{Busy Bee} Frames to Art

"What is art? Are we art? Or is art art?" Gotta love Saved By the Bell...where else would I get such a profound quote? Well...all I know is that I love art and I enjoy creating art! Because I am an art enthusiast, as I did go to school for Art History and have taken my fair share of art classes, it is only obvious that I have a love for beautiful works of art. Therefore, inspired by the paintings of notable artists of the past I have created my own works of art. I have created fun frames by deconstructing reproduced images of noteworthy paintings of the 20th century and putting them together to create a new work of art. Can you guess which artists and paintings are included on the frames?  (Some are definitely easier than others to identify) And can you count the number of times the word, "art", is used in this post?

These frames are fun, funky and fabulous if I say so myself! I love the combination of vibrant colors and different patterns. These are a nice break from the traditional black or brown frames that decorate so many of our homes. Why not add a little fun into our lives and into our homes?

{Sugar Bee} Sweets for Being So Sweet!

Because my parent's have been so great with taking care of my baby while I am at work or if I need to run errands, etc., I thought that Jake and I would give them a little gift to thank them for all that they have done. So Jake and I threw on our aprons and went into the kitchen and whipped up some yummy mint chocolate covered oreos! After the candy making was complete, we threw on some pretty decorations to our treat box and voila! A perfect thank you gift...sweets for being so sweet!

{Busy Bee} Another Awe-Inspiring Read

 Peggy Porschen, British cake artist extroardinaire, has done it again with another incredible cookie and cake decorating book, Simply Spectacular Cakes. This book is the third book to add to my shelf and I have to say she does not disappoint. I am particularly inspired by her cookie recipes and this book contains a few that will knock your socks off...and I will just have to try them out. I especially love her homage to Christian Dior with her 50's inspired little black dress cookie. How perfect would that be for a sweet 16, bridal shower, or a fashionistas birthday party!

If you love this book you will also love her other two books, Beautiful Cakes and Pretty Party Cakes!

{Busy Bee} A Must Have!!!

Bakerella just came out with her much anticipated book, Cake Pops, and I have it! Let me just say that it is FANTASTIC! There are so many instructions for cake pops for any and every occasion. I am so inspired and have no idea which one to try first! So after much debate about which cake pop to try first, I have decided to try the cupake pops and bites because they are just so darn cute and I have a thing for cupcakes. I have a feeling that every party that I design from here on out will just have to have cake pops!

{Sugar Bee} Cookie and Chocolate Heaven

If heaven had a cookie it would probably be a Chocolate Covered Oreo! I am telling you that you will be hooked on these little treats...and like Pringles; "once you pop, you just can't stop"!

I am now selling these delicious cookies that can be custom colored and flavored. Each cookie is covered with chocolate and lightly decorated with a candy coating.

These are wonderful for holidays, birthday parties, gifts, casual get-togethers, or just for a nice mid-day/evening treat!

To view pricing, just go to my "Cookie" page!

If you have any questions, just send me an email.

{Baby Bee} Frank Sinatra Ain't Got Nothin' on Jake Michael!

When my husband and I attended our birthing class only a few weeks before having Jake, we came across this magazine at the doctor's office called, Baby Talk. On the cover of the magazine was this adorable little boy wearing an awesome fedora! Immediately when I got home I had to look online to find the hat and SCORE, I found the hat! This hat can be found at Saige Nicole's Baby and Toddler Boutique.

 

Now I do not know about you...but I happen to think that my baby could have very well been a part of the Rat Pack, he looks so suave...well or at least he can be a part of "Ocean's 14"!

Photography by Joyce from On This Day Photography

{Baby Bee} Dapper Duds

Who would not want their baby to look their best? Especially if they could look debonair and be comfortable all at the same time! After being inspired by "tie onesies" (as I refer to them), I wanted to create this look for my baby boy and his his buddy. They turned out adorable! The best part is that I can make them using an array of patterns for any occasion or to coordinate with any theme, outfit or party!

I even went one step further and created a coordinating burp cloth and bib...now he is dressed to impress for a night out on the town!

