Cupcake Clips

Craft Club Applique Shirts...

2010-01-10T18:36:00.000-08:00

One of the great things about GCS Mom's League is our Craft Club. Jessica Roberts of Jessica Roberts Designs (http://www.jessicarobertsdesigns.com/) is our coordinator and she does a fantastic job!

This month we did applique t-shirts. Which I'm totally in love with! I posted my first one on facebook and had several friends ask if I would teach them how to make them, so here are my instructions. Enjoy!

Supplies needed: T-shirt (Walmart and Target have great ones), material (I've been having them cut 1/2 a yard and it's more than I'll ever use on one shirt), a template (you can buy them on etsy for about $1.50 each or create your own out of die cuts or images online), steam a seam sheets (found in the sewing area at Hobby Lobby or Joanns), scissors, embroidery thread, and embroidery needles...First cut out your template.

The steam a seam is like double stick tape that has to be ironed to activate. There is also a sheet of parchment paper to seperate the sheets. Discard the sheet of parchment paper.
Trace your design on the back of the steam a seam as a reverse image.
Iron it onto the back of your material for about 10 seconds.

Cut the shape out following the pattern on the back of the steam a seam...
Add some contrasting fabric if you want (I just used small pieces of steam a seam to add them on)...
There is a peel on the back of the steam a seam paper that will need to be removed before you iron it onto the shirt...
Take your embroidery thread and needle and add a loop stitch around the entire border, this gives it a more "finished" look...
Here are some of my other creations this weekend... Milla LOVES alligators so I made her an alligator shirt (I used her purse as the pattern)...
Seriously how cute is this?
She LOVED it!
Super fun for the zoo!
This is the shirt I made at craft club...

These are so easy to make and I've found the hand sewing portion of it is oddly relaxing before bed. Happy shirt making! Feel free to comment with any questions!

One of a Kind Ribbon...

2009-09-10T19:39:00.000-07:00

So surely you figured out that right behind the new custom shirts, would be new custom ribbon prints right? It was my challenge for the month of August. Milla had several cute sundresses hanging in her closet that were not getting worn for ONE reason... NO bow to match!

After several test runs I've figured out how to print ribbon and you can now have a bow with ANYTHING on it. Your daughter's name: no problem. High school logo: no problem. Barney: no problem. I'm really in love with this new concept and I simply CAN'T stop printing!

Here are some examples:

I had a custom circus shirt made for Milla on esty (would love to give you the incredible designers name, but she has closed shop to deal with a family illness). The shirt was SO cute! But I couldn't decide what to put in the center of the bow! Answer: I took a picture of the clown and made a bottlecap center with it for the center of the bow...

When I saw this dress it just SCREAMED Milla! Brown zebra stripes and green and brown polka dots, how super cute. But what to match it with?
I was able to print brown zebra ribbon and brown polka dots! A perfect match! (this is when the addiction started)...

Next, this beautiful sundress from Gymboree that had never been worn because it had no bow. Solution, I took a picture of the fabric, tweeked it a bit and printed a bow with the exact same image:
What's great is Milla has several pieces of this Gymboree line so it can be worn with several different outfits.
My sweet sister sent Milla this boutique camo dress, SO cute! But I couldn't match the fabric with any camo in the store... I was able to use the same technique to print the ribbon.
I wish I had a better close up of Milla's 1st day of school bow (I'll steal it from her room tomorrow and post)... I made her shirt and printed 2 layers of apple ribbon to match. She had a glitter apple in the center of the bow. So cute! There's no way your child's teacher will forget their name on the first day of school when it's on their shirt!
Our television set is all of the sudden turned to football (this is when I become a bow making machine, it's the perfect background noise to craft). I decided that Milla definitely needed a Dallas Cowboys bow. I am in LOVE with this bow! It can be made for high school, college or NFL teams...

So what did Miss Miss (my new nickname for her for some reason) wear to school today? Elmo of course!

This girl would SERIOUSLY wear a character shirt every day if I would let her... Her other favorite is Minnie Mouse, so I made her a Minnie Mouse bow too...
Interested in getting your own one of a kind bow? Have a dress in the back of the closet without a bow or a birthday celebration coming up that you need a spectacular bow for? Email me, challenge me, it's why I love doing this!

Oh and some bows I did for a baby shower a few weeks ago...

Sale!!!

2009-08-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

You may remember that last fall I did a crazy craft show... I probably spent 80 HOURS making bows leading up to the event and I'm still sitting on a ton of inventory from it... Originally, I thought I would save the inventory and do another show, but Roger and I have discussed it at length and decided our weekends are way too important to us as a family.

Now it's time to get rid of the inventory! On average I have 3 to 5 of each of the bows listed in this sale...

Next week... Back to School Basics Sale! Woo hoo!

