Sweetly Designed

Signature Drinks

2010-07-24T22:36:00.000-07:00

As discussed in a previous blog I was recently thrown a beautiful Princess themed birthday party for my 30th. I also have previously discussed that I was looking for the ultimate yummy, pink drink for this event to serve as my signature drink. Well I found it along with 3 others!

This first drink is a simply yummy mojito style with fresh lime, raspberries and mint! (Bacardi Rum and Club Soda)

For the children at the party, this pretty drink is a classic Shirley Temple! Orange Juice, Sprite, Grenadine topped with strawberries.

For the adults we took the classic Shirley Temple, added Vodka for a Shirley Temple Black.

As for my signature drink? White Rum, Pink lemonade served in champagne glasses with strawberries. Yummy, Girly and so me!

Here is a picture of my girlfriend enjoying one.

Princess Birthday Party

2010-07-22T21:21:00.000-07:00

This SundayI will be 30!! To celebrate this occasion, my amazing friends threw me an amazing princess themed party!! It was so much fun and so beautiful.

This lovely painting was created by the young girl in the picture along with her mother.

The cake was made by my very dear friend Monique who is pictured here with me and the cake.

My King

This litte prince is my youngest child, Carter.

I will be back later with more beautiful pictures and details on some of the neat things that were created for this party.

More summer loving!!

2010-07-11T12:40:00.000-07:00

The beautiful HOT weather is holding on!! Definitely a good time to enjoy some yummy COLD drinks and it is even better if it looks beautiful too. These gorgeous drinks are worthy of planing a party around.

The creators of Create My Event used these beautiful drinks as an intricate part of their Barbie Beauty Party! They didn't include alcohol but if that is what your looking for it would be easily added! Since my 30th is fast approaching!! and my girlfriends are throwing me an amazing PINK PRINCESS themed party, I need to come up with a signature Pink drink for the occassion, some of these are looking pretty good.

{Dollicios} – Lemon Lime Soda with Cherry Syrup poured over Cotton Candy. The cotton candy instantly dissolves into the liquid.

{Strawberry Blonde} - A milkshake shooter of Blended Strawberry Ice Cream topped with Whipped Cream and Fresh Strawberries.

{Pink Lady} – Pink Lemonade served in Pink Sugar Coated Glasses.

You could always head over to Martha Stewarts 60 days of summer for any of these (plus so much more!!) mouthwatering beauties

Sharing the sumer love

2010-07-06T06:49:00.000-07:00

source unknown (if you do let me know!)

Summer appears to have finally arrived!! Now that the weather is cooperating I am feeling like some summer parties should follow. So I have been doing my research and have found some wonderful ideas for a lot of fun in the sun. Here are a few inspirational ideas.

I love this watermelon jug from Kara's Party Ideas

and this amazing pool party set up from Paper & Cake

this garland utensil idea from the DIY Dish is genius!!!

what about your summer parties? do you head to the beach or through a backyard bbq? Favorite drink? Summer food? Games? Please share the love!!

Storybook party!

2010-07-04T08:05:00.000-07:00

For Carter, my youngest son's 3rd birthday, I decided to throw him a Storybook themed birthday party. It was so much fun to plan and the children loved it!

I started out by setting the theme with Storybook invitations. (click here to see my previous post with more about them)

All the children were invited to wear their PJ's to the party, then with the help of my oldest son Julian, (dressed up as Cat in the Hat) we read classic tales,

played a Curious George sticker game and ring on the Gack (Dr. Seuss)
went near and far
and had a wonderful feast of Curious George Bananas,

One Fish Two Fish goldfishGooseberries

If you gave a Mouse Cookies
Nice Ice in Circus Mcgurkus Pink lemonade
Vegetables from Rabbits Garden and the hungry Caterpillar cupcakes!

Everyone had a wonderful time and at the end of the party they went home with a Clifford "Doggy Bag" with stickers, candy and a book by Carter's favorite Author, Sandra Boynton.

Sunday Sweets

2010-06-27T11:25:00.000-07:00

I am very happy to show you today's Sunday Sweets!

