New Start

I have taken a seriously long hiatus, but now I am ready to take this blog on in a more consistent fashion. I have thought for weeks how I would like to update this blog and have procrastinated long enough. Since I can't sleep tonight and I laid awake writing this post in my head, now seems like as good a time as any.

First off let me announce my new job. I was offered a position taking care of 2 adorable little girls for a neighbor. It is a Mon-Fri job which requires me to leave my current job at the doctor's office. It is just up the street so I will save on gas and its way more hours, which means more money.  I look forward to this new adventure but it is very bittersweet. I gave my notice at the Doctor's office and had a very hard time not crying. Everyone was very understanding. I just feel like I am being selfish. I started that job when I was sophomore in  college and very new to the field. They have been there for me through breakups, dating, graduating, getting engaged and then married.  These ladies have become my family, my friends. They consider themselves like my mothers, but I see them as my sisters. I just wish there was someway I could stay.

On the other hand, the new job is perfect. I get to do all the fun activities and crafts with the girls that have just been ideas until now. I won't post pictures of the girls because they are not mine and although I am sure their mother would not mind if I asked, for now I will only post pictures of projects. For the sake of this blog we will call the girls(after their favorite characters) Mermaid (age almost 4) and Explorer (age 21 months). They are adorable and I love spending time with them.

I have also started my own business as a independent consultant for the pampered chef. I love cooking so it seemed like a good idea.
I am very excited about where life is taking me right now. I know it will be hard at first, but I think I  have made the right decisions. I just wish there was a way to make everyone happy.


Thanks for read the ramblings of an insomniac.

Sweater Pillows

Since I have not been doing much crafting lately, today's post is brought to you by mom from Red Maple Cottage.
She used sweaters found at a Thrift store to recover pillows for the front porch at Red Maple Cottage.

This a great idea for sweaters that are to small that you don't want to get rid of. These sweaters cost about $2.50 each. 

First, mom cut off the sleeves and collars, forming a square that would fit over the pillows. 

The pillows were ordinary throw pillows that mom had outside already. 

After mom cut the sweaters to fit the pillows, she placed the sweater on the pillow (as if it was wearing the sweater) and sewed up all the openings. 

Add in a matching blanket...

And Ta da....nice place for Miss Lilly to curl up. 

The snow flake that was on the pillow in the first picture and on the table in this picture is just a felt ornament from the dollar store. 

The 12 Months Before Christmas- January

Hello Folks,
It's a new year at Red Maple Cottage.
Mom is calling it The 12 months before Christmas. 
She has picked themes for each month and has tons of sewing, crafting, decorating and party ideas. 
So let's get started!


January ( A Partridge in a Pear Tree)

The theme of this month is Winter. 

Twas the sickness before Christmas

I am still alive! I got a small little stomach bug last week that I just can't seem to shake, but it certainly shook up my whole routine. I haven't posted on here, I haven't been to the gym, I haven't kept up with the house chores, and I haven't done my Christmas shopping.

Don't worry I haven plenty to post. I just need to sit down and work on it. Here is what have to share with you in the next week :

• cupcake apron
• Cookie Swap
• My Christmas mantle
• Strawberry White Chocolate chip cookies
•  Ornament Scrapbook
• a giveaway
• reindeer candy wrappers

Check back later today!

We have a winner

The winner of the two scottie dog paintings

 according to Random.org is.......

meg @ Raising Genius Fish

Congrats to Meg. An thank you to those that entered. 

Blog search

I have been looking for a really great blog that I came across a few nights ago and apparently did not follow or bookmark. So I have been  googling everything I can think of that I saw on said blog. I have yet to find it again, but have come across some really great blogs...such as

Review: Maybelline lots of Lashes Mascara and Baby Lips Lip Balm

This is my first product review as a  bzzagent. I received these samples (full size products.. for free in exchange for my review) of Maybelline Lots of Lashes Mascara and Baby Lips lip balm.

I was definitely sold on them as soon as I used them. 

Let start with the mascara. 

 At first I didn't think I would like the mascara, I already have thick eyelashes and don't use allot of mascara. One or two swipes at most. When I first opened it, I was rather disappointed that it was very hard to remove the original green top, but I love the new brush. Notice how it is tapered at the end. It's called The Great Little Grabber. I really don't like that name, it sounds painful. But the brush is great. It got the lashes at the corner of my eye and I also used the end to get my bottom lashes without getting mascara on my skin. oh come on you know it has happened to you. I didn't like that it wasn't waterproof. It's "washable". However, I have been using it for a couple weeks now and I have not had an issue with it running, even after I did at the gym. It is available in three shades and will cost you about $6.40. I think that is a pretty fair price.

Now on to the baby Lips lip balm

I used to only use lip balm when I had chapped lips or in the summer (I am prone to sun poisoning on my lips). I now use Baby Lips lip balm everyday instead of lipstick. My lips are always soft now. I love that it doesn't have the weird lip balm sent/ taste. I love the smell too. My favorite is Quenched, which is one of the clear varieties. The other clear variety is peppermint. It is also available in 4 tinted varieties ( Cherry Me, Pink Punch, Grape Vine and Peach kiss). It has a SPF of 20. You can pick one up at most retailers for about $3.99.


For more information and some fun activities, check out Maybelline New York's Facebook page

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Turkey day. I made Thanksgiving dinner for the first time this year. I loved do it and I think it went well. My bonus mom (my mother in law ...we don't like the in law thing) works for  Weight Watchers, so I decided on a healthy appetizer.

