

2011-11-25T08:44:00.001-05:00

Happy Friday! I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday full of family, friends & lots of yummy food! I certainly did and am sharing a few pictures from our day...

I used turquoise, gold, cream & some burlap for my colors. I spray painted two deeply discounted pumpkins for my table.

My little pilgrims from Publix (a grocery store) will always be on my Thanksgiving table!

I made simple place cards from leaves we collected and burlap, tied with a ribbon.

Some Dollar Tree vases filled with inexpensive carnations and decorated with burlap and ribbon were part of the centerpieces. I used extra leaves to fill in the table as well.

The kids had their own table. I covered in with brown kraft paper, paper plates & cups and used free printables from Shindig Parties to Go to decorate them.

I made each of the girls' a feather headband.

I realize I took NO pictures of all the food we made (and there were LOTS), but I remembered to take picture of (most) of the desserts ;)

Like these DELICIOUS Bailey's Trifles...

Turkey cookie pops for the kiddies...

The birthday cake for Grandma, which was a pumpkin cake with Brown Sugar Swiss Meringue & candied pecans...

Mini pumpkin pies were a big hit!

But of course, though I loved the decorations, the food & the sweets...the best part of the day was spending time with my family!

My beautiful girls...my oldest daughter (left) and my Goddaughter...my youngest refused to both wear her headband and be in the picture!

But none of it would be possible without the loving help of my best friend...my incredibly wonderful husband!

And now that Thanksgiving is over...

time to get my Christmas on!

Wishing you all a FABULOUS WEEKEND!

My Thanksgiving Menu

2011-11-16T09:49:00.002-05:00

With 9 days left before Thanksgiving, I finally finalized my menu! I thought I would simplify things this year and maybe serve a few less dishes, but who was I kidding??? I didn't have the heart to cut down the menu. So here is my Thanksgiving Menu...for 10 adults and 3 sweet little girls!

First Course

Antipasto: My husband's family is Italian and every get together always includes this yummy collection of meats, cheeses, artichokes, peppers & olives.

Image from www.saraskitchen.blogspot.com

Bacon Wrapped Tater Tots: I knew I had to make these as soon as I saw them on a bacon party featured at Piggy Bank Parties. I found the recipe on Recipe Girl.

Deviled Eggs: I make a pretty traditional southern-style deviled egg with the addition of some bacon...because bacon makes everything better!

Photo from FoodNetwork.com

Salad: To make us feel better about all the carbs we are going to ingest.

Photo from FoodNetwork.com

Fruit Turkeys: I saw these and thought they would be fun for the kiddies at their table. This cute idea is from Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons.

Dinner

Turkey: What else???
I've made about 12 Thanksgiving dinners now and am hooked on dry-brining my turkey. Best JUICEST bird ever and I'll never prepare it any other way!! You can read all about this easy method here.

Photo from What'sCookingAmerica.net

Baked Sweet Potatoes: I'm so over the whole marshmallow concoction (sorry), so I thought I'd try this yummy recipe based on Ruth's Chris' recipe. The recipe is from The Girl Who Ate Everything.

Twice-Baked Potato Casserole: Instead of mashed potatoes this year, I'm excited about this recipe from Paula Deen found on Food Folio. It's Paula...really...you know it's going to be good!

Baked Eggplant: This will be made by my Italian Mother-in-law. It is incredibly delicious and smothered in cheese and her own sauce (that's spaghetti sauce to you non-Italians).

Sausage & Apple Stuffing:It's been a few years since I've made this and I couldn't find my recipe. But this one from Good House Keeping sounds pretty delish!

Green Bean & Artichoke Casserole: I'm not too keen on the fried onion & soup version of the green bean casserole. But I love this recipe I found a few years ago on Allrecipes.com. It reminds me of stuffed artichokes and everyone always gobbles it up!

Cranberry Sauce: Before I met my husband, I used to make this fancy shmancy cranberry sauce from fresh cranberries and Grand Marnier and it was delicious! After I got married, my husband informed that the only cranberry sauce he was interested in made a schloooop sound when you poured it out of the can and has ring marks on it. So now Oceanspray handles our cranberry needs!

Thankful Rolls: I always want everyone to say what they are thankful for (ummm...it IS Thanksgiving after all) and I try to come up with new ways to do it every year. This year, I'm in love with this idea from The Girl Who Ate Everything! You bake notes in the rolls and everyone reads & completes them throughout the meal...fun!

Dessert:

My favorite part of any meal!

Flan:My family is Cuban and like any other Latin American family, flan is a staple at every gathering. My brother has mastered my mother's recipe and so this year he is charge!

Mini Pumpkin Pies: I wanted to try something new this year, but knew I couldn't stray too far from pumpkin pie. So I'm making these mini pumpkin pies found on Makes and Takes! They are made in a cupcake pan and perfectly sized for individual portions...plus they are cute!

Pumpkin Cake:
On Thanksgiving we will also be celebrating my father's and my mother-in-law's birthday, so a cake is in order. I thought this Pumpkin Spice Cake from Joy of Baking would be perfect. But instead of the cream cheese frosting, I'll be making this Brown Sugar & Cinnamon Swiss Buttercream from Sweetapolita!

I also wanted to make something fun & cute for the little ones. These easy Turkey Cookie Pops are adorable!

That is it! Whew!!! Writing all that down made me realize I have my work cut out for me. Time to make my shopping lists and my time-lines to get this all done!

I hope you are ready for your delicious feast and find the moment to give thanks for all your blessings! Oh and don't forget to wear pants with some elastic in them ;)

GOBBLE GOBBLE!!

