{DIY} Luau Cupcake Idea

These are definitely not any ordinary cupcakes....
(not that anything is ordinary from Bakerella!)

We have been getting a lot of orders for our luau invitations, and so when we saw these posted on Danielle's AFOMT blog (who spotted them on Bakerella), we knew we had to share them with you! They are pineapple cupcakes with mango frosting!

Check out bakerella's site and she gives full instructions on how to make these beauties.

Pair those cupcakes with either of these luau invitations... This boarding pass invitation...



or these luau invitations... from our shop!

Decorate with a custom personalized flip flop banner (new style added to the shop)... and you have yourself in hawaiian paradise!

Aren't they just so cute and unique! Great job, again, Bakerella!

{DIY} Luau Cupcake Idea

{GIVEAWAY} Custom Shirt from Smitten & Company!

I'm so excited about this giveaway! I fell in love with Smitten & Company when I saw one of our client's son's wearing a personalized shirt. (Remember?) Ever since, I have had my eye on their shop for a couple months now. I would bet that most of you have seen/ heard of Tara, the owner of Smitten & Co, because people all over purchase her unique shirts for so many reasons! I have seen them in pictures all over the blog-o-sphere! She has almost every theme you could think of for a party. Tara designs and sells everything from burp cloths, bibs, dresses, long and short sleeved shirts, onesies, and the list goes on.

Look at some of the most stylish models (her daughter being one of them!) (Check out her blog for even more photos!)

If you know me (Maureen), I am all about coordinating EVERYTHING for a party (partyzilla, yes!) Shopping on Smitten & Company makes it easy to pick an adorable (and affordable!) quality shirt with a super stylish motif and name/monogram. I know my kids are going to love getting one for every fun occasion from now on! ;-)

I love Tara's style. You will see that lots of her shirts nicely pair with our designs in our shop. I think Tara and Adria and I would be 3 peas in a pod if we lived in the same area! Similar styles and the love of everything personalized/coordinated...

I can think of a million uses for her shirts!
- Sibling shirts
- Big brother, little brother shirts
- Birthday party shirts
- Shirts for a special trip (She has some adorable ones for Disney!)
- Gifts - baby, birthday, just because!
- Marathon support shirts!
- Family coordinating shirts
- Special occasion shirts
- .... the list goes on!

I think she has so many great designs. I can't wait to hear what everyone else loves. How adorable are these... (can you say "sweet celebration" matchup completely!?)


So, if you have ordered/plan on ordering our popular
gumball invitation (comes in all sorts of colorways!),
you HAVE to see how well her gumball motifs coordinate!

See her gumball designs!? So fun! These are my favorites, I think!

And lets throw in some cutie models....
Or even something chic and monogrammed like...

Oh, and check these cuties out.... It is hard to find cute boy stuff that is personalized (especially when you have a 5 year old and you still want to dress them in Jon Jons but your husband won't let you!)
Those coordinate so well with our invitations, too! We sell tons of train invitations... now we know where to tell our clients to head for their shirts!

Or the airplane boarding ticket invitations we have.. check out how CUTE these would be!
(can you tell I have boys?)

If you like the softer, but still boy tones, check out these beauties...
Oh, and the ice cream cone design... I love the rectangle versions she has, too....
Ok... I think I've shown you my favs... we wanna hear yours!

"Get browsin' ya'll!"
(said in my most southern accent (I'm a midwestern girl - Michigan accent all the way - can you hear me saying that?!))

Giveaway Description:
A free personalized shirt from Smitten & Company!
You pick the size, style and design/personalization! How fun is that?
Get one now for that upcoming birthday party, school party, or for just the fun of it!

First Way To Enter
• Visit Smitten & Company on etsy and leave us
a comment here on our blog telling us what you love best (it will be hard to choose!)
Make sure to look at her sold items too!
(www.smittenandcompany.etsy.com)

For Additional Entries*
• Subscribe to “Follow” our blog (left sidebar is where you sign up)
• Post about this giveaway on facebook and comment w/ the link
• Post about this giveaway on your blog and comment w/ the link
• Become a fan - “Like” us on Facebook
• Follow us on Twitter (@andersruff)
• Add Simtten & Company as a favorite on etsy!!

{*For each of the additional entries, you must leave separate comments here on our blog telling us you did the specific step (or already have done that step).}
Winner will be chosen using random.org on Friday at 11:00 AM.
Open to US residents only.

------------------------------------------------------

And the random winner is for the Smitten & Company Giveaway...

Comment #15.... Shera! Congrats!
Shera said... Love the girls gumball shirt! Thanks for the chance! :) July 30, 2010 3:45 PM

Email us to claim your prize ;-) andersruff@gmail.com
Thanks everyone for participating.

We will announce our new fabulous giveaway today from The Cupcake Social!!!

{GIVEAWAY} Custom Shirt from Smitten & Company!

{Giveaway Winner} Custom Address Stamp Winner is...

The winner of the custom rubber stamp giveaway is...
... Comment #73! Ashley!

Ashley said...

I added Foryoo as a favorite on Etsy. I like the Monogram stamp S-0035.