I got this idea from Family Fun. It was very simple and so cute. The body is a melon that i cut on the bottom so that it was flat and would not roll. The head is a pear upside down secured with half of a wooden skewer. Raisins for eyes , yellow pepper for the beak and red pepper for the ....um whats that thing called? all secured with tooth picks. The feathers are an assortment of cheese cubes and grapes.

Plus it made a great center piece for the table. If you want to make your own fruit and cheese animal, experiment and have fun! The turkey design could easily be made into a peacock, or let your creativity flow and come up with your own. It makes a great diet-friendly appetizer or even light dessert, especially when paired with the Sensa Weight loss System.
























Disclaimer: Sensa is a paid sponsor of Cupcake Daydreamer. 

Don't forget to enter my Etsy giveaway

1st Giveaway

Yay! I just recently opened my Etsy shop and in celebration I will be hosting a give away of these lovely doggy paintings.

They are both painted by my mom on an 8x10 canvas. One lucky winner will get both the black and the white Scottie dog paintings. Both paintings have a red plaid background.

You may remember seeing the black Scottie on this table

Here is how you can win:

• Mandatory entry: Follow Cupcake Daydreamer on GFC and comment telling me you did.

Extra entries:

• Like Cupcake Daydreamer on Facebook and leave a comment here telling me you did.

• Visit my Etsy shop and leave a comment telling me your favorite painting.

• Tell some one how thankful you are for them today and leave a comment telling me you did. 

The winner will be chosen at random by Random.org. You have until 12:00 am EST on Wednesday November 30th to enter. Good Luck!

Guest posting today

Good morning all!

Today I am guest posting about my family cookie swap over at Making Our Life Matter.


Come check it out and be sure to leave Jen some comment love!

Weekend plans

TGIF! yay Friday!

What are your plans for the weekend?

Here are some of mine:

• Clean the house! 
• Craft fairs on Saturday
• Teach Sunday School Sunday morning
• Prepare Thanksgiving menu and grocery list (I am cooking Thanksgiving Dinner for the first time, and I am supper excited)
• Plan projects for the week. 
• Rest!

Hope you all have a fabulous Weekend!

Baby Shower Gift

Yesterday was suppose to be my sewing day but since I didn't get anything done. I need to show you an old project.

This is a Baby shower gift I made for a coworker back in April. My inspiration came from somewhat simple. I love these bins! Can you tell?
I used my Cricut to label the bin with the baby's name.

Inside I placed 5 outfits.

I just love those little skirts. I also bought 3 pairs of pants. There were 5 complete outfits. I rolled them up and wrapped them all with a matching headband.

Now I really wish I had a baby to dress up.


I didn't even have to wrap this gift. It looked great as it was!

I will be linking up here:

50th Birthday Survival Kit

I know I promised to show you yesterday's craft, but the Christmas tree pins are taking long than expect to make. Plus we did a little reworking of the original idea. Instead I decided to show you the 50th birthday survival kit I made for my brother-in-law.

I got the idea from LEIA LEGWEAK'S HANDMADE CRAFTS. I wanted to give him stuff he would use and still be funny.  This is my kit.

I got a storage container at Walmart for $4. I printed the labels that read "50th Birthday Survival Kit" on sticker paper.

The items inside all had labels that were also printed on sticker paper. You can get the list Here.

·       Duct tape- instant face lift

·       Red tablets- to encourage hair regrowth

·       Needle nose pliers- for getting rid of nose hairs

·       Glue- hold everything together

·       First aid kit- for when you fall down

·       Rubber bands- to get your flexibility back

·       Little blue pills- for increased sex drive

·       Memory mints – for those senior moments

·       WD40- to lubricate your joints

·       Magnifying glass- for when you lose your eye sight

·       Starburst- for a burst of energy

·       Notebook- to write things down before you forget

I got most of my items at the dollar store and the rest, I got at Walmart. This was a fairly cheap and fun gift. 

I will be linking up here:

Painted Tables

It has been crazy around here. I have been working lots of late nights last week. Which is awesome! Woohoo need the money for craft supplies. I also don't have working internet at my house, which means I need to post from Red Maple Cottage.

Today I want to share with you some painted tables. These are all mom painted. I don't have before picture because mom starts painting as soon as she has her hands on the piece of furniture. I don't have time to get there with my camera.

This moose one, and the next two lodge themed tables were painted on  ordinary folding t.v. tray tables that were purchased at Good Will for $3.

 This one is my favorite.

Mom likes the bear one the best.

Ok maybe I like this one the best. The Scottie dog was painted on an old end table we found at a thrift store for $6. I think it is perfect for Christmas time with the plaid background, but its too cute, I wouldn't want to put anything on it.


Today is craft day! Mom and I are making Christmas tree pins out of felt. Check back tomorrow to see our creations. I am linking up here:

Storage Bin Hunt link up

Sorry I have been MIA the past few days. It has been rather crazy around here. You see the Hubs and I are trying to find storage bins to go on a bookshelf that we are in the process of clearing off.

The Hubs took the picture with his phone and I said we are in the process of clearing it off. We decide we want to fill it with the same bins we have in our pantry. 

I bought them last year at the Christmas Tree Store. They are 9x9x8inches, non-woven collapsible bins. We figured we need about 38 of them. 

WE CAN'T FIND THEM ANYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!

We have looked in over 10 stores in the past 3 days and online..Nothing! It doesn't help that the Hubs want it to be exactly this, same color and all. 

Now I need to get creative. If I can't find what I want I need to make it right?  I need your help. I need something that is not expensive, fits those dimensions, and cannot be clear.  The winner will be featured on my blog. 

Please grab my button if you link up. You can find it on  the grab my button page. Thank you!