How to Host A #NAILEDIT Party!

I am so sorry to all of those who have been reading my blog.

It has literally been over a year since I have written here.

But it's never too late to start over again, right?

I have had so many things happen. Like this:

With a Rebel yell...

My little Rebel Rose Rudd. Born on 6/1/17.

It took awhile for me to adjust to motherhood. I took a break from being a cupcake queen and solely focused on being a mom for a little bit.  This little Rebel has been the one preventing me from sitting on my computer and sharing my life in blog format ♥. 

In the meantime, something AMAZING happened in the state of Wisconsin. A law was passed saying that I could bake out of my home kitchen for profit. So as of 2018, I gradually started to bake out of my home kitchen again and it has been a blur ever since.

I know, I know a lot of people say that you have to sacrifice everything you want for your kids. But I don't believe in that. I believe the opposite. I think you should make dreams happen for your little ones, so that you can be a happy parent, and a strong wonderful role model for your babies!  So even though it is challenging sometimes, I will not give up on this baking dream. I would love to have Rebel standing side by side with me in the kitchen, if its something she'd enjoy doing!

My big goal in my comeback as cupcake queen was to host themed cupcake decorating parties. I've made that vision come true! 

Last week, I partnered with Winemakers Daughter out of Manawa and we hosted a #NAILEDIT Party! I love that show on Netflix. I will never be as funny as Nicole Byer (the hostess of the Netflix show) so I told everyone that this was definitely the AMANDA CUPCAKE version INSPIRED by Nailed It on Netflix! So I put my own spin on it. 

My husband Kyrik joined me for this one, and he definitely stole the limelight with his charm and sense of humor (he is also wayyyy funnier than me!) He stood in as a judge and the photographer.

My friend Jamie who owns Winemakers Daughter also stood in as a judge!

The Winemakers Daughter and Cupcake Queen = Good friends to have!!!

I've really been into making unicorn cakes.

If you have been following me, I've been doing the unicorn thing since before it was super trendy. So I feel like I have an advantage, having natural glittery rainbow unicorn brains! I've been booked with a different unicorn cake almost every week since I've been back as Amanda Cupcake.

So for this NAILED IT Party... The theme was Fantasy UNICORN CAKES!

In preparation I made 50 mini rainbow cake layers for the 15 contestants, each one 4" round (so each contestant could bring home their own 3 layer rainbow cake).

My little Rebel helper. ♥

I also made this fabulous giant edible golden unicorn NAILED IT Cupcake Trophy for the WINNER!

♥

And wore my gold glitter combat boots for the occasion!

..And since I had done all the prep at home, it was everyone else's turn to "work"! I sprinkled some glitter in my wine and off I went to host and judge my first NAILED IT-Amanda Cupcake party!

The Rules. Some written by my husband, just to make it more interesting.

The thing I love most about NAILED IT on Netflix is that it is different from other reality shows. Everyone is laughing. No one gets all serious and cries. It is intense, but intensely funny. Everyone has a good time. That's what I wanted to create in our atmosphere at the winery.

The big reveal.. The unicorn cake..hidden underneath that box.

(We hid it until right before the decorating started!)

I bought these little unicorn horn suckers at the party store to try and keep it simple. I typically use fondant to sculpt my unicorn horns, but I wanted the contestants to be able to recreate their own version as easily as possible since they were paying to attend and I wanted them to go home with something they could be proud of! I also used marshmallows dipped in sugar sprinkles for the ears.

Each table was filled with frosting and palettes of sprinkles, piping bags, and all sorts of tools you could use to successfully create a mini unicorn cake!

This guy doesn't know it yet, but he won! 

We challenged this talented lady to add a rainbow mustache to her unicorn cake, just to throw her off since she seemed to have advanced unicorn cake making skills!

Clapping out of pure joy.

After an hour of decorating, each contestant showed off their creation.

And I was amazed at what they created!

It was a very tough decision.

I noticed each and every person there poured their heart and soul into their creation. Laughter filled the winery. It reminded me a lot of my times in the kitchen and what I do when I make cakes for people.

♥

 

How creative is this?!?!!? Check out that MANE! 

  A unicorn with a glittering UNIBROW!

 

2 cakes created without fancy tools...I told these ladies they were "scrappy" like Amanda Cupcake!

