Birthday Giveaway from Sweet Peach Paperie!!

Happy Birthday to me!! Today is my first day as a 30 year old. Out with the old, in with the new. Today I'm officially, legitimately an "adult". ...guess its time to start doing responsible, adult-like things such as eat green vegetables (may as well be poison to my taste buds) and listen to talk radio (ugh!).

slowly curling up into a fetal position...

My feelings about turning 30 may be a little on the fence, but what I AM excited about is today's giveaway from Sweet Peach Paperie!!! Tracy, the face behind Sweet Peach Paperie, contacted me a couple of weeks ago after finding my blog. While visiting my site she came across a cake that I designed around one of her invitations! Such a small world!

Remember this one?

Tracy's invitation...

My cake made to match...

Sooo, after some fun party talk back and forth she introduced me to her Sweet Peach blog and Sweet Peach Paperie Boutique on Etsy which showcases her great party products! She does everything from invitations to birth announcements, and party decor galore!! :)

Ok, this invite makes me want to have a cupcakes and cocktails party. Who do I know thats getting married soon??...I could do mimosas, engagement ring cupcake toppers, a cupcake table over there, some tissue poms over here, could get a band if I save money on the food.... focus Kate, focus!

Ok, I'm back.

(a little daydreaming never hurt anyone) ;)

So anyway, Sweet Peach Paperie is SO sweet and generous to host my birthday giveaway!

$30 towards your next party design.

fabulousness!

I wonder if there is any way I rig this contest to make me the winner?? ;)

KIDDING!

(I probably need to just hurry up and get through this post before I aggravate you all to death)

There are two ways to enter this giveaway...

1.) If you're already a follower of my blog just leave a comment...if you're not a follower become one and then leave a comment.

2.) Become a follower of Sweet Peach Paperie's Facebook Page. Leave a comment there and you're all set!

(I suggest entering both ways to up your odds!) :)

Winner will be chosen Monday, August 1!!!!

Good luck!!!!

Giveaway Winner!!!!!

FIRST OFF, thank you all so much for the love and support!! Your wonderful comments build me up so much and make me love what I do even more!! I so appreciate all of you! :)

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And onto the winner! (chosen randomly)

Congrats to...

Caidy and Gavin's Mommy said... I LOVE your Blog!! I think I've read every single entry... Ha ha! You're cakes are amazing and you're an inspiration! I would love to win this and learn more from Cake School! My e-mail is Krissy12052@aol.com April 10, 2011 6:14 PM

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Good luck to everyone of my followers who are out there doing the "cake thing". :) Its fun and frustrating isn't it!?! Check out Melissa's website and if you get a chance, JOIN IT! I think you'll find a lot of great tips to make your job a little easier. :)

Celebrating 300 followers! GIVEAWAY!!!

I just noticed this morning that my little cake blog has hit 300 followers! I'm so excited about this!! :) I remember being surprised when I had 30 and now 300!!??!!? Wow! I want to say a big thank you to all my supporters and followers for all the wonderful comments, emails and opportunities all of you have given me over the past year and a half!

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I'm not sure if I have ever really told my story on how I started off so here goes...about three years ago my mom, nana and I decided we wanted to learn how to decorate cakes so we signed up for a cake decorating class through Wilton. I made it to one class and had to drop out. Yes, I am a cake school drop out. :( School is cool right?! Well, not when you're 6 weeks pregnant and the smell, look, taste, thought of icing makes you sick sick sick! It was torture! I love cake, but couldn't stand it for the entire 9 months of Olivia's pregnancy. Isn't it crazy what pregnancy can do to you!?! So after one little class I dropped out and didn't look at a cake for another year or so.

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Then Livie was born and Bailey's 3rd birthday came around. I revisited the idea of decorating cakes because my little girl wanted me to make her a cake...I practiced and practiced and practiced. I bought a couple cake decorating dvds. I googled about 1000 "how tos" and watched some You Tube videos on different cake decorating techniques. I have learned how to decorate cakes through a lot of trial and error and countless hours searching the internet for advice. But with no proper training, and lots of "holes" in my cake decorating education it hasn't always been easy.

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Which brings me to my giveaway!!!

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I so appreciate all your support so I wanted to host a fabulous giveaway that would be perfect for all my cake fans. :) I contacted the TALENTED and oh so WONDERFUL Melissa Diamond (my new best friend/hero) of MY CAKE SCHOOL. If y'all don't know about her site you NEED to check it out!

Mycakeschool.com

I found it about a month ago and I am SO HAPPY I did!!! Its full of great cake decorating ideas and video tutorials from basic buttercream decorating techniques to working with gumpaste and even chocolate. Its great for beginners and even experienced cake decorators who want to improve on their skills. I am particularly happy with the gumpaste tutorials as that has always been a big weakness of mine. But with Melissa's tutorials I actually ENJOY making gumpaste figurines! I'm telling you, I LOVE this website!

The giveaway is for one year free membership to My Cake School! ($30 value) You will gain access to decorating assistance, advice and 100s of cake decorating videos for an entire year. The $30 membership fee is a great deal on its own...getting it for FREE is even better!!! :)

To enter the giveaway leave a comment with your name and where you can be contacted. (You must be a follower) I will randomly select one winner on April 15th.

Stay tuned, good luck and Happy Caking!!!!

More options...

I started thinking the cupcake stands available for giveaway seemed a little...hmmmm...whats the word?? Gender biased? Girly maybe?

So tonight I added another option... Just wanted to give y'all a heads up. :)

It doesn't get more "male" than Superman!!!!!!!

Cupcake Stand Tutorial and GIVEAWAY!!!!!

Remember those cute little cupcake stands I posted a few weeks ago?? If not, click here.

Well, I promised a cupcake stand tutorial so here it is. :) These are easy to make that I feel silly even posting a tutorial for it!!!

OK, here goes...

Get yourself a wooden candle stick and paint it whatever color your heart desires. They come in all different heights. I found mine in the unfinished wood section at Hobby Lobby.

Then get a round platter. Again, I found this one at Hobby Lobby. Also, in the wood section they sell all different size wood rounds if you wanted to go w/ painted wood as your top.

For this stand I used a little porcelain platter and thread some ribbon through the holes around the edge. This one is a little different than the others I made. I love this top b/c you can switch out the ribbon to coordinate with whatever colors/theme you're using. :)

Grab some glue....

Apply glue to the top of the candle stick...

Flip the platter over and stick the candle stick to the back. Make sure to center the candle stick in the center of the round top.

Let the glue dry and VOILA!! You have yourself a cute little cupcake stand. :)

I want to give a special thanks to my assistant apprentice, 4 year old Bailey Marie Petronis, who made the adorable cupcake featured on today's cupcake stand. Thank you sweet baby.

Together, one day you and I are going to do big things!!! ;)

Sooooooo, DA DA DA DA, along with this tutorial I would like to announce a GIVEAWAY!!! I will be giving away a cupcake stand to one lucky reader of my blog, you choose which style!! :)

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post with your favorite cupcake stand photographed below. You have until the day I turn 29 to leave a comment...

(that day is also known as Monday July 26, 2010). :)

I will be randomly choosing the winner on my birthday. Good luck!!! :)