{Give Away} Martha Stewart's Cupcakes!

This morning I woke up and thought, "It's just been too long since we've done a give away!"

Ok, I'm joking. It's only been six days. But six loooong days without the twinkle of something shiny and new on the horizon to spark your creativity, right?!

Recently I discovered Martha Stewart's brillant cupcake book and tried a few of the recipes and decorating tips out and I have to say they were just TOO CUTE, CLEVER and YUMMY to keep to myself!

So if you think you might be just a liiiiiittle bit interested in giving few of these beautiful cupcakes a whirl (in your mixer of course!), here's the scoop...

Just leave a comment on this post by the end of the day Tuesday and I will choose the winner on Wednesday morning via random.org!!

Good luck everyone!!

p.s. The winner must contact me within 24 hours of the announcement or forfeit their prize.

THIS GIVE AWAY HAS ENDED

{Client Parties} Sophia's Vintage Carousel Party!!

What little girl wouldn't LOVE a carousel party?! Sophia's mother rented the most beautiful vintage carousel for her daughter's first birthday party.

 

 

Just gorgeous!!

And of course the pictures are just perfect because Sophia's mother is a photographer! You can check out her site here.

For the party she had us adjust our Carnival/Circus collection to match her stunning Aqua and Purple color palette.

Absolutely beautiful job Gina!!

Our entire Carnival/Circus collection, both in Aqua and Red and in Pink and Yellow, is available in the shop. (And please feel free to convo us if you have a special color combination request.)

{New In The Shop} Casino Party Invitation

For a special request, I just finished this last week...

My word! How much fun would it have been to have a casino party on a yacht to ring in your 18th birthday??!

Well, if you're the gamblin' type and lookin' to host a good time, you're in luck! I just added these to the shop.

{Tips & Hints} Pinwheel Tutorial and Free Template

For all of you who have been emailing me asking how to make the pinwheels in our Easter shoot, here's how you do it!!

For this you will need the following:

- Pinwheel Template
- Xacto knife or scissors
- Cookie Stick or Drilled Dowel
- Wooden Beads
- Button
- Wire
- Small hole punch
- Ribbon
- Hot Glue

1. Either paint your dowel and drill a small hole through it or (for all of you who would prefer not to pull out the heavy machinery for a holiday craft) take an Xacto knife make a hole in a cookie stick. Place the hole about 1 1/2" from the top of the dowel or cookie stick.

If you are using a cookie stick you can spruce it up a bit by gluing a bit of ribbon to it. (Add a dab of glue on one end and stick down the end of the ribbon. Twist the ribbon down the stick, cut and add another dab of glue to adhere it to the stick.)

2. Print out our pinwheel template and then turn it around and print one of the coordinating decorative paper designs from our Free Hippity Hop Easter Collection on the backside.

3. Cut out the template and punch holes where indicated.

4. Lay the two pieces of the pinwheel template together on a flat surface. Turn the top piece so that it's points are offset in relation to the bottom piece. Overlap the points so that the two pieces are locked together.

5. Glue the centers of the two pieces of the pinwheel template together.

6. Put a dab of hot glue on either side of one of the holes in the points of your pinwheel. Line the hole in the point up with the hole in the center of the pinwheel and adhere the two pieces together. Continue until all eight points on both pieces of the template are fixed to center of the pinwheel.

7. Thread your wire through the hole in your stick, through one of your wooden beads and then through the hole in your pinwheel. Now thread the wire through your other wooden bead and through the first hole in your button. As you loop the wire back through the second hole in your button continue to thread it back along it's original path until it comes out the hole in your stick.

8. Trim your wire, leaving enough to wrap around your stick a few times.

And there you have it... Easter Pinwheels!

Here's the template. Click on it and download it to your desktop.

This template will be available for download until April 24th.

{Press} GWD on Arizona Midday!!

The wonderful Coryanne Ettiene of Housewife Bliss was sweet enough to use our Free Easter Printables today on Arizona Midday!! Coryanne demonstrated how to make some divine chocolate Easter treats and then gave them a little extra pizzazz with our Free Wraps.

If you haven't checked out Housewife Bliss, definitely hop over and poke around the site. Coryanne has tips on everything from cleaning to cooking and decorating to fun kid-friendly crafts!

{Give Away} Free Napkin Wrap, Bottle Label, etc Printable!

Happy Friday!! Are you having a get together this weekend and are possibly in need of napkin wraps or bottle labels or even maybe an egg stand to match your Hippity Hop Easter Printables?? Well, have I got the download for you!

Just click on the image and save it to your desktop and go get creative!!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

This give away has ended.

