Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons Birthday Blog Hop

Hey, everyone!  Welcome to the Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons Birthday Blog Hop.  The date of this hop just happens to be on my birthday (YAY!), so we made it a Birthday-themed hop.  So, you'll get to see all sorts of birthday projects created with Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons (PPPR) files.  I also put together a bigger collection of blog candy for this hop, and I have a FREEBIE just for hoppers!  YAY!  And, of course, we'll be kicking off another monthly challenge. So, be sure to read on to find out how to join in on the fun.

I created these little cupcake toppers using the brand new PPPR Birthday Critters and PPPR Birthday Gator Cutting Files, along with the print and cut feature of my Silhouette Cameo.  I also printed and cut the cupcake wrappers form the PPPR Cupcake Wrappers 1 Cutting Files. The great thing about this is that I could match the colors of the wrappers to the colors of the images.  So, they coordinate perfectly! The cupcakes shown in the photo are fake cupcakes I still have from the days when I sold cupcake toppers on Etsy.  They are a bit taller and poofier than standard cupcakes, so the wrappers would fit real ones much better. :)  Oh, well. You get the idea.

I know that, when I started making cupcake toppers for my daughters' birthdays and to sell on Etsy, I had to do a lot of research to find out the best way to make them.  So, I thought I'd share the process I went through to create these.  First, I created "outsets" or shadow layers around each of the full color SVGs in Silhouette Studio.  These have outsets of about 0.08 px.  Then, I set the cut line for the outset, only, and made a copy of the outset.  So, I ended up with an image with a white border and a blank border layer (without the image).  I hope this makes sense.  It's more difficult to explain than I thought it would be.

Anyway, once the pieces were all cut out, I used my hot glue gun to glue lollipop sticks to the extra blank outset pieces I cut.

Then, I surrounded the lollipop stick with foam double stick tape, added a little ATG gun tape to the top of the lollipop stick, and attached the image cuts.

Here are a couple of more angles to show how the toppers look all around:

Putting together a large number of these for a party or class treat would be pretty quick.  Here's an important tip, though, that I found out from experience.  Don't put the wrappers around your cupcakes until the last minute before the party starts.  The paper wrappers will get soggy if left on for too long, and the ink on anything you printed could run and smear if they are left to soak up the moisture of the cupcakes for too long. Mine have always lasted through the actual party if I put them on just before guests arrive. 

Our hop also kicks off our 4th monthly challenge.  YAY!  The theme this month, of course, is BIRTHDAY. Create anything birthday themed using Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons files, and link it up.  Here are all of the details of the challenge:

1. The project must be Birthday-themed.  Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons products must be the focus of the project.
2. Please link to your actual blog post...not to your blog.  If you don't have a blog, you can add a photo of your project to the Birthday Challenge photo folder in the Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons Project Parade Facebook Group.
3. You can enter as many different Birthday projects as you want for more chances to win.
4. The challenge will run for 3 weeks.  You must link up your project by 11:55 pm CST on Saturday, October 12, 2013.
5. One random winner of a $10 Gift Certificate to PPPR will be chosen.  Our Design Team will also choose our PPPR Top 3.  Winners will be announced on Wednesday, October 16, 2013.

The Linky will be at the end of this post. :)

Okay, now...how about some BLOG CANDY???

One lucky hopper will win a $15 Gift Certificate to PPPR, 2 My Mind's Eye 6x6 inch paper pads, some My Mind's Eye buttons, a set of baker's twine, 2 little acrylic stamp sets, and a set of Studio G shaped card bases. Here's what you need to do for a chance to win this awesome prize:

1.  Be a follower of EVERY BLOG in our little hop.  There are just 10 of us, so that shouldn't be too hard.  You won't be sorry...I'm super lucky to have such talented ladies on my Design Team.

AND

2.  Leave a comment at EACH blog along the hop.  Be sure to let us know you are a follower and leave us your e-mail address.

That's all you have to do.  If you would like EXTRA entries, you can also do one or more of the following:

3.  Like the Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons Facebook Page.  Leave me a separate comment on this blog telling me you did.  Don't forget to leave your e-mail address.

4.  Sign up for the Pretty Paper, Pretty Ribbons Newsletter and leave a comment on this blog telling me you did.  You'll get a weekly e-mail telling you about new files, coupon codes/sales, and freebies. Don't forget to leave me the e-mail address you signed up with. :)

Please only US and Canadian mailing addresses....sorry.  I will randomly choose a winner of the hop candy on Tuesday, September 24, 2013.

OKAY.....WHEW!  Here's your SURPRISE. Only hoppers can pick up this adorable little freebie.  This TWEET little birdie and title will be available here for free on Saturday and Sunday ONLY!  So, grab it before you can buy it!  Just click on the Add to Cart Button to download it...but don't forget to come back to finish the hop.  You don't want to miss all of the fantastic projects and your chance to win the blog candy. :)

***NO LONGER AVAILABLE FOR FREE, but you can purchase it HERE for just $1.25***

Thanks so much for stopping by today.  Your next stop on the hop is Barb.

Lisa ~ http://prettypaperprettyribbons.blogspot.com/

Barb ~ http://BugBites411.blogspot.com/

Brianna ~ http://www.Bloeffelbein.blogspot.com/

Candace ~ http://scrappin2littleprincesses.blogspot.com/

Jeanne ~ http://www.jeannespapercrafts.com/

Melisa ~ http://www.melisascraftycreations.blogspot.com/

Nicole ~ http://teachdanz.blogspot.com/

Shannon ~ http://designsofapaddymack.typepad.com/

Tanya ~ http://nonnascraftcorner.blogspot.com/

Ana Maria ~ http://shortycreations.blogspot.com/