Friday Freebie: WE HAVE 100 FOLLOWERS!!!

A few months back I was contacted by a representative with CSN stores to do a review for a product from one of their over 200+ stores.  It took me a while to decide what I wanted to review because there was so much to choose from - you can buy a barstool, a vanity, a crib, a food processor - even a kitchen sink.  Well, I finally got around to ordering when I came across this darling melamine dinner collection by Working Class Studio.

I chose these salad plates in particular because I love the colors and their whimsy. 

Cute - aren't they?  I think I love the pink crown plate most of all.  They'd really add some liveliness to any tablescape if used at a late afternoon sumertime cocktail mixer!

So.....remember yesterday I annonced that I had 99 followers of my blog?  Well it appears that today I finally reached 100!!!!  For today's Friday Freebie, I think it's only fitting that my 100th follower (who happens to write on a blog that I heart) receive this collection of plates as a thank you for following and being awesome.

Congratulations to Michelle with Maddycakes Muse and thank you so, so, much to everyone who reads this blog.  It's a lot of fun for me and I appreciate all the comments and blog friends I've made. 

Check back next week for a big announcement about what's happening in August with Cupcake Wishes & Birthday Dreams!

Have a great weekend!

Friday Freebie: Grab My Button

Seriously for weeks I tried to create a cute blog button.  Well, I designed a bunch- A WHOLE BUNCH - but finally settled on one that I was happy with.  However, the trouble all started when I went to add it to the blog. 

I'm not super technically challenged, I can figure most things out.  The truth is I don't have much patience and occasionally too many directions and steps flusters me; I am an instant gratification type of gal.  I tried and tried but couldn't get it.  Every tutorial that I read just seemed so involved (they probably really weren't involved, it's actually an easy process....).  After finding one that made sense I was able to post the button.

This is the button I designed......I likey:

If you choose to (and I hope you do), you can grab the code - fo' free ;) - to post to your blog - it's located in the side bar ---->

Do you have a button you want to add to Cupcake Wishes & Birthday Dreams????  Leave a comment and include your link!!!

Friday Freebie! Diamond Necklace Mother's Day Giveaway from DRZ Jewlelers!!!!!

 

I'm super busy today cranking out cupcakes for clients, for teachers and for my little man's caterpillar party tomorrow, but I must let you all in on a great giveaway that is going on.

Today's Friday Freebie is being held by a partner and client of mine.  DRZ Jewelers and Quintessential Consulting have partnered up to do a Mother's Day Giveaway. 

If you love diamonds, this is definitely for you - and who doesn't love diamonds?  I worked with Naleli Askew of Quintessential Consulting and DRZ Jewelers last year for their Baubles and Bubbles event and wanted to make sure that my readers got in on the giveaway action!  Plus I promised Naleli I'd blog about it ;)

DRZ Jewelers is located in Washington DC and they have the most unique bling'd out pieces I've ever seen.  In fact I'll be going there today to drop off some delicious Mimosa cupcakes!  If you live in the DC area or are ever in town, please stop by DRZ Jewelers to check out their beautiful jewelry.  If you're not sure what to look for in quality, contact Naleli - she has worked in the jewelry industry for over ten years and has a keen eye for quality and style!

Click here for more details on the Mother's Day Giveaway!

Friday Freebie! Giveaway Winner and a Royal Prize Package

The winner of the Disney's Princess and The Frog DVD Giveaway is....

Nancy, along with the majority of the contestants answered the triva question correctly.  Anika Noni Rose, voice of Princess Tiana from the movie are both native Connecticutonians (isn't that a mouthful).  Congratulations, Nancy on your win!!!

Okay - so, I'm totally riding the whole Princess and The Frog wave here.  I mentioned before that I don't really like character theme parties, but my girl was insistant. So, I designed a Tiana and frogs to use for the decorations I made.  Everything is custom made.  Actually, I'm still in the process of making decorations for The Mini Diva's party and expect to be wrapped up with all the essentials this weekend.  So, I thought it would only be fitting to share the wealth!  I made a bunch of extra items and decided to use them for this giveaway!  So, today's Friday Freebie will be a custom party pack courtesy of yours truly!  The party pack is valued at $90!!! 