{DIY} Burlap Wreath Two Ways

2011-11-11T13:12:00.004-05:00

So with less than 2 weeks until Thanksgiving, I finally got around to taking down my Halloween wreath! And if you are judging me for that, I might as well tell you that the rest of my Halloween decorations are still cluttering up my hallway (YIKES)! I realized I needed something Thanksgiving-y on my door, so I decided to whip up a quick wreath.

This was SUPER easy...really! I put it together in less than 15 minutes.

I re-used the straw wreath I had previously used for my Halloween wreath. See...I knew I kept it up for a reason!

I bought a few yards of burlap last week with the intention of using it for most, if not all, of my holiday decorations. I cut some of the burlap into strips and then wrapped the strips around the wreath securing with some hot glue.

I attached a yellow flower I found at the craft store for a little color. I also wanted to include a pop of turquoise since I am using that in some other decorations. So I made a very, and I mean VERY, simple little ribbon decoration.

All I did was fold the ribbon accordion-style and staple the ends. There's probably a nicer craftier way to do this, but this worked for me. I made two and hot glued them on either side of the flower.

See...I told you that was super easy! Door wreath...DONE!

It was so easy in fact, that I decided to whip up another one for inside the house. This time I re-used a painted wreath I had on hand. I sooooo believe in recycling my crafts! I cut some more burlap strips (I was on a roll) and wrapped it around the wreath. But this time I used less so the color would show through.

I also attempted a sort of burlap flower thing. I twisted a strip around into some semblance of a flower and hot glued it on.

Then this is where I got REALLY crafty! I decided to print words on the burlap. I've been dying to print on fabric and followed this great tutorial from Domestically Speaking. It took me 3 tries of jamming my printer up with burlap before I realized you MUST trim the paper and burlap so that they are exactly the same with no overhang...at least that's what my printer wanted!

You may notice that the words are a little crooked, but I was just happy that I got the darn thing to print that I didn't even care!

I wanted the burlap to have a little more structure, so I dug around in my recycle bin until I found something suitable to attach it to. Then I hot glued it on.

Finally, I hot glued on some ribbon to dress it up and then some more to attach it to the wreath!

2nd wreath DONE!

Easy...simple...the way I'm really hoping my Thanksgiving day is going to be. This leaves more time to give enjoy my family & give thanks for all the beautiful things in my life!

I'm linking up to these great parties...

Friday's Fabulous Five {Pumpkin Desserts}

2011-11-11T07:25:00.000-05:00

Happy Fabulous Friday!

I've started planning our Thanksgiving menu and it's getting me excited!!! I always start planning the desserts first! Among some other goodies, there is of course going to be a pumpkin dessert, but I want to try something new instead of the classic pumpkin pie. I'm hoping there won't be a mutiny over it if I make one of these delicious recipes I've found...

Pumpkin...cheesecake...and throw in some Heath bars!! This recipe sounds like a winner all around. Take a look at this mouthwatering recipe for Layered Pumpkin Pie Toffee Cheesecake from Our Best Bites!

Now you know you can't go wrong with a recipe from Paula Deen! I love how pretty this Pumpkin Roll Cake looks! I have no doubt that if it's Paula's recipe, it will taste as good as it looks!

I love small individual portions of dessert. It makes me feel like I haven't eaten a whole lot, even if I wolf down 3 or 4 of these little cuties! How pretty are these little Pumpkin Praline Trifles from Bakers Royale? Love them!

And since we are talking cute little mini desserts...how about these mini Pumpkin Cheesecakes with Caramel Pecan Topping from Tidy Mom! So adorable and so delicious I'm sure!

And finally, I'm going to bring it home with a pumpkin dessert that includes two of my favorite ingredients...chocolate & salted caramel! I am DROOLING over this Pumpkin-Orange Cheesecake with Chocolate Crust and Salted Caramel! That title is quite a mouthful and I'm sure this dessert would be a mouthful too....of DELICIOUSNESS!

I hope these yummy recipes got you excited to whip up Thanksgiving dessert!

Hope your weekend is FABULOUS

& full of LOTS OF SUGAR!

Friday's Fabulous Five {Thanksgiving Decorations}

2011-11-04T08:37:00.000-04:00

How is it that my Halloween decorations are sitting in the hallway and there is LESS than 3 weeks until Thanksgiving???Ack! Why do the holidays seem to come so fast this time of year? Well I know my weekend will be spent gearing up for the big Turkey Day and I thought I'd share a few ideas I found to decorate!

Normally, subdued & natural is not my style! I love bright colors and some glitz. But life is a little chaotic at the moment, so I find myself really drawn to simplicity. I'm really loving burlap right now! And I really love the idea of a burlap table runner like this one found via The Wedding Chicks.

My daughter & I are at the park every week and we've started collecting acorns. They will be perfect for these napkin rings found via Better Homes & Gardens!

Those acorns, supplemented with a few store bought nuts, will look very pretty dressing up some candles...via Jen-uinely Inspired.

I'm normally not a fresh flower person (I know...I'm weird like that) but I love how simple & pretty these flowers look in a burlap wrapped jar & tied with a ribbon...via She Just Got Married.

Finally, I want to welcome guests with this wreath using...you guessed it...burlap! I found this wreath that represents fall so sweetly on Catch My Party.

That's FIVE FABULOUS ideas to decorate your home & table with the simple & easy touches of nature.

I couldn't think of a more fitting background to reflect on all the things we have to be THANKFUL for!

