Extending my vacation...

Hello all! I hope you had a fantastic holiday!! We over at the Johnson family had a wonderful Christmas. It's amazing how much more fun it is with a little one in the house. And don't get me wrong, I loved Christmas before. But now? Even better. At 13.5 months Owen still didn't get the whole present thing...unwrapping, etc....but he sure did enjoy the toys once they were open! So now we are in rotation mode....hide a few toys, bring them out every few days...and voila, they are all new again. Genius.

I must admit, I'm still totally in vacation mode. My original plan for this week was to tackle the never ending and all encompassing to-do list. You know, boring things like clean out my closet, organize my office and clean the tile in the kitchen. Thrilling right? But then there are the fun things...like finally finish Owen's baby album! That's the top of my list. AND there is the Pretty Smitten to-do list. I have so many new products that I would love to add to my shop. Some are in more of the design phase still, but some are almost there....

Okay, so why am I blabbing about all of this? Well folks, I don't think I'll be opening my shop again until January 11th. I know, I know....that seems like forever from now! But, I promise when I do open there will be a few new and exciting things. I'm not promising how many (remember that baby album that has to be done)...but at least a couple! And I'll feel much better about starting the New Year of Pretty Smitten if I can just cross a few things of my list.

Now if any of you were dying to order something on January 3rd (come on, someone, right??) just email me or convo me and I'll squeeze in your order. I don't want to let anyone down!

Enough babbling. On to the list. And for now, enjoy this photo of Owen on Christmas. He's in his new wagon and pretty happy about it. Just put a bow on his head, his little smile was my present this year!

Happy Holidays!!

I am officially on holiday break! My shop closed yesterday and all of my orders have been shipped. Yippeee! We celebrated by taking a day trip to Tahoe. We checked out the new Ritz Carlton at Northstar, had some lunch and did a little sledding. Owen loved the snow and squealed with delight going on the sled. Fun Fun day!! Now it's off to sit by the fire and cozy up with my husband. Have a wonderful Christmas everyone and talk to you on January 3rd!!

Looking for a Holiday craft project?

How cute are these cupcake ornaments?? The ever talented Amanda over at Bake It Pretty posted a 'how-to' for these cupcake ornaments on her blog last week. Love them! They'd make a great Holiday project one afternoon....fun to hang on your tree, or group a few together for a fun display.

So from the Bake It Pretty blog, here are the directions to make your very own...

You'll need:

Styrofoam Balls (2.5" size for regular cupcakes, 1.5" for mini cupcakes)

Heavy-Duty foil cupcake liners (Standard 2" size, Miniature Size)

Artificial snowflakes

Artificial floral berry sprigs (in assorted sizes)

Bakers twine or ribbon (optional)

Wooden skewers

White craft glue

foam or paint brush

Hot glue

Scissors

STEP 1: Stick one Styrofoam ball onto a wooden skewer for easy handling. Use a foam brush to paint the upper 2/3 of the ball with a medium coat of white craft glue.

STEP 2: Roll the ball into the faux snow flakes, gently pressing and sprinkling the flakes to cover the ball nicely. It should look like a frosty, snowball. (This is a great step to involve the kids with!)

STEP 3: Place the stick and ball into a mug or a piece of foam, if you have one, and allow to dry completely. I know, I hate waiting for things to dry! But if you try to glue them into the foil liners now, the sides just won’t stick. Trust me. I tried.

STEP 4: When your cupcakes tops are dry, remove the wooden skewers and you are ready to glue them into their foil baking liners. Hot glue works best, but please be careful not to burn your fingers! Run a circle of glue around the top inside of the liner and place your cupcake ball inside, frosty side up. Cup your hands and press gently around the edges to glue the liner on snugly. Do not push the ball down too far or the bottom will curve and your cupcake will not sit flat, (this isn’t really a big deal if you’re planning on hanging them.) Due to the hot-glue factor, this step is best left to big-kids and adults.

STEP 6: Choose the perfect “cherry” for your cupcake. Cut one floral berry from the bunch, leaving about 1″ or less of wire stem. Add a small dot of hot glue to the top center of your cupcake. If you are planning to hang your ornament, set a small loop of ribbon or twine into the glue first, then press your cherry firmly on top. You can push the wire right into the Styrofoam ball, or flip it around to make a cherry “stem.” Both styles are very cute!

And that's it! So cute and easy, right? Now she does say 'use heavy duty foil liners' but I'm thinking they would be so cute with some of her other fun cupcake liners. Maybe it's the hot glue, goops up on the thiner liners?? Anyway, I think I'd at least give other liners a shot. My favorites for Christmas ornaments are shown below, all can be found on the Bake It Pretty website too. And while we're at it...these little cupcake cuties could be used for all kinds of occasions. I'm thinking they'd be a whimsical decoration at baby showers (think pink/blue polka dots and striped liners)...weddings (all white?)...and maybe on the cherry place a name card too, voila cupcake placecard holders? Just brainstorming folks, haven't tried this...but if I do I'll let you know how they turn out!

HAPPY TUESDAY EVERYONE!

Pretty Smitten featured on Style at Home!

Yiippee! Pretty Smitten has been featured on the website of Canada's largest decorating magazine, Style at Home. The article is titled '8 Holiday Gift Wrap Accessories' and both Pretty Smitten Holiday tags and stickers have been featured! The editor contacted me a couple months ago...she found my shop on Etsy and loved my products. I really really wanted to shout it to the world then, but I bit my tongue and waited until it was actually posted. Yay! What a fantastic way to start the week. Happy Monday everyone!

Giveaway results...

I think I can officially say that this giveaway was a flop! Only 1 comment, soooo sad. But lets face it, I didn't promote this one AT ALL. Plus I wasn't writing any new posts, so why would people check back?? And I'm a very bad blogger and just announcing it now....

SUSAN...you are the winner! Please contact me and we will work on your design for your Holiday Cards and Stickers!!

And we're already at 222 sales, so well on our way to the 250 sales giveaway! Keep checking back!

We're back!

Hello all! Hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving! We arrived home late Tuesday night from Maryland. It was a wonderful holiday filled with lots of family time. My brother and sister inlaw have 3 boys and Owen was thrilled to play with his cousins. They made him laugh and he watched wide eyed everything they did, it was too cute for words. And of course Grandma and Grandpa spoiled him the whole time!

And can I just say, I love Maryland! We've been there to visit many times...but I think I saw it with new eyes. What did I see? ROOM TO PLAY! The boys could run, play football, ride bikes and bigwheels...all in their driveway and yard. And since I'm pretty sure we're in for 3 boys too (the Johnson's have BOYS!!!) I would love to have that space! I love our house in California, and we actually have a decent sized backyard for California standards...but lets face it, it's just not the same! But it is nice to be home. I do love home. I love my own bed and Owen is happy to be back in his own crib.

Yesterday I spent doing laundry...and more laundry....and unpacking, and organizing, and cleaning.....how does a house need cleaning when we've been gone for over a week? Well who knows, but it does. But I'm back and Pretty Smitten is back, and we're ready for the Christmas season!! Remember, my shop will be closed from December 18 - January 3rd so that I can enjoy the holiday with my family. So place your orders early!

Happy Thursday everyone.