Custom Pixies

Here are just a few of my more recent custom orders!

Be Mine!

Cyber Monday is HERE!

SALE!!! 40% off Coupon for Pixie Dust Necklaces at Market1

I don't know about you, but this Thanksgiving after the turkey is eaten and all is said and done I plan to plant myself on the couch and do nothing but sip tea, wrap myself in a blanket, and watch a movie with my laptop close by.

Last year I went to the Wrentham Outlets, which open up at midnight Thanksgiving... I left home at 7:30 pm and arrived by 8 and was one of the first 50 cars in the parking lot... that changed very quickly, (if you arrive much later the back up is a miles long just to get a parking space ~ no thank you)  So anyhoo,  I was all excited about being so early and walked myself over to my store of choice to wait.... I thought maybe, just maybe they would let customers in a bit early???   NO WAY!  I waited the full 4 hours in freezing cold temperatures, I was under prepared to say the least. If I ever do this again I will take a tip from the countless teenagers who happily bustled past me, warm and toasty in their Uggs, Juicy Couture Sweatpants, and Northface jackets ~ plus hats, scarves, gloves, and coffee.  Some even brought fold up camping chairs and rolling luggage to store their purchases.  I am such a novice.
Once the stores finally opened I spent two hours attempting to shop ~ didn't really end up with much other than an extreme feeling of the need to spend spend spend ~ fueled in part by the playing of "Wizards in Winter" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra over the loudspeakers over and over and over. 
Well, in honor of my lesson learned I am offering a coupon for 40% off anything in stock in my Etsy shop.  The coupon will only be good from 10 pm Thanksgiving until noon Friday. 

And now, back to baking, two gingerbread cakes done, pumpkin/vanilla pudding and cookies to go!

Video Review on You Tube

I was lucky enough to receive a wonderful surprise from a client yesterday in the form of a video review of one of my personalized Message in a Bottle necklaces.  What a sweetheart!

Thank you!

It's Halloween costume time and I am just about finished with my girls' costumes.  I had them try them on yesterday for a test run to see how they fit and what other adjustments I may need to make.  Boy am I lucky I have girls ~ I would be so lost if I had to make a ninja or power ranger costume!

Before I get started with the details I want to give a quick shout out to Kandis of Wish Photography, she is an amazing photographer who has quickly become an inspiration for me when photographing my girls.  I recently purchased photoshop elements after seeing her beautiful work as well as some of her photoshop actions.  I used many of her actions to edit the photos I took of my girls below.

Here is a shot of both of them, here Lauren is putting a spell on her little sister!

For both dresses I purchased the Sweet Little Princess dress pattern from Katydids on ETSY, I used the base pattern for both dresses, adding embellishments and belts to both.  Here is a picture of the pattern I purchased ~ which I highly reccommend, it was very easy to work with especially for me who has had no formal sewing lessons.  Each dress took me about 3 hours to complete each dress, both girls are wearing the same size as they are 2 1/2 and 4 years old and they fit great with room to grow.

Both my girls are wearing wings that I purchased from OnGossamerWings, Angelia was wonderful to work with and created custom wings for both my girls.

As for the details here is Lauren's costume

When asked what she would like to be for Halloween she told me a princess so I asked her what kind of princess, only to have her anwser, "a rainbow peacock fairy princess mom!"  I should have known (yeah right!)  So I made her tail ~ which I attached to a belt, so that she can wear the dress without as well ~ after all this dress is built for spinning in!  I used a variety of Amy Butler fabrics to make her tail cutting each "feather" by hand with pinking shears and attaching them to a tail shaped piece of fabric.  I made her dress from a variety of costume and special occassion fabrics as she kept asking me to add more color to add to the "rainbow factor"  Her front bodice has some ribbons on it ~ you can see it here:

So what I still need to do for her costume is I promised to add crystals in all the circles on the ribbon so each circle will have a color of the rainbow.  I also need to figure out what to use for shoes, the pink ones aren't quite right so I might get her silver or black shoes and made shoe clips to match the headpiece I am mading with peacock feathers and rhinestones. 

Now for Riley's!