Pirate Birthday Cake for Icing Smiles

2011-11-02T20:48:00.001-04:00

About a year ago, I learned about an amazing non-profit organization called Icing Smiles. The mission of Icing Smiles is to provide custom celebration cakes & other treats to families with a child who is afflicted with a critical illness. It is their goal to "create a custom cake for the ill child or their sibling that will provide a temporary escape from worry and create a positive memory during a difficult time".

From the moment I learned about this incredible organization, I knew I wanted to be a part of it! I got my "call to action" last week. I had just a few days to put together a cake for a little boy who was turning 5 and was in Wolfson's Children Hospital due to complications from Leukemia. He was not happy that he would be spending his birthday in the hospital (who would be???)! But then, a little ray of sunshine shone through the clouds and he was sent home just in time for his birthday.

I delivered his cake to his home, where he happily celebrated with his family. It was so great to meet sweet little Liam! I mean look at him...is he not just the cutest little guy??? He couldn't wait to take a swipe at his cake (which he did when mom wasn't looking)!

You can read more about Liam's story & the sign the guestbook on his website at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/liamkeanegonzalez/mystory

Some people might say "it's just a cake" and in some respects that's true. But if for just a little while you can put a smile on a child's face and let them enjoy some birthday normalcy...without thoughts of doctors or medications or treatments...then I think it becomes more than "just a cake".

Please visit Icing Smiles to learn how you can help! If you are a baker or cake decorator (professional or hobbyist), sign up to be a "Sugar Angel". They serve children nationwide so chances are there is a child you can help in your area!

Even if baking is not your thing, you can still help with a donation, delivery of cakes, or fundraising!

Visit the Icing Smiles website and "like" their Facebook page. I promise you will be touched by the stories of these brave children and families and moved by the beautiful Icing smiles you will see!

Website: http://www.icingsmiles.org/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/icingsmiles

Halloween Birthday Cake

2011-10-30T21:28:00.000-04:00

If your birthday is going to be close to a holiday, I couldn't think of a more fun one than Halloween!

I was recently asked to make a birthday cake for a little girl celebrating with a Halloween costume party!

Her mom wanted spiders to be featured!

I loved all the fun colors she chose!

A fun party theme that I'm sure all the kids enjoyed!

Happy Halloween!!!

{DIY} The Great Pumpkin Tree & Free Printable

2011-10-25T10:42:00.004-04:00

I really love all the Halloween trees I'm seeing on the party scene this year! When I put together our recent Halloween Play Date, I knew I wanted a tree for the kids. I originally saw a Pumpkin Treat Tree from Pottery Barn, which was the inspiration for mine!

The Great Pumpkin Tree was super easy

& inexpensive to make!!

You will need:

1 Plastic Pumpkin bucket

mini pumpkin buckets

tree branch

black spray paint

candy corn

yarn or ribbon

printable tags (I'm giving you those)

scrapbook paper & stickers *optional

2" circle punch *optional

The first thing you will need to do is spray paint your tree branch black. I found one right in my front yard!! Although you will notice that I "rearranged" some of the branches to my liking, using some electrical tape!

I thought it would be cute to use candy corn as pumpkin seeds, since the fruit of a tree has the seeds inside! Fill your mini treat buckets with candy corn. I found these cute little buckets at the craft store!

Use yarn or ribbon to attach the Pumpkin Seeds tag (provided below) to each little pumpkin.

When your branch is dry, you are ready to put your tree together! You will need to weigh down the inside of your pumpkin in order to hold the branch in & support it. You can get pretty creative with what you want to use!

I used a bag of rice & a bag of leftover candy corn! But you can use pretty much anything you have lying around! Then I covered the opening with some black Halloween netting.

Then hang your mini pumpkins onto the tree branch. Distribute them evenly in order to keep the tree balanced.

I also decided to make a "The Great Pumpkin" sign for the tree. I used scrapbook paper and stickers to create this simple sign.

Today I'm giving you the Pumpkin Seed printables to use to make your own tree! Just click on the title or on the bottom of the Scribd toolbar to download.

Pumpkin Seeds

Hope you enjoy your Great Pumpkin Tree!

I'm linking up to these great parties...

Friday's Fabulous Five {Halloween Parties}

2011-10-21T10:32:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday! Are you getting into the Halloween spirit yet? There's just a little more than a week left before the haunting celebration!!! If you are planning a party to celebrate, I've got FIVE FABULOUS ones to inspire you!! Be sure to visit each blog for full details on each one!

First up is this super cute, creative & fun Lil' Witches party from Piggy Bank Parties! I love all the whimsical witchy touches!! The witch hat treats are adorable and super easy to make! But I love that Piggy Bank Parties includes the cost breakdown to show you how easy on the piggy bank it is!!!

It's easy to overload on the sweets at a Halloween party and if you plan on trick-or-treating also...well then it can really get out of hand. So how perfect is a Halloween Breakfast??? I love this breakfast party thrown by Sheek Shindigs! Lots of healthy options for the kids, but still fun & festive with adorable touches. I've already borrowed the ghost milk idea (which was a hit)! Check out the full details at Sheek Shindigs!

I'm a not big fan of all the gore on Halloween and I prefer the cuter side of the holiday! I love this super cute & cheerful Halloween party by Amanda of Shindig Parties to Go that is featured on Celebrations at Home. So fun & colorful with lots of kid friendly touches. I love that orange polka dot backdrop with those adorable ghosts!! Visit Celebrations at Home for all the details and pictures.

