She's Ready to POP ~ A Baby Shower for My Sister

That's right...it's time for the big shower reveal. SO much work was involved in making this day special for my sister but it was completely worth it!

Me & the Mommy-to-Be

We are so excited and can't wait to meet Skylar Jayde in about 8 weeks or so! About 40 women gathered together to celebrate her anticipated arrival and lots of fun ensued. We had tons of "POP" themed food....

Can't believe I didn't notice the foil over the POPcorn chicken before taking this picture!

The savories...

Stuffed Mushroom "POP"pers

Ham & Swiss and Turkey & Cheddar "POP"py Seed Sliders

"POP" Some Veggies - had to get creative with that one!

As was mentioned before we also had popcorn chicken but I didn't get a picture of that.

The sweets....

Blow "POP"s, "POP" Rocks, and "POP" some Bubble Gum

Fruit "POP"s

Lemon "POP"py Seed Muffins

White Chocolate "POP"corn

Pretzel "POP"s

Snap, Crackle, and "POP" Treats

We also had Soda POP, Mini Cupcakes topped with Bubble Gum, and bottles of water in a cooler with frozen pink and green water balloons as ice. Unfortunately, I was so busy that day that I forgot to get photos of these things. 

The decorations...

Above the food table

For the centerpiece above the table I made tissue paper pom poms and hung them with fishing wire. The "S" was made using a large white wooden letter from Michaels that I decorated with pink and green washi tape. The inspiration came from this post over at One Artsy Mama.

"Skylar" Bunting in background

I'm so mad at myself that I forgot to snap a photo of the "POP on in" sign that we hung on the front door. My mom and I made it using a sheet of chalkboard "paper" I got from PYP. We framed it with a white wooden frame from Michaels and then put a fancy pink lace tape border around the chalkboard and decorated the border with pink and green flower stickers. The description doesn't do it justice!

We also played a few games. The first was a party standard that, I'm sure, will be familiar to you all. I filled a pink bottle with green M&Ms and had the ladies write down their guess of how many were in the bottle. The winner got to keep the bottle of candy. Next was the "He Said/She Said Pop Quiz. This was so fun. I asked 10 questions about Skylar and my sister and BIL both answered each one. The ladies at the party had to guess who gave which answer. The winner of this game got a $10 Publix gift card. An easy game was a Thank You envelope raffle. We had each guest write their name and address on an envelope that my sis can later use to send her thank you cards and then put them in a bowl and I picked a winner. This winner got a stationary and pen set. The last game was Things That POP. Guests were given two minutes to write down everything they could think of that POPs. This was too funny! The winner had 14 items and got a POPcorn gift pack as her prize.

I got lots of inspiration from all over the internet and am so happy with how it all turned out. My sis had a blast and knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that she, my brother-in-law, and that precious little baby are truly loved and have plenty of support for the days ahead!

Until next time, happy reading and more importantly, happy cupcake-ing!

100 {Awesome} Followers & a Giveaway!!

Wow. I can't even begin to express what I'm feeling right now. I started this blog 3 1/2 months ago because I wanted an outlet for my creativity - a place where I could create, experiment, and express myself without fear, totally free and comfortable enough to just be me. Little did I know, others would want to follow along, giving support and encouragement, offering guidance, and giving me a feeling of purpose! I am so grateful to all of you  for coming back post after post, with your kind words, laughter, and friendship. I love what I do. I love my life, the family and friends God has blessed me with, and the freedom to share it all with you. Yesterday I reached a small milestone and to thank you for staying with me this far, I'm giving you the chance to win a fun giveaway. Before we get to that though, let's take a walk down memory lane...

My first ever attempt at experimenting with my own recipe was a success - Sweet & Sour Strawberry Cupcakes! 

Triple Chocolate and German Chocolate Cupcakes for my dad's bday. These were so decadent and delicious!

Who could forget these double treats? Coffee & a Donut Cupcakes....Yum!

The ever popular Strawberry Lemonade Cake that, for whatever reason, has become my most frequently viewed post thanks to that awesome search engine we all know and love - Google!

I love these little guys! My favorite color and cake flavor - Green Velvet Cupcakes for St. Patty's Day :)

The perfect treat for summer - Coconut Cream Cupcakes

My favorite so far - Strawberry Rhubarb Pie Cupcakes. If you haven't read this post, do so now! These are so cool and I can't wait to try them with a multitude of different pies!!

These were fun and delicious - Blueberry Pancake Cupcakes

Oh wow...just seeing this again makes me drool. Decadent Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake *sigh*

And, my two most recent posts...

The only fruit "cake" I'll ever eat. This was so delicious and refreshing. I'm so glad I came across this idea and will make it many more times!

Last, but not least - Rose Cupcakes for Mother's Day. Just beautiful and classic.

Well, there you have it. I can't wait to see what other fun and delicious treats I bake up and share here. I'm having so much fun and am so glad that you all have chosen to join me! Now on to the giveaway...

The Cupcake {Love} Prize Pack:

1 box cake mix (flavor of winner's choosing)

1 can frosting (flavor of winner's choosing)

1 decorator icing tip

various cupcake liners

1 bottle sprinkles

$10 Michaels gift card

Rafflecopter will walk you through the entry process. Good luck to everyone who enters!! This is just the beginning....

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Some exciting personal news for me. Some of you may remember back in February when my family suffered the loss of our beloved dog, Buddy. It has been three months and we have grieved pretty heavily. The littlest things remind us of him on a daily basis. Well, I'm happy to say that God has turned our loss and sadness into something good. We just had an adoption application approved for a rescue Beagle puppy and we pick him up tomorrow! We are so excited to welcome this little guy into our family and I can't wait to share some pics with all of you. I know Buddy would approve. We have a lot of love to give and I'm so thankful to know that we are rescuing this dog and giving him a loving, stable home.

Be watching this weekend for a post on Alice in Wonderland and Star Wars cupcakes - the two custom orders I've been working on all week - as well as some pics and the name of our newest family member! As always, happy reading and, more importantly, happy cupcake-ing!