Carrots, anyone?

In completely random, celebrity/vegetable related news...

Right now, Mr. Cupcake is in the middle of a conference at a swanky Upper East Side hotel. He checked in earlier this afternoon and who was waiting to check in behind him? Freakin' Carrot Top!

And, yes, apparenly he is that freakishly buff. Crazy, right?! I love New York!

The countdown begins...

For some reason, I am having a hard time believing that I will be the proud leasee of a brand new apartment in Dallas in just 5 days. 5 more days! I keep waiting for it all to sink in, but my brain is having none of it. Maybe I really am a Jersey Girl at heart (minus the big hair, save for a few years that began with what I kindly refer to as The Great Dippity-Do Gel Crisis of 1992). Even though our years spent living in Philadelphia felt more like home to us than New York ever did, there is something so oddly comforting about spending time in the area you grew up. Nostalgia is a crazy thing.

I'm spending today running last minute errands and getting most of our miscellaneous things we're not taking on the plane packed up to ship out. It really is amazing what two people can accumulate in just a month! My favorite little thing, by FAR, is my new studio/office companion:

In what I can only imagine would be the immortal words of Comic Book Guy,
"Best... Bobblehead... Ever."
Viva La Office!!

Long time, no blog!

I have been so wrapped up in our move that I've let the blogging momentum slip a little... not anymore!

Last week we flew down to Dallas to get a feel for where we wanted to live (Mr. Cupcake needs to be near the airport and I didn't want to be too far from downtown). We found a beautiful loft just outside of the city. The kitchen alone makes the move worth it. Just think of all the actual cupcakes I can bake and dough I can roll out on that huge island countertop?!

The pictures of my new studio didn't come out very well because of the lighting but once we're moved in I'll definitely show you a peek into where I spend my days surrounded by cute ribbons!

Otherwise I've been spending my time working on orders and tying up our loose ends up here in New Jersey. It is hard to believe that in a little more than a week, we'll be moving! Time sure files.

Something to keep in mind as you plan your shopping -- The store will be closing on 9/30 and not reopening until 10/15. All orders need to be in no later than 9/29 in order to be shipped before the move.

The good news? All headbands and cute hair clips are 20% off until we close next week! Stock up now on all of your favorites because I can promise they will not be this cheap again anytime soon. No coupon code is needed... the sale prices are already displayed on the site.

Tomorrow I'm planning to scope out some of the local craft fairs. It will be nice to be able to stroll around without having to run back to my own booth, and even nicer that there is no heavy tent-and-table-lifting involved for once. Plus, we want to soak up as much cool weather as we can since we won't be seeing 60-70 degrees again for months!

Yehaw! Or something like that.......

Well, it is finally official so I can let you all in on the little secret that I've had to keep quiet about for months now. The Creative Cupcake is moving to Dallas! Mr. Cupcake had a unique opportunity to make a big career decision over the past week and the position he decided to accept is based in Texas. When I was a little girl watching episodes of Dallas with my mother, I never could have imagined that someday I would be living near the Ewings!

The move is going to be a long process - we're leaving our current apartment this week and will be heading for temporary housing for about a month, then we'll make the big jump half-way across the country sometime in October. Because of the space limitations and timing, we won't be doing some of our favorite local New Jersey shows (sorry Ridgewood and Red Bank!!). In an effort to maintain my sanity, I will keep the store open and running as long as possible but with a somewhat limited product line. I haven't decided exactly what will stay and what will go just yet, but I will keep you posted.

So if you are one of our Dallas customers, drop me a line and tell me about your favorite places to shop, eat and enjoy life. We know next to nothing about the city and Mr. Cupcake and I are excited about making Dallas our new home!

Now, if I can only figure out how to get my hair to maintain proper Texan-sized volume.........

How cute is this?!

I've been working on some new bow designs and even though this is a take off of the McKenna, I think it is so cute. And I'm not even a "big bow" person. I'm going to be offering this style in 3-4 other color combinations, including pink and green (our favorite!!). Stay tuned... I should have them added to the site and ready to buy early next week!

We recently found out something that could be very exciting for the future of The Creative Cupcake. The down side? I can't say a peep about it until everything is finalized. Very unfair, I know, but I wanted to mention it so those of you reading the blog (Bueller?) could send out good karma vibes our way. I'm finding it hard to type at my normal speed while my fingers are crossed!

Day trip!!