Big Animal Print Bows... $4 each or all 3 for $10

Pink, pink, pink... $4 or all 3 for $10

Medium sized basics... 1 for $3 or 3 for $8 (you choose your colors)

Triple layers of fun $5 each... or 3 for $12

Here's what they look like close up, super cute... big sellers for me last fall

Boutique bows $6 or 3 for $15

For our older girls... Pony-o's $3 or 3 for $8

Close up of the pony-o... so cute!

Hair streamers... $3

Ready to place your order? Email me at ashleedfort(at)yahoo.com or send me an email on facebook.

Know me in real life and want to look at these products before you buy? Let me know and I'll bring a bag the next time I see you with whatever you are interested in.

Hope everyone is enjoying these last few weeks of summer!

What's New at Cupcake Clips???

2009-07-30T19:12:00.000-07:00

Hi friends...

I'm not sure what to call a hiatus from March to August... somehow Spring Break turned into Summer Break and although I have made LOTS of bows and cupcake pops and personalized t-shirts... I keep forgetting to photograph them!

Tonight I had a friend call wanting to order a bow that I had done for a baby shower a couple of months ago, but she couldn't find it on my blog or website. Sadly, I never took any pictures of the bows I did for that shower which is SUCH a shame!

Here is the bow, it's the perfect baby shower bow! 3 layers of baby pink! It can also be done in any other solid colors you need and the headband is included.

Baby Girl Bow - $8

Side view

Another friend saw all of Milla's new personalized shirts and asked me to make her one for her daughter. This was SUCH a fun project because as I kid I went to Camp Grandpa every summer. I hope Ella has a wonderful time at Camp Grannie Z!

The personalized shirt is $8 and the bow is $6.

Close up of the shirt...

Close up of the bandana bow...

Since I was making a shirt, I decided to make Milla a leopard print one. I'm SO bored with her summer wardrobe right now so it's fun to have some personalized shirts to mix it up...

Close up of the shirt...

Close up of the bow...

Leopard heart bow... $8

I will be announcing a back to school sale soon. Lots of basics and Made to Match Gymboree. I'm also hoping to redo my entire website (wish me luck!)...

Mexican Casserole Recipe...

2009-03-31T13:17:00.001-07:00

I'm so excited to hear some of my friends have tried the fried rice recipe! I thought I'd share some Tex Mex favorites...

KING RANCH CHICKEN
We have LONG been fans of King Ranch Chicken... I have fond memories of it being served at camp when I was a kiddo... it was always my favorite dinner at camp. I have several friends from south Texas and we all make it differently (some use flour tortillas, some use noodles, some use tortilla chips and I use flour tortillas)...

2 chicken breasts (I use rotesserie chicken from the supermarket)
1 can rotel (we don't like it chunky so I blend it for a second in the blender)
1 can cream of cheddar soup
1 can of cream of chicken soup
4 flour tortillas
1 cup of mexican cheese mix
2 ounces of velveeta if you have it on hand

Mix together rotel, cheddar soup, chicken soup, 1/2 c mexican cheese and shredded velveeta
Shred chicken breasts into small pieces
Tear tortillas into small pieces

Mix all together in a casserole dish and cover with the other 1/2 c of mexican cheese

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350... serves 4.

King Ranch Beef
1 pound of ground beef
Taco seasoning
1 can rotel (we don't like it chunky so I blend it for a second in the blender)
1 can cream of cheddar soup
4 flour tortillas
1 cup of mexican cheese mix
2 ounces of velveeta if you have it on hand

Brown beef with taco seasoning (don't use too much... it ended up pretty spicy)
Stir together rotel, cheddar soup, 1/2 c mexican cheese and velveeta
Tear tortillas into small pieces
Stir everything together and cover with other 1/2 c of mexican cheese

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes... serves 4.

Both are GREAT with Megathin tortilla chips...

Oh also if you are on Facebook... become a fan of Cupcake Clips and Bows... I'll be doing some giveaways and sales exclusive to fans...

Click here to become a fan...

"It's a Girl" Cupcake Pops...

2009-03-12T12:52:00.000-07:00

I had such an exciting order come in. One of Roger's co-workers is going to be a grandma to a new baby girl! Paisley! She is coming today or tomorrow and Grandma Paula is SO excited! This is the first girl for several generations, which makes her even more special.

Paula ordered 3 dozen cupcake pops, which meant I needed to make 5 dozen to have 3 dozen that I was happy with... oh darn, I guess we'll just have to eat the left overs. :)

Loving the new depth of field feature on my camera...
How cool is that?
All wrapped up and ready to go...

Recipe Share: Chicken Fried Rice Hibachi Style...

2009-03-08T19:38:00.000-07:00

I've told several friends lately about my awesome Chicken Fried Rice recipe that our family has been enjoying and I finally decided I would do a little photo demonstration to share the recipe with everyone...

