Well Wishes for the Bride and Groom

Happy Wednesday and for those who apply, Happy Wedding Wednesday! I thought I'd share a project I just completed for a Bridal Shower. A while back I had reconnected with an old friend from high school through Facebook (I love FB, by the way). She recently asked me to create a FavorCake for a bridal shower with the colors were lavender and celadon. What a beautiful color combination!

In addition to making the cake serve as a centerpiece and favor boxes for the guests to take home, I wanted to include something special for the bride and groom. With that in mind, I personalized the topper box with the groom and soon-to-be bride's initials and I included some decorative strips of paper for each guest of the bridal shower to write a piece of advice or well wishes for the happy couple.

The host of the shower can then gather everyone's notes and place them in the topper box to give to the bride and groom as a memorable personalized gift from their friends and family.

Thanks for reading. Have a wonderful rest of the week.
FavorCakes by Erica

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Party Favor Friday: That's the Stuff!

When you think of party favors for a child's birthday, you might immediately think of small toys or candy to give to your guests but have you ever considered something a little more "stuffy"? Rita Aceves is the creator of Beary Cute Stuffables, a mom-owned company that allows children to build their own stuffed animal. I recently interviewed Rita to get all the good "stuff" about her business.


What are the advantages of including a stuffing activity with a child's birthday celebration?
One of the advantages is saving money on goody bags. We all know that we spend quite of bit of money on filling those as our thank you for our party guests. Unfortunately, most of these "goodies" end up in the trash or lost at the bottom of a toy box (if not in the car on the way home from the party!). When you schedule a Beary Cute Party, every child will leave with a fun, hands-on activity and a great memorable gift that they helped create.

Our Stuffables are a 3-in-1 solution:
1. The party activity
2. Thank you gift
3. Memorable keepsake

Another advantage is you can offer our stuffing activity in the comfort of your home. If you are local to the Austin area, we're available to host your Beary Cute Party. If you're not local to the Austin area, we also ship our kits nationwide!

You carry a wide range of stuffables and outfits. Is it possible to tailor a Beary Cute Party to fit a certain theme and even a certain budget?
Many parents appreciate our variety of stuffables and outfits at their parties. At the same time, they are welcome to request a certain theme. We have hosted cowboy-theme parties with barnyard animals such as cows, pigs, and horses -- including cowboy and cowgirl outfits! Our party packages begin at only $8 per child, which we feel is very affordable, especially when you consider that this is the cost for the party activity and thank you gift for every child. At parties, we ensure to only make available the party package you request.

How easy is it for a parent or party planner to set up a Beary Cute Party and how far in advance should they plan it?
It's as simple as giving us a call or sending us an email! When you offer us your tentative party date and time, we will inform you of our availability. We will send you (or you can download on our website) our reservation form for you to return to us and directions to place your deposit -- and you will be scheduled! Depending on our availability, we have had parents schedule Beary Cute Parties days before their party. At the same time, we have also had parents schedule their Beary Cute Parties a year or more in advance.

Just for fun, how many stuffing parties would you say your business hosts in one year?
In 2009, we hosted over 35 Beary Cute Parties and delivered/shipped over 20 DIY Beary Cute Parties. In 2010, we have already hosted about 20 Beary Cute Parties.

As a mother, business owner, and fitness instructor I imagine your schedule is full like a lot of us moms. What's the most helpful tip you can offer when it comes to planning a birthday party for your child?
My most helpful tip is to focus on the reason for the celebration -- a birthday. Keeping it simple and focusing on your child's favorite activity is the key for my children's birthday parties. As a mother, it is very tempting for me to want to make large purchases when preparing for my child's upcoming party; yet, some of the best parties I have attended have been small, close-knit parties with best buddies, neighborhood friends, and family. Simple, fun parties are the best!

For more information on Beary Cute Stuffables, please visit their website at www.bearycutestuffables.com

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Order Up! One Under the Sea FavorCake

Happy Monday everyone! It's been a little while since my last blog post. We had a loss in the family last week so my internet activity slowed down considerably but I was still busy working on my FavorCakes.

I love custom orders and this Under the Sea FavorCake was so much fun to create. It will be shipping out today to a home soon to be celebrating a birthday party for a special little girl turning five.

Hopefully we'll get some pictures of how the celebration turns out so we can post them on our blog. In the meantime, FavorCakes wishes everyone a wonderful week.

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Party Favor Friday: Chocolate Bath Salts

With Teacher Appreciation Week coming to an end and Mother's Day approaching, I wanted to find a craft project that would make a thoughtful and relaxing gift for all of the teachers at my daughter's pre-school.

I came across this wonderful recipe for chocolate bath salts at TheMerryChocoholic.com This was incredibly easy to put together and most of the ingredients were already in my kitchen cupboard. My four year old daughter helped mix everything together. The aroma of chocolate smelled so good she kept asking "Are you sure we can't eat this?"

Once complete, we put a few spoonfuls in cellophane bags, sealed them with pretty brown and pink card stock, and topped them off with yellow bows. Here's our finished project.

These chocolate bath salts would make fun favors for a pamper party, ladies luncheon, or girls night in. You can choose decorative card stock to fit your party theme and even print out the recipe for your guests.

Visit us again next Friday for a new party favor craft. Have a great Mother's Day weekend.

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Reading, Writing, and Appreciation

Today kicks off Teacher Appreciation Week. I don't think anyone would argue that everyday should be Teacher Appreciation Day but I'm glad we have a week where everyone can join in unison and do something extra special for our teachers.

I was honored to be asked to create two FavorCakes for the teachers at Scottville Elementary in Michigan. I can't wait to hear how their celebration goes and will post an update on the blog.

In the meantime, here are some clever and tasty ideas from SkiptomyLou.org to say thank you.

• "You are out of this world" tag attached to a Milky Way or Mars candy bar
• "You deserve an extra payday!" tag attached to a Payday candy bar
• "There is no 'sub'stitute for you!" tag attached to a gift card for the local sub shop
• "You are 'extra' special" tag with a pack of Extra Gum
• "We appreciate the 'mounds' of work you do!" tag attached to a Mounds candy bar
• "Thanks a 'latte'!" tag with a gift card from local coffee shop, special coffees or travel mug
• "You are 'souper'! - soup mix, custom decorated soup bowls or homemade soup
• "You are a 'treasure' tag with Treasures candy
• "You are the apple of our eye" with a basket of apples (construction paper leaves with nice sayings---A+ teacher, you're special etc. can be hot glued to the stems)
• "You are 'tea'rrific!" tag with a selection of teas
• "You deserve a 'break' today! Thanks for your hard work" tag with a Fast-Break candy bar or McDonald's gift certificates
• "You are a smart cookie" tag with homemade cookies
• "Thanks for a 'picture' perfect year" tag with movie coupons or nice picture frame
• "You are o'fish'ally the best!" tag attached to Goldfish Crackers
• "We are fortunate to have you!" tag with a Chinese take out box filled with fortune cookies
• "You are a joy!" tag attached to an Almond Joy candy bar
• "You rock!" tag with pop rocks, rock candy, Rock Star soft drink or painted rock for a paperweight
• "We are 'nuts' about you!" tag attached to some nuts
• "You are worth more than a 100 grand to Blake!" tag attached to a 100 Grand candy bar
• "You 'mint' so much to us this year" tag attached to some mints
• "You were 'mint' to be a teacher!" tag attached to some mints
• "You are an 'amazing' teacher" tag attached to an Amazing candy bar

For more Teacher Appreciation gift ideas, visit SkiptomyLou.org

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