It has come to our attention that both Mr. Cupcake and I are completely stressed out and not the most fun and upbeat people to be around lately. Aside from some personal/family things we have been dealing with, we both have been spending entirely too much time at work and have developed a bad habit of bringing our work "home" with us. The fact that my studio is actually what should be our dining room and has slowly taken over half of our living room doesn't help the cause. Plus, Mr. Cupcake has been putting in some extra time at the pharmacy so we can have a little extra money until my fall show schedule starts up again, so I think he deserves some R&R.

So what is a fun, young couple with no extra money to travel to do? Enter - The Day Trip! I've designated this Saturday as our Official Day of Fun, Emergency Edition. The rules are simple.

• The day must be spent outside of our home.
  
• Location of outing(s) may not be more than 1 1/2 hours away since sitting in traffic is certainly not fun.
  
• Both of us must agree on the day's activities and meals, since it is no fun to spend hours doing something you don't enjoy.
  
• NO talking about work or our families!!!

And that's about it. Some of these rules may be more tricky to follow than others, but considering the sorry state of our moods, drastic action must be taken. Stay tuned for a full report next week!

Busy as a...well... you know!

I have been working all day on getting product photos reshot and edited - they look spectacular, if I do say so myself! While I loved my dear old green grass background, I think the products just *pop* more this way. I have quite a bit more to do, but I feel like I'm finally getting somewhere!

If you visit the site, you'll notice that items come and go and categories may shift around -- that's just me working behind the scenes. I hope to have everything fully up and running (save for a few products) by this Friday. I know, I can't believe it either!

The Sampler!

We at the Creative Cupcake love The Sampler.What exactly is it? Each month, indie crafters, artists, shops, zines and record labels (that's me...sort of) who run web-based businesses send samples and promotional materials to Marie, the Sampler Goddess. She photographs all the samples, posts them to the site and then are doles them out, put in little packages and sent off to Sampler Subscribers, other Sampler Contributors and members of the media!

I'm so excited that our Mini Calla Clips will be featured in the August edition! Every time I've received a Sampler in the past, it has been chock-full of fun and fabulous samples of everything from jewelry and buttons to pins and stationery - and just about everything in between. I'm always so happy to find new independently owned businesses with great products.
Subscriptions go on sale TODAY @ 10AM & 4PM Pacific time. If you love supporting independent businesses, go to the site and buy one. But be warned, they go super fast!!

Drumroll, please!

Since my site is still down and I can't edit the things I need to, I've had some extra time to work on some cute new designs to add as part of my regular collection. Introducing... the McKenna Bow!

These bows were inspired by my friend Sharra's youngest daughter McKenna - who, ironically, still has no hair. She's a southern girl, you see, and they like their bows big in the south. I, on the other hand, just cannot understand putting a big ol' bow on a poor little baby's head. I just can't do it. When we travel and I see the little girls sitting in their strollers with their heads leaning to one side because their bow is just too big, I have to laugh. As I always say about my beautiful but uncomfortable designer shoes, "It's fashion, not function!"

The McKenna bow will come in 4 different sizes (for Yankees and Southerns alike) and depending on the size, over 35 different ribbon choices!

Just my luck!

Tomorrow is my cousin Marissa's high school graduation party. I was excited when I got the invitation in the mail and saw that it was going to be at Jenkinson's in Point Pleasant. I simultaneously felt incredibly old and had the urge to run to Saks and buy Creme de la Mer eye balm.

It was 8 years ago that I graduated high school. Man, that makes me feel old. It somehow seems like yesterday and a lifetime ago all at once. As I constantly remind Mr. Cupcake... At least I will always be younger than him. Even if it is only by 9 months.

I was excited to go down to Point Pleasant for a couple of reasons. First, I spent most of my summer vacations there with my family. We'd stay for the week at the Surfside Motel, which back in the 80's was bright pink. I was sad when they painted it beige years ago. It was like it lost some of it's charm. And I use that term loosely. I feel like there is something so familiar about Point and so much of it hasn't changed in years. For example, always park and find a spot near the jetty - there are less crazy tourist/boardwalk people there and I happen to like my waves a little choppier. And the little cafe/breakfast place on Broadway going into town opens around 6 and has the best coffee and eggs.

Another reason I was looking forward to the party was that we would get some quality beach time. Now, I know I don't tan all that well in the summers anymore. At a party last weekend, one of my in-laws said I looked like Snow White, I was so pale. "Not any more!", I thought. Although now, looking out the window, it looks like the weather is going to get the best of me again. Because being steamy hot all week wasn't enough, Mother Nature feels the need to rain on the one day I can actually go to the beach and get some color (slathered up with SPF 45, of course). She's such a woman. At least by staying out of the sun tomorrow, I'll help keep those wrinkles away for a little while longer!