Being creative can be a dangerous thing

If I have realized anything from planning Kinsley's first birthday, it is that being creative can be a dangerous thing. If you are creative and crafty, well that's even worse because in addition to having this big idea, you also have to make it happen. Literally. Plans started out simple enough, I was going to send out some invitations and bake a cake and get her a present of some kind and were all gonna have a good time. Then came the internet. As I searched for cake ideas, Henry spotted cupcakes. Now I hate making cupcakes, all that attention to each cupcake with the little cup liners and the pouring and the icing ugh, I don't even want to think about icing each and every individual cupcake. It's just way too much work. But, since it's his first child, and maybe his last, we aren't sure, (and my first girl), I let him pick the cupcakes. Now I know cupcakes are all girly and cute and less messy because you don't have to cut them and really don't even need a plate, but I find making them labor intensive. Anyway, that's where it aaaall started. Cupcakes. Since I was making cupcakes and not the cute cake I wanted, I decided that it would be a good idea to incoorporate some of the design elements I liked from the cake into the cupcakes. The cake had this cute little spray kind of thing with flowers and butterflies. It was kind of a whimsical Dr. Seuss looking thing, I think it had some sort of wire that went up and bent over and ended in a butterfly or flower. I had no idea where to get wire that wouldn't tear up the cake but would still hold up the design, so just as well. I opted for a mini butterfly cookie cutter (to make little treats for each cupcake) and flower print cupcake liners. Since I needed invitations and our theme was going to be cupcakes I thought, "how cute would it be to have invitations shaped like cupcakes?". Now the game was on. I have a cricut and paper is readily available. I found a cute template on the net, cute pink sprinkly looking paper, and made my invitations. Part 1 complete. Then I started thinking about how I made Colin, my oldest, a little outfit for his first birthday. Oddly enough it had a cupcake on it as well. I made Kinsley a pillow case dress. I stared at it for a month before deciding that she needed a diaper cover to go with it, and since I have my new sewing machine, I was going to applique both with a cupcake. Done. Part 2 complete. Then I saw these cute little pictures of little girls wearing tutus and they were so sweet looking. Well, if everyone else is doing it, why not me? So, I consulted a friend and made a tutu. Part 3 complete. But wait, she needed a shirt to wear with the tutu. Why not a custom one? I bought a white shirt and customized it with "Kinsley's first birthday". Part 4 complete. Now, she needed pictures in her cute little getup. Easy enough, I dressed her in the outfit, headed over to the neighbor's yard and snapped a few off. Part 5! Mwahaha! I was on a roll. The boys each have a signature hound from their first birthday. It's this little blue weenie hound with a birthday hat on that everyone signs at the party and you keep it forever. In a box. In the closet. Not wanting to repeat this again, I got one of those picture frames with the big mat for everyone to sign. I thought it could use a little embellishment, so back to the cricut for "Kinsley's first birthday" again. Part 6 was done. Now it was getting down to the wire, it was time to bake. I started with the cookies. I looked for pre-made and rolled sugar cookie dough, but could not find any. No matter, it's easy enough to make. I hit the net, got the recipe, made the dough, and let it sit in the fridge overnight. I rolled, cut and baked the cookies, and after a period of cooling, it was time to get all artistic. I got a recipe for icing, mixed it up, and painted the base coat on each one. Yes, with a paintbrush. After that dried, I got a smaller paintbrush, mixed up a different color of icing, and did the details. After two hours of icing cookies, they were done. And I thought cupcakes were labor intensive! They looked awesome, just like they did in my mind. I was happy, and part whatever we are up to was done! Today I baked cupcakes, and I'm blogging while they cool. I also came up with an idea to make her a happy birthday banner, so the cricut has been working while I'm writing. I'm off to finish the banner, eat lunch, finish cleaning the house, help Henry on his crafty project, and ice those cupcakes. We are going out to dinner tonight, and tomorrow I'm going to decorate the house, have the party, and move on, away from this birthday party. :-P