Riley wanted to be just like her big sister but she also wanted a butterfly so she is a "rainbow butterfly fairy princess"   For Riley's costume I added an extra long over skirt that I then randomly sewed in spots and added crystals to create a "poufy" fullness. I have a little bit more work to do on her skirt to reach the exact effect I am going for.  I added some fake butterflies to her bodice and will be attaching a large rhinestone to the front full of rainbow colors.  Riley's dress also has a belt which is removeable and Lauren loves it so much I am making a few more for them to wear and swap with these dresses as well as their regular clothes, they are attached very simply with velcro.

Ideas are Brewing!

Wow!  It has been way to long since I have even looked at my blog ~ nevermind written a post!  So let's see, I obviously need to post a new birthday party idea soon and since my daughter is turing 4 next week I will be featuring her birthday party ~ Party Like a Princess!!!  She is a Cinderella girl through and through ~ if she could get away with wearing her cinderella dress to school she would wear it every day ~ along with some funky striped leggings, pink cowbow boots, and her favorite striped sweater of course!  Since she is only turning 4 this party will still be mostly of the family type ~ we are not ready for a kids party yet in our house!  I will share lots of princess party ideas (focusing on Cinderella) many of which I will use ~ and I will let you share in the process as I make my first princess dress cake ~ I am so excited, I can't wait!!!

The Birthday Girl

New for Fall & Halloween

What better way to accessorize your fall and Halloween outfits???

Corrinna's Big Giveaway!

Stay tuned to win an amazing amount of loot including a $25.00 gift certificate good for anything in my ETSY shop!  Corrina's Big Giveaway!

Princess Castle Pixie Dust

Castle Pixie Dust

10% Off Coupon Code

It's A Zoo Out Here!!!

What could be more a perfect theme for a boys & girls birthday party than a zoo!?!  Right off the bat I can think of lots of fun classic activities such as pin the tail on the donkey or you could use any number animals such as an elephant, giraffe, hippo, etc...

I love, love, love this cake ~ isn't it just adorable!?

Jungle Animals Cake

Or, if cupcakes are more your thing, these serve as both dessert and (with the plastic critters on top) gifts for your party goers!

Zoo Animal Cupcakes

As for decor, if price is no issue you need to check out these amazing wall decals, they would look amazing, and they are removable, after the party they can go in your child's bedroom or playroom!

Visit PaintlessDeco's Shop

A bit more affordabe but just a wonderful are the following zoo animal party decorations from 62Cards



Super cute paper straws ~ I love these!



DIY Party Supplies

Printable Party Hats and more from TracyAnnPrintables

Perfect Party Favors

Who could possibly resist these fabulously cute recycled crayons from Ivy Lane Designs.

Or how about these fabulous soaps from SunBasilGarden

Cake pops anyone? Visit Cake Pop Shoppe's shop for more of their fantastic Cake Pops!

Here are just a few cute party game ideas for your little zoo!

1. Pin the tail on the Donkey (or other critter)

2. Research on the internet to see if you can get a few animals to your party for a petting zoo, such as a farm or petting zoo in your area that may have a program.  

3. Pony rides

4. Supply paperplates, paints, markers, glue, glitter, feathers, etc to your guests to have them each create their own zoo animal mask.  Ahead of time cut out eye holes and glue a large craft stick (popsicle sticks) to the bottom.

Here are some more detailed instructions should you want them!

5.  Hire a face painter ~ often times you can hire a local babysitter or artist for this task.  Have each guest painted up as their favorite zoo animal.

6. Set up a backdrop with signs pointing to the "petting zoo", hire a photographer or if you or another family member are up to it take pictures of each "animal" in the petting zoo with their face paint!

Here is a sign by TheBackPorchShoppe, this particular sign is for a wedding but she makes custom signs so picture this saying petting zoo!  I have ordered from her before and her signs are gorgeous and the best quality possible!

Leave your zoo party ideas in the comments section, I would love to hear them!

DIY Walls

So I have a new project I am starting ~ re-painting my office's walls!  Since this room doubles as a playroom and craftroom for the girls I really want to create a whimsical space that we all can use and enjoy.  The room is a little tricky to paint, it is located over our garage and has slanted walls/ceilings on both sides. Last year I added built-in's to the entire front of the room which I love and currently the ceiling is robin's egg blue and the walls are a beige (not the most exciting).  I have been thinking about stenciling the walls for a long time, it was only a matter of finding the right stencil ~ and I think I have! 

