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How to Make Easy Peasy Monkey Cupcakes

These cupcakes were as fun as a barrel of monkeys… Well, that’s probably because they were a tray of monkeys, almost the same thing :) I threw a big double birthday party earlier this summer for the kiddos – my little girl turned 3, and we did a DIY Disney Princess party for her and the little girls, then I created a jungle-themed birthday party for the little boys. {Although of course there was lots of overlap – kids love everything.} I’m just finally getting a chance to show a few of the fun things we did for the jungle theme – so to start, I’ll show you how to make super easy peasy monkey cupcakes. They’re so simple and quick that you can you make them any time – parties, lunches, weeknight desserts – whatever!

monkey cupcakes [Read more…]

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Ice Cream Tastes Like Happiness…

This post is brought to you by Dreyer’s and The Motherhood. I was provided with product coupons and compensated for my time, but all opinions are mine.

“You can’t buy happiness, but you can buy ice cream. And that’s kind of the same thing.” – Unknown… There are a few things in life that truly bring me happiness: My family. My friends. Anything sparkly. And ice cream. Good ice cream brings a smile to your face, no matter what type of day you’ve had. And whether you eat it right out of the carton, or fancy it up with sprinkles and syrups, having the best ingredients and flavor combos is a must.

Cool ice cream flavors [Read more…]

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Busy Mom Solution: Moonpig.com Saves the {Special} Day!

Introducing another great Busy Mom Solution: Moonpig.com!!

This is the problem –

You’re on your way to work, and suddenly remember that this weekend is {insert important person here – grandmas, husbands, best friends, etc} birthday!!! Ohmyheck – when are you going to have time to go pick up a card? Ugh. This happens to me all the time. Plus, I hate making a last-minute dash to a card store and having to rush and pick out some random over-priced card because I’m in too much of a hurry to pick a good one, and the baby is tearing up the tissue paper display while the boys play sword fighting with wrapping paper rolls. Anyone else have this problem??

The solution –

Set up an account at Moonpig.com!! Moonpig lets you choose your favorite cards, personalize them with names, photos, and messages – then mails REAL paper cards directly to the recipient!! How cool is that??

Read More –

I totally recommend signing up for the prepaid plan, which is what I’m doing, since you know I’m all about saving money, right?

Join the Moonpig Prepay Club to save money and make ordering simple. For every $20 you add to your account, we give you $5 free! Just select ‘Prepay’ at checkout and your order is complete.

After you take advantage of this sweet discount, then here’s a great next step – set reminders in your account, to alert you to upcoming holidays, birthdays, graduations, anniversaries – so you never forget an important date again! Then, you can even upload your address book – making it super simple to send multiple cards.

Watch this super fun video to see it all in action –

So cool, right??

I made a few of these cards last night – and am a big fan now! Here are a few things that I totally love:

  • Personalizing with photos is super easy – even when you need to make “faces” – you know, where you cut out the shape of your head to add to a character in a funny pic?? Simple and the results come out great.
  • I love that you can personalize the inside of the card too! You can add messages to both sides of the inner part of the card – with your choice of fonts, colors, and signature. Super fun.
  • There is a HUGE selection! You can find something for every single person – super funny cards, classic designs, really fun stuff for kids, professional cards for work, and some incredibly cool invitations!
  • The price is totally reasonable! Each card will run you about $3 – $4 bucks – which is even cheaper than many of the cards you’ll find at Hallmark or the Grocery store, right? And these are way cooler – since you get to totally personalize them.

What are you waiting for??

Head over to Moonpig.com today, set up an account, upload your address book and calendar – and have one less thing to worry about!!! This is a great option to start setting up all of your holiday cards too – you could make a few personalized cards per day, set dates for them to be sent – and know that this year, all of your cards will get to people in time!

Did I just remind you that the holidays are on the way??

Yep, it’s true – the Christmas season is right around the corner. Here are a few posts to help you get ready – Santa’s Coming! 10 tips to help you prepare for the Holidays, an amazing Christmas Giveaway you can enter, and some great ways to stock up on FREE Christmas gifts – Kids Books, Pluto Ornament and Free Disney Movies, and some Cool Personalized Gifts too! Make it a holly jolly time of year by prepping now, so you can just sit back and relax this December!

