DIY: Groundhog Day Cupcakes

"What holiday is next?" is a question I get asked quite a lot.  Brady's at the age where he's starting to understand holidays and the anticipation surrounding them.  And, of course, he's ready to party all the time.  So when he posed this question after New Year's I had to pause and think for a second...yep, Groundhog Day is next.  

Now, Groundhog Day doesn't carry very many traditions with it, beyond looking for good ole' Phil on the news.  But I thought that this year maybe we could do something a little more.  We've been reading The Big Snow at our house and on the last page the groundhog pokes his head out of the ground and sees his shadow.  Which gave me the idea to make Groundhog Day Cupcakes.

I designed the cupcake toppers and made them into a PDF for you to download and assemble.  Just print the groundhogs, cut them out and sandwich them together with a little glue and a toothpick in the middle.  And remember to save one of your groundhog paper trimmings.  You're going to need it if he sees his shadow this February 2nd...

If it happens to be cloudy on February 2nd and Phil doesn't see his shadow, you can always just slide the groundhog into a plain frosted cupcake.  They'll be just as adorable.  And such a great excuse to eat cupcakes.

What do you do to celebrate Groundhog Day?  Any predictions as to whether or not spring will come early this year?

New at the Shop: 2011 Weekly Planners

My dears, have you heard the good news?  The 2011 Planners are in the shop!  Their lovely and even better than last year, with a gorgeous array of vintage-inspired colors and pewter wire binding.  Plus, they're still the perfect size for a purse - or a stocking.

And here's more exciting news: I've just launched a brand new newsletter!  The newsletter will be sent seasonally and is full of goodies including exclusive discounts and printables.  Be sure to sign up now so you won't miss the Winter edition.  You'll be glad you did.

"You're My Favorite" Game Night + Printable Invitations

For Friday's birthday party I wanted to do something that was really simple and casual.  But I still needed to have some type of theme; I feel that they help party plans come together more easily and cohesively.  I decided to have the invitations say, "since he's our favorite, we're throwing him a party" and go from there.  He loves to play games, so we did a game night.  The menu was a compilation of some his favorite foods: Philly cheesesteaks, root beer, artichoke dip and brownies.

A gathering of favorites equals a guaranteed good time.  Added bonus: it was low maintenance.  I love how easily and quickly game nights can be thrown together.  I put together this fill-in variation of our invitations for you to print out and use for your next get together.  Grab a couple of your favorite drinks, some finger foods and pass these out to your neighbors or friends.  Then let the good times begin!