My Sunday Photo ~ Beautiful Tulips

My favourite flowers are Gerberas, Tulips and pink Roses. These have really made smile this week. My week has ended so much better than it started and every time I look at these flowers they make me smile. I can't wait until they open.

Cupcake Mumma

Race for Life 2016 ~ In Loving Memory of Anne

I was going to write this post soon after I finished the race on Sunday, 10th July but I never got around to it. I wanted to do the Race for Life this year as I didn't participate the year before. What spurred me on was learning a friends mum, an extremely close friend's mum, was undergoing treatment for the third time for cancer. As the time drew nearer it wasn't long before we all knew that she just wasn't going to win this round. I wanted her to know that I cared, that I loved her family like it was my own, so together myself and my own Mum made sure we raised funds and completed our race for life. Anne was on my mind the days leading up to the event and whilst tied to one of my mum's legs, hobbling around with an aching muscle and bruised ankle, it was Anne and my friend that kept me going. 

Below are some photos I took of this race event which was in Truro like it is every year. There were nearly 900 people taking part and many, many supporters cheering us all on. This post, much like my race, is dedicated to Anne, Mother of an extremely close and wonderful friend not just to me but to many. A lady who I know did a lot of good and leaves behind a wonderful man and many grandchildren but who led a full life and fought to the end. May you rest peacefully Anne and enjoy the view from upstairs 

xxxx

 My back sign

 Everybody getting ready for the warm up. So many people there again this year.

 Dad presenting mum with her medal after the race.

 Mum and I before the start of the race

 If you'd like to sponsor us for taking part this year and help us reach the £200 we're so very close to, you can do so below, A huge thank you to all those who have sponsored us both before and after the event. Also a huge thank you to the lovely ladies who sent happy mail to Anne. I know it meant a lot to her and it also meant a lot to her family too. Thank you x

Our Just Giving Page

Reviewing Business Cards with StressFreePrint

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I've been to several blogging events now and on both occasions I've been asked for a business card so people can find my blog after the event. It never occurred to me that people would ever want to actively seek out my blog and stash away a card with my details on so I never bothered to order any. Turns out people are interested in your cards and I certainly have picked up a fair few at the 2 events I went to.

In the past I have sat down to several sites but never got passed the design stage because well, I could never settle on anything I liked. When I was offered to review StressFreePrints business cards for my blog I jumped at the chance to completely use their experience and when offered the choice between doing the cards myself or having them do all the work you can guess which option I chose!

A few emails later I had sent information I wanted on the cards (blog name, blog address, tag line and email address) plus a colour scheme and of course, a cupcake had to feature. It took a couple of hours to get an attachment file with my design which I loved instantly. On their recommendation I went with a matt finish on silk art paper and I must say I'm very pleased.

All my cards arrived 4 days later in plastic boxes (I had 500 made for me. Lord only knows what I'm going to do with that many!) I also received a small business card case to carry a few around in my bag without causing any damage to them.

I've shown Mr B, the children and my mum my new cards and all had really positive comments saying how bright and attractive they are. I was worried the pink might be a bit too much but then I thought, I love pink, they look nice and are my business cards so what the heck?

You can order your business cards from StressFreePrint.co.uk and don't forget you can design them yourself or go very stress free by using their excellent services and having them designed for you like I chose to do.

So, what do you think of my new business cards?

*I was sent 500 business cards from StressFreePrint of my choice in return for an honest review on my blog. All words and images are my own.*

Cupcake Mumma

My Springtime Surprise Gift Swap

I had such a wonderful time joining in with Lucy's swap which was a huge spring time exchange between people from all over the place. For the first time ever my swap partner wasn't to be found on social media or blogging. I had a small amount of information and I really enjoyed just letting myself go for a spring themed box.

Here's what I sent to my swap partner:

My parcel was just beautiful, the photos are all below.

2 postcards for my collection

I adore this exercise book and gel pen- so me!

Postcard! Plus a glass candle holder

Cupcake cases that are wonderfully spring like and this fab sign that's in my room

Lovely cake wraps, flags and decorations

Thank you so much to Sarah and thank you to Lucy for running this rather big swap and cheering a lot of people up with happy mail this month!

