TOO Cute Tuesday: Linky Par-Tay! #181

If you're blessed like me, you personally know Jaime from Polkadots On Parade.

I feel honored to call her friend. We've had lots of adventures together and

lots of laughs and amazing times.

But today Jaime was launched into a journey that is going to be hard and

not fun and not at all something that will bring many laughs.

She was the friend I was referring to that was diagnosed with breast cancer,

and today that diagnosis got a whole lot more serious.

So, I'm asking, that if you're the praying kind, that you pray hard for my dear friend.

She needs the prayers and faith to sustain her through the biggest battle of her

SUNSHINE SHARING life.

She has been a light and ray of hope to so many, that I hope we can all

join together and give her back what she daily so willingly shares with others.

Now onto TOO Cute Tuesday!

What did you make this week that is TOO Cute??

Come link up!

Rules:

• Must be made by you.
• Link up to the specific post - not your main blog.
• No Etsy shops or giveaways please :)
• Please post the button or link back here so more people can join in the fun.
• Visit some of the other participants and leave them some LOVE!

TOO Cute Tuesday will be open Tuesday-Saturday.
On Saturday or Monday I'll highlight some of my favorites
and then we'll start over on Tuesday!


<a border="0" href="http://funkypolkadotgiraffe.blogspot.com/search/label/Too%20Cute%20Tuesday" target="_blank"><img src="http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p12/mormishgirl/Blog/TooCuteTuesdayNEW.jpg" /></a>

This post brought to you by:


 
I changed the linky party so that the most recently uploaded project will show up as number one. This way everyone gets a chance on top. So, look in the first spot for your project, not at the end. Thanks!!!

So-{da}lighted Cupcakes with the Pavilions Birthday Bundle

I always love any excuse to get together with friends and celebrate with friends,

and the Birthday Bundle at Safeway, Vons or Pavilions gave me that excuse this week.

Right now - through May 21st - when you shop in the baking aisle at Safeway, Vons,

or Pavilions you can pick up a 2 liter 7UP brand soda, a box of Betty Crocker Cake Mix,

Betty Crocker Frosting, and a box of 24 rainbow candles all for just $5 with your club card.

 

So I stopped by my local Pavilions and picked up the $5 Birthday Bundle so that

I could whip up some So-{da}lighted cupcakes for my park day friends

to celebrate teacher appreciation week at our school.

I love making So-{da}lighted cupcakes beca

 use they are quick and easy,

are great for my friends with egg allergies, and the cake has a great

moist texture that the mommies and kids love.

For So-{da}lighted cupcakes you'll need:

1 box Betty Crocker Cake Mix

12 oz of 7UP brand sods

I used a lemon cake mix this time - my favorite - and 12 oz of Cherry 7UP.

Pour the 12 oz of the soda into the cake mix, watch it fizz up (so fun!),

and then mix until well combined - about 1 minute on medium speed.

Fill your cupcake liners 3/4 full - I like to my cookie scoop to fill them and it

takes to scoops of the batter to fill the liners 3/4 full.

I get about 18 cupcakes when I fill them this full and then they puff up nice

and dome-like, which makes them perfect for frosting.

I also bake mine at 325 degrees for 15 minutes.

Isabella and I headed to the park with our handy dandy cupcake carrier

and get ready to celebrate Teacher Appreciation week with our friends.

Isabella was super excited to share the cupcakes. 

Her little preschool isn't celebrating Teacher Appreciation week like

JT's school, so she was feeling a little left out.

What better way to let her join in the fun than to share cupcakes with friends!

Since all kids are different - some love frosting and some leave it - 

I let each child tell me if they wanted his/her cupcake frosted when we got to the park.

My frosting loving Isabella chose frosting :)

So did her friends Rosalyn and Lilly!

And my friend Spider-man said he'd have frosting too!

If you're like me and enjoy any reason to celebrate,

then the $5 Birthday Bundle is for you too!

It made it so easy to party with friends at a great price.

Be sure to stop into Safeway, Vons or Pavilions with your club card

and pick up one (or two) for your family before May 21st!

Disclosure: This shop is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and SAFEWAY  but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #BirthdayBundle  http://cmp.ly/3/8vNxcO.

Pinterest Party: {Extreme} Awesomeness Edition

If you want to know how to host a
Pinterest Party: {Extreme} Awesomeness Edition,
then you need to consult this lady right here.

(It was Kara Noel's birthday that week. So we had to celebrate her!)

No joke.
She is LEGIT.
I have this super awesome group of crafty friends:

Aimee
Andrea
Bev
Jaime
Kara Noel

and we had a grand idea after the Mindy Gledhill concert
at the Queen Bee Market back in November,
while chatting well into the chilly night out in the parking lot,
where all great ideas occur,
to start having a Pinterest Party each month.

Wow, that was a run on sentence if I ever did see one!

If you're not familiar with what a Pinterest Party is . . .
The host picks 2-3 crafts that can be completed in a few
hours that she has theoretically "pinned" on Pinterest.
The guests each bring $20 to cover the cost of the crafts
and a yummy dish to share that they have pinned from Pinterest.
And Pins become reality.

Due to bad luck, vacations, and my terrible bout with diverticulitis,
Kara Noel's party in July was the first party I've actually been able to attend.

It was so much fun!

Kara Noel is a fantastic hostess
and she had different stations where we could
do lots of different crafts and projects.

