Paper Dolls

It's almost Spring! My birthday is on the cusp of Spring (kind of). In addition, with the changing of the seasons comes Spring Showers for brides-to-be, as well as Bachelorette Parties galore. I love shower and party invitations for events that shower a gal with love, warm wishes and gifts of course! I have a ton of 'favorites' among the Bridal Shower and Bachelorette invitations I sell. Would you like to see some of them? Of course you would! Showered With Love Guests can write their best wedding wishes and advice for the bride-to-be! Or bring your favorite recipe for the newlyweds! Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue! Ladies Who Lunch This is my favorite lunch-ish invitation! I love the simplicity and the novelty of the umbrella as well. Glam Gals Spa Day with the gals Lingerie shower! Bachelorette On the Town All of these faves can be viewed at Sweetest Whimsy's Carlson Craft and TATEX invitation sites! Let the Bridal Season be...

Papers. Cake. Two things that I obviously really love and know a bit about! So I'm always so tickled when I find unique objects that are fusion of two of my favorite things. Like these Paper Cupcakes and Cakes: So clever! Cupcake made of paper, ribbon and silk flowers by Tresa Black, The Stamp Goddess. Gorgeous tiered cakes constructed of paper! Masterpieces. Photo by Claudia of Paris Apartment blog via Jan of Poppy Talk blog . I would love to try my hand at making these amazing creations, but I'm a little intimidated! I would love to have someone make one for me. Cakes and cupcakes that last forever and have zero calories!

I have a slew of friends' and relatives' birthdays coming up in the Spring, including mine and my kids', and sometimes find myself scrambling for a birthday card! I have several methods I use to stock my greeting card supply: Making my own cards, which is lots of fun, but also time-consuming and I never seem to make enough of them at one time! Delegating the card-making to my children, who also love to make home-made cards for friends and family. Purchasing cards for different occasions. If you're the card-buying sort, like I am sometimes, you might like the convenience of buying an assortment of cards at once. Although I do love to browse a card shop in search of the perfect card now and again, I also like having different cards ready to go when I need them. Another reason to buy all at once? The savings! A collection of 25 birthday cards or 25 all-occasion cards from Sweetest Whimsy starts at only $20! That's less than $1 per card, and the cards are printed ...

I've been recuperating fairly well in the week since my double surgery, and entertaining myself with the Food Network, iPod app games and online shopping. While I'm heartily sick of sitting and laying on my couch, I have to admit I've gotten quite a bit of Internet shopping done! So today's Shopping Talk pays homage to all the kitschy and cutesy gift shops and novelty stores I loved when I was growing up, especially places like Spencer's. These were the places in the mall where you could count on finding those really unique and fun "things." It's hard to really stand out now like Spencer's did 25 years ago, but I've found the "funnest" site filled with enough kitsch and cuteness for my heart's content. Viola! Fred Flare , whose tagline on a Google search is "stay cute." Indeed. I am 11 years old again while browsing every little thing they offer. They have some notable kitsch, like the Hamburger Phone as seen in J...

My Favorite Cake Balls: Chocolate cake, chocolate frosting and chocolate coating! Wow, it seems like forever since I shared a cake recipe, what with my erratic blogging. "52 Cakes" is back this week, and this week's recipe is a variation on cake. A very popular one right now, actually. Cake Balls. So unbelievably simple, yet trendy at the same time. Cake balls are the sophisticated cousin of the cheerful cupcake. As with cupcakes, you can customize cake balls in so many different ways. There are endless combinations of cake and frosting flavors, plus your choice of candy coating and decorations. And so easily devoured at once! I like to make cake balls out of extra cake I have left over when I create shaped cakes, but you can start with a basic recipe like this one if you don't have any. My Favorite Chocolate Cake Balls: Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Frosting, Chocolate Coating! Basic Cake Balls 1 (18.25-ounce) boxed cake mix plus ingredients called for on box 1 (16-ounc...

And just like that, another week or so goes by without any blogging! But I really have a good excuse this time--hospital stay and recovery time! I had a double surgery Monday, was released on Tuesday and now slowly getting back to my regular self. Prior to the surgery, I had a few days of annoying, required pre-op tests and "prep." Thus, these procedures have consumed my life for several weeks already! So now I am confined to bed/couch this week with no heavy lifting or driving allowed per doctor's orders. In any case, it's nice to be back in my own home again and surrounded by my favorite people and things. And now I have time to blog again! Today's product spotlight focuses on a very specific--and special--wedding theme: the destination wedding. Thirteen years ago, when my husband and I were considering different wedding ideas, a destination wedding, either in the Virgin Islands or Hawaii, was our first choice. However, after a few months of mulling over the...

Image from BasBleu.com No blogging for nearly a week! I was caught up in several pressing projects on the home front and then out of town for a cake decorating seminar. But I'm back again, with a little bit of energy left for blogging! I learned about this charming, quirky online bookstore (they also have a print catalog) when I received a single catalog in the mail from them a few years ago. I never bought anything, although I was sorely tempted, because I was going through a self-imposed book-buying diet. However, I kept the very interesting catalog for a long while, just for browsing. The name of the company is Bas Bleu , which is French for "bluestocking." What is a bluestocking, you might ask? A bluestocking was an 18th century term for a "literary lady." By the way, it was not quite flattering to be labeled a bluestocking in those days, when women were expected to be as frilly as the outfits they wore. These were women who would rather sit at home ...