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Pickles & Chapstick

Pickles & Chapstick: April 2011

Friday, April 29, 2011

Modern day fairy tale

Check out Ginger Rae for my thoughts on the royal wedding.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Hip Mama's Day ideas..

Check out Ginger Rae for some hip mama gifts for Mother's Day!

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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Suffering from Royal Wedding Fever?


It's the perfect excuse to get your friends together and have a party! Check this out for some ideas!

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Thursday, April 21, 2011

Funfetti gets the party started





I'm not sure when or how it started but for the past 4+ years I've been the one in charge of cupcakes for friend's birthdays. Over the years I've made several different kinds but the kind that people prefer are the Funfetti. Yes, box mixes are the easy way out but if it's your birthday... your wish is my command. If you want the Pillsbury Funfetti cupcakes... you will get them!

Little Victoria turned 22 yesterday. So for her birthday she asked for Funfetti cupcakes. I wanted to make homemade icing but between my work load and my constant exhaustion that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. I broke down and bought the already made vanilla icing. I found a huge thing of pastel colored sprinkles for 2 bucks at Target. I bought the Hershey chocolate shell to drizzle over the sprinkled cupcakes. I thought about making a mini strung birthday banner for the cupcakes but opted to make mini pastel colored flags instead and bought sticker letters to spell out happy birthday. To finish it off I bought trick sparkler candles. The cupcakes were a hit!

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Wednesday, April 20, 2011

here comes peter cotton tail...




I wanted to do something Easter-ish for my co-workers but didn't want to spend a lot of money. Instead of buying a basket I decided to use an old gift bag. I just cut the top of it off. I'm not a fan of the yucky plastic Easter grass so for the past few years I use old shredded paper. I also like to reuse the plastic eggs. I filled the "basket" with pretzels, jelly beans and Hershey kisses. To make the bag look more festive I created a bunny behind with white and orange paper and on the other side made a little sign. BAM! There's the perfect inexpensive Easter basket! I spent maybe 4 bucks on the entire project.

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Thursday, April 14, 2011

birthdays & crumbs cupcakes

Yesterday was my mom's birthday. Instead of buying her something that she would probably not use or buy a gift card that she'll comment "why did you spend your money?" I opted to buy her something that she would have to eat. If you know Heidi you know the woman has a sweet tooth.
Last month I sent my Jim Bob (my father) a six pack of Crumbs cupcakes for his birthday and he LOVED it. He loved it so much he called me when he got the cupcakes, then called me after he ate each one.
Sending Heidi cupcakes was a great idea except by the time she got them it was late at night and they had to defrost. They were a hit back in PA because everyone marveled at their size, how beautiful they looked, etc. Also, it seems that Heidi shared her cupcakes with everyone Oma, Opa, Uncle Danny, her fiance John, the mailman. I wouldn't be surprised if the cats got a piece of the action. What's the moral of this story? Sending Crumbs Cupcakes is the perfect present for people who love sweets and haven't experienced an over sized beautiful cupcake before!

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Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Welcome!



If you were starting a new job wouldn't you like a "welcome on board" gift? I would! Especially if it involved snacks! So that's what I decided to do for the new hires that will start shortly. I took a few of the company coffee mugs, bought some pretzels, and gum. I wanted to create a cute welcome on board card. I found this vintage postcard online. Found a vintage plane and banner and BAM! It all came together. I printed out a smaller version of the card and put it in each mug. These new hires better like these or else I'm shoving their heads in the toilet and giving them swirlys! Just kittens I wouldn't do that to them on their first day of work.

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