 She definitely has some skills! The purple hair was my fave.

....there's that rainbow mustache!!

A view of her creation close up:

 A Halloweeny unicorn! OoooH!

..And sadly this one fell apart before we got a picture of it, but it was STILL fabulous, and edible!:

The winner:

The BEARICORN!

This guy came in asking me not to put glitter in his wine. But I did it anyway. I explained that she or HE who leaves a trail of glitter behind is never forgotten! And he left with a glittery golden edible cupcake trophy. We chose the BEARICORN because our rules never said that you had to make your unicorn cake look just like mine. We said that it had to come from your heart, and we asked the contestants to create what your spirit animal unicorn cake is?

The Bearicorn spoke to my heart because it had the same kind of spirit as my husband and my little Rebel girl. My little Rebel has this furrowed eyebrow, she got it from my husband. And honestly... so did the Bearicorn. My husband and I agreed, this cake captured our hearts.

I am not really sure what everyone thought about this new side of Amanda Cupcake..

The judgey quirky side....

But I hope all of the contestants had as much fun as I did.

This will go down in history as one of my most favorite memories as a Cupcake Queen!

 A Glittery Cheers, and onto the next #NAILEDIT Party!!

My Very Enchanted "Disney" Love Story Wedding

A little over a year ago I decided to stop mass manufacturing my cupcakes and start focusing on the part of Amanda Cupcake that I love ♥. Oh goodness, I still have these WILD dreams of opening up a cupcake mansion with glitter walls and all things fantastical, I'd even love a chain of them like Starbucks! Those dreams will never go away. But what I did know is that I'd never accomplish those dreams going at the rate that I was. This cupcake queen was staying up all night almost every night for a little over 4 years, baking up a storm. My problem wasn't that I didn't have enough business. It was that I was making these little art pieces by hand by the thousands..and they were in such great demand I couldn't do it all myself! And perhaps I wasn't the one supposed to be mass manufacturing? Amanda Cupcake should have had a team of bakers helping her, so she could go out and sprinkle glitter all over the world like they loved to have her do.

I had tried to partner with Shark Tank and find an investor to help me build some capitol and with that, a team of cupcake bakers to make this dream come true. I got very close! One of the casting directors called me and I went through the process. But I didn't make it all the way on the show. But just that experience showed me that the vision of Amanda Cupcake was very unique and enough to get noticed. 

When Amanda Cupcake was noticed by Shark Tank but not selected, I realized that I needed to do something different. Maybe mass manufacturing wasn't what Amanda Cupcake was truly about.  So I decided to take a little hiatus, rest, and do some soul searching. My inner soul just said to "Be Still."

What I found..was time to spend with my family again. 

I did get a day job as a business manager (and in that, I have learned a lot of business skills-I look at my job as my investor, paying me to learn!)

I got healthy again through the practice of hot power yoga (I was starting to pack on pounds making those cupcakes)!

I found some new talents (and of course they mix very well with my Amanda Cupcake persona, you'll see what they are shortly!) 

..and I got married to my Mister Cupcake in September of this year.
(of course our guests threw sprinkles at our wedding)

One big score..I met my future husband (Kyrik) when I opened the Cupcake Mansion in New London. He lived right down the street. When I met him I was so focused on my business that I never knew he'd be my husband. 

....Until he came along and swept me off my feet. He wouldn't leave me alone. He supported my business. He spent many long crazy messy nights in a blur of powdered sugar with me. He was there during my many triumphs but also stood next to me, proud of me during my failures. And even when I was weary, he saw my beauty. 

Planning my wedding with Kyrik also helped me discover new talents. Event planning! We decided the theme of our wedding would be enchanted fairytale, inspired by DISNEY (because we are both such kids at heart and dreamers) !

The inspiration for my look was Ariel, The Little Mermaid. All of my bridesmaids were dressed as different Disney Princesses!Can you tell which is which? (From left: Cinderella, Tinkerbell, Snow White (my matron of honor), Belle, Aurora, and Jasmine).

My bouquet was inspired by my fantasy vanilla rainbow cupcake recipe ♥,
I added a "dinglehopper" of course since I was The Little Mermaid!


