Birthday Blog Hop Yumminess

Welcome!!  If you are participating in KinderStampO's 34 Birthday Candles and Counting blog hop you will have just come from the talented Tina and her Flower's Inspirations blog.  This hop is featuring over 40 amazing and talented artists and I am so honored to have been asked to participate!  We've each created a birthday themed project in honor of Jess (KinderStampO) who has a birthday this month.  Happy Birthday Jess!

When I think of birthday themed items the first thing that comes to mind is cupcakes.  I absolutely adore cupcakes!  Your very own personal cake - what's NOT to love?!?  For my project I decided to "cupcake-ify" a paper mache hat box.  I used lots and lots of Glimmer Glam and Lindy's Stamp Gang mists to give this project lots of depth and sparkle.  This cupcake had lots and lots of layers!

Cupcake box with ribbon handle

I started out by misting the inside of the lid and insides of the box with a Violaceous Violet Moonshadow mist from Lindy's Stamp gang.  After the mist dried, I went over it with a coat of Glimmer Glam in Lipstick Pink.  I love to use Glam on these sorts of projects because it acts like a sealer and gives a nice smooth glossy finish.  After that dried I added a layer of Glimmer Glam in Golden Goddess.  Once that dried I used my finger to rub more Lipstick Pink Glam in places to add additional depth.  I did mention I used lots of layers, right?  ;)  I love the result!

Layers of yummy goodness.  I planned to cover the bottom and sides with paper so I didn't worry about misting those.

Decorated inside lid.  You can see the sheen and depth from the multiple layers of Glam.  YUM!



The combination of the running ink from the Moonshadow Mist and layers of glam really added depth and shine.



I covered the outside of the lid, outside of the bottom, and inside bottom with paper from the Nook and Pantry line from Basic Grey.  The cupcake images were the perfect size!  I added Distress Ink and glitter to them to give them some punch.  I felt they needed an anchor so they weren't floating on the side of the box.  I took some vintage cotton lace and painted it with white acrylic paint and then added Distress Ink to give it some depth.



Paint and ink add even more texture to the lace.

I adhered the base paper, lace, and cupcake cut outs with matte gel medium.  I like using gel medium for this because the paper doesn't curl as it does with other wet adhesives.  Once it was completed I added a layer of Rock Candy (clear) Distress Crackle Paint.  It seems I can't seem to make a project without!  Once the paint had cracked and dried, I rubbed the outside of the box with more Distress Ink.  The Ink helped to bring out the cracks.  I also dry rubbed some more Lipstick Pink Glam on various places around the box to give it some interest.



Pre crackle paint shot.



Post crackle paint glossy crackly goodness.  It makes the frosting on the cupcakes look real!



I wanted the box to look like a cupcake itself so I took some white flower ribbon and coiled it around the top of the lid to make it look like frosting.  I painted a flower with Glimmer Glam and added it along with some velvet leaves to the center.  Instant frosted cupcake!

Yummy enough to eat!

Then it was off to the finishing touches.  I added some pom pom fringe to the lid and eyelets to the bottom to thread the ribbon through.

I'm not quite sure who will be the recipient of this little cupcake box but each time I look at it I want cupcakes!

Thanks so much so stopping by and participating in the blog hop!  There are tons of great sponsors and I'm sure you'll find something to inspire you.

Your next stop on the hop is Jess herself at KinderStampO.  You can also find a full list of blogs on her site as well in case you get lost hoppin' around.  Enjoy!

Products used in this project:

• Paper mache hat box (Michael's)
• Patterned paper (Nook and Pantry collection from Basic Grey)
• Matte gel medium (Golden)
• Violaceous Violet Moonshadow mist (Lindy's Stamp Gang)
• Lipstick Pink and Golden Goddess Glimmer Glam (Tattered Angels)
• Glitter glue (Martha Stewart Crafts)
• Snow Cap Adirondack Paint Dauber (Ranger)
• Vintage Photo Distress Ink (Ranger)
• Rock Candy Crackle Paint (Ranger)
• Vintage cotton lace (Precious Memories)
• Bling (Prima)
• Fabric flower (7 Gypsies)
• Velvet leaves (Remember When)
• Silver eyelets (Making Memories)
• Brown polka dot ribbon (Michael's)
• White flower ribbon (American Crafts)
• Wet adhesive (Helmar)
• Fabritac (Beacon)