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Super Cute Bake Pops Kit – Buy One, Get One FREE!

Bake Pops Special Offer

Super fun Product – Super great deal!

These are so super fun – I used a set of these to help out with Birthday Party prep at a friends house last week – and had to search out a set for myself today. And – Found them with a super sweet deal right now too!

These pans and supplies make creating cake-pops so simple and quick – love it. You can use any type of cake mix – {which for me means a box of Betty Crocker, lol} – and the kit available includes the other supplies you need!

Included in your Bake Pops Kit:

  • TWO sets of Bake Pop pans
  • TWO decorating idea books filled with creative fun!
  • TWO squeeze bottles to help with decorating
  • 18 reusable Bake Pop sticks – 2 sets
  • Plus another 18 wraps and ties, to package them pretty! – 2 sets

Love this, right?

Get this special Online-Only deal – Bake Pops Buy One, Get One Free!!

And…. You get ALL of that for less than $20 bucks! They have a special Buy One, Get One Free deal – which is why you get TWO sets of everything at that price. I’m going to use one for myself, and one as a Christmas gift. And I am super excited to make the little Reindeer Bake Pops that I saw in the decorating book!

What one reader says:

Who knew cake-on-a-stick would be so popular? I made some Bake Pops™ for my church event. I didn’t have to do much for decoration, just a dip in white chocolate and some sprinkles. Everyone at my church was so impressed! Now they think I’m some kind of master baker and are trying to put me in charge of a baked goods fund raiser. Ahhh!

Sarah P. – North Carolina

Ready to get Bake Poppin’ too?

Order your double set of Bake Pop pans and accessories – Bake Pop Buy One, Get One FREE Online-Only Sale!

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Busy Mom Solution: Easy Peasy Birthday Party Planning!

Chuck E Cheese

Where a Kid can be a Kid!

What kid doesn’t LOVE Chuck E. Cheese, right? So what better way to throw a birthday party than to celebrate at your local Chuck E. Cheese – You don’t have to set up, clean up, or entertain a bunch of wild kids – it’s all done for you! You’re happy, the kids are happy – Totally a Busy Mom Solution!

Why Kids LOVE Chuck E. Cheese Birthdays….

Special Online Deals!

Set up Birthday Party Reservations online at Chuck E. Cheese and you’ll get some really sweet bonus freebies for a limited time – so even if the party is a few months away, this is a GREAT time to reserve it, so you get the bonus freebies!!

Kids Birthday Parties – Click Here to reserve YOUR Kid’s Special Day before it’s too late!

What you’ll get:

  • A full TWO HOURS of fun at Chuck E. Cheese!
  • Ticket Blaster experience – that’s the one shown in the video above!
  • Book a Chuck E. Cheese Birthday Party online and get 20 Free Tokens!
  • Get another 100 BONUS tokens at a reserved Birthday party Friday or Sunday!

What are you waiting for?

It’s totally FREE to set up your reservation – no hassle of cleaning the house, setting up decorations and games, cleaning up the mess afterwards – and the kids will have a blast!

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{Rafflecopter} elevencupcakes Sesame Street Party Planning Kit Giveaway!

Sesame Street Party Planning Kit

Sunny Days…sweepin’ the clouds away…on my way to where the air is sweet… Can you tell me how to get, how to get to Sesame Street?

How can you not smile when you hear that song, right? And who doesn’t LOVE Sesame Street? Even the Grouch loves Sesame Street- and he’s the grouch! So what better theme for a kids party?

The lovely ladies at elevencupcakes have created the most adorable Party Planning Kit ever- and it includes everything you need to put together an unforgettable kids party!

What you get:

Party Guide: 24 pages of step by step instructions and beautiful pictures that walk you through everything you need to do to prepare for your party! The guide gives you directions on how to create all of the super fun stuff you see in the picture, like-

  • Happy birthday party banner
  • Party centerpiece
  • Decorative ribbon wall
  • Kid friendly finger food ideas
  • Colorful cupcakes and toppers
  • And more!

Trust me, even if you’re not a crafty type, these are all totally do-able. The instructions are simple, the ideas are super fun, and with the printables included- it will be so easy to put together! You even get ideas for games and kids activities, as well as some cute trivia for the grown-ups.