Plié-se Come To My Recital

I'm in the middle of a design frenzy. (Yes, my humor gets cornier in direct relation to my lack of sleep!)

I just finished this custom invitation for Chandler's 1st Ballet Recital and I just had to share. (Having two boys there is a very good chance that I will never be sending one of these out, so I am enjoying living vicariously!)

Hope your day is going splendidly!!

{Give Away} Free Easter Basket Printable!

Happy Monday!! Did you all make your Homemade Playdoh-Filled Eggs over the weekend? Well, if you did, I thought you might like something to put them in. How about a cute little basket that coordinates perfectly with our Free Hippity Hop Printable Easter Collection?!

Just click on the image below, download it to your desktop and let the Easter fun begin!

This give away has ended.

{Tips & Hints} Homemade Playdoh Filled Easter Eggs

Lately I've been wracking my brain to come up with new ideas for things to put into the Easter eggs we will be hiding this year for our egg hunt. Not all the children attending are allowed to eat sweets (and that's probably good thing given that most of them will be under 3.) So other than the standard Cheerios and Animal Crackers what's a good hostess to do?!

How about homemade playdoh??!!! You can't beat the price and it's fun to make!

For this you will need the following....

- hollow plastic Easter eggs
- hot glue gun
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup boiling water
- 2 tbsp cream of tartar
- 1/2 cup salt
- 1 tbsp oil
- food coloring

First heat up your glue gun and put a dab of hot gun in each hole in your eggs. Add the dab from the inside of the egg and make sure to have a piece of paper or cloth under the egg when you do it because some of the glue will go straight through the hole. This will seal the holes and help keep the playdoh fresh.

Next mix together all your ingredients. Stirring at first and then once they are blended begin kneading the dough as it cools.

If you want to make multiple colors break the dough into pieces and roll into balls.

Insert your thumb into the center of each ball and then add a generous amount of food coloring.

Knead the food coloring into the dough until it is fully mixed in.

Roll pieces of the playdoh into balls and insert into your eggs.

And there you have it! A fun egg-filler option for your hunt!!

{Give Away and Disaster Relief Fundraiser} Hippity Hop Easter Collection!!!

Let's be honest, being a mommy is hard work. We want to create the best memories possible for our children and that takes time to plan and work to organize and money to help create the magic. And with Easter just around the corner, some of us busy mommies are scrambling to put together a memorable occasion and not break the bank. (We'll leave the bank breaking for the birthday parties, right?!) 

Well, what would you say if I told you that not only could I help you with a little of the planning and the budget but that you could ALSO help others at the same time? 

Does that pique your interest? Are you just a liiiiiittle bit curious?? 

Today I am GIVING AWAY (that's right... for FREE!) our Hippity Hop Easter Collection!! All you have to do is "like" Gwynn Wasson Designs on Facebook and then leave a comment on this post with your email address (or email me at Gwynn {at} GwynnWassonDesigns.com and let me know that you liked us) and I will send you our ENTIRE EASTER COLLECTION!!

AND... are you ready for this??! Here's the best part. For each person that "likes" us on Facebook we will DONATE 25 CENTS to the American Red Cross FOR DISASTER RELIEF IN JAPAN!

So let's embrace the spirit of Easter together. The spirit of rebirth and renewal. And have a good time doing it!! 

This collection includes all of the following items... 

- Fill-In Invitation

- 2" Party Circles (4 designs)

- Blank Table Labels (4 designs)

- Treat Table Sign

- Cupcake Wrappers (4 designs)

- Thank You Tags

- Decorative Paper (4 designs)

Pretty good package, right?! (Just because it's free doesn't mean it has to be skimpy!)

The collection was SO MUCH FUN to design that I just HAD to do a photo shoot with it!  

It was pretty easy to throw together because all the dessert items were purchased at national chain stores...

- Cake Pops from Starbucks

- Roller Pops and Chocolate Bunnies for Cost Plus World Market

- Cupcakes and Peeps from Ralphs

- Merengues from Albertsons

And several other items came from the always fabulous Michaels...

- Moss

- Baskets

- Ribbon

- Lollipop Sticks

The kids had a blast on their a tremendous sugar high, followed by a fabulous crash afterward (thank goodness!! They both really needed a nap after all that fun!) And we had a great time running around with them.

I hope that this  collection not only helps a lot of people in Japan, but also helps you create some wonderful memories this Easter holiday!!  And, I look forward to "meeting" you all over on Facebook very soon!!

[NOTE: If you have not received the collection within 36 hours, please first check your spam and then if you still cannot locate it please email me directly to let me know.]

*** This Give Away is now closed ***

Thank you everyone for helping us to raise $178.25!!