Stylish Cupcake Tutu Tank by Tutu Pour Mon Deux

Our daughter first experienced Tutu Pour Mon Deux when she was 3 years old.  She was so sad when she outgrew her Boston Red Sox tutu tank.  Needless to say, she was thrilled to have a chance to wear another tutu tank by the same Massachusetts-based family owned company.  She was even more excited when she found out that she could design the tutu tank herself.

In addition to offering an adorable product and being based in my home state, I love supporting Tutu Pour Mon Deux because this company donates 1/3 (that's HUGE) of its proceeds to Children's Hospital Boston.  Visit TutuPourMonDeux.com to read about how the wonderful doctors at Children's Hospital saved one of the precious members of their family.  How could I not admire a company who gives back in such a generous way?

(Click any photo to enlarge)

If you know a little girl who enjoys fashion design or likes to spend time on FashionPlaytes.com, then she will love creating a tutu shirt or a tutu tank online.  The one our 5 year old daughter ended up with looks nothing like the one she started with.  She thoroughly enjoyed the design process, especially since the design page is so user-friendly for someone who cannot quite read yet.

As you can see in the photos, these shirts are created by hand, with iron on appliques and sewn on organza tutus with a ribbon trim.  Our daughter currently takes a size 5/6.  The Size 7 tutu tank is slightly large on her, but that works out great.  I am hoping this shirt will fit her for two whole years just like the last one.  These tanks are machine washable in cold water (turned inside-out) and do not shrink if they are laid flat to dry.

Too bad our daughter's birthday has already passed because this cupcake tutu tank would be perfect for a birthday girl to wear.  She did wear this shirt to school to show it off and received one compliment after another from her girlfriends, teachers, and the other parents.

To see all the fun choices for designing your own tutu shirt or tank, visit www.tutupourmondeux.com.  Personally, I love the monkey and the black cat applique.  For a limited time, you can receive Free Shipping when you checkout using Code: HEART.  If you do end up shopping, I would love to know what you chose for your tutu shirt.


Thank you to Tutu Pour Mon Deux for providing a complimentary product sample for us to base this review upon.

Giveaway: New Gourmet Cupcakes by Cinnabon ($20 GC) [CLOSED]

In the year 1985, "Cinnabon" started on a fast track towards becoming a word that few people could utter without salivating. I remember when the Cinnabon bakery first came to the mall in my hometown. I never paid much attention to cinnamon rolls before then, but these decadent cinnamon rolls made me sit up and take notice. I could smell them baking from halfway across the mall.

25 years later, throughout the month of February 2010, Cinnabon locations in 41 states will be adding new gourmet Cinnabon cupcakes to their menus. If you don't see them yet, be patient. They will be arrive soon.

Although I have not had the opportunity to try these new cupcakes for myself yet, I must say that they look as equally decadent as the infamous Cinnabon cinnamon rolls. The four varieties of cupcakes that will be available are Cinnamon Classic, Chocolate Passion, Vanilla Bliss, and 24-Carrot Cake. I bet that Chocolate Passion would taste delicious with a MochaLatta Chill!

To learn about the Cinnabon Story or the full line of Cinnabon products, visit Cinnabon.com . You can also find Cinnabon on Facebook and Cinnabon Inc on Twitter.

Thank you to Cinnabon, Inc for offering a gift card as the prize for this contest, providing the information and images utilized in this article, and for sending me a gift card as a thank you for participating in this campaign.

What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a $20 gift card to use at their local Cinnabon bakery. (Use the Store Locator to make sure there is a location near you.)

Limitations:
This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.

How to Gain Entries:
Take a look at the products available at Cinnabon bakeries. Leave a comment telling me which product looks the most tempting to you (aside from the cupcakes). You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.

Extra Entries:

1) For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.

2) For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.

3) For 10 extra entries, blog about this contest linking back to this post AND Cinnabon.com . Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments with the link to your blog post.

4) Friend me on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Facebook profile.

5) For 1 extra entry EACH, follow Cinnabon on Twitter and/or Fan Cinnabon on Facebook. Remember to leave a separate comment for each (the link to your Tweet or your Facebook profile) if you complete both.

6) Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.

7) Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.

8) Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

9) Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.

10) Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.

<br /> <a href="http://www.3garnets2sapphires.com/"><img border="0" src="http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd206/Busymonkeez/Graphics4Me/NEWBlogButton125x125.jpg" /></a><br /><br />

(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)


Random Drawing:

This contest will be closed on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!