I love bright and colorful for the kids, but I also love the idea of a black & white party for the grownups. Black & White is one of my favorite color combos and it is always so sophisticated. I love this Halloween dessert table from Glorious Treats! It is beautiful and all the silver touches just up the glam factor! And Glory of Glorious Treats NEVER disappoints with the amazing desserts!!!

And finally, I love a party that puts a twist on a traditional theme. Most girls love a tea party, so how about a {Good}Witches Tea Party? I love the idea of this Halloween tea party by Jen of Tater Tots & Jello and it is so pretty to look at! The witch hat place cards are perfect!!! I know some grown up girls (ME) who would LOVE to attend this cool tea party!

There you have FIVE FABULOUS Halloween parties to inspire you!

Have a SPOOKTACULAR WEEKEND!!!

Halloween Play Date

2011-10-20T10:50:00.001-04:00

I recently invited a few of my daughter's friends over for a Halloween play date. Every other week, our school has an early release day. We have friends who attend the same school, so every early release day we take turns hosting a play date. I thought it would be fun to have a little Halloween celebration for the girls on our day.

I kept things pretty simple. I served a few treats and had a couple of fun activities lined up for the kids.

I really loved making the Great Pumpkin Tree. You can find the tutorial and free printable on this post! But I thought it fitting that the fruit of a tree should include the seeds ;)

I also love my Halloween Art which is a FREE download from Nothing but Country! I filled a couple of jars I had with candy corn and a candle and place them on top of my candlesticks. Instant centerpiece!

Even though I love to bake, I opted for some easy & inexpensive treats from the grocery store.

But I had to make the ghost milk (which the kids LOVED)...an idea I got from Sheek Shindigs! And because of it I discovered that I REALLY REALLY LOVE Starbucks Low Fat Frappuccino, which I had to drink to get those cute bottles!!

I had a large roll of black bulletin board paper left over from helping with a project at my daughter's school. Paired with some art paper "place mats", it made for the perfect easy-to-clean tablecloth. I set each place with a pumpkin and supplies.

Each pumpkin had a tag with the girl's name, plus a cute party hat. I had previously made these cute hats for Piggy Bank Parties' Halloween Challenge using their Lil' Hoots Printable Collection! It was great to reuse them and the kids loved them!

The girls had fun painting their pumpkins & eating their yummy treats. We also played a game of Halloween Bingo, which I downloaded for free from Crayola.Even the littlest one enjoyed playing it!

They each went home with their pumpkin, party hat and goody bag. Inside each goody bag was a craft, candy necklace kit, and glow stick for trick or treating. The glow stick goody tag was an idea created by Jenny of Crossing the Bugger-Dixon Line, using a FREE printable from Piggy Bank Parties.

This party was fairly inexpensive since I made most of the decorations using left over scrapbook paper and things from around the house. The kids had a great time, which at the end of the day is what it's all about!

Hope your Halloween celebration is

SPOOKTACULARLY AWESOME!

Guest Posting at Giggles Galore!

2011-10-19T09:29:00.001-04:00

I'm excited to be guest posting over at Giggles Galore today! Mariah is a super talented lady who I have the pleasure of being a fellow Piggy Bank Parties crew member with!

She puts together some beautiful parties and I am in love with her most recent one. Don't miss her super sweet vintage Dick & Jane inspired party she threw for her twins!

Today I'm there to show you how to make this super easy & inexpensive Halloween art so come on over & check it out!

{DIY} Duck Tape Pumpkins

2011-10-18T12:19:00.002-04:00

Yep, you read that right...Duck Tape! Have you seen Duck Tape recently? It comes in so many fun colors & patterns that I have been itching to do something fun with it. So I did!

I took my boring old craft pumpkin from drab...

to FAB!

It was the easiest, quickest project EVER! Just tape up your pumpkin to your liking...

and add a little bow. THAT IS IT!!!

My favorite kind of craft project...easy!!!

I'm linking this up to these great parties...

Guest Posting at Lil' Luna!

2011-10-17T11:20:00.000-04:00

Today I'm very thrilled to be guest posting over at Lil' Luna for their Great Pumpkin Series. Lil' Luna is a FABULOUS blog full of great tutorials, recipes & a Link Party every Wednesday to show off YOUR creations!

Head over today where I'm showing how to make this Glittery Mini Pumpkin Topiary!

Friday's Fabulous Five {Halloween Party Food}

2011-10-14T09:28:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday! Halloween is a little more than 2 weeks away!! If you are planning a Halloween Party then I have some super FABULOUS ideas for some party treats!

As I've mentioned many times, I LOVE food on a stick, which is also so kid friendly. So of course I love these adorable Frankenstein Marshmallow Pops from Nothing but Country! These would not only be a cute treat to serve, but a fun party activity too!

Some more fun on a stick...how about these super cute Mummy Cookie Pops? They are made from Oreos & featured on How Does She? Love them!

These little Funny Bones are made from pretzel sticks, mini marshmallows & white chocolate! So fun!!! You can find the recipe at Epicurious.

I know Halloween is all about the sweets, but it's good to have some actual FOOD at the party too! I love how clever these Sand Witches are!! The complete how to can be found on Fiskars.

Finally, you need something to wash down all the party treats with. This Ghostly Glass of Milk is just the perfect thing! I just love these cute ghost glasses found on Sheek Shindigs!

There you have five party treats

to help make your Halloween Party FABULOUS!

Hope your weekend is full of spooky fun!!

{Giveaway} My Memories Suite Scrapbook Software

2011-10-10T09:20:00.006-04:00

Years ago, I got into the scrapbook craze. This was before the babies came along and I had alot more time on my hands back then. Today I wonder what on earth I DID with all that time???? I made a few scrapbooks, but in all honesty...it was time consuming and expensive!!! I finally realized that I was not one of those people who could spend hours working on one page, let alone a whole book.