My bridal shoes. ♥ Hand-painted with Ariel & Eric on the bottom.

My very own best friends were transformed into sparkly Disney princesses! What a dream come true for all of us!

We designed the bridesmaid bouquets ourselves ♥ My mother in law helped us make them! Can you tell which one belongs to each Disney princess?

  

There were even Disney Princess cupcake charms on each bouquet! (to combine Amanda Cupcake & the enchantment of Disney)

We  threw  a"glitter heels" party before the big day where my bridal party hand glittered all of their own heels for the wedding!!!

..I grew so much closer with the girls in my bridal party during the wedding planning ♥.

And my mom too ♥

I gave my mom &future mom-in-law magic fairy godmother wands, with glitter shakers attached! (So they could sprinkle magical glitter on the guests all day and all night!)

Our ushers greeted our guests with glimmering gold glitter beards.

My dad walked me down the aisle....

King Triton and The Little Mermaid. ♥

(..or Amanda Cupcake & Papa Cupcake).

Our "Glitter Girl" and "Flounder"

Kyrik & I exchanged vows in the middle of an enchanted forest ♥

♥

..with the Waupaca High School Madrigal Alumni serenading us with a Disney Medley in the background!

One of our best friends was our officiant. In the middle of our service, he broke out in song.."What is Love, Baby Don't Hurt Me..No More!"

For our unity ceremony, we mixed 2 different wines (handmade by Kyrik). Of course...I added glitter too!


Our first glass of wine together on our wedding day ♥ Saying cheers to everyone we loved!

Our choir surprised us by singing, "Kiss The Girl" from The Little Mermaid during this moment. ♥

♥
While Kyrik and I were frolicking in the woods after the wedding in bliss..

Our guests were making their own unicorn horns at the DIY unicorn horn station!

Enjoying cupcakes with "Flounder!"

 ..Drinking cocktails out of glittered wine glasses!

♥

....or going on a scavenger hunt for magical glittery potion bottles we made!

♥

We partied it up at the reception!

 ...in tables decked out in enchantment, gold, glitter & handmade touches of Disney.

Cinderella Table.

Beauty & The Beast Table.

Snow White Table.

Peter Pan Table.

Alice In Wonderland Table.

Our sweetheart table. Complete with "thingamabobs" and a "dinglehopper."

The dessert table ♥ With Crowns and glitter and dinglehoppers as cake pop sticks!

Our pinata glitter cake!

We ate breakfast for dinner.

There were dances with Disney princesses...

A "Smore'sgasbord!"

♥

A kissing wheel instead of clinking glasses...

Maleficent ("the best woman"-Kyrik's sister made an appearance at the reception)

And at the end of the night..

We released lanterns with our guests into a moonlit sky, with the song "I See The Light" From Tangled playing in the background.

♥

I'm in tears writing this blog right now.

Happy tears, remembering what a dream this day was, and how all of our crazy ideas came together so perfectly to define us together as a couple. If it weren't for Amanda Cupcake..I never would have met Kyrik. Cheers to the future as Amanda Rudd, as Mrs Cupcake, and to going on adventures with this man who has set my wild heart free. I was looking for a business partner..but instead I found my partner for life!

("Shalala Shalalalala..Kiss The Girl"..)

Maybe...some Amanda Cupcake parties/events are in the future?

Credits:

Venue: Caribou Bay Retreat
DJ: Yo DJ Entertainment
Wedding Ceremony Music: My brother, Clifton Wright & The Waupaca High School Madrigals Alumni

Photography: Amanda Red Wedding Photography

Bride's Bouquet: Design Door County
Bridesmaid Bouquets: Amanda Cupcake/Laurrie Rudd
Bride's Dress: Justin Alexander
Veil: EllenMarieDesign, Etsy
Bridesmaid Dresses: Christina Wu/Elaine's Bridal of Appleton
Cupcake Charms: Milushka on Etsy
Bridesmaid Jewelry: aWishUponACharm, Etsy
Makeup: Hillary Kline
Hair: Blue Angel Salon, Waupaca

Breakfast for Dinner: Britt's Catering, The Clauson Family Music Show

Dessert: Amanda Cupcake recipes made by my friend Brianna Ahles
Centerpieces: Handmade by Amanda Cupcake & friends!