Cupcake Mumma

Great Bloggers Bake Off 2014: Cherry Cake (Free From)

The Great British Bake Off is back! That means The Great Bloggers Bake Off is back too! Hurrah! This week the challenge was very simply, cake. Mini cakes, cherry cake and um cake.

I went for a cherry cake. Not a Mary Berry cherry cake just a big standard cherry cake with some butter icing. Yum yum. Just like last year all bakes are Gluten free, Dairy free and Wheat free.

I simply took a normal recipe for a Madeira cake and bunged in 200g of glacé cherries. I baked until golden brown and clear when tested with a butter knife at 180 and left the cake to cool. I mixed up a whole box of icing sugar with vitilite butter, added pink food colouring and refrigerated until I needed it. The pesky cake must have still been a little hot despite having over an hour to cool because I noticed my icing sliding a bit. Oh well!

I decorated with fresh cherries and voila, a free from cherry cake! I'm very pleased with my first bake it tastes good but is a bit too heavy, I'd prefer it a lot more softer but it's not too bad. The cherries didn't all sink either so that's a win!

Are you watching the Bake Off? Why not get your bake on too?

Cupcake Mumma

My Wonderful Spring Swap

I recently took part in a spring swap hosted by the lovely Joy from Welcome to Daisy Row (it's a lovely blog, do check it out) As most of you will know by now I love a good gift swap so I got my friend Kat to pop my name in the comments whilst I was away from the laptop (so desperate I was to not miss it!)

I was partnered with Margaret  who blogs here and is such a nice lady. We exchanged a few emails, got a general idea of each others tastes and then all went quiet as we made (or bought in my case as I have been so busy studying anything crafty has escaped me- sorry Margaret!) our parcels for each other.

My parcel arrived on Friday in a butter tub (which was a requirement in the swap) wrapped inside a really rather nice pink bag (which Midge and I are already fighting over!)

I had some chocolate Easter bunnies and a couple of cute little fluffy chicks just to add to the whole theme of the swap. The children swooped on the bunnies very quickly, even Husband had a fight on his hands!

I received the most perfect cupcake bag which I have already used today to post my parcels and visit the library (so it works very well!) How perfect is this bag though seriously? I adore it. I only just noticed that Margret has sewn an angel into it too which is so thoughtful, I love angels and fairies.

Margaret had also made me a small bag which will be used for all my essentials in my bedroom (I don't want it to get ruined by putting mascara in it. I might store my nail polishes in there?) I also had 4 fabric coasters made for me which again are pink and cupcake themed. Happy CupcakeMumma.

Thank-you so much Margaret for these truly lovely and thoughtful gifts. Thank-you also to Joy for hosting the Spring Swap. I hadn't participated in one for a while so I'm pleased to have got back into them.

CupcakeMumma

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

Candy

My pen pal sent me some lovely smelling candy love heart candles just before Valentines Day which was so lovely of her. The pink ones are obviously my favourite!

Pink or Red

This Tatty Bear was bought for me by my Husband exactly 6 years ago now! I love the red rose he holds and can't quite believe that despite being kept downstairs he's stayed in great condition!

Love

I love it when my children do adorable things like this!

Kisses

Smile

CupcakeMumma

A Bargain of a Day!

I visited Truro a couple of days ago with my sister. I went primarily to get a few bits for the Halloween party I'm really looking forward to treating my 2 and their cousins to. I hope they like my bunting and tinsel! All of the above was from Poundland so no where too exciting but for once I was with someone who didn't mind doing a bit of good old charity shop 'scavenger hunting.'
I'd like to show you some really pleasing finds.

First of all I bought this fab mug which my sister spotted. This was in the Cancer Research shop and although it wasn't second hand the money still goes to a good cause right? This was £6 and is a totally cool mug. It's made like those Starbucks coffee cups. The top is silicon and has a plastic covering. I had my first hot chocolate in this last night and it retains heat so well I'm going to need a knitted mug warmer so I don't burn my hands! I love it though, very CupcakeMumma!