July 29, 2010 10:31 AM

Contact us to claim your prize, Ashley.... Congrats!
andersruff@gmail.com

Thank you Sandy/FOR YOO for doing such an awesome giveaway!
Everyone else, Sunday is your last day to get 10% off at For Yoo on etsy.



This week - the giveaway is a free custom personalized shirt from Smitten & Company!

{Giveaway Winner} Custom Address Stamp Winner is...

{Teaser} Exciting Announcement Coming Soon!

We have some exciting news to share with you guys,
but we aren't quite ready to reveal our secret!





(Clear throat)

The news deserves much more than just a photo of a single stack of mini cupcake liners!
The news is more like....


or these beauties!

Don't you just LOVE these colors?
Now THIS photo is more deserving of being the poster for our news...

Love to hear any guesses from our readers as to what we may be doing related to these!
1st reader that guesses correctly will get something special!

Hint - it doesn't involve the kitchen.

Lets hear those guesses!!!

{Teaser} Exciting Announcement Coming Soon!

{Featured Clients} - A Sweet Celebration Party

A very SWEET client of ours, Denise, allowed us to share with you her SWEET CELEBRATION Party she recently had for her daughter, Sophia.

We love this collection, because it allows you to use just about any color scheme you like (since it incorporates hot pink, light pink, aqua, orange, green & yellow )

Denise chose to focus on pink, green & aqua. She set out cupcakes with our colorful toppers, she made signs & party favors with matching logos, and used banners to decorate her tables.


There was one detail I noticed, that was a perfect splash of fun on her tables... the pink paper pinwheels. I decided to research them a little to see how difficult they are to make...


Not bad ~ so I made a DIY instruction sheet for you, in case you need these fun decorative items for your next party (and you can use our matching patterned paper files, too!)


And if for some reason, you run out of time... check out this etsy seller's pinwheels!
Rule 42 sells Pinwheel hair clips, boutonnieres, bouquets & more. SO FUN!!!


In any event - I am loving paper pinwheels and I am sooo making these for Grayce's upcoming birthday party to compliment all of our other party accessories!!!

{Featured Clients} - A Sweet Celebration Party

{Fabulous Finds} Fabric Garlands

I'm up late (so many things to take care of, so little time!) blogging. Adria is going to flip when she sees this. (Good morning, Adria! Rise and shine - if you are reading this right now, you are going to love it!)

I stumbled upon this treasure on Ilovelolliblog. She posted about this company and I knew I had to share with you all! They were writing about Hang + Hunt. This etsy shop creates the most fabulous fabric garlands in really fun prints and fabrics from seersucker and fishnet to green ombre! At Hank + Hunt, they supply pretty party goodies, unique garlands and more...

I love that these can be reused over and over again. I am all about paper (we all know that) but how cool would it be to buy your baby a pretty garland and swear to use it every year... no matter what for their birthday!? (ages 1-101!) I love streamers but these take it to a new level!

Check out their shop on etsy!

I can picture these garlands adorning a high chair for a baby's 1st birthday, or hung from some trees for a garden party. The possibilities are endless!

A few that stood out to me from their shop:

How adorable would these be for a vintage carnival party?

Or these would have been GREAT to add to decor when designing with our 4th of July Printable party package!?
They look so soft and fluffy! I can picture these at a sweet bridal or baby shower...
Or these to just have hung in your yard for a spring get together.

I know we will be ordering some of these beauties soon!

{Fabulous Finds} Fabric Garlands

{Straight From The Studio} Our Martha Inspiration: Part 2

For those of you have gotten used to our daily excerpts, you will notice I am showing you these same photographs again!

For any new readers, a quick recap - I picked up summer 2010 Martha Stewart's Weddings magazine last week and I saw the cutest party banner & food labels that they made out of vintage fabric for a wedding, and then showed how to do it out of paper.... See below!


{which inspired me to draw up this... not knowing what to make out of these fresh colors and simple graphics, I asked the readers for ideas... see below}

Sure enough, we found a comment that inspired us even further!

Erika, wrote in and told us that her daughter Charlotte, who is 4 years old, said it should be for a party called "Clownin' Around"...

WE LOVED IT!!!

Our current Circus/Carnival collection sells quite frequently, and "Clownin' Around" could add another option to this hot party theme!

So I passed along my design inspirations to Maureen, because she was in the mood to tackle this new invite design.

We collaborated ideas on this invitation to offer a new design that could appeal to everyone!

We are so excited to show you, how YOU (the readers/clients) help us create such fun designs!!!

....drum roll please.....

Think Coney Island - circa early 1900's.....

We wanted this invite to feel like old-school letterpress/vintage carnival posters...

Introducing: Clownin' Around

We will be working on a matching DIY party collection... and we will share it with you when it is ready!

(Erika- we will contact you, when the entire collection is done to send you something special... please thank your little Charlotte for us!!! We hope we made her proud!!!)

Stay tuned for more from this "Spectacular" collection!!!

