I've officially named September wedding month....and August is birthday month!  Why is August birthday month??  It's not necessarily the month that has the most birthdays overall, it's just the month that has the most birthdays for me personally. In consecutive weekends I have birthdays for my nephew Liam, my godson Sully, and my niece Chloe.  I have a new little niece (Charlee Jean) who isn't technically an August birthday, but I'm counting her in the birthday madness because her birthday party will fall the weekend before Liam's most years.  

So August feels like Christmas in our house.  I had a box of presents in the spare room waiting for each party; just like Christmas, minus the tree, and plus cake.  Which is what I want to focus on for this blog post...the cake/cupcakes!

I've had the pleasure of being the dessert provider for all these birthdays for several years or their whole lives.  I love doing it because I pretty much get to do what I want for them.  Which is great because I can try something I've been wanting to do, or do something a little more over the top that may not normally get ordered.  

A few years ago I did two tiered cakes for Chloe and Liam.  At the time I was still just baking for friends and family at home and didn't have experience in tiered cakes...so I used their birthdays as a chance to get some experience and do something fun for them.  

Now onto what I made for this year's birthday mania...

Liam's birthday comes first in the August birthday mania.  He's a very active little boy, so for his 5th birthday he wanted a sports themed cake and sports he got!  I've found that most kids prefer to eat cupcakes over cake (shhh they don't know they are the same thing).  So for Liam's sport theme I added "pop tops" to vanilla and chocolate cupcake cake sections.  Upon seeing it he immediately wanted to know if he got to keep them.  He did!

Up next was my sweet godson Sully (Sullivan).  This little man lives all the way in LaCrosse so I don't get to see him much.  So every time I see him it's like he's grown up soooo much.  I can't believe he is 3 already!!  Sully was originally going to have a Thomas the Train theme, but after riding the train at the zoo, the two now go hand in hand.  So animal train it was!  I made the shaped 3 out of monster cookie and chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes, and the top train and all the animals out of fondant.  I was told that when he was asked "what do you want for your birthday?"  he would respond "cake!."   Was he destined to be my Godson or what?!

The final birthday in August mania, the original August birthday, is my niece Miss Chloe.  Chloe turned 6 (going on 16) this year and loves animals just like me!  I incorporated zoo animals with a "girly" tree in the middle.  I had to add the owl because her grandma (my mother-in-law) loves owls.  Chloe knows this and had to make sure grandma saw it.  This was a fun one to make and I'm so glad she is a fellow critter lover.    

Next year this little lady, Charlee Jean, will be kicking off the birthday mania at the end of July.  Can't wait to see what all her birthday themes will be!

Thanks for another week of orders!  Hope to see you at the open day Friday...it's the last one until October!

I still haven't gone back to getting my Stitch Fix every other month.  I started with it at every other month, but I can't help myself from getting it every month now.  I feel like I'll miss out on too many good seasonal items if I don't!  If you have never heard of Stitch Fix and am wondering what the heck I am talking about, the details are listed below. Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this post, just posting my review because it's part of my life.  If you want to give it a try click here.

What you need to know about Stitch Fix:
-You fill out a detailed style profile of your likes, dislikes, sizes, how much money you prefer to spend, etc. 
- You choose how often you'd like to receive a fix.  Each time you can ask for specifics if you have something specific you want, or have an upcoming event to attend.  
-A stylist chooses and sends you five items based on your wants, style profile, fashion pinterest boards, etc.  Items can include clothing and accessories.  
-You pay a $20 styling fee for the fix, BUT if you keep something from you Stitch Fix the $20 is credited towards your total.  So the only time you "lose" $20 is if you send everything back.  Bonus: If you keep all five items you get 25% off everything!
-You get three days to try on your items and decide, then you checkout online and send back what you don't want in the prepaid shipping bag you get with your box.

This month I asked for bright summery tops.  I know summer is almost over but I can still wear them under a jean jacket or cardigan...and there's always next summer!  I also asked for another dress to wear to a wedding.  Along with baking for nine weddings in September, I am attending two of them as a guest.  So here's what I got!

Pixley-Palacio Abstract Print Colorblock Tank:  My stylist is great at paying attention to what I want and pulling items from my Pinterest board.  This tank came from my board and I like the mix between pattern and print. It will be fun to wear on it's own or under a jean jacket.  It's a keeper.

Gilli-Juri Maxi Dress: I think I almost started jumping up and down when I saw this dress.  I have a Stitch Fix maxi dress addiction and I love the Gilli brand (pretty sure all the maxi's I have kept from here have been Gilli) AND I have been wanting this dress in the worst way!!  This isn't the exact color I have been asking for, but I think I like this one even more!  I love the bright colors in contrast with the black top.  My favorite part of the dress (not pictured) is the cutout in the low back.   So as you can probably guess...in my closet it goes.

THML-Chassie Textured Dress: I'm still not brave enough to post pictures on here of me actually in the items I receive, but I wanted to show why I am undecided on this one, so I settled for cutting off my head in the photos. :) It also doesn't look like much on a hanger so I thought I better include the other pictures. I love the details of this dress (they are tough to see in these photos).  It has a ruffled/petal like detail at the shoulders, pockets, and gathered points in front.  My issue...I kept a dress for weddings last month that was navy blue on top and navy blue under the lace detail bottom.  This dress is also navy blue.  My other issue:  as you can see in the top right photo it looks a little strange from the side if I'm twisting or moving due to the gathered material.  I don't want to stand perfectly still while wearing it...so I'm still undecided on what to do about this one.