Here are the ingredients:
2 cups of cooked white rice, cook beforehand and cool in fridge
3 eggs, scrambled
1 rotisserie chicken (we only use the white meat)
Green and yellow onions chopped
Butter
Soy Sauce
Garlic
Salt
Pepper
Fried Rice Seasoning Packet (found at Walmart with the oriental food)
Sesame Seeds (found on the spice aisle)

This can be done in a large frying pan or a wok (I finally bought a wok pan at Kohls for 1/2 off)...
Scramble your 3 eggs in the wok and set aside...
Sautee onions and garlic in butter and soy sauce (I don't measure either, probably 2 tablespoons of each)
I add a little more soy sauce and butter before I add the rice
Add white rice and stir well
Add chicken, egg and a little more soy sauce
At the very end sprinkle sesame seeds on top
We also make this with beef, for it I use 1 T-bone cut into small pieces and marinated in soy sauce and pepper, I stir-fry it first before the egg, it's WONDERFUL as well.

Enjoy!

Look how far we've come!!!

2009-01-22T17:58:00.000-08:00

Today Milla walked out of her room with a ziploc bag of bows...

No, this is not how I normally store my bows...

What she had found was a bag of my "prototypes"...

Bows made before she was even born...

Bows that NO one should have bought...

But my sweet friends supported me and bought them... man do I owe them some free bows!!

How it all began...
On October 19th, 2007... I was put on strict bed rest for signs of pre-eclampsia after a trip to the hospital at 30 weeks pregnant (read about the journey here)...

On November 1st, 2007... I had posted my first bows online for sale... So much for bed rest!

Here are my first bows... looking back at them now they look HORRIBLE to me! The loops are bad, the proportions are off, I didn't know my "secret fold" technique back then... NOT GOOD!

But fun to look back and laugh at...

My first model... (life before Milla) My second model (my sorority little sis' baby daughter Teaghan) the first day I met her on November 17th (getting a little better)...

The first picture I can locate of Milla wearing a bow - Dec 20th (I don't have her hospital pics) and life was WAY too busy to locate a bow those first few days after coming home...
By February, I was turning out a few products that I would still use today...

In March , I launched the official Cupcake Clips & Bows website and in April I mastered the large loopy bow... (Whoa that's HUGE!)... It's amazing how far my little bow business has come...

I never thought I would get text messages asking for me to bring bows to my Little Gym class or to playgroup that day...

I never thought people would stop me at the mall and ask me where I got Milla's bows...

I never thought I would be asked to make birthday bows that are so personal and special that they make me swell with pride...

I stand amazed by my supportive friends and wonderfully supportive husband (I need to post about the bow organizational system he bought me for Christmas)...

I can't wait to see where this journey leads me next!

Be Mine Valentine...

2009-01-13T20:28:00.000-08:00

All the Christmas decorations are put away and if you've been to a craft store (or department store) lately you know they moved right on to Valentine's Day! I LOVE Valentine's Day and last year Milla ended up with 14 different Valentine inspired outfits and we started dressing for the occasion on February 1st.

So here is our Valentine collection... exactly 1 month before Valentine's Day. Order this week (through January 21st) and receive 25% off your order.

How do you order you ask? To take advantage of the discount, the best thing to do is email me which bows you are looking to buy and I will send you your discounted total and either bill you through paypal (my preferred option) or you can use snail mail and send me a check.

If you have a special Valentine outfit that you need a bow for, just send me a picture of the outfit and I will make a special one of kind bow for you for the same price!

Looking for a bigger bow? Just let me know and I'll be happy to make a custom Texas sized bow for your little princess.

Here is the Cupcake Clips & Bows Valentine's Collection 2009!

Petite Bows (measure 2 1/2 inches - great for pigtails) $4 or $6 for piggies

Medium bows (measure 4 inches) $5

Layered bows (measure 4 1/2 inches with 3 layers) - $7

Here are the details on each bow...

Layered Conversation Heart - $7

Layered Cherry Heart - $7

Layered Paisley Heart - $7

Layered Classic Heart - $7

Layered Love Bug - $7

Layered Black & Pink - $7

Medium Conversation Heart - $5

Medium Classic Pink - $5

Medium Paisley Heart - $5

Medium Heart Camo - $5

Petite Classic Red - $4

Petite Cherry Heart - $4

Petite Paisley Heart - $4

Petite Conversation Heart - $4

Petite Camo Heart - $4

Petite Pink & Black - $4

Petite Love Bug - $4

Petite Sweet Heart Piggies - $6 (also available as individuals at $4)

Bakerella Strikes Again!

2008-11-24T21:02:00.000-08:00

I'm a woman obsessed!

Bakerella posted instructions for some super cute Turkey pops and I decided to give them a try since I don't have a Thanksgiving dinner to cook...

I did change a few things up...

