Sharon, over at Red Geranium Cottage, has finally received my package of goodies for the cupcake swap, so I think it's safe to reveal what I sent to her. I wanted to give her a cupcake party in a box, and she received the following: Funfetti cake mix, Funfetti frosting (I wanted to send her the pink one, but I could only find vanilla, so I had to settle for that), pink cupcake wrappers with pink polka dots (can't send out something without some polka dots involved somewhere now can I?), a small Martha Stewart cupcake take-out box (in case Sharon wants to give a few of those cupcakes to her neighbors), four adorable little cupcake candles to light up her party, a cupcake banner, and, last, but not least, a cupcake hat (you can't have a party without a party hat now, can you?), and I knew Sharon would be brave enough to wear it, at least once! She didn't disappoint me either. Take a peek at Sharon's blog and see how fab she looks in it! 
Cupcake P-A-R-T-Y Banner
This is made from a 4-ply paper for the backing which I traced a whole cupcake pattern on.to Next, I cut out various papers with stripes to resemble cupcake wrappers. Polka-dotted (there's those pesky polka-dots again) and glittered papers were used to look like frosting with non-pareils and sugar coating. Of course, you can't have a cupcake without a cherry on top - those were made with red foil holographic paper. The frosting part of the cupcake was also outlined with silver glitter just to add a little extra sparkle. Letters were printed off the computer and backed with a crepe paper streamer that I gathered up on the sewing machine. I used spray adhesive to attach the papers and then weighted it down with heavy books for a couple of hours to make sure it was going to hold. It's a good idea to put a sheet of waxed paper between the paper and books to make sure they don't stick together. When it was all done I put paper tabs on the back and strung a ribbon through. It can easily be folded flat for easy storage. I do love to make banners, and it this was a lot of fun!
Cupcake HatNow on to the hat! Believe it or not, I purchased just about everything I used to make the hat at Walmart. This included an 8" round kraft box, lots and lots of pins with white tops on them, paper in various shades of pink, a
Martha Stewart hydrangea punch (I also use her glitter because it's really good and comes in lots of nice colors), and an 8" half styrofoam ball for the frosting. The cupcake wrapper, lining, foam cushion, and ribbon were out of my stash. The cherry on top is made from a styrofoam ball, painted red, glittered and attached with a piece of floral wire. The wrapper is made from several strips of paper that I accordian folded. I'd tell you exactly how to make this hat, but I'm afraid I would bore you to death, so if you really want to know, just ask. I've made lots of hats and crowns, each one different, but all are great fun to create. Just let your imagination go wild!
S.W.A.K.
PLEASE MISTER POSTMAN, LOOK AND SEE
IS THERE A LETTER IN YOUR BAG FOR ME?
WHY'S IT TAKIN' SUCH A LONG TIME
FOR ME TO HEAR FROM THAT BOY OF MINE
C'MON DELIVER THE LETTER, THE SOONER THE BETTER
...and the winner is... Jen? Hey, look everyone, it's Jen! Jen, you won! It just goes to show that persistence pays off. :) There were only two correct guesses as to what Frannie was going to be this Halloween. Deb of Cucaroo made the other correct guess. Great try Deb!
The correct answer is Glinda from "The Wizard Of Oz". I am using Simplicity pattern #4139. Here are most of the components for the costume. I didn't include the interfacing, thread, wooden dowel or cardboard. Now I just have to get started. It has to be completed by October 24th as that is the evening of the school's annual Halloween party. The part I like least is cutting out, not to mention how I feel about tulle! Does anyone like working with tulle?!! But that crown - OH, how I love to make crowns! And this one is so sparkly, and how about Glenda's magic wand - I'm looking forward to that too! Progress reports to follow.
Have You Seen These?
Mother-To-Be Crowns
This was our spring bonnet craft. We took really large circles of paper and glued big doilies underneath to represent lace. Then the girls decorated the tops with paper flower shapes. Crepe paper streamers were used as ribbons to tie under their chins. I think they're ready for a stroll down Fifth Avenue!
Here's what they look like from the back. This would make a really fun craft for a girl's birthday party. (Can you tell which one Frannie is? I'll give you a hint - she's the one with the polka-dot thermos - but you knew that already, didn't you?!)
Or maybe a bouquet of flowers is more your thing. For Valentine's Day we made tissue paper nosegays for the children to bring home for their moms. We used tissue paper rounds that I pre-cut, pipe cleaners, small round doilies as the nosegay holder, and ribbon. Now that's sweet!
The children get so excited when they see me come into the class because they know we are going to make something special. They have no idea how happy they make me! They're already asking about what we'll make this Halloween. I'd better get busy!
A hand-embroidered pillow with a side opening. Black and white polka-dot :) ribbons are fed through button holes and then tied into bows to keep it closed. I used a Mary Engelbreit fabric for the backing.
Cupcake P-A-R-T-Y Banner
Cupcake Hat
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