My cupcake dreams have been answered

I came across this blog called The Cupcake Activist recently.  This is a girl after my own heart.  To say she enjoys cupcakes would probably be an understatement.  If you look at her blog, you will see that she has visited a ton of shops and taken the time to review a bunch of them for you.  I have not gotten through all her reviews as of yet, but it will certainly help me map out a birthday cupcake crawl (similar to a bar crawl but we'll still be able to drive).  

 

She is holding a giveaway for The Cupcake Tower, of which I had never seen before.  It is awesome.  I am in love with it and want one.  I'm not going to lie, I get more points in the giveaway if I blog about it.  But I also wanted to make sure that all of you knew about this stand.  There are four sizes to choose from and different ribbon kits to finish off the stand.  Prices range from $34 to $160 and these stands will last for years to come.  My dad created the cupcake stand for my wedding in 2003 and we had little to go from at the time.  If only I had had the foresight to utilitze his amazing woodworking skills we would have been left with an heirloom instead of the styrophoam monster that was finally laid to rest after it's 4th move with us.  Check out their gallery to see all kinds of inspiring ideas.  And be sure to read The Cupcake Activist, not only for the giveaways and reviews, but for the yummy recipes she posts as well!!!!! 

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Photos via The Cupcake Tower

Paper Pastries - Yummy enough to send

I know, I know.  My posts have been sporadic at best.  We are in full house hunt mode (and my husband is so not concerned with finding the perfect house to entertain and store all my party stuff.  He's interested in location, good schools, codes - that kind of boring stuff) so my time is mostly spent driving or scouring the Internet.  We did manage to find a few minutes between open houses yesterday to stop by the Patchwork Indie Arts and Craft Festival.  I'm so glad we did because there was the cutest cards, stationery, etc. by a company called Paper Pastries.  Their stuff is handmade, charming, humorous, and pretty (I'm really in to pretty right now, uh oh is Shabby Chic going to rear it's pretty head in my decor again?!).  Check out their site, especially their holiday offerings and read their blog for daily doses of pretty.  They are graciously allowing me to pass on a holiday discount to you.  Go to www.paperpastries.bigcartel.com and enter "pumpkin" to receive a 15% off discount until November 31, 2009.  Run, don't walk! 

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Oh Snap!

Okay, so I love hosting parties and I love taking photos but sometimes the two don't mix.  I mean, you slave away for months making sure that every detail of the party is right but then you don't get any pictures of them because you are too busy being the best hostess.  Or, you get your detail shots, but dangit, no pictures of the guests.  I just about flipped when I saw a blurb on the Sony Party-Shot Automatic Photographer.  "What the f is it?" you ask.  Well, let me tell you.  It's genius is what it is.  It's a camera dock that takes party photos for you.  It can turn 360 degrees and tilt up and down to get the party photos you don't have time to take yourself.  With face recognition abilities, it tracks for faces to frame shots and takes candid photos that would make for a great memory book addition.  Crazy!!!!!!!!!!!!  I want one so bad.  While my husband thinks our three year old could probably take better party photos then this contraption, I totally disagree.  While our son excels at taking photos of his own eye, the technology put in to this little machine is for sure amazing.  It is compatible with several Sony cameras but seems to be kind of difficult to find in stock online.  The price is a relatively cheap $150, but the memories it will capture for you?  Priceless. (I know, the "priceless" bit is so overdone but it totally fit!)  Check out the video on the Sony site to see just how it works.  

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First photo via Amazon

Second photo via Sony

A simpler blackboard guest book

Effing Martha Stewart.  Why does she have to make everything look so easy?  Of course her magazines showcase all the other amazingly talented crafty people in the world.  I already know that I am craft challenged.  But I can't give up hope.  I just know that one day, when I'm planning a party, and I decide to attempt one of her amazing party ideas it will work.  I will burst in to tears and my knees will buckle and I will fall in to a triumphant heap on the floor.  But until then, I will try as hard as I can to figure out easier ways to achieve end results similar to hers.  Take the blackboard guest book featured in Martha Stewart Weddings for instance.  Seems pretty easy right?  Well, these types of standing blackboards are expensive.  I thought that instead we could use blackboard paint and make our own.  But all my wood working helpers told me it wouldn't work.  Why didn't you try to make it yourself you ask?  Because I am even worse with home improvements then with crafts.  Just as I was about to give up on the idea A came through with the perfect blackboard we could borrow.  Yeah!!!!  But alas, the board had to be set up indoors so with unnatural lighting and camera flash, this idea was doomed. 
Above is the best shot that I got.  Our intention had been to make these in to a digital photobook for the guest of honor.  As hard as we tried to get everyone to write a message, we missed more then half of the guests at the party.  If there had been one entry point, this would have worked a bit better.  Or if we could have had it in a more prominent place at the party, people would have seen it and been a bit more playful.  I could see this working.  But next time I would certainly do it differently.  To start, I don't think you need the big chalkboard.  Recently I have seen two alternatives that I feel would work great.  
Paper Source has these Wallies that adhere to the wall.  The pack comes with four so you can either use just one, or do some sort of creative layout.  These are sold for $19.95 and say they are removable.  
There are also options available from One Step Ahead.  They sell a 2 pack of 9" x 12" panels for $9.95.  It comes in slate or schoolhouse green.  They also have an option for a 25" x 38" panel for $24.95.  I would certainly give this idea a try again in the future.  Once I fail a second time, though, I write it off as an impossible task.  So far on this list is surfing, being in the cold and giving myself a pedicure.  Has anyone else used this guest book idea?  I am curious about the results...

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Inspiration photo via Martha Stewart Weddings

Photo of world's most adorable boy by me

Wallies photo via Paper Source

Letter chalkboard panel photo via One Step Ahead

BTW - this week is moving week.  This will probably be my last post.  Check back next week!!!!!