I used Reeses Peanut Butter Whoopers for the heads instead of espresso beans
I used candy coated sunflower seeds (check your mall candy store) for the beaks
I used red fall leaves from the baking aisle for the wobbler

I'm super pleased with how they turned out and I'm thrilled that I already have cupcake pop orders. I've decided my price is $24 a dozen with a minimum order of a dozen.

5 Fat Turkies Are We...

All packaged up with a little bit of korker ribbon...

Here are Bakerella's original turkey pops...

I think I did ok (I just wish I was as good of a photographer!)...

Cupcake Lollipops...

2008-11-19T20:05:00.000-08:00

I've been looking for something fun to give as favors at Milla's birthday party... I googled "cupcake lollipops" last night and found Bakerella's website (if you have some time on your hands, enjoy all the wonderful baking goodness her blog has to offer).

Here is the recipe for her Cupcake Pops. She was actually featured on The Martha Stewart Show with these and I can't believe I hadn't heard about them before! They are the PERFECT addition to a cupcake themed birthday party... Now honestly I've never been able to do ANYTHING featured on The Martha Stewart Show (heck usually I don't even know what the ingredients are that she speaks of), but Roger peaked over my shoulder and said "you can do those" when I was gushing over Bakerella's blog... I guess I felt up for a challenge...

I am absolutely DELIGHTED with how they turned out!

Look how precious they look packaged up...

Luckily Roger's work is good about enjoying my craft projects and I have a GCSML Board Meeting tomorrow to take them to as well...

A tower of cupcake fun!

Macro shot...

Now wouldn't you just LOVE to get this for Valentine's Day instead of flowers? YUMMY!

Thank you Bakerella for sharing your adorable cupcake fun!

Christmas Collection

2008-10-27T19:36:00.000-07:00

Well here it is...

Cupcake Clips 2008 Christmas Collection!!

I'm so pleased to offer such a large selection of beautiful, handcrafted holiday bows...

There will be more added over the next few days and all will be added to the website by the end of the week.

If you have a special Christmas dress that you need to match, please feel free to send me a picture of the dress and I will be happy to make you a custom creation.

Large Boutique Bows -$8

Layered Rudolph Bow (definitely my favorite)

Red Snowflake (2 layers of sheer red and glittery silver snowflakes)
Blue Snowflake (2 layers with silver glittery ribbon and blue snowflake ribbon, embellished with a iridescent snowflake)
Classic Christmas Tree (2 layers with a glittery Christmas tree in the center)Santa Claus Bow (2 layers of Ho Ho Ho ribbon, embellished with a glittery Santa Claus)
Santa Claus 2...
Medium Layered Bows - $6

Classic Christmas Bow (embellished with a little bling rhinestone)

Stocking Bow (SO cute!)...
Red Polka Dots...
Green Polka Dots...
Christmas Tree...
Pink and Silver Snowflake...

Red Candy Cane...

Single Layer Medium Bows - $5

Red Sheer with Green Sequins...

Peppermint Candy...

1 Layer Reindeer...

Red Satin with Green Beads...Red Satin with Red Beads...

Single Layer Candy Cane...
Single Layer Christmas Tree...
Single Layer Snowman...
Single Layer Polka Dots...

Christmas Clippies ($4)

Candy Canes... ($4, or a set for $6)
Rudolph...
Christmas Trees (my best seller at the Craft Show)...

Petite Bows - $3 ( these measure about 1 inch across)

Retro Christmas...
Red Snowmen...
Ho Ho Ho...
Green & Red Dots...
Blue Snowflakes...
Block print...
Candy cane...
Green Candy Cane...
Pink Snowflakes...

1st Craft Show...

2008-10-26T19:01:00.000-07:00

My first craft show is officially in the books. The good news is...

I made my entrance fee back and some money on top of that, I got some great exposure, worked out all the kinks of loading and unloading for a craft show (hard work... I'm sore today) and I got wonderful feedback about my bows (YAY!)...

Unfortunately, the show was very small (10 vendors) and didn't pull many attendees, so I need to do another show to sell my inventory... hopefully I'll be able to get into one of the holiday shows going on in November.

Here is my new bow display... it's actually a sunglass holder, but it works great for bows...

Here is my booth from the craft show... I was very pleased with the final look... I was suppose to have 2 Christmas trees, but I forgot them at home... I made due just fine without them.My Christmas inventory (the Christmas trees did really well)...

My Halloween and petite bows...So look for more information on other shows coming up...

I should have all my Christmas inventory listed tomorrow and then it'll be time to catch up on my orders from last week.

Gorbella's

2008-10-24T21:45:00.001-07:00

My craft show is tomorrow... if you are looking for something to do... come say hi!

Cupcake Clips Ad

2008-10-13T06:21:00.001-07:00

So in the midst of all the craft show prep craziness I forgot to share my new ads. These were placed in the October GCS Mom's League newsletter and will continue to run for the rest of the year.