They include helpful things like a party timeline to help you plan, cool party tips, ideas for do-it-yourself favors and a resource guide- everything you need to stay organized! And think of how much money you can save by putting this together yourself, vs buying a bunch of overpriced supplies at your local party store? Plus- this is much cuter than anything you’ll find in a big store, for sure!

Create and Celebrate!

Look at the TON of great printables you get with this kit-

  • Customized invitations
  • Customized welcome sign
  • Happy Birthday Banner
  • Customized food labels (14)
  • Customized cupcake toppers
  • Birthday party hats (elmo, cookie monster, big bird, oscar & zoe)
  • Thank you notes
  • Customized water bottle labels
  • Kids games
  • Adult trivia
  • Customized thank you tags

Sounds like a good time, right?

The ladies at elevencupcakes put a ton of time into making these party printables- they hand-cut each character individually from textured papers, and then scanned in those images. What that means is that you can really see all of the fun textures and details, making these a really unique printable. So cute!

When you order your kit, you get to customize it too- You give them the following info, and they’ll create a personalized party set just for you kiddo:

  • Child’s first name
  • Child’s age (that they will be turning)
  • Party date, time, and location
  • RSVP date and contact (phone or email)
  • 14 food labels (character name for the top and food for the bottom).

The party guide is just packed full of fun ideas– This would be a great Birthday Party, obviously. But it would also make a super fun playdate, mommy group meeting, or for any other event you want to celebrate. And since you get the PDF files for all of the printables- you could most of them again- since you can print as many as you want. Awesomesauce.

Win a Sesame Street Party Planning Kit!

To win the Customized Sesame Street Party Planning Kit, use the Rafflecopter form below to get your entries in! And you can come back each day too, for the daily entry options– Good Luck!

[Read more…]

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{Free Advertising} Interested in having your products featured?

Happy Birthday Abby!

My little girl is getting ready to have her very first birthday! {That’s her in the pic above, when silly mommy made a cake to celebrate her 6-month half-birthday} I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by. She is just such a big girl these days… Got her first tooth {finally!} a couple days ago, and started walking last week. It’s hard to believe…

Party like it’s your birthday…

I’ve been planning her party for quite some time now, as many of you already know. Her dad thought it was crazy to be thinking about her birthday months in advance, but this momma is pretty excited!

We have the big in-ground pool up and running finally, so we’re doing a huge Luau Party. I’ve got boxes of decorations, and have made loads of fun stuff. This is going to be a blast…

Would you like to have your product featured?

I have a few companies that have reached out to have me review their items, so to give them more exposure, I’m going to have some of them featured during the party. I thought it would be a fun way to do some reviews, get a ton of feedback from guests, and a share some great products with my too!

I have a fun Luau game pack from Tomoson.com, we will be testing out some new vegetarian dishes with some great products from Harmony Valley, Abby will be wearing an absolutely adorable headband from Wild Crush, and more. If you have a product that you would like to feature too, shoot me an email over at sunshineandsippycups@gmail.com. All products donated will be seen and featured in multiple party posts after the event, and will get their own stand-alone review post as well.

Goodie Bags and Swag Bags! 

Also, I am putting together bunches of great goodie bags for the kids, and I’m also putting together some amazing swag bags for some of the moms at the party. These will be filled with samples of some great products from companies I’ve partnered with lately, as well as lots of product info, catalogs, business cards, and more.

It’s kind of last minute, but I’d like to open up this opportunity to my readers too: If you have anything that you would like to add to these swag bags, and get into the hands of a great bunch of momma’s, email me with your idea! Even if you’d just like to share your business card, feel free to send them my way, and I’ll include them for the guests to see.

As a work-from-home momma myself, I understand how tough it can be sometimes to get your business out there, and get seen by new faces, so I love to help give other moms new easy ways to promote their business.

Everyone that is in the bags will also get a shout out on the blog, I’ll have a link up of any of you ladies that added something. Just a fun and easy way to get yourself a little bit of exposure. You can send anything from 10 business cards, to 50 samples, whatever you want to share with people.

I also use sponsor goodies in swag bags that I add to every giveaway winner shipment that I send out, to get your info out to more people! If you’re interested now, or in the future, let me know.

Stay tuned… The BIG party is coming soon, July 24th! I can’t wait to share all of the pictures with you….

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