Remember when I told you about the Dora the Explorer Cake I was preparing to make. Well I don't think it could have turned out any better!! I am thrilled with it and so was

Mae who was turning 4.
The cake was two tiered, three layer silver white cake smothered in white frosting. I used mini marshmallows (cut in half) and blue dyed gel for the river. The sand is crushed graham crackers and the fence is multi colored and flavored licorice. I then finished it off with sugar flowers and Dora and her friends!

The breastfeeding culture

2010-06-24T05:53:00.000-07:00

I needed friends who could talk about latch and thrush nipples and what to do when the baby lifts my shirt in a restaurant. Finally, I found other moms who were interested in all things nursing. Let’s call it my breastfeeding tribe.Is breastfeeding a sub-culture within our society?

By Times ColonistNovember 10, 2007

Special to the Times ColonistI was lonely after I gave birth to my first son, Alex. While my girlfriends spent their days at the office and their nights eating out and dancing at clubs, I spent day and night attached to a voracious baby, nipple to mouth.I needed friends who could talk about latch and thrush nipples and what to do when the baby lifts my shirt in a restaurant. Finally, I found other moms who were interested in all things nursing. Let’s call it my breastfeeding tribe.“I’ve been calling it a club,” says Sonya Chandler, 32. Chandler is a nurse, city councillor and mother to three-month-old Penelope-Rose. “I think that club revolves around parenting, and in that club are a lot of sub-clubs … I think breastfeeding is one of them.” Is breastfeeding a sub-culture within our society, though? Anthropologist Dr. Lisa Mitchell has some reservations about that idea. Mitchell, 48, is an associate professor of cultural anthropology at the University of Victoria and a mother of two.“To me to call it a culture is to imply that it is something different and far-out from what Canadian women are doing regularly,” Mitchell says. Most Canadian mothers try to breastfeed nowadays, she points out.“It is a very short leap then to think, ‘Well, if you belong to that culture, everybody within it shares the same ideas and that it’s a very homogenous,’” she says. “And I don’t believe that to be the case about breastfeeding.”Mitchell does say there can be a social or group aspect among breastfeeding mothers. “Women who do breastfeed often depend upon like-minded friends and family for support,” she says. “It speaks to the social aspect of breastfeeding.”Over my years in the tribe, I’ve observed a shared vocabulary, with words such as latch (the hold baby’s mouth has on the nipple, but I used to think that word only applied to the closure of a gate). It was often like learning a whole new language. “Language is not simply utilitarian and descriptive,” Mitchell says. “We use it to say things about who we are, both personally and as groups.”Kyrie Smith says she and her 10-month-old son, Abhainn Kula, spend a lot of time around other breastfeeding pairs. Smith, 21, says she didn’t think about the new language at first.“I guess everything changed,” she says. “All the language is different when you suddenly become a parent. It was so shocking.” Smith says she wants to change the culture of parenting, to make it less about buying things and more about supporting breastfeeding.“We (need to) get together in small groups and communities of mothers,” she says, “hosting mom and baby support groups, that’s how we should go about doing it.”The mom and baby group is another part of tribe behaviour, most famously represented in the breastfeeding institution La Leche League. There are also traditions such as the annual Quintessence Breastfeeding Challenge. Once a year, moms gather in a large group and breastfeed at the same time. I attended Victoria’s challenge with my 14-month-old daughter. We were surrounded by a swirl of baby slings and hipster strollers. Many babies were wearing T-shirts proclaiming, “I heart boobies!” or “Warning: Boob magnet.” This can only be described as the tribe’s home turf. Terri Foggitt, 27, was there, her seven-month-old son Carter wriggling against her shoulder. Written across the front of her tank top: “Breast Milk, Always on Tap.” The back read “Milk Maiden.”Foggitt’s best experience with the breastfeeding tribe makes her cry.“I had a breast reduction and I have a little bit of problem supplying enough breast milk for my son, because of that,” she says. “I ran into some weight problems with him. My sister-in-law is breastfeeding her one-year-old son and she breastfed my boy for me.”She wipes her eyes and adds, “That’s something that I’m really proud of, to know there are women still willing to do things like that and support breastfeeding.”Sonya Chandler says she enjoys being with other breastfeeding moms. But she says she noticed something disquieting at the breastfeeding challenge.“There were a lot of the same people, meaning lots of middle-class, educated, white people,” she says. “I didn’t see a lot of high-risk people who were under-supported, less educated and in poverty there. But they are breastfeeding as well.”Chandler says the ability to hang out with other moms and talk breastfeeding shop might be another middle-class luxury.“I’m not specializing in coping,” she says. “I’m not specializing in feeding myself and my other children.”