If you have any newsletters, directories, etc of kid related organizations that sell advertising, or you are looking for door prizes or a silent auction donation (anywhere, not just DFW) let me know.

I'd love to find more advertising opportunities.

Color version...
Postcard...

Cupcake Cuties & Korkers

2008-10-09T08:56:00.000-07:00

Everyday I have SUCH good intentions of blogging... I've actually had these pictures sitting on my desktop staring at me saying "blog... blog"...

Preparing for my first craft show has become a job within itself! The amount of inventory needed and logistics are all consuming...

On top of that I recently took over as Membership Chairman for the GCS Mom's League and that in itself is at minimum a part time job!

But I have to say I'm loving every minute of it! I cannot WAIT to take pictures of all of the inventory I now have... I have TONS of new products and just the mass quantity while still staying consistent with my quality has made it worth it!

The craft show has also encouraged me to learn new things... like pony-o's, cheer bows (did you know they aren't allowed to wear any metal when cheering?) and KORKERS!

First... here are some pictures that have been shared with me lately...

Precious Mallory hugging her little brother Jacob... what a great picture to show off her bow!
Mallory and her little smirk showing off her made to match Watermelon bow.
Oh sweet Ellen! Ready to cheer on the New York Mets!
Teaghan playing dress up in her M2M Halloween bow...
Hayley showing off her new Princess Pony-O

Onto the korkers! These are SO cute! They are super lightweight and stay on really well... all are hand sewn so they don't come apart (a concern with some korkers).

Big Korkers are $6
Small Korkers are $3 (Milla is wearing a small)

I'll post some pictures of my Halloween korkers tomorrow. Sorry this picture isn't better... Milla learned how to crawl on Monday and she is DONE with sitting down to take pictures... ah the joys!

M2M Gymboree on SALE!!

2008-10-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

Cupcake Clips & Bows is excited to celebrate GYMBUCKS with all of our M2M Gymboree bows on sale 20% off. Happy Shopping!

Here are some new ones...

M2M Petite Mademoiselle 3 layer... $8
M2M Petite Mademoiselle 2 layer... $6
M2M Classroom Kitty... $5
M2M Palm Springs (can also have a flamingo in the center)... $5

M2M Pony Ranch (so CUTE!)... $5M2M Tres Chic... $5

Final Cupcake Cake

2008-09-29T17:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend was Teaghan's 1st birthday. Her mom was my little sister in Kappa Kappa Gamma at North Texas and we share a new bond of having Fall 07 baby girls... so I agreed to make her cupcake birthday party come alive with a giant Wilton cupcake... it was not easy, but TOTALLY worth it!

Here is the final cake...
Teaghan enjoying her cake...

I gave up a little control and let the big girls decorate with skittles... the cherry is a gumball!

Here are Teaghan and Milla... I made both of the girl's bows and Milla's cupcake shirt. (we joke that they are future college roommates)...
Here's a closeup of Milla's cute shirt... it turned out really well!

Pony-O's, Streamers & Princess Bows

2008-09-26T08:46:00.000-07:00

A lot of my friends have older daughters that won't wear bows anymore but still want something frilly. These pony-o's and hair streamers are the perfect solution! They are each attached to a no metal white pony tail holder. Each are $5.
Navy & footballs can only mean one thing... GO COWBOYS! Streamers can be designed for any team.
Perfect for your girly soccer star! Team colors can be added in by request.
Perfect for Halloween with candy corn, ghosts and pumpkins.
A real TREAT! Our handmade cupcake centers are back and featured in this super sweet streamer.

For a more classic look check out our pony-o. This simple bow can be requested in any color or with a print. Rhinestone embellishments can be added to the center.

We have a new princess collection... all are $6...
This super girly ribbon says "Princess" all over it and has crowns and butterflies. The rhinestone crown in the center gives it a little extra "bling".
Who is your favorite Disney princess? Always hard for me to decide. All are available for this precious bow. Bow can be made any color to match a specific princess shirt.
M2M 2007 Gymboree's Tres Chic... super cute poodles with hearts and a rhinestone heart center.
For your Prima Ballerina... perfect to wear to ballet class or pair with Gymboree's 2007 line The Ballet.

Halloween CRAZY!

2008-09-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

I finally got all the bows made that have been in my head for this Halloween season. I can't believe it's almost time to start selling Christmas bows! Wow! I just booked my first craft show which is a Holiday Expo, so I will be doing LOTS of different Christmas bows.

Featured in this picture...

Small black & white ghost - $6
Giant cat bow - $8
Pink & black skull - $6
Small glitter pumpkin - $6
Three layer candy corn - $5
Green skull - $5

Trying out the Tutu

2008-09-24T08:02:00.000-07:00

I wanted to see how the tutu fit and since Abigail and Milla are about the same age I decided I would use her as my little model (definitely helps to have a cute model in the house... I thought about asking Roger to try on the tutu last night or maybe the dog... but it's just not the same).