Then after the kids came along, I wanted to do fun things with their photos and began playing with digital scrapbooking! What a fabulous discovery!! All my pictures are on the computer anyway, so drag & drop became my new love! Scrapbooking the digital way was a perfect fit for me and I love it!

I recently received a copy of the My Memories Digital Scrapbooking Software to try out. See the cute Halloween card with my little princesses? I made that using the My Memories software and it was so easy! Just uploaded my photos and added some text & embellishments!

There so many great features included with it, but you can also go to the My Memories website and find even more products to add. I created the Halloween card using one of the FREE kits that you can download. They also have a blog, where they feature weekly challenges, tips & tutorials for creating beautiful digital scrapbooks!

Not only did My Memories give me a copy of the software to try out, they are giving one of my lucky readers a copy too (valued at $40)!

To enter, "Like" My Memories on Facebook and then leave me a comment on this post telling me you did so & also tell me what will be the first scrapbook project you'll tackle with your new software!

**For extra entries (each one is an extra entry & comment):
1. "Like" Love & Sugar Kisses on Facebook and leave me a comment on this post
2. Subscribe to the My Memories mailing list on their blog and leave me a comment on this post
3. Share this giveaway on your Facebook, Twitter or Blog and leave me a comment on this post

Even if you don't win...I still have something special for you! My Memories is also giving my readers a Share the Memories $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software AND a $10 coupon for the My Memories store - $20 value!

Use the code STMMMS87554 at checkout!

~~The giveaway will be open until Sunday Oct 16th at midnight EST~~. {GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED}

CONGRATULATIONS TO CHRIS ALLPORT!
PLEASE SEND ME AN EMAIL TO MARIA@LOVEANDSUGARKISSES.COM
SO I CAN GET YOUR PRIZE TO YOU!!

The winner will be picked using Random.Org
& I will announce the winner on Monday the 17th
on this post and on Facebook!

Good luck and Happy Scrapbooking!

{DIY} Halloween Party Hats

2011-10-09T09:34:00.000-04:00

I'm over at Piggy Bank Parties today, sharing a tutorial for some festive party hats! I featured these hats in the Halloween Challenge and now I want to show you how easy they are to make!

Head on over to Piggy Bank Parties for the tutorial!

{Halloween Guest Blogger} Mariah from Giggles Galore

2011-10-07T06:56:00.001-04:00

Happy Friday! It's been so much fun having awesome guest bloggers this week and I have one more fabulous person for you! Mariah from Giggles Galore is here today to share a fun Halloween tutorial!

Mariah throws ADORABLE parties and makes so many cute crafts for her family that she shares on her blog. I love the Tattle Monster she made as a fun lesson for her little ones! And now she's here to share another cute project...

Hi, Love & Sugar Kisses fans! I'm Mariah from Giggles Galore and I am super excited to be here today sharing one of my new Halloween creations!

I saw an invitation in a magazine (can't remember which one) and I loved how they used buttons to create a bubbly cauldron. I thought the idea was perfect for creating a larger scale design to hang on the wall for Halloween.

Today I'm going to show you how to make your own bubbly cauldron for Halloween for only a few dollars and in less than 30 minutes.

First, you'll need to decide on your color scheme and pick out buttons and scrapbook paper to match. I went with lime green, yellow and purple.

Next, I used my Cricut to cut out a cauldron shape, but if you don't have a cutter you could find an image online and enlarge it to the size you want and cut and trace on black paper. I cut my scrapbook paper to fit in my 11x14 picture frame and attached the cauldron to the center.

Now, it's time to create your bubbly brew. I placed the buttons and arranged them how I wanted them. Then I used adhesive dots to adhere them. Once I had them placed I pulled cotton balls apart and stuck bits of fluffy cotton in between buttons.

For fun I added a tag that said "Something's brewing..." but you could leave it as is or put a different saying.

All done, I told you it was quick and easy! Now you've got a fun and festive bubbly cauldron to display for Halloween.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Thank you Mariah for sharing this adorable bubbling cauldron tutorial! I LOVE button crafts and this is such a fun idea!

If you aren't already a fan & follower of Giggles Galore, you can find Mariah here:

Website: http://gigglesgalorenmore.blogspot.com/

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/pages/Giggles-Galore/105370982854090

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/Giggles_Galore

Etsy: http://www.etsy.com/shop/gigglesgalorenmore

{Halloween Guest Blogger} Valerie from Occasionally Crafty

2011-10-06T06:19:00.000-04:00

I've got another fantastic guest for you today...Valerie from Occasionally Crafty! Valerie is a super crafty mama who makes all sorts of creative crafts and shares the tutorials on her blog! From home decor to great gifts, Valerie has so many great ideas! And if you love digital scrapbooking, then you will definitely want to check out her Scrappin' Wednesday features where she shows off her beautiful scrapbook pages!!

I'm so thrilled that Valerie is here to share an ADORABLE Halloween craft that you are going to LOVE!

Hi, I'm Valerie from Occasionally Crafty! I'm a SAHM to three energetic kids, and a book-loving, piano-teaching, RA-enduring crafter who just tries to make fun, cute things-- occasionally. At my blog, you'll find fun home decor, gifts, simple sewing projects, and seasonal crafts and decor.

I had a lot of fun putting together a fun Halloween project for you. I came up with this cute Halloween Embroidery Hoop Wall Hanging.