What's for dinner?

2010-06-23T06:37:00.000-07:00

Steak and lobster!!

Such a fun dinner and super yummy too!!

My little Artist

2010-06-22T06:42:00.000-07:00

When Julian was about 2 years old he was really into painting, which I am thrilled to encourage, the only problem is he was also a very quite boy that liked to get up early. When you add these two things together it resulted in a messy situation.

I woke up one morning to silence and right away I knew something was wrong! Sure enough I entered the living room to discover Julian in the centre of the room covered in paint. Not only did he take 4 bottles of kids liquid craft paint and coat himself in it, he also painted the couch, the TV, the lamp, the coffee table and the surrounding carpet complete with little blue footprints!! As much as I wish I had have taken a moment to take a picture of this I didn't think at that moment that it was something I would laugh about later.

However I do have a picture of my other little artist, Carter. So far he sticks to paper

(knock on wood!)

So I shared one of my (trust me there are more) messy kid stories, what about yours?

Taking some time

2010-05-12T08:03:00.000-07:00

I know I haven't been around lately and I promise I have a really good reason!! I went back to school and last week was the start of my class. I will be posting but they will be sparatic and limited. Please check in on me once in a while, I promise to share some great things when I do post!

NieNie

2010-05-05T22:14:00.000-07:00

This post is not in line with my regular topics but it is something I feel the need to share, this woman is incredibly brave, beautiful and inspiring. I read her blog everyday and though what has happened to her is very sad, I find her blog to be very uplifting. Please take the time to visit Stephanie Nielson's blog and be sure to watch the amazing short video, "my new life video".

Sunday Sweets

2010-05-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

I am very excited about today's Sunday Sweets post because I am announcing my first cake sale!!! It is no secret that I love making cakes and I do it every chance I get, but until now it was something I did just for fun. My first cake sale is for a co-workers niece who is turning 4 and loves Dora!! I was very excited about this order and in exploring the internet for inspiration I came across some amazing cakes.

This cake by Cupcake Divinity struck me as simple but sweet

I really liked the cake/cupcake idea in this design by How Sweet it is!

This cake by My Pink Little Cake was another cake/cupcake design but it was the details in the molded characters that really impressed me!

A great combination of Dora and Diego in this design I found over at Cake Central

I loved that the cake designer at Cake Studio incorporated a cartoon sculpture of the birthday girl with Dora and backpack on this adorable cake!

Another simple and sweet cake, this time by Sweet Disposition Cakes'. I love her use of color!

In the end I really wanted something that I could do in a fondant free design and this design by Kiddo Cakes was just so sweet!! I have a few simple changes in mind but will mostly stick to this very sweetly done Hula girl Dora cake for my inspiration. The birthday isn't until the end of May so be sure to check back for pictures of my finished product.

Birthday Wishes

2010-04-30T06:13:00.000-07:00

Today is the birthday of one of my favorite people in the whole world! I have known Monique for not quite a year yet but she is cemented in my life. She is sweet, beautiful, caring, giving, intelligent and I miss her when she isn't around. Happy birthday my amazing friend!!

To celebrate Monique today I am taking her for lunch at the super yummy Rebar armed with a beautiful bunch of flowers and her gift which is this amazing clutch wallet in the Ocean Voyage design which I discovered over at Dear Sukie.

Sunday Sweets

2010-04-25T13:50:00.000-07:00

I am sure that last weeks Sunday Sweets has been keeping you busy scouring through the beautiful and scary creations in Cake at Cake Wrecks so this week I thought I would bring your attention to something equally as sweet but smaller in size, cupcakes!! Now I know no better place to drool over cupcakes then at Cupcakes Take the Cake (but if you think you do be sure to let me know!) Not only do the ladies of this amazing blog feature tons of beautiful awe inspiring cupcakes, they share recipies, interviews with the sweet shop owners, locations for tasting these bite size wonders and lots more in cupcakes!