First reaction... "Where do I put my hands?" HA! Word to the wise... if you are getting a tutu for pictures... let them wear it a little while beforehand and get use to it... new textures can be scary...

"Am I dancing yet?"
Getting a little more comfortable...
Starting to have fun!!!
There's my happy girl! She was SO tired when we took these pictures... we'll try to get more on an official backdrop when she feels up to it.

Previews...

2008-09-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

Tiffany here is your order... I still love the spider bow and I'm thrilled she found a home! Hopefully I'll be doing many more of them before Halloween!

Tiffany requested a reindeer bow and I had lots of fun doing this one... The back ribbon has reindeer on it, then there is a layer of thin reindeer ribbon and then the red and green in the center. Topped off with the cutest little reindeer in the center.

Reindeer Bow - $8 (these will go fast as the centers are hard to find and the ribbon is in limited quantities)
TUTUS
I have only made a few tutus and always wanted an excuse to dive back in and get good at them. Well that excuse came with my friend Laura's baby girl's first birthday coming up! I finished up her two tone pink tutu tonight and I'm so pleased with it I'll be making Milla a new one tomorrow! As soon as we decide on a bow I'll add a bow to the tutu as well.

Tutus - $20 (all colors available)
Roger's big fingers make the tutu look really tiny, but it's actually extremely fluffy! 6 layers of fluffiness fun!

Here's a picture of Milla in her tutu back in March... she was only 4 months old then... so little...

Personalized Greeting Cards

2008-09-22T19:56:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do is loose myself in Photoshop and design... I've always wanted to be an artist, but I cannot draw worth a darn, so digital design is a great outlet for me!

This started with digital scrapbooking, then designing signatures and blinkies for friends online and eventually led me to designing cards. Most of these cards can be printed on 4x6 or 5x7 at your local Walmart or Target photo department for cheap and all I charge is a design fee of $18.

I am lucky enough that my friends have entrusted me with some of the most important moments of their lives...

Birthday Invitations...

Birth Announcements...and Holiday Cards...

If you are looking for a way to have a Christmas card that no one else on your mailing list will have, let me design it for you! All invitations are custom made and 100% unique.

Previews & Cupcake Cutie Boutique Bow

2008-09-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

I'm working hard to get orders complete before I leave to Corpus Christi on Thursday so there will be lots of previews...

Melissa - Here is your order! Lots of wonderful big sis/little sis bows!! Thanks for your huge order! I can't wait to see pictures!
This is my favorite bow from the order... Pink Zebra - $7

I got an unexpected order last night from my mother in law... she has bloodwork done every week and the technician she sees is expecting a little girl next week. We created some layered bows to get her started

Saturday I received my first order from someone searching for bows on google! So exciting!

Ann I hope you love your bows!

This is my favorite from Ann's order... they are Mets fans, this is perfect bow to cheer on their team through the playoffs... Go Mets!

Get your team bow - $8
Some other new bows..

Cupcake Boutique Bow (M2M Cupcake Cutie) - $8

Ghostly cute with wiggly eyes - $8 (a second version of our original Ghostly cute bow)

Previews & More Halloween

2008-09-14T19:41:00.001-07:00

Melissa has two precious little girls and although they are a couple of years apart, their birthdays are within a couple of weeks of each other. This year they will be celebrating their birthdays together with a Minnie Mouse theme... SO cute! Can't wait to see pictures Melissa!

This is my new favorite Halloween bow... It's $9 because the center is actually a pin that I have to purchase and the entire bow is about 5 inches across but it's SOOO cute!

Spider web - $9

Looking for something a little more petite? Daughter love kitties? Check out this cutie...

Black Cat - $6

If your daughter is planning on being a witch this year... this is the bow for her...

Witches Brew Bow - $6

This one is M2M Gymboree's Lady Lovebug line... Milla will be wearing the dress this fall with leggings... I love the layered look!

Cupcake Cuties

2008-09-13T20:35:00.000-07:00

One of the cutest pages on the Cupcake Clips site is our "Pics of Our Cupcake Cuties" page... I added 3 more cuties today so I thought I would share their precious pictures.

Purchase from us before? Send your photos today so we can add your daughter to our Cupcake Cuties!

Milla

Molly

McKenzie

Elizabeth

Johanna

Teaghan

Abigail

Maddie

Ava

Previews & Perfectly Pink...

2008-09-13T11:26:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things to do is pick out an outfit for Milla the night before we head somewhere and then after she goes to sleep... make her a new bow to match!

This is her new layered pink bow, I have a feeling she'll be wearing it alot! - $6

Amy wanted a Denver Broncos bow... although I'm a die hard Cowboys fan, I agreed to do it...

Pretty cute huh?