I was inspired by Riley Blake's Halloween Fabrics. They are just so darn cute. I picked out some of my favorite characters to use in my Halloween decorating. Let me tell you- I am not so much into the ghoulish side of Halloween decor. I like to keep it fun and cute, and these little guys fit the bill.

Anyway, here's what you need:

3 5 inch embroidery hoops

1/2 yard of fabric- solids or small prints work best

A printer and paper (or a really good eye!)

Felt- I used craft felt in white, black, and green

Fine-tip marker or fabric pen/paint

Hot glue

Scissors

A quick note- I kind of worked backwards from what might be logical to you. I put my fabric in the hoops first, then decorated them. You might want to go the opposite way. It doesn't really matter, as long as you get your decorated fabric centered in your hoop.

1. Cut fabric to fit your embroidery hoop. You should have enough to pull it taut, and have extra sticking out on all sides. Do this for all three hoops.

When you like how it looks, cut off the excess. I place my scissors right against the hoop and cut in a circle.

Finish up by drawing a line of hot glue along the edge of the fabric to seal it and hold it in place.

2. Print your embellishment patterns and cut them out. I found some .jpg images online, so just do a google search for what you want.

3. Trace your images onto felt and cut out.

4. Adhere to the fabric using hot glue or fabric glue. I'm a little bit of a lazy crafter, so I just hot glued them on.

5. I used a ruler to mark the lines on my mummy.

And don't forget his little green face!

6. Outline details with fine-tip marker or fine tipped bottle of fabric paint.

7. Add words to your fabric by freezer paper stenciling- or you could even use letter stickers or regular stencils. A great tutorial for freezer paper stenciling can be found here.

8. Determine how far apart you want your hoops to hang, and cut 2 strips of ribbon to match, leaving an extra 1/2 inch for gluing. Glue to the inside back of each embroidery hoop to connect them.

9. Tie a bow and glue it to the top.

10. Hang it up and admire your creation!

Thanks for having me!

I hope to see you over on my blog soon!

Thank you so much Valerie for sharing this adorable Halloween tutorial with us today!

If you are not already a fan & follower of Occasionally Crafty, you can find Valerie here:

Website: http://occasionallycrafty.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Occasionally-Crafty/136076526452907

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ocrafty

{Halloween Guest Blogger} Jenny from Crossing the Bugger-Dixon Line!

2011-10-04T08:11:00.000-04:00

I'm so excited to have the awesome Jenny from Crossing the Bugger-Dixon Line here today! Jenny is one talented lady who throws fabulous parties (on a budget...which I love) and has lots of cute craft tutorials that she shares on her fun blog!!

I'm thrilled that Jenny is stopping by to share a super cute Halloween favor that you are sure to love!

Hi, Jenny here from Crossing the Bugger-Dixon Line. I am so thrilled to be over here sharing a fun and easy Halloween favor with you. There's even a little candy surprise waiting inside. Last year we made crepe paper pumpkin favors, so this year we thought we would try spooky bats.

Materials needed:

black crepe paper

black scrapbook paper

candy

glue

Directions:

1. Tuck one small piece of candy into crepe paper. Fold over and continue wrapping small candy pieces one at a time into the crepe paper, making a ball shape. Once you have reached the crepe paper ball size you like, tape the end.

2. To make bat wings, fold a piece of scrapbook paper in half, draw one side of wings and cut out.

3. Glue bat wings to the crepe paper body of the bat.

4. Cut out two triangles from the scrapbook paper to make fangs and two more triangles to make ears. Cut out circles for eyes. Glue to bat.

5. Give to a friend and watch them unwrap a spooky candy surprise!

Happy Halloween!

How cute is that??? Thank you Jenny for such a fun & easy Halloween favor! This would be a great treat for a Halloween party or for the kids to take to school to share with friends!!

If you aren't already a fan and follower of Crossing the Bugger-Dixon Line, you can find Jenny here:

Blog:http://bugger-dixonline.blogspot.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrossingBuggerDixonLine

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/buggerline

{Halloween Guest Blogger} Mary Beth from Nothing But Country!

2011-10-03T09:18:00.001-04:00

I'm very excited to feature my first Guest Blogger...Mary Beth from Nothing But Country!! We became bloggy friends after realizing that we were both planning our daughters' puppy birthday parties a few months ago and had fun sharing ideas & inspiration. Check out their AWESOME Puppy Birthday Party!!

I've been a fan of Nothing But Country for some time and always find great craft & recipes there! Some of my favorite features are cute holiday gift ideas that always seem to include a fun free printable (they are so awesome)!!! And on that note, let me let Mary Beth share this Halloween goody with you...

I am so excited to be guest blogging here at Love & Sugar Kisses today!! My name is Mary Beth and I run the blog Nothing But Country with my husband Chad as well. He is a great cook and I love to craft and we both love DIY projects. :) Thank you Maria for inviting us to share a project with your readers today!

I am always looking for cute gift ideas to give friends, teachers, family etc. Something practical as well. This year I plan to give out these "PUMPKIN SEEDS".

Simply started with a pack of Orange Tic Tac candy.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD

Download the free printable. I print mine out on a full sheet of address labels that are 8 1/2 x 11 in size. Then cut them out and stick them on. You can easily print on paper and use glue or double-sided tape and tape it on as well.

The label will wrap all the way around from the front to the back and cover the sticker. No need to remove the Tic Tac sticker at all.

Here is the view of the back. HAHAH :)

I always love getting gifts like these, so I try to give them as well. They are fun to receive and giggle over!

Thanks again for allowing us to share this quick Halloween Gift/Craft with you all today.

