{Inspired By} Gorgeous Cakes & Cupcakes by i am baker!

A few months ago, Kim came across i am baker after seeing this beautiful pink cake on Martha's Dreamers into Doers page.  Isn't it gorgeous?

We knew we needed to introduce you, our lovely readers, to this deliciousness.  Amanda, the sweet creator of i am baker is a genius when it comes to baked goods.  And her blog is full of wonderful inspiration and instruction!  Cakes, cupcakes, and cookies galore!  And all presented in such a fabulous way.  Go grab yourself a glass of milk and enjoy!!

Make sure you visit her blog here.  Have a great day!

{DIY Party Projects} Mini Cake Bunting Tutorial & Free Printable Alphabet Pages!

We are sharing something super fun to celebrate our big milestone of reaching 10,000 fans on Facebook! I can't explain how thrilled I am that you love what we are doing here on The TomKat Studio and that you are telling your friends about us, too! If you aren't a fan on Facebook yet, JOIN THE PARTY HERE!
I enlisted the help of one of my favorite party girls, Sharnel Dollar of Sharnel Dollar Designs to share a fun MINI CAKE BUNTING tutorial with you! She created one (below) recently for a party and I fell in LOVE! If you don't know Sharnel, you should. This fabulous party girl is full of ideas and style. I swoon over her gorgeous dessert tables, party styling and projects!
Along with her instructions, I have designed several printable PDF alphabet pages that will work perfectly for this project! I also took a few shortcuts when I created my own bunting to celebrate our 10,000 fans! So, check out her tutorial and below you will find my shortcuts!

What you will need:

2 Bamboo Skewers
2 Striped Paper Straws
Embrodiery Thread
Needle
Scissors
Cardstock

Download and print the free printable alphabet pages of your choice on cardstock. Cut out bunting flags and arrange them in order on a flat surface. Thread your needle with embrodiery thread (it's perfectly ok to make funny faces when completing this task.) We pre-punched two holes on the top corners of each flag to make it easier to push the needle through the card. Embrodiery needles aren't sharp enough normally to pierce without making a mess of the card. Thread each of the flags from the top row then pop the needle through one of the straws. Take the needle off the thread and re-thread the other end to enable you to attach the loose end to the remaining straw. Place your skewers in your cake and then insert the straws over the skewers. Tie the end off with two or three knots to secure the bunting in place. Continue this with the remaining bunting.

My Tips:When I made mine, I used a few shortcuts. I didn't have time to pull out a thread and needle, so I designed the flags as foldover diamonds so that I could secure the folded flags over thin ribbon with double-sided tape. I didn't have skewers on hand, so I used 6" lollipop sticks instead. Then just tied the two strings of bunting on the straws. It was really easy and super fun!

Here's the fun part!
Download your FREE printable alphabet flag pages now!

Download PASTEL pages HERE
Download BRIGHT pages HERE
Download BOLD pages HERE

fyi...in the scribd preview, the letters appear to be lopsided but when printed they are not!

Thank you to Sharnel for this fabulous idea! I would also like to thank Melissa at Decadent Delights for the gorgeous cake, Laura Winslow for the fabulous photos, Smeeks for the fab photo shoot location & paper straws, Sally at Polka Dot Market for the Balloons, and Serena, our intern for making the adorable mini pinwheels for the cake stand!

Looking for cake bunting with custom fonts/colors?
Coming soon to the shop! Email us for information!

{Real Parties} Vintage Shabby Chic 1st Birthday!

Courtney of Pizzazzerie, a blog dedicated to fabulous party ideas, recently styled this adorable Shabby Chic 1st Birthday Party! Courtney always does beautiful work, but this party was absolutely GORGEOUS! I love all of the details and the photography is perfection! Amazing job, Courtney! We are working on a Vintage photo shoot this weekend, and this party is wonderful inspiration!

View Courtney's full post including sources, HERE!

Didn't she do a beautiful job?

{Sweet Customers} Sweet Hello Kitty Birthday Party!

Stefanie, one of our fabulous customers recently threw her two daughters a Hello Kitty Birthday Party! She ordered our Custom Party Circles to coordinate with her colors and theme! Obviously we can't use a licensed characters due to copyright issues, but you can always match our products to your theme and incorporate the characters other ways! Stef is super crafty and did a beautiful job creating the party for her girls!

Stefanie enlisted the help of one of our favorite shirt designers,
Kristina at Modern Frills! Too cute!

Thank you for sharing your photos with us, Stefanie!
You did a beautiful job!

View Stef's full post here!

{Sweet Customers} Lucia's Sweet Vintage Cowgirl Birthday Party!

I am SO excited to share this party with you! When Erin of Erin Volante Floral Design, a past customer of mine contacted me about her daughter, Lucia's Vintage Cowgirl party...I jumped on the opportunity! I worked on Lucia's Flower Party last year, which Erin did a beautiful job with! Erin was also featured a few months ago on HWTM, for the beautiful fairy party she styled for her older daughter's birthday! Erin sent me a bunch of beautiful inspiration photos for the party and requested a vintage look in pink and blue....and that's just what she got!
She did a beautiful job with this party! Enjoy her lovely photos and ideas!

Is this party adorable or what?? I reminded Erin about Bakerella's Cowgirl Cookies in jars and she did a beautiful job making them! The "Pony Corral" with the stick ponies is too cute! I love all of the vintage touches, especially the ceramic pony on the pink cake! Everything is just beautiful! Thank you, Erin for sharing Lucia's special day!

Our new Vintage Cowgirl Collection will be coming to the SHOP soon!

Stay tuned for our FABULOUS FRIDAY GIVEAWAY this afternoon,
we will be giving away an adorable t-shirt
just like Lucia's from Oh Fiddlesticks!

{invitation photo courtesy of La Tee Da Kids ~
I'm in LOVE with her line of Cowgirl clothing}

My Birthday Weekend!

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!
I'm sure I will.....it's my birthday weekend!
If you need me, you'll find me poolside here!

{my favorite cake ever via martha}

{Real Parties} Sweetest Twins' Sweet Shoppe Party!

The lovely, Shelley of How Does She shared these gorgeous photos with me of her twin daughters' Sweet Shoppe Party! Speaking of sweet, in Shelley's post, she calls me her "party idol"! Why thank you, my dear!
Are you ready for some serious PINK sweetness?
Enjoy!

My lovely friend, Nancy of A to Zebra Celebrations created the beautiful banner!

Somehow, Shelley coerced the fabulous Marian of Sweetopia to create cookies for her! What a lucky girl! Marian is AMAZING and creates the most beautiful cookies EVER!

Absolutely. Fabulous.
Thank you, Shelley for sharing your gorgeous photos!
You did such an amazing job!

For more sweet PINK party inspiration, check out my FAVORITE photo shoot styled by Eat Drink Chic HERE!

{Real Parties} Vintage Sunshine & Lemonade Party!

What says summer more than Sunshine & Lemonade? Not much! My sweet friend, Jess at Pen 'N Paper Flowers just styled this gorgeous, casual outdoor birthday celebration for two of her daughters! The soft pink and yellow color scheme is one of my favorites right now (LOVE it in our Vintage Circus collection). Jess did a phenomenal job with every little detail. Enjoy!

Isn't it gorgeous? A few of my favorite details are the cupcakes (perfection!), homemade lollipops and unique birthday banner! Jess, you are truly amazing and one of the most creative women I know. Congratulations on a beautiful party! I'm sure your daughter's enjoyed every little detail you poured your heart into!
XOXO, Kim

View more details and photos here!