Here's a peek at what you'll get:

In the party pack you'll receive:

8 Fill-in invitations

8 Fill-in Thank You Cards

8 Party Hats

1 Happy Birthday Banner

12 Cupcake Toppers

1 Welcome Sign

8 Treat Bag Toppers

8 Napkin wraps

8 water bottle wraps

I keep saying that I'm going to open an Etsy store to sell my wares, I mean, why not!  

To enter the giveaway you must follow this blog or become a follower.  You also have to leave a comment as to why you would like to win.  A winner will be selected by random and announced in the next Friday Freebie post.  The contest will end on Thursday, March 25th at  11:59 pm.

GOOD LUCK!!!
 

Friday Freebie: Calling All Princesses & Frogs!!!!

The Winner is......

Yeaaaaaahhhhh!!!!!

Tori is the winner of a Carrot Cupcake Kit complete with all the fixin's.  Tori, please contact me within 72 hours to recieve your prize, and congratulations!

Sorry, I'm posting so late today, but I've been busy!  This week's giveaway is for all the princesses of the world. I was doing a lil' shopping online today for The Mini Diva's party.  While shopping, I ordered her a copy of Disney's Princess and the Frog which comes out on Tuesday the 16th.  Not only did I pick one up for her, but I also got an extra copy for ONE LUCKY FOLLOWER!!!!.

To qualify you must follow or become a follower of my blog AND partake in a bit of trivia.  Answer the following question and post your answer in a comment.  What do Anika Noni Rose, the voice of Tiana in Disney's Princess and the Frog and I have in common?  (Here's a hint....it's all about location) Good Luck!!!!

Now, I can probably guess that most of ya'll won't have a clue what the answer is, but here's another way to find out; re-post my giveaway on your blog OR on your Facebook page (send me a link with your post and leave it in the comments section) and I'll give you another hint. 

Contest ends on Thursday, March 18th at 11:59 pm and a winner will be announced in the next post on Friday March 19th.

OOOOH, I love games!  Good Luck!!!!

Friday Freebie, Giant Marshmallows and the Winner is.....

YEAHHH!!!! Congratulations!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations on your win!!!  Be sure to contact me via email within 72 hours to recieve your prize!  (BTW - my favorite cupcake flavor is chocolate with chocolate buttercream).

Okay, so a few weeks back Vanessa, from A Fanciful Twist, one of the blogs I heart, posted this about her love for candy and for her mama!  Well, get this - she's got pics of these GIGANTE marshmallows on there and The Mini Diva looooooves marshmallows. 

So, I emailed Vanessa to ask where she bought them because I've never seen giant marshmallows.  Here's the thing, Miss Vanessa lives in Arizona and I found out they were not readily available in my area.  I even looked up the company and emailed them too - but no response.  My giant marshmallow search was halted.....until (bless her sweet little magical heart), a few days later she emailed me back and said she was sending some in the mail!  I was so moved by her generousity - it really touched me.  Plus I knew the Mini Diva would be so happy.

So, you can only imagine my excitement when the mail dude dropped this off:

....a squishy package that smelled like sugar heaven!

She even included a little note card from her Mad Tea Party collection!

 

And look at the happiness!!!

I looove my munchkins!

If you haven't ever been over to Vanessa's blog - A Fanciful Twist - please check it out.  It's on the top of my blog feed and each time I go there it makes me happy.  Not only do you get to delve into her world of whimsy, cheer and magic - but you get to see her amazing creativity and artistry.  Truly, it's a little dollop of instant giggle!

I've got another Friday Freebie for ya!  I collected a few items from Michael's earlier for my daughter's birthday party (coming up in April) when I came across this:

This here is the whole cupcake kit and kaboodle - literally.  It has everything anybunny (tee-hee) would need to make fun & delicious cupcakes for Easter.  I would keep them for myself, but I'm a bit of a ready-made cake mix snob.  Hey!  I like to make my confections from scratch, man!  But why let that stop me from sharing some cupcake love with my fabulous readers.