{Straight From The Studio} Our Martha Inspiration: Part 2

{DIY} Showing Off Your Stamps

If you are at all like us, we love paper! (can you tell??) In this busy world of email/twittering/facebook, I think it is SO nice to write thank you notes and letters the old fashioned way! (on PAPER) I write about 2-3 a week, I feel like! There is no better finish than a custom stamp to pop your return address on the envelope. So personalized and cute (and quick). I like to match my ink color to whatever is hiding inside... so I have about 10 different ink pads to choose from.

I thought this DIY tutorial would be perfect in relevance since we just posted our weekly giveaway. Make sure to check out our blog giveaway for a chance to win a custom address stamp (or other variety) from ForYoo on etsy! Entries must be in by Friday at 10:59 am (Eastern) and we will announce a winner then!

Last Christmas I wanted to use dark red envelopes for my cards. I didn't want black ink and my brown stamp pad wasn't doing it for me either. I remembered I had tons of embossing powders at my fingertips (yes, I collect and purchase anything crafty and have been since I was 5!) You can buy them cheap at a hobby/craft store, and they go a long way.

I am going to show you how you can use your stamp to create an embossed look (instead of just flat). For Christmas, I used silver embossing powder and it really makes your envelope POP!

Here we go...

Tools you will need:
1} A rubber stamp (in this case, we used an address stamp) (Win one here!)
2} Envelope (or paper)
3} Embossing powder (any craft store would have a huge variety of colors) - I am using metallic silver here
4} Ink pad (people say you have to use an embossing pad, but I just use a pigment ink pad that is white or a light color so it won't show through)
5} Embossing heat gun (or honestly, holding the paper over a light bulb on a lamb will work - just take the shade off!)
{Step 1} Press your rubber stamp onto the ink pad.

{Step 2} Position the stamp over the card and apply firm even pressure to transfer your design to the paper.

{Step 3} Place the envelope over a paper plate or piece of scrap paper and sprinkle embossing powder over your stamped image.

{Step 4} Tap the card over your paper plate or sheet of paper to remove excess powder and pour excess powder back into the embossing powder container. (Pouring not shown here - just create a bend in the paper to funnel the powder back into the container.)



{Step 5} This is what your embossing powder will look like on the wet ink. Powdery image shown above.

{Step 6} Now you need to set the embossed design. Hold your heat gun about 2" from the design and move nozzle slowly in sections. You will see the embossing powder melt to create a glossy finish. If you use a lightbulb, you may need to hold the paper closer to the light bulb (turned on) to get the powder to melt.

Done!! If your paper is a tiny wrinkled you can heat the other side of the envelope and fan it. You can place it under a heavy book for a few minutes and it will flatten right back out.

Here is the finished product (ignore the edited smudge to the address) See how it is raised and metallic - I just love this look! Elegant and professional...
I'd love to hear about anyone else's ideas on how to make a stamp look fabulous!

{DIY} Showing Off Your Stamps

{GIVEAWAY! and DISCOUNT} Customized Rubber Stamp from ForYoo!

If you were following us on facebook, I gave a hint as to what the giveaway would be this week. The hint was "it is CUSTOM and probably used every other day (if you are like me, it is!)

Did you guess it?

I fell in love with etsy awhile back when I found Sandy, the owner and designer at For Yoo. I was searching for the perfect housewarming gift for a friend of mine who has everything. (Well, turns out she didn't have everything because she didn't have a custom address stamp yet!) Sandy did an amazing job designing the stamp and her turnaround (From HAWAII, I might add!) was super speedy. Did I add that she is amazing prices, too!?

I ended up ordering one for myself, my mom, a few for my other friends, some for my mom's friends, my mother in law. The same common reaction from each gift I gave - amazement! It feels so good to write a letter, card or thank you note and sign off after sealing the envelope with a personalized stamp that reflects "yoo!"

I was elated when Sandy said she would be happy to do a giveaway on our blog. I just KNEW our readers needed an address stamp. Afterall, how can you possibly send out a custom designed anders ruff invitation without a custom stamped address!?

Here are some of my favorites...


Giveaway Description:
A personalized rubber stamp from ForYoo's etsy shop!
Sandy's shop on etsy has many types of stamps - address, monograms, "handmade by", etc. My personal favorite is the address stamp!

Discount!:
Sandy has offered to give 10% off for anyone who want to order and mentions Anders Ruff. Please convo her through her esty shop before ordering to get the 10% discount.

First Way To Enter
• Visit ForYoo on etsy and leave us
a comment here on our blog telling us which stamp design you like best.
(www.foryoo.etsy.com)

For Additional Entries*
• Subscribe to “Follow” our blog (left sidebar is where you sign up)
• Post about this giveaway on facebook and comment w/ the link
• Post about this giveaway on your blog and comment w/ the link
• Become a fan - “Like” us on Facebook
• Follow us on Twitter (@andersruff)
• Add ForYoo as a favorite on etsy!!

{*For each of the additional entries, you must leave separate comments here on our blog telling us you did the specific step (or already have done that step).}
Winner will be chosen using random.org on Friday at 11:00 AM.
Open to US residents only.

Winner chosen - Ashley - comment #73! Congrats!


Happy stamping!

Stay tuned early this week for a tutorial on how to use the stamp in a really cool way!

{GIVEAWAY! and DISCOUNT} Customized Rubber Stamp from ForYoo!