PDF Sewing Patterns Available

Got your eye on one of the Minelolly dollies? Think they're so adorable you'd just love to make one for every kid (and adult) you know? Well, now you can. Minelolly is creating simple PDF patterns, easy for you to follow. The patterns come with illustrations, photographs, and sewing tips. Keep a look out, three are already available at Minelolly.Etsy.com and there are several more to come! Click here.

Tropical First Birthday

My niece had her first birthday party yesterday which I made the cake for. The theme was tropical/hibiscus flowers. Bright and happy!

Hawaii Themed Birthday

I just finished this cake for a seven year old's birthday party. I think she'll like it! Everything on the cake is edible except for the string holding the flower leis, and the stamen. Yum, yum, and fun, fun.

Second Baby Shower

This is a great theme for any mother having her second, third etc. baby. Most people recommend throwing a sprinkle instead of a shower, this is another take on that idea.
Theme: Itty Bitty Colors: blue toile, blues, browns, white. Decorations: Polka-dots and stripes.

Above is part of the invitation that went out via email. Below we decorated with handmade polka-dot streamers, mini balloons, and blue toile.
Each guest filled out a little envelope with their address so we could send the mom home with them and thank you cards for later.
This little sign was taped to the front door so the party goers would know they were at the right house. (As if the cars wouldn't have given it away....)
The prize for the winner of each game was a bag of itty bitty candy bars. Very popular among the ladies.
Below: Although this is a before photo—we filled the table with plenty of theme worthy treats like: Itty bitty oreos, melon balls, round chips and dip, mini chocolate chip cookies, mini veggies and baby carrots, finger size pigs in a blanket made out of little sausages—perfect for a boy shower—and we even had soda in itty bitty cans! (Gotta love Target.)
The mom is collecting blue toile for the baby's room, so I made a small guest book to match. We passed it around the room during the party for each guest to write some advice on raising a boy.
And lastly, before each person left they received a parting gift—an itty bitty cake!
This may seem like a lot of work but we split up the preparation between three people and it was perfect! So thanks to Marcie and Jami, great teamwork!

If you think you or others would like to use some of these printable details, send me a comment and I may decide to offer them in my Etsy store.

Simple is Best

Wanting to design something specifically for letterpress, I have found that simple line patterns look great (you can really see and feel the impression.) So, I started off creating a border inspired by this mint green hairpiece I saw over at Gochemoche. The rest of the design just fell into place.




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Trees are Inspiring

I just finished this new set and am totally excited about it. There was plenty of inspiration to be had here! Oak trees dot the wedding location and translate into a relaxed, yet well put together set of announcements. (And can't you just imagine all the things you could do at the reception?) Also, printing a 4.5 x 5.5 inch announcement helps to extend the amount of printed materials and keep the cost low.

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Teaser

A couple of my hair pieces were featured in a photo shoot for the NYLO Hotel in Las Colinas Texas! (A special thanks to Krystin Hall of Event Elements for making it all possible!)
I've been teased with just a few of the photos for now...so I'm teasing you with this one. I simply can't wait to see more. Fantastic photography and styling by Mike and ReJana of Blue Door Studios.

Something Blue

I've just registered Minelolly on the Project Wedding Website. While doing a test run, I ran into photos posted by a bride for whom I made a special order flower. I LOVE seeing how she wore it, gorgeous!


The Bride's entire post can be found here.

Well, the cake classes are over. This is the final cake. I had a blast and I'm finally figuring out the tricks to fondant, and time management of the cake making kind.

Bottom line: The price you pay for a custom cake is worth it, every penny. Materials and ingredients are expensive, the prep work is time consuming, and expertise is a necessity if you want a beautiful cake. I will never balk at a cake price again! To all you cake decorators out there, "WOW."

Inspiration for this cake: We had to make a little round box for the top. I wanted to fill it with something other than flowers—strawberries came to mind. Plus, I was able to use left-over blue fondant for the bands. Done and done. It turned out so cute!

Marbled Fondant and Classic Flowers

This week I wanted to practice my gum paste flowers, so that and marbled fondant became the main concentration of this cake. The process is laid out below:

It helps to start out with a sketch. Then, I finalize it, and add color. This helps to work out the quirks.
Then I get to work...
and finally the Mr. and I get to enjoy the finished project...visually AND flavor-fully!

Learning the Wedding Cake

The whole world it seems is obsessing over great wedding cakes. Admittedly, I too would enjoy handing over a design (or sketch) for a cake that matches each announcement I create. What fun that would be.

But I realized, in order to design a cake...I need to understand the limitations as well as possibilities that accompany the craft. So I am taking the Wilton cake decorating courses and have been having a blast. Here is my first ever, wedding cake.

Real Wedding

Remember the rush announcements I mentioned earlier? (click here.) Well, below is a peek at the finished product. After seeing my inspiration board the bride mentioned she wanted them mostly cute, with a little sophistication.

The set included three, postcard style pieces. An announcement, a map, and an RSVP card. On the back of each piece was a different photo of the couple and a small typographic element in one corner, saying something like "Ever After" etc. We were also able to order custom printed, pink pearlescent envelopes. It all turned out quite nice and we were both very pleased with the results.

Images from the reception:

I loved the chocolate tuxedos. The guys even wore chocolate colored shiny shoes. Yum.

Photographer: Jenny Rossi Reception Location: Fairy Tale Manor