Happy Halloween!!

Thank you so much Mary Beth for sharing this fun Halloween treat & printable with us!!

If you are not a fan and follower of

Nothing But Country already, here is where you can find them!

Website: http://www.nothingbutcountry.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nothingbutcountry
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/nothingbcountry

Friday's Fabulous Five {Candy Corn Recipes}

2011-09-30T08:34:00.000-04:00

Candy corn...people seem to love it or...not so much ;) I happen to love candy corn! I know...I know...it's a little waxy and probably isn't the greatest quality candy, but it just SCREAMS Halloween and fall to me. Maybe it's the nostalgia, but I just can't resist a colorful bowl of the stuff.

Do you love it too? If so, here's FIVE FABULOUS recipes to try featuring

CANDY CORN!

I love bark in almost any form. It's super easy to make and always makes a fun holiday or party treat! So of course I'm going to love this Candy Corn Bark from Le La La. It would look so cute all bagged up for your Halloween party goers!

Another fun party treat or gift would be this Candy Corn Fudge! Fudge is a great easy to make sweet that people love. This fun one is from Taste and Tell.

Did you make popcorn balls as a kid? I have fun memories of me & one of my oldest friends making popcorn balls for our front yard carnival (that was a riot). I'm definitely making these Candy Corn Popcorn Balls from 3 Four and Under! What a great treat to make for a school's fall festival!!

Ok...now if you just don't like the taste of store bought candy corn, maybe you would love the homemade version! This Homemade Candy Corn recipe is featured on Cakespy. I'm really curious to see what this version tastes like!

Finally, here's a treat for the grown ups and I'm thinking even the candy corn haters might go for this one!!! How about some Candy Corn Vodka drinks? This would definitely be fun to serve at a grown up Halloween party! This treat is brought to us by The Inquistr.

So there you have some FABULOUS candy corn treats to get your weekend started!

Happy Friday and Happy fall!

{DIY} Halloween Paper Plate Garland

2011-09-29T16:59:00.005-04:00

October will be here in just a few days, so this weekend will be spent digging out the Halloween decorations from the attic and putting them up. I love to put out everything on the 1st of October so we can enjoy them all month long. And also to make it worth my husband's time spent digging everything out ;)

So this week I've been working on some simple and cute decorations and I want to share one with you. This is a very easy and inexpensive garland made from paper plates!

I put it together in about half an hour...my kind of quick & easy craft!

You will need:
paper plates in 2 sizes
ribbon
adhesive (I used a glue dot runner)
cardstock
foam glitter sheets
hole punch

I found these paper plates for 97 cents a package!

I used a drinking glass to trace circles onto my foam glitter sheets and cut them out. For the letters, I printed them onto cardstock and used a spooky looking font.

I cut out the letters out and then glued them to the glitter foam circles (I used glue dots).

I punched a hole on each side of each paper plate. It's a good idea to use one punched out plate as a guide for the rest so that your banner will hang evenly. Then I glued the circles onto the smaller plates.

Last, cut your ribbon into small pieces (my pieces were about 6" long). Then loop each piece through the punched holes and tie into a bow, so that you connect each plate together.

Now you have a fun little Halloween banner to display! There are so many cute Halloween paper plates out there so you can really coordinate this to your decoration scheme. It would also be a fun party decoration using coordinating party plates!

Booooo-tiful ;) (groan...I couldn't resist)!!!

I'm linking this up at these FABULOUS parties...

Ruffle Feather Cake

2011-09-25T19:56:00.001-04:00

I am very in love with ruffles right now, especially on a cake! This super girly trend is so fun and I was excited that I had the opportunity to make a pretty ruffle cake this past weekend.

I had the pleasure of working with Wendy of Wendy Updegraff Photography on her daughter's birthday cake. Wendy planned this unbelievably beautiful girly camping party with so many cute details!

We were inspired by two beautiful baby shower cakes found on Hostess {with the mostess}. My cake combined the major elements with the addition of the feathers to tie in the party's feather motif. The cake was a 6 layer vanilla cake with cookies n' cream filling. I made all the decor from marshmallow fondant. Wendy added the adorable name banner that she made herself.

Check out all the beautiful photos of this fun party over at Wendy Updegraff Photography.

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake & Salted Caramel Swiss Buttercream

2011-09-20T08:50:00.000-04:00

If you think the title of this post is a mouthful...you should try this cake!!! An absolutely divine combination of moist cake and addictive frosting.

I had been wanting to make the frosting forever and finally decided to go for it this past weekend. After deliberating over what cake to pair it with, I settled on banana because I was wanting to try that recipe as well.

The cake is so incredibly moist! It has the flavor of banana bread, but with the light and fully texture of a cake. The frosting...oh man that frosting...I could eat a bowl of it by itself. It is a Swiss meringue buttercream and it's light and silky with a lightly salty & sweet taste. Hands down one of the best if not THE best frostings I have ever made.

The cake recipe is an adaptation of one I found on i am baker, a blog full of wonderful recipes and beautiful pictures. The frosting is from Sweetapolita, who I have mentioned many times before and who I have an unabashed cake crush on! Check out both sites for many inspiring recipes!

Banana Chocolate Chip Cake
adapted from i am baker

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups ripe bananas, mashed (approx 4 medium bananas)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
3 cups cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 cup mini chocolate chips
2 teaspoons flour (for coating chocolate chips)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300°.

2. Grease and flour (2) 9” cake pans

3. In a small bowl, mix mashed banana with the lemon juice; set aside.

4. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

5. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy, appx 6 minutes.

6. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then add vanilla.

7. Beat in the flour mixture alternating with the buttermilk, beginning & ending with flour

8. Stir in banana mixture by hand

9. Toss chocolate chips with 2 teaspoons of flour to coat and then stir into batter.

10. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Let the cakes cool in their pans on a rack for about 15 minutes. When you remove them from the pans, wrap them gently in plastic wrap until you are ready to frost. I do this with all my cakes and it helps retain their moisture.

The frosting...how I love this frosting. When I made it originally, I used the recipe as written not taking into account that Sweetapolita intended it only as a filling. I considered just frosting my cake in a the casual open way pictured above as I've seen others do. But who am I kidding??? I'm a frosting girl!

So I went back and made another batch!! My 2nd batch ended up being even more delicious than the first and I didn't think that was possible!

I'm posting the recipe here already increased so you will have plenty to frost and fill your 9" cake. Also note, I used two 9" pans, but then I split each layer so that is how I end up with 4 layers...just a way to get more frosting in there ;)

Salted Caramel Swiss Buttercream
adapted from Sweetapolita

Ingredients

2 ¼ cups sugar (divided, 1 ¼ cup for the caramel & 1 cup for the frosting)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup heavy cream

generous pinch of sea salt**

3 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature and cut into tablespoon sized pieces

5 large egg whites

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions

To make the caramel: Place 1 ¼ cup of the sugar and the water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring. Brush down the sides of the pot with a dampened pastry brush to prevent sugar crystals from forming. Stop stirring and cook until caramel is amber colored, gently swirling from time to time. The caramel will darken quickly so keep a close eye on it! Remove from heat, and slowly add cream, whisking by hand until smooth. Whisk in sea salt. Let cool.

To make the swiss meringue buttercream: Place egg whites and 1 cup of sugar into bowl over a pot of simmering water(not boiling--you don't want to cook the eggs). Whisk occasionally and gently until sugar dissolves and mixture registers 160° on a candy thermometer.

Remove the bowl from heat, and place onto the mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium speed for 5 minutes. Increase speed to medium-high, and whisk until stiff, glossy peaks form (about 5-6 minutes). Once the bottom of the bowl is no longer warm to the touch, reduce speed to medium-low, and add butter, a little at a time, whisking well after each addition.

Switch to paddle attachment. With mixer on low speed, add cooled caramel, and beat until smooth (about 3-5 minutes).

**You can leave out the seal salt if you want regular caramel

Enjoy and Happy Baking!

Friday's Fabulous Five {Halloween Wreaths}

2011-09-16T08:43:00.000-04:00

Happy Friday! I've been seeing so many great Halloween party & decorating ideas out there lately. Since it's halfway through September, I'm gearing up for Halloween decor. Which I put up on exactly October 1st ;)

There are a number of FABULOUS wreaths out there and I want to share some of my favorites.

This wreath is perfect for all you chevron lovers out there! I especially love the bats!! You can get all the tutorial details from the always creative Tatertots and Jello.

I really love the Boo bunting on this wreath from Pretty Ditty! She not only includes the printable Boo banner, but a Happy Halloween as well.

Candy corn is one of those LOVE them or HATE them kind of candies. I happen to LOVE them!! But even if you don't love eating them, you gotta admit they are fun to decorate with! Like with this fun wreath from How does she?

I really love how purple & lime green have evolved into being Halloween colors! I think they really liven up the more traditional orange & black palette. Which is one of the reasons I love this cute rag wreath from Sassy Sanctuary. Plus that EEK is just too cute!

But even orange & black can look fresh & modern when you incorporate fun patterns like polka dots, damask, stripes & houndstooth! Which is exactly what Stacy from She's {Kinda} Crafty did with another one of her fabulous ribbon wreaths! And I LOVE those two adorable masked spiders!!

There you have FIVE FABULOUS Halloween Wreaths to get your creative juices flowing this weekend!

Happy Weekend and I hope you

get your craft on and have a great one!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

2011-09-13T07:35:00.005-04:00

If you find yourself always eating the dough when making chocolate chip cookies (majorly guilty here), then this treat is for YOU! And since there are no eggs used, it is the kind of cookie dough that is perfectly safe to eat. I discovered this great recipe on Love & Olive Oil. I changed up the coating to use chocolate chips instead of the candy melts ;)

These are super easy to make and don't even require you to turn on your oven! But they do require a whole lot of willpower in order to avoid eating ALL OF THEM!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles
adapted from Love & Olive Oil

INGREDIENTS

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup milk
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
14 oz dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips

TO PREPARE

Beat butter and sugars together in a large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add milk and vanilla and beat for one more minute or until completely mixed. Stir in flour, baking soda and salt and mix on low speed until incorporated. Stir in chocolate chips.

Cover and chill dough for 1 hour.

When dough is firm enough to handle, form dough into 1" balls and arrange on a baking sheet lined with waxed paper. Place sheets in freezer and let chill for 30 minutes.

Melt chocolate chips according to package directions. Most packages will advise you to add a little shortening, which makes it much smoother for dipping. If your package doesn't include this info, just add 2 Tablespoons of shortening to your 14oz of chips before you melt them.

Using 2 forks, scoop up your cookie ball, then dip it into the melted chocolate & roll it around to completely cover. Tap fork on side of pan to remove any excess coating, and return to waxed paper-lined baking sheets. Chill until set. Store, chilled, in an airtight container for up to 1 week!

You should get about 4 dozen truffles from this recipe. Even if you can't help but nibble a few taste tests ;)

YUM!