Happy Earth Day

2010-04-22T06:32:00.000-07:00

Image Source

Our planet and our impact on it has become more and more forefront in our minds in recent years. Recycling, Reusing, Composting and reducing waste has become increasingly mainstream in our society. In honor of Earth Day I would like to share with you one of my favorite Earth Friendly contributions - Cloth diapering! Not only is cloth diapering earth friendly it is baby and pocket book friendly too! BONUS!!

Cloth Diapering is no longer limited to diaper pins and prefolds. With many options, designs, colors, patterns, etc out there I strongly suggest exploring the cloth diapering communities to learn more about what would work best for you, your baby and your lifestyle.

To get you started I recommend checking out Jamtots, Diaper Pin, and Diaperswappers.

Now for a few of my favorite diapers, check out these sweet designs:

Carter (17 months) wearing a customized Berry Plush diaper embroidered with the world and the inscription "Saving the World One Diaper at a time" Photo Taken By Amanda McBurney of Inspired Images Photography

AMP Diaper

Carter (1 year) wearing a custom Fuzzi Bunz diaper embroidered with a gecko and the inscription "Carter". Photo taken by Amanda McBurney of Inspired Images Photography

Got Milk? No? Get cookies!!

2010-04-19T22:05:00.000-07:00

Anyone that knows me is aware that I am very pro breastfeeding and most also know that I had a lot of struggles with breastfeeding which lead to a lot of reading, a lot of research and a lot of advice from professionals (both accredited and practical experienced). In the end I was able to continue a breastfeeding relationship with my youngest son for a year, I would have liked longer but a year was a great accomplishment for us and one to be proud of.

To make a long story short my breastfeeding struggles came down to what we believed to be quality of milk and my son was not getting the nutrients he required. In order to increase my volume and hopefully provide him with more nutrients I sought the advice of an amazing doctor, Dr. Jack Newman as well as conversations with local breastfeeding professionals and my family doctor I was armed with some great ways to increase milk supply and continue to nurse my beautiful baby boy. I believe breastfeeding is a beautiful, natural and amazing thing. It provides your baby with the best possible food as well as antibodies and vitamins. Breastfeeding doesn't come easy to everyone and for some woman (through breast reductions, adoption or other factors) it is not a possibility without intervention of some amazing products and herbs. My youngest and last child is now three so I am past this stage in my life, however I recently told you about the amazing birth I witnessed and that friend is now struggling with her own breastfeeding experience which has brought a lot of this back to me. When she called me the other day looking for advice I was happy to give her whatever help she needed as well as bake 9 dozen Lactation cookies last night!! I would like to share my experience with as many woman as possible, so here it is.

Herbs and Medications that increase milk production - Domperidone and Fenugreek

Devices that can prove helpful with breastfeeding (if you are not having troubles breastfeeding you should avoid the use of these items as you and your baby could become relient on them)

Supplemental Nursing System (SNS) - This product is an amazing devices that allows you to supplement your breastmilk with previously pumped or donated milk or formula while breastfeeding. It is great for those women that like me had milk but the nutritional value was in question or do not have enough milk and can not increase the volume through previously tried methods or have adopted their child but still wish to experience nursing.

Nipple Shield - This product is used for a number of reasons though my experience with it and my recommendation for its use is for the purpose of thrush. If you and/or your baby do contract thrush I recomend the use of a nipple shield while nursing until you are able to clear up the thrush. A problem I had and is fairly common with thrush is that you and your baby will pass it back and forth making it almost impossible to clear up. If you use a nipple shield while your nursing you can elimanate this until you are both free of thrush.

Lactation Cookies!! - This is by far the best prescription you can recieve. These cookies are super yummy and aid in the produciton of milk due to the content of Flax meal and Brewers yeast. The recomendation is 4 per day.