I purchased this stencil from Olive Leaf Stencils on Etsy, it is currently laying out with books on top of it to be sure it is flat before I begin stenciling Sunday or Monday.   My plan is to keep the walls the beige and then stencil on the birch trees in white.  I am going to stencil them up both the straight and slanted portions of the walls and I may add in some handpainted touches as well.  My husband thinks this may be a bit to much as the trees are so close together, I might space it out a bit and I go over some the the trees in solid white here and there to change it up.  I may also omit some of the smaller branches here and there.  We'll just have to see what happens.  I will take some pictures of my office before and in the process and update my blog with my progress as well as some how-to tips.

15% Off In My ETSY Shop with Coupon Code - now through midnight May 5th!

I just looked at my etsy shop and noticed that not only is it going to be Cinco De Mayo in a few short minutes but that it is my shops 2 year anniversary as well!

I would like to offer a 15% discount for any purchases made on my shops anniversary (starting now) simply type in 2YEARS as your coupon code during checkout!

Thanks so much to all my wonderful customers!

A Very Merry Un-Birthday To You!

Why wait for their next birthday to throw a fabulous party?  Instead have an Alice inspired merry Un-Birthday!  And while we are at it, let's start with the cake! 

Queen of Hearts Cake



Flowers & Fringe Cake



Perfection





Next are some adorable skirts from a lovely shop I happened across... They are also incredibly affordable so grab a few for your party guests too!

I love, love, love them... visit justkiddingboutique

Now, let's talk hats...

I think that proper tea parties hat are required, and why shouldn't they be???

Hobo Coture's Shop



Visit Amarmi's Shop



And to serve your tea...

This little tea set is a bit pricey, but it is gorgeous!

And to eat, well other than cake of course...
I would suggest serving lots of tiny fun sandwiches (which you can cut with small cookie cutter in a variety of shapes) such as;
Tuna Salad
Chicken Salad
Peanut Butter & Fresh Strawberry Jam
Cucumber Sandwiches

For "Tea" I would serve up a lovely fruit punch, I found a recipe that combines strawberries, lemonade, and tea (choose decaf for your own sake, and taste before adding in the sugar to see if you think it is needed)

Summertime Strawberry Punch


And now, on to the decorations!
These little pinwheels would look adorable tucked into tiny pots of flowers, you could have a tiny flower for each girl to bring home as a party favor.

Visit Cupcake Social's Shop

And how fabulous would these tags be on your Tea Pot, Punch Bowl, Sandwich Platter, etc...?!?!

Visit Windrosie's shop

I think that flowers are a must for your tea party, whether they be in pots or vases.  
Another decoration that doubles as a parting gift would be to have a candy buffet.  You can line up mason or apothecary jars filled with candies of all sorts, including; lollipops, peppermint sticks, gummies, nonparells, etc...  Supply bags for your guests to pick their favorites to take home. 
I would layer several beautiful tablecloths on your table, using vintage tablecloths would bring a sweet touch, as well as a varitey of fabrics to create a fun, romantic, eclectic mix. 
Encourage your party guests to come dressed to the 9's and a photoshoot would be a fabulous idea for such a decadant tea party.  Simply hang up some big sheets or large panels of fabric to use as backdrops.  You can take the photos yourself, hire a professional, or check if you local high school or college has a photography program ~ you may be able to hire a student to take photos for you.  While you will have a discounted photographers rate, the student will gain experience ~ a winning combo!

Another party favor that will be adored by your guests would be lovely garden party pixie dust necklaces.

Visit my shop

And last but certainly not least the invitations ~ here is an adorable Un-birthday birthday invitation.

Visit WestWillow's Shop

If you have had a wonderland party of your own please feel free to comment and leave your own ideas!

Thanks so much to Courtney of CMM Jewelry who submitted this party idea for my blog contest!
Her prize for winning my contest is this fabulous pixie dust/mermaid bottle!

Thank you so much to all who entered!