Collective Concepts-Leeds Crochet Detail Top: I love the color and detailing of this top, but I think it might be a little too boxy again.  As you can see it is higher in the front than it is the back.  I think that accentuates the fact that from the side it looks pretty big.  But from the front I love it...so I'm so torn!

Skies are Blue-Arlene Embroidered Top: I was immediately drawn to this color.  It's not something I have in my closet so I would love to add it.  At first I wasn't too sure on the top.  I looks pretty simple but has subtle details, which I always like.  After posting this top on a Stitch Fix Facebook page and seeing how many people "liked" the top, I'm thinking I should keep it.  As you can see, it wrinkles easily..I'm not one for ironing.  I either wear the wrinkles (I know...tacky) or I've been known to use my hair straightener on a wrinkle if I can get to it (I know...bad).

Overall, my fix was a complete success in my eyes...once again.  I got items I asked for and I thought they were completely my style...which I'm learning is more of a boho style according to my stylist!  Ready to try Stitch Fix yet??  Click here if you want to give it a go.

Thanks for another week of orders!  I hope to see you at next Friday's open day!!

I never realized just how popular September was for weddings...until last year, when my September 2015 started filling up like crazy with weddings.  And my oh my did I ever get wedding inquiries for September!!  I have been booked for the 12th and 19th for a long time now and have had multiple people who have really wanted to book those days.  Unfortunately, I maxed them out at three weddings each so I couldn't take on any more.  Do you know how hard it is to say no to somebody who REALLY wants your cupcakes at their wedding?!

I currently have nine weddings booked for September.  Considering I had a total of 12 weddings last year (pictured above), I'd say nine in one month means Steph's Sweet Treats has done a lot of growing over the past year!  I am by no means trying to brag, I'm doing this post to let customers know they need to order now.  If you have events in September, my availability is going to be very limited.  Pretty sure I might just need to take a sleeping bag to my shop!  I won't actually do that....but if I could get somebody to make regular deliveries of Bob's Bitchin' BBQ to me that'd be great!  I need my energy (and BBQ) you know....

So please, if you want to order for September please do so now. If you haven't heard yet, there won't be an open day for September...so you better come to the August 28th open day since it will be the last until October!   Weekend cupcake orders for the majority of September, will be limited to the flavors I am making for weddings.   I hate to limit it, but I have to.... otherwise I will be a crazy person...well crazier than I already am. 

Due to the weekends filling up and it being a regular occurrence for me to have a big variety of flavors to make for the weekends, I'm thinking of doing an email list/group if I can get people interested.  I normally have a dozen minimum per flavor when you order.  What I am proposing is to offer a mixed dozen for last minute orders of flavors I am already making for weddings/full weekends.  I would send out a list of flavors via email on Tuesday and ask that people respond with their orders by Wednesday. If you are interested in being part of the email list please send me an email!

Another quick note I want to tell people: Along with a lot of orders, comes a lot of posting on Facebook.  Facebook limits the number of people that can see business posts, and in order for more people to see them, more people need to like and/or share the posts.  Every little bit helps Steph's Sweet Treats grow, so I appreciate every bit of help from customers!  If you want to make sure you see my posts, you can also get notifications by going back to the "Like" button...the one you already pushed (or I hope you did) to follow the page to begin with.  If you click it again you can then click "get notifications." Voila!  When I post you will get notified that I did so.

Don't forget about wedding referrals!  If you know someone getting married and you refer them to Steph's Sweet Treats, and they book...you get a gift certificate!  Note: If you are getting married September 2016... it's already filling up so contact me soon!  

Thanks for another week of orders!  Please spread the word about ordering ASAP for September!

Sooo it's August....where did summer go?!  I can't believe how fast summer is going, and I'm sure you feel the same.  Now that July has come and gone, it's time for me to recap the July weddings for you!

First up: July 11th- 360 cupcakes at Bridges in Darlington: reverse red velvet, monster cookie, turtle, lemon raspberry, chocolate malt, and blueberry white chocolate.  I also made a display cake for this wedding.  This is a great option for people who want the look of a wedding cake without the cost!  The bottom two tiers were fake and the top was real so the couple could still cut it and eat it.  The couple provided this setup but I was able to buy the four beautiful gold stands from them, so I now have them available for other weddings!

This day I also had a second smaller wedding of 50 cupcakes (chocolate caramel heaven and peanut butter cookie dough)

July 18th- 300 cupcakes at Deer Valley Lodge in Barneveld: vanilla, chocolate, ultimate marble, and chocolate peanut butter.  I loved the simplicity and elegance of this setup.  It was an all white beach theme; my white crates fit right in!

Last wedding of July: 250 cupcakes at Barn 23 in Dodgeville- Neapolitan, vanilla raspberry, white chocolate mocha, and chocolate covered strawberry.  I was so excited to use my ladder stands.  I had them made at the beginning of the year and this is the first chance I've had to use them.  I loved the look and they went perfect with the rustic atmosphere of Barn 23.