Recent Posts

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Christmas tutus are here!

Green Christmas Tutu




Red Christmas Tutu with matching Beanie and Bow




A tutu even makes her crying cute!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hosted Thanksgiving at our house this year and we had a full house. Morgan cooked a fabulous dinner for everyone and we had a great time spending the day together. Thanksgiving is not just about the turkey and gravy for us, because we also celebrate a good number of birthdays when we see each other on Thanksgiving Day. Nana, Grandad, Morgan and Great Grandpa Hiller all celebrate their birthdays in the few weeks that surround Thanksgiving and in honor of them we must add a special birthday treat in addition to the traditional pie after dinner. This year I made Turkey Cupcakes. I thought they were so cute, and couldn't really think of any other appropriate day to make a cupcake that looks like a turkey!



Morgan's Birthday Cake

Morgan's favorite cake is Black Forest Cake and for his birthday I will make him whatever type of cake he wants. It may not be pretty (or pink), but he loves it. This year I made a variation of the Black Forest Cake using a box cake as the base. It is pretty rich, but it is still great!





Ingredients
1 (18.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix with pudding
3 eggs
1 tablespoon almond extract
1 (21 ounce) can cherry pie filling
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.Mix together: cake mix, beaten eggs, almond extract, cherry pie filling and 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips. Stir until just combined. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 inch pan.
3.Bake in a 350 degree F (175 degree C) oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and let cool.
4.To Make Glaze: Heat 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, butter or margarine, and milk in a saucepan over medium high heat. Once semisweet chocolate chips are melted and mixture is combined stir in confectioners' sugar.
5.Spread glaze over cooled cake. Serve cake as is or with whipped cream and a cherry.

Monday, November 16, 2009

A Pink & Princess Party Weekend

Everything for this weekend just had to be pink and princessy. Two very good friends had birthdays this past weekend , Brooklyn turned 4 years old and Megs turned 24.

On Saturday afternoon, we went to Brooklyn's Princess party. I made a two tier cake with all of her favorite colors and topped it with a real crown and wand that she could wear and then keep after the party. The stripes and stars were coated in an edible glitter and it was super sparkly.




I also made Brooklyn's birthday gift...a birthday tutu with matching applique tee shirt to match. The birthday tutu and shirt were made to match the cake in shades of pink, purple and green. The party was super fun and princessy!






Later that night, we went Meg's Pretty in Pink Party Palooza. It was an 80's theme party and all of the party goers looked great. It was so fun!

I made some pretty pink cupcakes covered in edible glitter and provided a cute little place to set pretty little crown hair clips. Many of the clips went straight from cake to hair. Too funny!





Thursday, November 5, 2009

Tutu Pricing

As requested, I am posting my tutu prices list. I hope this gives all of you the information you may need to make your next order.

Also, please send me a message if you don't see what you want or have an idea for a special gift for your little lady. I would be happy to work with you to create any custom item you may need.

Tutu Prices
Newborn $22
3-6 months $22
6-12 months $22
12-24 months $24
2T – 3T $26
4T – 5T $28
5/6 $30

Length Options
6” only available for Newborn – 24 months Tutus
7-8” only available for Newborn – 3T Tutus
10” the length your tutu will be made unless otherwise specified you
11 – 12” add $4.00
13” add $6.00
14 – 15” add $15.00
16” add $30.00

More Options
Bow at waist add $2.00
Flower at waist add $4.00
Ribbon wrapped waistband add $10.00

Accessories
Flower Hair Clips $4.00 - $6.00 (prices varies depending on type and size)
Beanie Hat with Flower Hair Clip
Newborn (fits 0 – 12 months) $12.00
Regular (fits 1year – adult) $15.00
Stretch Headband with Flower Hair Clip $8.00


Adult Tutus, Birthday Packages, Tutu Dresses, Group Rates, and Photographer Discounts are available. Please contact me at whimsicalbydesign@gmail.com to receive a quote for your custom order.

New Tutus!

The last month has been great for making tutus. Here are a few of the new tutus I have made this October!

I will also be selling the crochet beanies with flower clips featured below within
the next month. Look for an annoucement on my blog soon!

Bubblegum Tutu




Violet Tutu







Little Dragonfly






Blossom Tutu




Happy Halloween!

