Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Just a quick note to wish everyone a very happy St. Patrick's day.  It's a busy one for us, since this is my daughter's first year performing as an Irish step dancer.

I have very fond memories of St. Patrick's Day from my many years as a step dancer, myself.  The crazy schedule of running around from performance to performance, the enthusiastic crowds, and of course, getting out of school.

Me, somewhere in the late 80s judging by the hair and style of my solo dress, at the Oireachtas (say oh-ROCK-tus, a major regional competition).

 This year, my daughter gets to start making those memories.  And I get to be her chauffeur.  I think I need to put a thank-you call to my mom on today's to-do list.

Our schedule will be back to normal tomorrow.  In the meantime, here's a little sneak peek of a project I completed recently, an April Fool's Day party that will debut on The TomKat Studio.

I'll be sure to mention it here when that post goes live on TomKat!  So excited!

Sneak Peek: Harry Potter Cookies

Looking for the Harry Potter cookies?  This post (along with the rest of the blog) has moved to its new home at Tikkido.com.

Harry Potter sugar cookies: a broom, an owl, and the sorting hat.

A Busy, Busy Couple Days

Hi Everyone--

Between massive computer issues and prepping for a big party tomorrow, my blogging is going to suffer this week.  I'll be back on Monday with a ton of new content.  I wish I could show you a sneak peek of what I'm working on, but those photos self-destructed right along with my computer.  Good thing I have backups!  I just don't have time to reinstall them all, or a viable machine to put them on at the moment.  

I do have this, one of the inspiration pictures I used when designing the party.  Can you guess?

Featured at Frog Prince Paperie

Head over to the fabulously inspiring Frog Prince Paperie blog for a guest post I wrote on tips for making your very own genuine gingerbread house.  Paula from Frog Prince Paperie wrote a wonderful blog post last week about her adventures making her very first (spectacular!) gingerbread house.  She truly did a marvelous job, and figured out a lot of great insights about the process in her first attempt.

My family has made thousands of gingerbread houses over the years.  We've made every mistake possible, and have figured out a few tips through trial and error that make gingerbread baking go smoothly.  Head over and check it out!   While you're there, stop by the shop to see their amazing printables.  Such marvelous designs!

And you see that decorated gingerbread house in the picture?  That just happens to be a little sneak peak for a party I'm putting together in just a few days.  Keep an eye on the blog for tons of photos, festivities, and how-tos in the weeks ahead!

Sneak Peak: Swarovski Rhinestone Napkin Rings

More napkin rings!  (Told you I was on a kick.)

Here's a little sneak peak of a product we'll soon be offering at Tradewind Tiaras.  I love the concept of napkin rings, but I've always thought it's too bad that most napkin rings are made out of such sub-standard materials.    They're pretty expensive, too, especially considering that they're made from just a few cents worth of plastic crystals!  So dissapointing.

Out of desperation, I made my own.  They are so sparkly, so special.  They have that fire and flash only Swarovski can add.  High quality materials really do make all the difference in the world!

We'll be offering them for sale, of course, but we'll also be offering them to rent!  If you love the look, but don't have the budget for all 150 of your guests, we'll have a very affordable rental option to help dress up your table settings!  Watch the Tradewind Tiaras website for them soon!

Sneak Peak: Tiaras for a Fairy Birthday Party

My oldest daughter is turning seven next month, and when she settled on a fairies theme for her birthday party, I couldn't have been more excited.  We're using the fairy stories and traditions of Cornwall as our inspiration, to give the party a twist on all the other fairy-themed parties out there.

I'm just bursting with ideas and plans, and will post about the party once it's over.  My justification for posting here, beyond wanting to share what I've been working so hard on, is that a ton of the projects I'm undertaking would be perfect for the DIY bride.  But for now, I just wanted to give a little sneak peak of one of the details I've been working on.

All the little girls who attend the party will get their own fairy tiara, complete with entwined silver vines and Swarovski crystals:

Twelve little tiaras, all in a row.

I couldn't resist the opportunity to dress up for the party myself, and of course I needed a tiara for my costume:

It's a six-year-old girly-girl's dream to have a tiara-designing mom who buys Swarovski crystals by the 10 gross package.