Cyber Monday Sale!!

     Cyber Monday Sale!!! Go to my shop and use the coupon code: CYBERMONDAY2010 at the checkout to receive 15% off of each item! This offer is good starting now and will end Monday evening so hurry!!

http://www.littlebuttercupbaby.etsy.com/

     What are the deals you are after for Cyber Monday?

"Whoever said money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to go shopping."  ~Bo Derek

~Shannon

Happy Thanksgiving!

     Happy Thanksgiving! I have been baking up a storm this morning. I started out with pumpkin spice bars with cream cheese frosting then made my apple pie and finally have the pumpkin pie in the oven. Unfortunetly, there was a crust casualty along the way. I misread the crust instructions telling me to pull the crust edge up over the pie pan and by not doing that the sides of my crust shrunk all the way down the side to less than an inch tall. Luckily I don't have to be to my parents until later this afternoon so I had plenty of time to fix it.

     One thing I am thankful for today is my family. One year ago today I found out I was pregnant with my son. I was very thankful for my pregnancy last year as we waited a long time for it. Now a year later I am thankful to have him in our lives. He was definetly missing and now our family feels complete with him and his older sister. I am also thankful for my wonderful husband who works very hard and lets me stay home with our children. He is amazing and I love him more every day.

What are you thankful for today?


"Hem your blessings with thankfulness so they don't unravel."  ~Author Unknown

~Shannon

These items could be yours!!

Little Buttercup Baby is being featured in a blog giveaway and you could win these two bibs!! The solid one is a toddler bib and the two-tone is an infant size. Please visit Miskabelly's Blog for details on how to enter!! There is also a little bit about me and how I started my shop.

"The manner of giving is worth more than the gift."  ~Pierre Corneille, Le Menteur

~Shannon

Best Cupcake Recipe Ever!

Over the weekend I made these awesome chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting and just had to share the recipe!

Cupcakes:

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 2/3 cups sugar

3/4 cup butter

2/3 cup baking cocoa

1 1/4 cups water

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

2 large eggs

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat all ingredients with electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed for 3 minutes. Pour into muffin cups.

3. Bake for 16-21 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

3 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup butter

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 to 2 tablespoons milk

1. Mix powdered sugar and butter in medium bowl with spoon or electric mixer on low speed. Stir in vanilla and 1 tablespoon of milk.

2. Gradually beat in just enough remaining milk to make frosting smooth and spreadable. If frosting is too thick, beat in more milk, a few drops at a time. If frosting becomes too thin, beat in a small amount of powdered sugar.

3. Frost cupcakes and enjoy!!

"Chocolate is the answer. Who cares what the question is." ~Author Unknown

~Shannon

New Arrival

I am very excited to announce a new item I just added to my shop.......baby shoes!!!! I have only this one pair listed as of right now but I have many more to come. There will be boy & girl shoes available in several different sizes; 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months & 12-18 months. Most of the shoes I am finishing up to list are flannel on both sides which will be perfect for keeping those tiny toes warm. I will be working on cotton shoes soon too. They are reversible with hidden seams to give you two options of color and maximum comfort for your little one.

Here is the link for the shoe section in my shop. Please check it often as I will be listing quite a few coming up soon!!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/littlebuttercupbaby?section_id=7550405

"There's really nothing quite so sweet as tiny little baby feet."   ~Author Unknown

~Shannon

Bring on the Christmas music!

     This is what I woke up to on Saturday morning! It was so beautiful. The first official snow fall in MN. We ended up getting about 8 inches that day and got a little more the next day. I love the first snow but it is never this much. Usually a dusting at most so this was a great surprise. My daughter couldn't wait to get her new coat, mittens, hat & boots on to go out and shovel with Daddy! She has been talking about shoveling for weeks now and we didn't have any snow but that is not the case anymore. She definetly slept good that night!!!