So, here's how you can enter to win.

1. You must follow my blog or sign up to follow.
2. Post a comment here about why you would like to win today's giveaway.

Double Entries EACH when you:

• Post a link about the contest on your blog, Facebook OR Twitter Pages (make sure you let me know when you do this).
• Leave a comment AND become a fan on the Cupcake Wishes & Birthday Dreams Facebook page. 
• Follow me on Twitter AND tweet #CWBD Cupcake Kit Giveaway. 

The giveaway ends on Wednesday, March 10 at 11:59 PM.  A winner will be chosen at random and announced on Friday, March 12th.  The winner has 72 hours after being announced to contact me or they forfeit their prize.  If a prize is forfeited, there will be another random drawing where a new winner is announced.

Thanks and GOOD LUCK!

Friday Freebie!!! Hello Cupcake Book & Apron Giveaway

Happy Friday! 

Today's Friday freebie is the book that kinda sorta started it for me.  When I first sent away for Hello Cupcake it was after I'd came up with a brilliant idea to make hat shaped cupcakes for my friend's Big Hat Birthday Bruch. 

(Never before seen cupcakes - it was a hot day and the frosting melted on the way to the brunch :( -- but they were SOMEKINDAGOOD!)

After a lot of encouragement from some of the party guests, I decided to try my hand at baking (BTW, I wasn't always the best baker - I've improved by leaps and bounds), start a business making fun cupcakes (initially - now I do total party planning - insane) So, I purchased the book Hello Cupcake and really got inspired. 

The various decorating techniques explained in the book have really helped me learn the basics.  As far as some of the more fun cupcakes in the book, I can't say I've really made them. I've always just let creativity be my guide and do my own thing. 

Still, I think this book is really fun and is a great starting point for the do-it-yourself party person or cupcake lovah.  So, I am offering the book along with a cupcake printed apron that I purchase from Home Goods to one lucky winner.  

There are several ways to enter and with each entry you have an extra chance to be in the running!

Enter thisaway:

1. Follow my blog & leave a comment telling me you favorite cupcake flavor(s).
2. Become a Facebook Fan of Cupcake Wishes & Birthday Dreams and be sure you leave a comment under the contest post. 
3. If you have a blog post a link back to this post about the giveaway and leave a comment or email me when you do. 
4. Follow me on Twitter @kikikens and re-tweet a link about the contest and be sure you mention #CWBD GIVEAWAY.
5. Automatic Triple Dog Dare Entry: Guess my favorite cupcake flavor and leave your guess in the comments section. 

Rules:
The contest ends at Midnight on 3/1/2010.  Winner will be chosen using random.org and announced in the next 'Friday Freebie' post on 3/3/2010.  You will have 72 hours after the announcement to claim your prize or you end up forfeiting.  Another winner will then be chosen again at random.

Thanks for reading, Happy Friday & Good Luck!!!!

Friday Freebie!

I am so excited!  Okay - a few weeks ago I sat down and wrote a few New Year's Intentions (instead of resolutions, as one should never be resolved; resolution is just too finite and intentions are more forgiving :) ) - was to come up with four to five new daily blog features.  Well I came up with six and I'm still trying to figure out how to work at least four of the six into my weekly blogging routine.  In the meantime, the easiest and most rewarding feature will be the 'Friday Freebie'!!! 

Every Friday (pray for me), I will post/announce a free giveaway or contest for all my VIPP's (Very Important Party People).  If you aren't sure what a VIPP is - it's YOU - my devoted readers who follow my blog....and thank you for doing so, I really do appreciate it.  BTW, if  you aren't following my blog, please do so by clicking the 'Follow' button to your right under the VIPP section.

This week's Friday Freebie are my very first printable tags for St. Patrick's Day that you can download here. Once you cut them (a 1.5" - 2" circle punch should work), use them as tags for treat bags, cupcake toppers or print them out on sticker paper.  These are images I created myself and I hope you enjoy them.  Other than posting a link to this post on your blog, I ask that you do not redistribute or try to sell them (because I'm certain they'll go for top-dollar on the black market ;) ).


Enjoy!!!