Halloween has to be my favoriet holiday. It must have something to do with Fall being my favorite season...or all of baking and crafting that comes along with it. Oh, and of course, the costumes. This year Austin wanted to be a knight, and after checking out the local costume store (much to our disappointment), I decided to make his costume myself. He absolutely loved it and wore all day on Halloween without one complaint. He was the cutest knight-in-shining-armor I have evr seen (but then again I am his mom).



Happy Fall!

I love Fall! It is my favorite season. I love the changing colors of the leaves, cool, sunny days, and everything pumpkin. It is this time of year that I get to make my favorite treat - Pumpkin Bars. I know so many people who are fans of these that I am posting my recipe so that you all can have them whenever you want. Pumpkin bars are super easy to make and are a favorite of almost anyone who tastes one!

Ingredients
4 eggs
1 2/3 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

For Frosting:
1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.In a medium bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir into the pumpkin mixture until thoroughly combined.
3.Spread the batter evenly into an ungreased 10x15 inch jellyroll pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes in preheated oven. Cool before frosting.
4.To make the frosting, cream together the cream cheese and butter. Stir in vanilla. Add confectioners' sugar a little at a time, beating until mixture is smooth. Spread evenly on top of the cooled bars. Cut into squares.


Oh... and I also had to post our newest Fall decor I made the other day. It's our new 'door wreath'. It definitely exudes Fall.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Tutus are here!

Whimsical by Design is now making custom tutus!

A beautiful assortment of custom designed tutus, tutu dresses and related accessories are now available right here. My tutus are made with yards and yards of the softest tulle (made in the USA). Please take a look at the slide shows of my tutus and other tutu ideas I'd love to make. I'm sure you'll find something that you will absolutely love. These tutus and tutu dresses are perfect for so many occasions, including birthday parties, photo props, Halloween, 1st birthday outfits, wedding events or just for fun!

If you have seen something you like, here or elsewhere, let me know. I would love to create a custom one-of-a-kind tutu for that special little one in your life! I have 40+ colors to choose from, please see the color chart in the 'My Tutus' slide show.

Contact me at whimsicalbydesign@gmail.com for a quote.


My Anna in her birthday tutu


Cousin Gracie wearing the blue Cinderella tutu dress


Classic yellow tutu with flower and matching wand


Thursday, September 24, 2009

Lucas' Pirate Birthday

Anna's cousin, Lucas, happens to have a birthday just two days after hers...and I was so excited to get to make his first birthday cake for him. They threw a fabulous pirate party, complete with swords, pirate hats, necklaces....the works. Here is the cake I made for the party.





And also the quilt that I made Lucas for his birthday. His bedroom is surfer-themed and I absolutely loved this surfboard pattern when I saw it. I knew it would be perfect for him.

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Happy Birthday to Anna!

This week, our little girl turned one! We decided the best way to celebrate Anna's first year would be to have a party that was all things pink and girly. Coincidentally, that meant a myriad of craft projects for mommy.

My favorite part of creating a party is the cake. So, I started there. I found a picture of a cake I loved in a book by Lindy Smith. This is how it turned out.





Then I created a party invite to match.



While searching all thigs girly, I found that there is nothing girlier than a tutu. So, not only did I make Anna a special birthday tutu (pictured on her bithday invitation), but I made every little girl who was attending the party her own tutu (with matching hair accessory) to take home with her. Our friends and family are so wonderful and supportive that many of them came bearing and wearing their own adult size tutus.








The decorations were so much fun to plan as well. We hung large tissue paper pom-poms from the ceiling over the cake table, and I made a banner using pictures from Anna's first 12 months to hang over the lunch buffet. I found small hurricane for a great price and scattered them around the party area filled with a variety of different pink candies for munching. We also had pink balloons everywhere and beautiful pink gerber daisies from Daddy for his little girl.











The lunch buffet, made by Anna's very talented Daddy, were all things we thought you might find at a tea party. We had a fruit and veggie platter and Moragn made a variety of finger sandwichs (cucumber, salmon, and turkey). He also made mini scones, mini quiches, and some fabulous cheese puff pastries. It was all so delicious thanks to Daddy!

For my last craft project, I made some parting gifts for our guests. I found some flat backed lollipops in clear wrappers and cut out different pink flowers to tape to the backs. On the petals I wrote "Thank you for coming to my party!" I displayed them in a flower pot arranged like a bouquet and set it out so that guests could take one as they were on their way out.



Not only did I have fun planning Annas party, but Anna seemed to have a great time. Her favorite part - opening presents of course!

Thanks to everyone who came and made it such a wonderful party! We were so glad that you all could be here to share in Anna's special day!