sweetHEART cupcakes

These may look like ordinary Valentine cupcakes

but 

there is more to these sweetHEARTS than meets the eye! 

Can you guess what surprise is hiding inside???

A HEART!!!

How sweet is that?

I saw these Hidden~Heart Cupcakes and had to try making some. I could hardly wait to cut one in half to see if it had turned out and sure enough, there it was, the hidden heart.

A perfect treat for someone special!

Valentine Tea Party

Since Valentine's Day is almost here I thought this would be a good time to share my
mother/daugher

~Valentine Tea Party~

To make this party simple I asked each family to bring a tray of finger sandwiches and a plate of treats to share, which was really fun since the guests were all such good cooks. Needless to say, we enjoyed a wide variety of amazing tea party food.

As each pair of guests arrived they drew a number from a basket that corresponded to a seat at the table, making the seating arrangement a surprise.

Our program included poems, the history of tea, playing games and making fancy ponytail holders.

Things I ♡ :
♥ mother/daughter parties
♥ Valentine parties
♥ tea parties
♥  parties

perfect ♥'s continued

I needed a quick dessert last night so I made some chocolate pudding which I put into pretty individual parfait dishes and then topped each serving with a little spritz cookie and sprinkles.
It was a hit!
I also filled small bags with cookies to tuck in lunches and give away.

Simple ways to turn ordinary into special!

 free printable topper here

perfect ♥'s

I made a double batch of Valentine spritz cookies today. They are so quick, cute and yummy and a favorite at our house. 

I Love Sprinkles! 

They're great when I'm in a hurry but still want to add a little sparkle. 

auction display boards

Here are few of the boards I made last week.

I have been designing auction display boards for non-profit organizations every year since 2004

for a total of 

9 years

14 auctions 

and 

500+ boards. 

I enjoy the challenges of creating multiple layouts (approx. 30+ per auction) on a tight deadline (approx. 5-7 days). I purchase most of the supplies a week or so before I begin due to the fact that there is not usually time during the week before the auction, when I'm in full production, to run out for more.  The live auction items are different each year and for every auction making each board unique, which means, coming up with new ideas quickly and then hoping I have all the coordinating supplies. 

A fun project.  

ADB's are FINISHED!

I think this photo of my work area pretty much sums up my week!

32 boards ~ 5 days  

A Fast & Furious 5 days, to say the least, but not unexpected, just the nature of the project.   

I finished Friday night around 9:00pm and delivered the live auction display boards to the venue yesterday morning.

 Here is a sneak peek of a graphic I made for one of the boards. 

I will post a few of my favorite layouts tomorrow
but for now..

...it's time to get ready for the
SUPER BOWL.

And just for fun,
here is my favorite Super Bowl commercial from last year...

SO CUTE!

happy February!

I usually fill this cute heart shaped plant holder with fresh red and/or pink flowers but no time this week to run out so I used colored tissue paper for a "make-do" Valentine arrangement.