My favorite was this "You Are My Sunshine" canvas.


And I {ADORE} my little succulent garden complete with a Hot Pink frog :)


There was also a chevron cork board project going on
that I didn't get to finish, but you should check out what
Julie accomplished with it.
Think rainbow awesomeness.
I wish.

It was so fun to meet some other bloggers in real life,
make new friends, and chat about random topics
with friends.


And the swag!
Oh the swag!!
Kara Noel totally outdid herself.
The kids were chomping at the bit
to get their hands on the basket when I got home.


It was filled to the brim with RoseArt goodness.
Things I would never buy, not because they aren't awesome,
but because I fear the mess and the chaos.
Think paint, glitter, glue . . . all the good stuff.

What? - you say.
A crafter that doesn't like a mess? - you say.
That's crazy talk. - you say
Oh, there's more out there than you think.

But you know who adores messes?
This girl.
And I'm super grateful to RoseArt for making her messy dreams come true.


I can't wait to make use of this other rad swag from
Burke Williams, Juice It Up, Farfaria, Pretend City,
the Discovery Science Center, and the OC Zoo.

It was a fabulous day full of lots of delicious food -

seriously all of the guests made AMAZING dishes -

fun crafts and fabulous conversations with friends.

I highly recommend hosting a Pinterest Party of your own.

In fact, next month it's my turn!

Eeek!

You can read more about the party on Kara Noel's blog

and Julie's blog.
And check out Bev & Aimee's party from February HERE and HERE!

Knott's Berry Farm: Camp Spooky!

The family and I were invited this past weekend

to attend a VIP experience in Campy Spooky at Knott's Berry Farm.
The kids were super excited because they'd never been.
And it was fun for me, because it brought back memories
of visiting the park with my parents when I was young.


Me and my mom circa March 1981



Since it was all about Camp Spooky,
the kids got to dress up.
JT was a "Hawaii Guy" and loved posing with all the characters.



Isabella was a "Hula Girl" and she had no interest in going near
any of the characters.


We started the day with a yummy breakfast at Lucy's Lunchbox.
I loved how they served the kids' breakfast in keep-able containers.


After visiting with some bloggy friends - like Kara Noel -
we hit the rides with Jaime and clan.
It was a lot of fun watching the kids having so much fun.
I loved being in the park before the crowds and enjoying everything with no lines!

I even did some some!


What was I thinking???


Isabella was all smiles starting Woodstock's Airmail,
but her feelings at the end were another story.
Hee, hee


The kids even got to do some trick or treating!


The Boys - big and little - did some of the Big Rides!
Ghost Rider, Montezooma's Revenge and Sierra Sidewinder to name a few.
JT was crazy excited to conquer the Big Rides.


The Girls kicked it together and had some fun of their own.


The Dentzel Carousel is a classic!


Why is my girl so crazy?!




We had a fantastic time at Knott's Berry Farm.
The staff was awesome, the rides were fun,
and there was something for each of us to do.



Thank you Knott's and Camp Spooky for having us!
Bye!
We look forward to coming back!


And since a season pass is SUPER AFFORDABLE - it might just be soon!

And a special thanks to Jaime for taking awesome pictures for me!

Camp Spooky runs weekend in October at Knott's Berry Farm.

Disclosure: We were invited to Knott's Berry Farm by GigaSavvy to attend the VIP Camp Spooky Event. I attended because I was wanted to create fun memories with my family. I received parking, breakfast and park admission for free. I blogged about it because I wanted to and not because Snoopy & the Gang told me I had to. All the thoughts & opinions are mine.

Craft Night: Par-tay at my house!

A couple of weeks ago I hosted a craft night at my house.

I merely hosted.
Kara Noel did all the work.
For reals.
At 38 weeks pregnant she planned & prepped all the crafts.
My friend Jaime and Natalie joined us, along with Nicole from Olive Blue.
It was my first time meeting Nicole and she is DAH-ling!

We started with spray painting some cute patootie pumpkins.
Then we were going to crackle paint them and make the awesome.

While the spray paint dried -
OH! by the way.
This was my first time spray painting a craft.
FOR REALS.

Ok, while the paint dried,
Kara Noel taught us to make some great Halloween embroidery
hoop wall hangings.







They were so fun and Nicole and Kara Noel got all
fancy with the embroidery thread.


And where there is crafting, there is food!


I made my friend's yummy spinach artichoke dip.
(recipe coming soon!)



And of course these EVIL things made their appearance.
I experimented with the strawberry milkshake Oreos,
but I didn't like them as much.


And I had to make homemade kettle corn for
my pregnant craft genius :)


Nicole brought a yummy dessert that everyone gobbled up.


I tried making cranberry spritzers,
they were ok, not fabulous.
So any tips - I'd love!

We crafted late into the night,
and I sent the girls home a little lovely :)


I sent Kara Noel home with some extras
to match their coming home outfits . . .


My crackle pumpkin was a craft FAIL!!!!


The crackle paint hated me and my pumpkin.
I'm glad 99 cent store had a replacement :)


My embroidery hoops are still unfinished,
but I think they are cute and I can't decide whether or not
to do anything else to them.


What do you think?


Should I add something?


Or leave them as they are?


Kara Noel also brought us some RAD wooden earrings from the 99 cent store.
I am obsessed with wooden earrings,
especially ones that cost 99 cents and not $15!


Craft nights with friends rule.
I can't wait to have another one soon!