     The craftshow is 4 days away! I feel like it was never going to get here and now mom and I are in panic mode sewing away. We both tend to work better under pressure anyway so that is good for us. We did a "pre-setup" at her house last Friday night to see how we could best use our 10x6 space and figure out how to lay it all out. We went on a house hunt for different shaped and sized baskets and bins to display our things in. My sister came over and helped too and we had a lot of fun!! I really hope we do well at it because it would be a fun thing to do with my mom every year. I have heard that a successful craftshow is making 10x the amount of the entry fee. Well....it was $75 to enter....no pressure. LOL!

     My vacation was wonderful! It wasn't quite as relaxing as I had hoped but still lots of fun! We went to Gooseberry Falls and saw the waterfalls and walked the park, went swimming at the resort & relaxed and watched movies by the fireplace in our room. My daughter turned into a little fish in the pool and couldn't get her out. My son was so relaxed in the pool (it was his first time) he fell asleep!! I was holding him face to face in front of me walking in the shallow end and he just leaned back against the head rest of his life jacket and he slept for a half an hour. Here I was thinking he would scream when I put him in the water and he didn't make a peep. He is so funny.

     I baked homemade chocolate cupcakes and vanilla buttercream frosting this past weekend for a chili cook-off with my family so I will post that recipe and pics of my cupcakes soon!!

"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire:  it is the time for home."  ~Edith Sitwell

~Shannon

Two days til vacation mode!

So I am at my mom & dad's house (we come over here every Friday night) and we are actually sewing!!! We always make this big plan to get all of this sewing done and be really productive and I would say one out of four night we actually are. Luckily, this was one of them! We are two weeks away now from a craftshow we are in and we are realizing we still have a lot to get done.

Tonight my mom is working on fabric coasters and I am working on baby shoes. The shoes are turning out super cute and I am really excited about them!! I will be adding them to my Etsy shop soon. I have some done but I might wait until after the craftshow is over to list them so I can bring the ones I have done there and not have to frantically make more.

Tomorrow I will spend part of my day packing the family's bags because we are heading up north to Duluth for 3 days!! This will be our 8th time up there. My husband brought me there for our 1 year dating anniversary and we loved the place we stayed so much that we go back every year. We even stay in the same room every time. It is on the top floor at the very end so it's very quiet and peaceful. There is usually 5 or less other couples that are there at the same time since it's during the week and off peak season. My daughter loves it because there is never anyone in the pool, we have the whole thing to ourselves.

I can't believe that it started with our 1 year anniversary and now, 8 years later, we are still celebrating there married for 4 years and 2 beautiful children. I hope we are able to go up there every year still to come and keep it a tradition for our kids as well. I am hoping for snow (I do every year) because there is nothing more beautiful than waking up in the morning watching it snow over Lake Superior. It is supposed to be a warmer week ahead so snow probably won't happen but I will still hope for it :)

"For you see, each day I love you more. Today more than yesterday and less than tomorrow."   ~Rosemonde Gerard

~Shannon

Pumpkin Pie Recipe

Yesterday I made homemade apple pie (for the fourth time this fall...hubby's favorite) and I thought I would share the recipe with you. It must be good if he keeps requesting more :)

Ingredients:

2/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Dash of salt

8 cups thinly sliced peeled tart apple (8 medium)

2 tablespoons butter or stick margarine (if desired)

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in large bowl. Stir in apples. Turn into pastry-lined pie plate. Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over apples. Cover with top pastry that has slits cut in it; seal and flute. Cover edge with 2-3 inch strip of aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning; remove foil during last 15 minutes of baking.

3. Bake 40 to 50 minutes or until crust is golden brown and juice begins to bubble through slits in crust. Cool on wire rack at least 2 hours.

This recipe comes from my Betty Crocker Bridal Edition Cookbook that I got for my wedding. I hope you enjoy this recipe and let me know if you make a pie from it!!

"Stressed spelled backwards is desserts.  Coincidence?  I think not!"  ~Author Unknown

~Shannon