My Photos (W/E 2-13-10)

We decorated Valentine's Day cupcakes on Friday, so that gave us some nice photo opps. Hope everyone has a great Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year!!

"Brother and Sister"

"Make Us Pretty"

"All Dressed Up"

"Deliberate"

"Focused"

Thank you for taking the time to view my photos this week! If you'd like to play along or see more great photos, stop by to see Lotus at Sarcastic Mom.

Frosted Red Velvet Valentine's Day Cupcakes

In honor of Valentine's Day, I decided it might be fun for our preschoolers and kindergartner to decorate cupcakes in Valentine's Day colors. To help me with this, Duncan Hines sent us Red Velvet Moist Deluxe cake mix and Cream Cheese frosting. I love using cake mixes because they are so easy and quick to use. Most only require you to add water, oil, and eggs.

I've never made or tasted red velvet cake before. I was taken aback a little that the batter was actually red. I did not know what to expect of the taste either. Would it taste like chocolate or would it be fruity? It turned out to taste a lot like white cake with maybe a tiny touch of chocolate. It was perfect to use with frosting because it was not too sweet on its own. My favorite variety of cake is butter cake, so next time I make Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake, I am going to try replacing the vegetable oil with butter. Yum!

When the cake was done, it came out reddish brown. I had to let them cool on a plate before I could frost them. It actually didn't take too long at all . . . maybe 30 minutes.

In addition to the Duncan Hines Cream Cheese frosting, I also had pink and white sprinkles and Valentine's Day M&Ms for the kids to decorate with. I applied the frosting just to make it easier for the kids.

After filling the twelve silicone cupcake baking cups, I had some cake batter left over so I made a single layer cake also. I decorated some of the cupcakes and the cake to give the kids an example of the possibilities. I found that, even though the frosting was so smooth and creamy, the sprinkles would not stick to it. So I had to press the frosted cupcakes into a bowl of sprinkles to make them sink into the frosting.

Next I let the kids loose with a bowl of sprinkles and M&Ms. Both the twins took me up on my offer to press their cupcakes into the sprinkles for them, but their big brother decided he would use his own methods.

Here are the results of their decorating . . .

The cupcakes were as delicious as they looked, especially the creamy frosting that was sweet, but not too sweet. If you'd like to give it a try, you should be able to find all the ingredients needed at your local supermarket. To learn more about Duncan Hines products or to find fun recipes, visit DuncanHines.com .

Thank you to Duncan Hines for sending us samples of cake mix and frosting free of charge to try our hand at a Valentine's Day dessert.

Decorating With Red and Green

Even though I had no experience whatsoever with cake decorating, I think these holiday cupcakes came out okay. It was fun experiementing, but ultimately, it really did not matter how they looked. They were all delicious!

If you'd like to see more Ruby Tuesday photos, go visit Mary at Work of the Poet!

Review: Betty Crocker Cupcake Icing

On Black Friday, my family did not hit the stores. Instead, we decided to put up the tree and the other Christmas decorations. To put us in the mood, I baked some cupcakes (butter flavored . . . YUM!) and decorated them with red and green Betty Crocker Cupcake Icing.

This cupcake icing is usually only available in six colors, but during the holidays, you can find Ivy Green and Rose Red in Walmart stores nationwide. These cans of icing retail for $3.99 each and I think it is well worth the price. One can is enough to decorate a dozen regular cupcakes or two dozen mini cupcakes. The best part is that each can comes with four different decorating tips which allows someone like me, who has never decorated a cake or a cupcake before in her life, to decorate cupcakes that look deliciously festive.

I have to admit, I had a blast experimenting with the different tips. The one I had the hardest time with was the narrow one, which would have been perfect for writing or detailed decorating. I would have loved it if my kindergartner could have tried his hand at decorating a cupcake or two, but the tip required quite a bit of strength to depress and I don't think that he could have released the icing while still maintaining some sort of control over where it was to land.

The icing was very soft and pliable, but did not fall like whipped cream would. Still, my husband and I agreed that the frosted cupcakes tasted better chilled.

I found the icing to be quite sweet, so one cupcake would be my limit per sitting. Can you guess what my three children thought of of these cupcakes decorated with Betty Crocker Icing?

To learn more about Betty Crocker Cupcake Icing and other Betty Crocker baking products, visit SignatureBrands.com . Remember, this red and green icing is only available during the holidays at your local Walmart stores.

Thank you to Betty Crocker for sending us two cans of icing to try.