{Made it Monday} Personalized Cupcake Courier

We've talked about my love for cupcakes.

So, it should come as no surprise that I have been in love with The Cupcake Courier for some time now. It's sleek, stylish and super-useful in transporting cupcakes to and fro. (Because we all like to go "to and fro" with our cupcakes, right? And the last time I went "to and fro" with my cupcakes in a regular container, I ended up with a hot mess. Mmm hmmm, that's a whole post for another time, sweet people.)

But, as sleek and stylish and useful as it is, I wasn't about to pay $35 for one (plus shipping).

So, when I saw this little happy place in our local Costco after Christmas, I almost died.



Once I zoomed in and got a look at the price, I did DIE. I DIED, y'all.



Then I swiftly put two in my cart and moseyed right up to the checkout line.

My first thought was to give this to a friend with children (and I still like that thought). But, my sister decided to give hers as a baby shower gift. I thought that was fantastic! I love gifts that are different and out of the ordinary. Her theory was that the new mom is about to be making cupcakes for the next 10 years (or longer), so why not give her something awesome to carry them in. LOVE IT!

When I got mine home, I decided to personalize it. (Hello. I'm Leigh. I have an addiction to personalizing things.)

I peeled the sticker off of the front.



I cut a vinyl letter using my Cricut Expression and stuck it on. I chose white vinyl for the letter (I'll tell you why in a minute).



Then I tied some fun ribbon on the handle. (Hi. I'm Leigh. I also have an addiction to tying ribbon onto everything I can.)



Now, here's why I chose white vinyl: for each holiday or occasion, I will change out my ribbon colors to match the event. With a white letter, it will always match! HA! HOW ABOUT THAT FOR "THINKING IT THROUGH?!?"

Plus, I think the white just looks classy. (Hi. I'm Leigh. One more thing: I'm addicted to classy.)

So, there you have it!



A great gift for a friend, new mom, old mom, mom with lots of kids, cupcake lover, muffin lover, just about anyone!

Oh, and just so you know, it comes with three removable cupcake/muffin trays and three flat sheets for cookies or cakes or pies! Yay!



I hope your local Costco carries them too.

And, I hope you have a membership there.

Or know someone with one.

Or whatever.

Happy cupcake carrying!

*UPDATE* - As of 3/20/2011, Costco STILL has the Cupcake Courier and has it marked down to $9.97. The manager at our Costco (Spartanburg, SC) told me that once they're gone, they're gone. RUN, people. Go get your Cupcake Courier for LESS THAN $10 while you still can!

Linking here:

{Trendy Tuesday} Cupcake Liners: They're Not Just for Baking

So, since we're already on the topic of cupcakes, I figure we might as well discuss the award-winning best supporting role: The Cupcake Liner.

Betcha didn't know cupcake liners could be trendy, did ya?

Mmmmhmmm. They are, people! THEY POSITIVELY ARE!

Take a look at all the ways you can transform these little lovelies!

Martha uses them as gift toppers! She's so crafty, that Martha. Love her.


Apparently Sweet Paul had the same idea, but with TEENY TINY TASSELS! (Squeeeeee).

Urban Comfort uses them to dress up homemade cards. Love that!


Baker's Royale made them into Oreo's on a stick! (Oh my...the cuteness!)


The How Does She Gals made them into cuuuuuuuuute pom poms (and even made a tutorial to go along with it)!


Domestifluff shaped them into classy trees.


My Creative Departure whipped up this incredibly fun and festive wreath.


happy: blissful! made a simple and sweet cupcake garland.


How about a sweet little bouquet? I found this one on The Cupcake Blog.


And, this one on anna and blue paperie (with a tutorial).


I think topping your fluffy cupcakes with liners is just genious! Apparently Icing Designs thinks so too!


And, finally, my very favorite idea of all...flower baking hats. OH SWEET MERCY! The preciousness makes words escape me.


Okay, that's it for this Trendy Tuesday! I mean, really, that's just about all the cuteness I can stand.

The next time you see festive cupcake liners, pick them up, whip up something cute and be proud, people. Because now you're all trendy like that! And, that alone, just makes me smile BIG way down deep in my heart.

Big hugs and happy cupcake liners!

{Made it Monday} Mini Cupcake Stands Tutorial

Happy Monday!

Since Mondays are a bit drab around here, I thought I'd blow some life and fun into mine by posting some of the random things I choose to waste my time on make.

Here's a little something about me you might not know.

I loooooooooove cupcakes.

There. I said it.

I know what you're thinking, but I don't love them the way most people do. I mean sure. I like to eat the occasional cupcake. (I'd rather have a big ole' piping hot bag of McDonald's french fries, but if that's not an option, mmm hmmm...I'll take a cupcake.)

I guess you could say I'm infatuated with cupcake images and paraphernalia.



If it's got a cupcake on it, I'm probably going to have a second look and even buy it, if possible. If it has anything to do with cupcakes, it's probably going to be mine. I just can't help it.



So, when I saw these on Modern Moments, I knew I had to have some!



I followed her instructions and here's how it went down.

(First things first: Yes! My hands are really wrinkled (thanks for noticing). Yes! They've always been that way. YES! I've tried lotion - once or twelve times per day, EVERY DAY for 34 years. So, thanks for asking. You'd be surprised how many times my hands become the focus of conversations. Honestly, I'm just happy to have hands that work and create and give love. Moving on.)

I gathered my supplies. I picked up the round circle disks from Hobby Lobby and I ordered the candle sticks from The New Image Group. I couldn't find them around here, so I ordered them online.



I almost cracked these babies open without snapping a picture first. Oh, the horror!





I won't lie. The wood pieces are cheap. I'm okay with cheap. Actually, I LOVE cheap. But, cheap usually has a cost and the cost here was lots and Lots and LOTS of sanding. They were really rough and pretty jagged around the edges. See.



But, nothing a little sand paper and muscle couldn't take care of. (Did I just say "muscle?" Ha! That's funny. Especially coming from me. I think we all know the "muscle" required here is pretty minimum...this is MY blog, remember?)




Anyway, once I had them sanded down, I painted them with white acrylic paint and a foam brush. (Hiiiiiiii, Mr. Turkey! Isn't he cute??)





I painted the pieces with two coats of paint and then had to sand them all again. I told you: Cheap has a cost.

Once they were dry and sanded (and sanded again and then painted again - twice), they were ready to be glued together. Whew!

Lucky me! I have a hubs who can fix anything. He just happened to have this wood glue that I used.



Once glued, I added some weight to the top and let them dry. (Use whatever you have. I was working at my kitchen counter, so all of our medicine bottles became weights.)



I let them dry overnight, but a few hours is probably good enough.

Once they were ready for use, I baked up some pretty cupcakes and we were ready for action!



I didn't have a really cute red and white polka dot suitcase to use as a prop like she did, but I did have a cute little cherry!



So, thats it! Hope you are inspired to make some mini cupcake stands of your own! If you do, come back and link me up, so I can leave you some love!

Hugs everybody!

Keep Calm and Have a Cupcake Print from jennysbakeshop.
Keep Calm and Have a Cupcake Journal from Peter Pauper Press.