There are many more products, herbs, medication and advice available then listed here. The information I have provided is based on my personal breastfeeding experience, If you are having trouble with breastfeeding please be sure to consult your doctor and the La Leche League in your area for guidance. I also recommend consulting Dr. Jack Newman.

Sunday Sweets

2010-04-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

I have decided that I need a regular feature on the blog, and since I have a pretty major sweet obsession, all things sugar seems appropriate. So to get this Sunday started I would like to share my obsession with Cake Wrecks and the true inspiration for my feature title! I love love the wrecks but even more I love their Sunday Sweets. These are a few of my recent favorite but be sure to head over to Cake Wrecks and check them out for youself.

Simply Beautiful!

2010-04-16T12:23:00.000-07:00

Quick drop everything and head on over to Craftaholics Anonymous for a fab Lora Elizabeth Stamped Jewelry giveaway!! All her jewelry is beautiful but I am conviting this amazing piece, what a great mother's day gift it would make.

New baby smell

2010-04-13T15:23:00.000-07:00

My best friend had a beautiful baby girl this weekend!! Her name is Tabetha, she was 17lbs 15 oz and born in three hours it was fast and amazing and I loved being there for every moment of it. This is the third labor I have witnessed, aside from my own two, it was by far the quickest and it was so very special being that it was my best friend from grade school. Now I am planning the best, perfect, over the top PINK baby shower to celebrate this beautiful creature. Here are some of the things I have come across that have inspired my design ideas so far, do you have anything wonderful of your own to share, or something you have come across that you think is a must for a swanky pink baby shower? Please share!!

Photo Source: Cherry on Top Photography

Photo Source: The TomKat Studio

Photo Source: Unknown (but if you do please let me know!)

I am going to be doing a bunch of looking and creating tonight! I will share more later this week.

Getting back in the groove

2010-04-08T09:48:00.001-07:00

I have come to a realization recently, I can't do it all!! With work, home, school and crafting I don't have time to blog about it everyday too. So I am back and I am going to blog but not everyday and it won't always be something that I created. I am going to share other wonderful finds, great tutorials, contest information, amazing etsy items, things that inspire me and yes some of my own creations.

So to get things started I am going to share some photo's that have been inspiring me to get ready for spring.

Image from Making it Lovely

Image source unknown

Image from Trek Earth

Image from Whatever

MIA

2010-02-26T09:36:00.001-08:00

So sorry I have been MIA lately. I have been having some computer troubles topped off with sick children!! Everyone is on the mend now and the computer seems to be up and running, though a laptop purchase is high on the list at the moment.

The birthday party was perfect! I will post pictures of the fun tonight. In the mean time here are a few pictures of the cutest cake ever!! This was Carter's birthday cake last year made by my very dear and talented friend (pictured below)

Pac Man

2010-02-17T07:43:00.000-08:00

I have been very busy making signs, paper mache antlers and clifford goodie bags for Carter's upcoming 3rd Birthday pary! I can't wait to show you all what I have created for this storybook wonderland event. In the mean time, here are some old school Pac Man cupcakes I created for my oldest childs 10th birthday this past October.

Sweet Three

2010-02-16T19:10:00.000-08:00

Today my sweet little boy, my baby is three.

It is an emotional day for me. Carter is my last baby and we struggled for a long time to have him. I am so excited to watch him grow and learn but it is also hard because it all just goes by so quickly.

Carter is a sweet and very bright little boy. He loves to sing the alphabet song and Twinkle Twinkle little star. He loves play dough, painting, playing pretend and helping everyone with everything! He loves his family so much and is very lucky to live in a home with his mommy, daddy, older brother and his Aunt and Uncle. Carter loves pasta, yogurt, waffles, fruit, mushrooms, and so many other wonderful foods. He enjoys tormenting our cats Oliver and Mollie, but they seem to enjoy him too. Carter also loves to read, to go for walks, babies and puppies and umbrellas and so many other wonderful and fun things.

Carter also loves to say Cheese!

An invitation

2010-02-15T12:45:00.001-08:00

My youngest son will be 3 tomorrow. I am still not sure how I feel about my baby growing up so fast. I do however love to throw a party and 3 is such a fun age. Carter will be celebrating his birthday with 6 of his friends this Saturday with a storybook themed party!