Custom team bow (medium) - $6
Here is all of Amy's order... As soon as the rain passes I'll get it in the mail to you Amy. Thanks again for your order!

Leopard Fun!

2008-09-11T19:54:00.001-07:00

Milla and I attended a MOPS meeting this morning... It was SO much fun and very uplifting! I also loved showing off my new favorite bow... the sheer layered leopard!

Sheer Layered Leopard - $6

Too Busy to Post...

2008-09-10T20:25:00.000-07:00

It's good to be busy... I'm amazingly thankful for all the business...

BUT I can't seem to carve out the time to sit down and blog. So here are some quick previews and new bows...

A few of my new favorites... (I sold this one faster then I made it!) - Leopard Sheer - $6
New Baby Bling Leopard bow - $4
I thought I loved my original football bow... but this one really makes me happy... I think Milla will be upgrading before the next Cowboys game!

Layered Football Bow - $8
One more Halloween bow (hoping to have a few more tomorrow, including a witch theme and black and white theme)...

Candy Corn Large - $8
This is such a cute bow on it's own, but when someone ordered it as pigtail bows I realized how much I can't wait for Milla to have enough hair for pigtails!

Hot Pink Layered Pigtail Set - $10

I do a lot of made to match... but today was a first... I got to do M2M Pajamas! Gymboree Pajamas at that (which are usually so cute your kid could wear them out and nobody would be the wiser)...

A client's daughter is going to a pajama birthday party this weekend and needed a bow to match... Too cute!A few new Christmas bows...

Simply Chic Christmas Tree - $5

I made these two for a pair of sisters... 3 and 9 months... they are going to look TOO cute in their coordinated bows!

Large Block Christmas Tree - $8
Small Block Christmas Tree - $

Thanks for checking in! Keep checking... new bows and specials coming soon!

Previews

2008-09-07T20:44:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy weekend and I finally got a few orders completed... YAY!

Here are my first 3 Christmas bows... I offered a free Christmas bow with the purchase of a Halloween bow on Wednesday, which meant I got to start experimenting with my new Christmas ribbon... they should be on my website soon (but I'll take pre-orders now of course, just email me).

Candy Canes & Peppermints - $6
Christmas Tree - $8
Gingerbread Friends - $6
Angie, here is your order for Miss Ava... I can't wait to see pictures!
Cassidy, here are your bows for Kenzie... she's going to look TOO cute!
My biggest order of the weekend... Tara! Thank you! I actually forgot to photograph your pink princess one, but it'll be there too...
My favorites of the weekend... Yummy Watermelons! ($8)

M2M Crimson Tide! Hope yall have a great football season!! ($6)

Festive Fall & M2M

2008-09-06T20:55:00.000-07:00

One of my friends bought her newborn daughter this precious onesie from Old Navy for Halloween (on sale right now) with these leggings...

I was totally inspired by it's cuteness and came up with this for her...

It's big and fun with 5 layers of polka dots and a precious glittery ghost in the center. - $8

Feeling the fall spirit yet? I am! I decided to make some Festive Fall bows that will last you from Halloween through Thanksgiving...

Large (5 layers) - $8
Medium (4 layers) - $6 Simple Chic Harvest (so petite and cute) - $4

Working with all that burnt orange and hearing college football on the tv I started feeling the football spirit and decided to make some UT bows... Come on Tara and Caren... I know you want 'em! Small is $6 & the big is $8... they will be on the site tomorrow.
Taking your daughter to a football game this fall? I can make you a bow featuring your schools colors or you can always go with our super cute football bow (which is on sale this week)...

My last project of the day was a bow to match Milla's Gymboree Sunny Days Ahead outfit for her 9 month dinner tonight. She got TONS of compliments! The sweetest one came from the manager who said her cuteness and smile had just made her day... awww... thank you!

$8

Happy 9 month birthday my little cupcake!

Keeping Busy on a Friday Night...

2008-09-05T20:13:00.000-07:00

So I gave Roger a "guy pass" tonight and he went out to have a couple of beers with his friend Ru. I took the night to work on some new bow creations. It's so hard to stop and take the time to upload them onto the site (and here)... but it's good to sit down!

First some M2M Gymboree!

I'm in love with the Beach Shack line and it's on sale pretty cheap right now. I decided Milla needed a few pieces of it for our trip to Corpus Christi in a few weeks. She will be visiting the beach for the first time.

Here are the pieces I bought...

And the bow I made to match...My friend Tammy and her husband and sweet curly haired daughter Bella are headed to Hawaii in October. She picked up this sweet dress from the line for Bella...

Here is the bow to match... the moss green was VERY hard to match...
I was feeling girlie and flowery tonight so I made some fun flowers.

I am displaying some bows at an event next week so I decided I needed a new bow holder to display them on... I think this giant flower turned out pretty cute.