Photography by Joyce from On This Day Photography

{Sugar Bee} Ghoulish Goodies

As Halloween approaches, and I am a big fan of this holiday, I have to share these ghoulish goodies that would add so much to a theme party. The cupcakes with ladies' fingers were inspired by Martha Stewart's recipe on her website. Gotta love Martha! They look great, but perhaps are not so appetizing...unless you are a cannibal, and apparently I was because they are delicious (I am really not a cannibal, these are cookies)!

The candy corn cookies are a different take on sugar cookies because they are not covered with icing which is typical of sugar cookies, but instead dipped in white and semi-sweet chocolate! These treats make me very excited for Halloween!

{Baby Bee} Birth Announcements

When Jake Michael was born and I was at home all day long (at times it felt like house arrest and going stir crazy was an understatement), I used my creativity as an outlet and designed his birth announcements. I was inspired by an announcement I saw at the pediatrician's office a few weeks earlier. I loved three of his photographs taken by my friend Joyce from On This Day Photography and I couldn't choose just one so I created three different versions of the announcement!

Then a few weeks later I learned of using photographs to make cards and postcards on the Walgreens website. I of course had to try this out and I came up with this!

I couldn't stop at just announcements, so I made little treats to give out when we had visitors stop by to see our little man. One set had lemonheads and the other had chocolates.

{Busy Bee} On This Day Photography Surprise Baby Photo Shoot

My friend, Joyce, from On This Day Photography came to visit my one month old son, Jake, for the first time since he was born. Not only did she visit, but she insisted that Michael and I go out on a dinner date and she would watch the baby. Well being that it had been a month since we went out to dinner, let alone left the house, we jumped at the chance! Little did I know, Joyce had a little surprise for us the following morning. We awoke to amazing pictures of Jake on her website. She captured our sweet little man beautifully!

{Busy Bee} On This Day Photography Engagement Photo Shoot

When my husband and I got engaged, one of the first things I wanted to do was have engagement photographs taken. These would be photographs that would be used in our wedding slide show, for our party favors, and in our home. Not to mention these would be photographs that our children and grandchildren would look at in the future and see that mom and dad or grandma and grandpa were once young, thin, and hopefully good-looking...or at least decent looking! So I called upon my favorite photographers, Joyce and Beth, from On This Day Photography and we took a day trip to Sedona to take some pictures. The outcome was more than I could have asked for and it was actually really fun once we got the hang of it!

{Party Bee} The Wedding Planner

I love looking back at my wedding pictures and remembering all of the fun and stressful times that were had! Planning a wedding in three months is typically unusual and probably unheard of by most people, but I work well under tight deadlines. Being that I like to be creative and do things myself, I took on a lot of the decorating myself. The wedding program was designed by yours truly, using Microsoft Word and the colors of my wedding.

After searching everywhere for a pretty and not so cheesy envelope box, I simply gave up. Nowhere could I find an envelope box that was going to coordinate with my wedding and did not fold together or was covered with satin and lace. Therefore, I made one that suited me perfectly! I used an undecorated hat box that I got from the craft store, cut out a thin rectangle in the center and painted the box with acrylic paint and coated the paint with a gloss. Then I simply hot glued ribbon and flowers for decoration and a pop of color. Voila!

The flowers were a hurdle that I had to overcome because all of my favorite flowers were either out of season or would not survive the hot Arizona weather. Therefore, I chose to do many of the arrangements using my favorite types of flowers made of silk. But in addition to the silk flowers, I used baby's breath for my bouquet, my bridesmaid's bouquet and to adorn the center of all the tables. I wasn't sure how the look of the two arrangements would work together, but really it turned out quite lovely and today the silk arrangements dress my guest bedroom nicely.

I did not have a place card for all of the guests because I wanted everyone to choose where they wanted to sit. So instead I created place cards using artificial green apples. These apples were to represent the place settings that required the vegetarian dish. It made it easier for the servers and looked quite lovely on the tables!

The photographers did a beautiful job and we have gorgeous photos that decorate our house to remember our special day. Thank you Joyce and Beth for helping create these beautiful memories!

On This Day Photography