The success of any good party starts with a well worded invitation.

Using Photoshop, a program called Suess Says Generator and Scrapbook paper I created a little story book as the party invitation.

"I'm going to be Three!" By Carter

Once upon a time an energeting little boy named Carter....

.... was about to turn three years old!!!

His mommy and daddy decided to have a party to celebrate!

So they asked his friends to come to their house at....

.... two o'clock in the afternoon on Saturday Feb 20th

Whne the day of the party arrived...

... all the people that Carter loved came in their PJ's!

They read books, played games and ate cake together.

Carter slept well that night dreaming of candles....

...balloons, cake, good friends and turning three!

We hope you can come to Carter's Storybook Birthday Party!

I also included this book mark at "mommy notes" that had a breakdown of the party details. The book mark is great for the moms to stick on the fridge and let their little one play with the birthday invitaion book.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T12:36:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned on Thursday I was gearing up for a weekend of love. Well I wasn't disappointed!

My date night with my husband (which we did on Friday) was fantastic. Our dinner was amazing and the movie (Valentine's Day) was cute. I then spent the majority of the weekend playing with my boys and making some very yummy treats! However I did make a few things without the boys. My friend and I settled in with a glass of wine to decorate mini cupcakes on Saturday night. We had a lot of fun, developed a major sugar high and though it was messy came up with these sweet treats for the boys.

I hope however your spending today you are feeling loved.

Drink in the love

2010-02-13T10:19:00.000-08:00

About a week ago a friend of mine and I got together and had a great afternoon making these beautiful sugar cookies for valentines day (we stored them in the freezer which worked great, however we discovered candy corn doesn't freeze well)

I decided these tasty cookies would be perfect for my co-workers so I packed them up in pretty bags and added these great "Drink in the Love" bags with tea! I found the tags over at Tricia-Rennea and she has a whole host of other fabulous designs for any occasion!

Little bites of love

2010-02-12T23:00:00.000-08:00

Last night my eldest son and I made these great treats for his class inspired by Bakerella We had so much fun and he tells me his class loved them!!

Our chocolaty cake/frosting mixture all frozen and ready to roll

My son Julian working with the melted chocolate

The first batch of red melts that I messed up by getting wet! (Tip: You can usually fix this mistake by adding vegetable oil but in this case I accidentally dumped in a lot of water!)

Our pops drying

Bagged, tied and ready to go to school!

Weekend of Love

2010-02-11T13:39:00.000-08:00

I have a very busy and exciting weekend planned! I have been checking out all my favorite blogs and keeping my eyes open for inspiration and now I am ready to get busy with all my Valentine Weekend fun!

First things first, my husband! We got a babysitter for the kids and we are heading out to dinner and then this movie - VALENTINE'S DAY

It looks like such a fun, albeit girly, movie with an amazing cast! I can't wait to see it and I will be sure to report back.Now I did cash in an IOU to see this movie (he took me to a horrible Zombie movie that earned me that IOU) but he is being such a good sport and it is Valentines Day so he will be rewarded with a Mini Cupcake "Chocolate" box from my new favorite cupcake book - Hello, Cupcake!

Now for my oldest son, Julian, we will make Chocolate Lollipops which I discovered on Bakerella

The youngest, Carter, will be three a couple days after Valentines so instead of more baking our little project will be paper mache!! I love paper mache and I am pretty sure Carter is going to love the mess. We will be making a prop for a game that will be played at his birthday party next weekend!

So I have a pretty busy weekend planned with my loves. What about you and yours?

Still in progress

2010-01-26T08:49:00.000-08:00

I am taking lots of pictures and getting things set up, hopefully I will have lots to show you soon.

In the mean time, check out this great blog! http://thedaintycoutureco.blogspot.com/

Blog Button

2010-01-20T10:21:00.000-08:00

I figured if I am going to do this blog right, I need to have a good button! So here it is, a start.

Getting Started

2010-01-19T15:46:00.000-08:00

I am very excited to be starting up Sweetly Designed! It has been in my mind for a long time and it is great to be underway.

I will soon be posting 100% repurposed headbands that I am very excited about! So be sure to check in.