Close up of the flower...
Here are all of the flower clips I made tonight. Some fun rich fall colors which I'm loving!

M2M Gap

2008-09-05T12:13:00.001-07:00

This line FINALLY went on sale and I swooped it up last week (actually I got two different outfits). I love Milla in this color blue...

Here's an example of my M2M (Made to Match) stuff...

Here's the bow...Milla showing off her outfit (and her tongue)...

The perfect pose to show off a bow!

Silly girl! Can you tell what a ham she is?

Giant Cupcake Cake...

2008-09-04T19:52:00.000-07:00

Before I had Milla I took two levels of Wilton cake classes. I learned a lot and have continued to do cakes for friends and family for special occasions.

My sorority sister Caren's daughter Teaghan will be 1 in a few weeks. We have enjoyed a rekindled friendship with baby girls a couple of months apart and recently she moved back to the DFW area from Houston. YAY!

Caren is doing a cupcake theme for Teaghan's first birthday and she was in search of someone to do the giant cupcake cake. Always up for a challenge (and an excuse to buy a new Wilton pan), I decided I would do it. But since I knew I was a little rusty and this would be a big challenge, I decided I would do a few test cakes first. (ah darn, cake to eat...)

Here is the cake right out of the oven, the cupcake side holds less batter and cooks faster, so I cooked it in a pan of water... worked PERFECTLY! I cooked it on 315 for 60 minutes.

I leveled the bottom section, now I have to figure out how to level the cupcake part (you'll see why below)...
A little lopsided, but cute... you can see the pan worked REALLY well at holding the shape.

Here is the finished project... top view (I'll be adding a gumball to the top for a cherry)Side view...
Definitely the hardest part was finding a box that was tall enough to fit it in, I ended up using a Pampers box! I'm sending the cake to Roger's work tomorrow and I'll probably be making another one next week for another round of practice. I need to work on my rosettes a little more (another excuse for cake!)

So what do you think?

Grandparent's Day...

2008-09-04T14:46:00.000-07:00

This Sunday is Grandparent's Day. Milla wanted to do something extra special for both sets of grandparents since they've been so sweet and traveled up here all summer to visit us, so we decided to make mugs.

We ordered these on Walmart.com for $13. The template on Walmart's website is for 1 photo, but we wanted to do a mosaic so I set it up in Photoshop and sent it to them as one jpg and poof it came out perfectly! My parents said the picture quality is excellent and Roger's dad promptly took his to the office.

Want to do something similar for someone special in your life, but don't have the time to create a mosaic? I'll design the mosaic for you for $15... just shoot me an email and we'll work out the details.

These would be a precious Christmas present!

Halloween Sneak Peak

2008-09-03T21:05:00.000-07:00

Shhh.... here's your first sneak peak...

These haven't been added to Cupcake Clips yet, but I thought I'd share them with you all. I'm so excited! I love Halloween (could be my birthday is the day before)...

Are you ready to order??? Send me an email before Friday at noon and I'll throw in a Christmas bow for free!!!

4 layers of pumpkin fun! (This one's my favorite!) - $8

Smaller Pumpkin Fun (3 layers) - $6

Yummy! Candy corn! (3 layers) - $6

Simple Chic Pumpkin - $5
Simple Candy Corn - $5

Pumpkin & Candy Corn Clippies (can do a matching set or mix and match) - $3 for 1, $5 for a set

What did you do today?

2008-09-03T20:23:00.001-07:00

I seriously think I got more accomplished today then I have in months! During the summer I just have NO energy at all, couple that with an 8 month old and yep, I got nothing done!

Today, it was cool outside, a nice breeze, an overcast day and I got SO much accomplished, I can't even believe it!

Here's the tally...

Created a new blog :)
Updated my online store
Designed new business cards
Earned more Gymbucks by shopping the Baby Sale (highly recommend checking this sale out!)
Made a trip to Walmart (sometimes that in itself is an entire day's activity!)
Cleaned out our home office (it had become the junk room)
Prepped dinner before Roger was even home (go me!)
Baked a cake (a complicated cake... pictures to follow)
Made lots of new Halloween bows (about to post pictures)

.... oh and of course took care of Milla... what a crazy day! I think I will sleep well tonight!

Why does cupcake clips have a blog?

2008-09-03T14:13:00.000-07:00

Well I've gained quite a readership to Milla's blog and while it is fun to blog from her perspective, I think it's about time for me to have my own blog again! This blog will mainly focus on new products for Cupcake Clips, but will also feature some of my other creative endeavors, as well as some mom musings every once in a while.

The Cupcake Clips website laid low this summer, I was perfecting a couple of styles of bows and keeping busy with Miss Milla. But now with fall in the air, I'm ready to jump back in with both feet and fill some orders! Yay for holiday bows!

Coming later this week Halloween and more M2M (made to match) Gymboree!!