My second find was from a box containing a few fabric scraps and old dolls clothes from a lady in the market. I found this very cute little handmade cushion. I'm not usually one for nautical themes and to be honest, I'm not sure where it'll fit in but because I love it I know I'll find a home for it.

A beauty one here. Poking about Superdrug waiting for my sister to decide between two different types of stick on eyelashes (she bought both in the end in case you're interested) I found a little box of polishes and trashed make up. I don't wear make up and the varnish colours where fairly ugly. However, amongst the brown varnishes I found this top coat polish which we all know can be very handy. As it was 99p I thought I'd better not miss out on it!

 How cool is this cupcake? The perfect finishing touch to my kitchen decorations I thought. I've placed it on my windowsill and as you can see it's also a handy little box. I don't think ill use it for anything but maybe a few stray 5p's will find their way in? 

I love bunting. No. I adore bunting! And this is roughly 2 metres for £2.50 from the same lovely old lady at the local market. I love the colour and already have a place in mind. It does have some letters sewn on so I'll unpick them and give it a good iron before pinning it up on my desired spot.

Finally, a couple of very retro and very cool postcards for my collection. I've decided to get some of my favourites (these included) out of my tin and put them in photo frames to display around the house. Watch this space!

I had a great day and am up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to jump in a rather cramped and full to the brim car with my sister and our parents for a 6 hour trip to Keele University. I'm hoping we'll be doing a bit of walking about before coming back to good old Cornwall, I don't escape very often after all! I've packed lunch and baked some cupcakes for the journey so all that's left is to hope the roads and the weather are kind (and I don't get too travel sick sat in the back!)

Have a great weekend what ever you get up to.
CupcakeMumma

Photo A Day September #5

September 5th

Bright

I like to keep flowers in my kitchen to bring a bit of freshness and a pretty look to the home and these flowers are some of my favourites because they are two tone.The sun was quite bright at the back of the kitchen this evening as you can see. I do love my pretty, pink flowers.

CupcakeMumma

Race For Life 2012- A Big Thank-You!

Thank-You so much to everyone who supported myself and Little Miss. We have added up our pennies online and offline and we have smashed last years total of £70 and have managed to raise £100!!!

I'd now like to share with you our fantastic day at Race For Life 2012.

 Before heading off we had the good old final preparations. Little Miss wanted to be a pretty cat so I sat in the car with her and popped on some face paints as Mum and my sister sorted out their back signs. We made sure there were plenty of safety pins this year!

Little Miss, Aunty Issy and Grandma. 

Mummy and Little Miss all pinked up!

 We were the pyjama party (It was even shouted at us as we all joined hands and ran across the finishing line!) Such an amazing experience.

After the very fun workout we followed our designated flag and made our way with the crowd to the start! Everyone was really excited and keen to get started. The music started playing, people starting clapping and before we knew it we were off! 

There were hundreds of people doing Race For Life in Truro this year which was fantastic. There were women jogging with pushchairs, boys walking with their Mums playing with sticks amid the sea of pink and plenty of fancy dress- both the young and old!

These ladies did the whole race 3 legged! 

This little dog was one among many but I loved her little pink bow and she
was so friendly.

These ladies were bonkers! They did pretty much the whole race on their space
hoppers which is fantastic!

  We played a game of 'collect the fallen feathers' to keep Little Miss occupied on the way around. We now have a fair amount of pink feathers that were blown off by participants feather bowers! We're going to make a collage of our special day. Not only that, but we saved the environment from a lot of pink feathers! Although I'm sure the birds will love the ones we didn't manage to collect to pink up their nests!

In the final bit, Little Miss got very tired and it was getting hard to spur her on. Our angel came as a high vised Marshall armed with a spare chocolate bar- how kind! That little chocolate bar and that mans kindness got us all past the finishing line with huge smiles and laughter with a round of applause from so many people who had waited around long after their loved ones had finished.
Yes, the pyjama party had crossed the finish line and Mummy was the proudest Mummy on the planet...

What better way to round a hot day off with a well deserved ice cream?

Thank you again to everyone who sponsored us- it means so much to me and many out there. Here's to 2013!

CupcakeMumma and Little Miss

xx