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There are lots of changes for the Crissy G. Company! Please visit us at our new blog here to catch up and keep up with us!

Inspiration Monday - Bows, bows and more bows!

Anyone who knows me well knows that I absolutely LOVE ribbon! My addiction has been fed over the years with countless trips to scrapbook and craft stores. Oh how I could just spend hours in the ribbon sections and aisles while the wheels in my brain spin with ideas. When I was pregnant with Lauren I sat at the dining room table for days pulling outfits from her closet to make coordinating bows for her to wear. I even sat for hours each night tying ribbon around a 6 foot long piece of welting to make a ribbon swag for her nursery. All the while my husband sat watching me shaking his head. I am sure the words going through his mind were, "What is she up to now?"

When I decided to start manufacturing bows, it was no shock to my friends and family. I really enjoy designing and creating them so why not start a bow line? Does this mean I get to be surrounded with endless ribbon choices? Then I am IN! So the journey begins. After finding a ribbon manufacturer, I sent them bows I wanted re-created, they made samples and now the choices begin. Oh the choices! They are overwhelming at times, but I am certainly not complaining.

Since I have long used ribbon for adding touches of detail, I now use my bows as well. They add such a great pop of color and whimsy. They look so cute clipped to a lollipop stick as a cupcake topper or clipped just under the cupcake topper. I did this at Lauren's 5th birthday party and all the little girls had such a good time picking a bow of their choice. I also put them on cake stands, plates and trays for a fun touch next to all the goodies I am serving. If you are anything like me, cnce you start placing them here and there you won't want to stop. It is a good thing I have two girls!

I have a great selection of bows to offer you and will be adding a much larger variety in the next week to ten days. More sizes, more colors, more designs are coming soon. Please visit my Etsy Shop today to see some of what I have now. I am getting ready to relaunch my boutique website as well as a brand new site for my newest division of event design and planning so please check back with often to see all the new. There are some big changes coming!

Did you see our advertisement today on The TomKat Studio blog? My sweet and talented new friend Alicia took the photos and created this darling ad. for me. Be sure to check out her site here. We have a lot of FUN plans, so be sure to keep checking back to find out what we have up our sleeves.

Faith Filled Sunday - World Concern and Compassion International

Photo Credit

Thanksgiving is just four days away and Christmas is peeking around the next corner. With the joy and excitement of the holidays I start to feel extra grateful. Grateful that I live in a country where I can achieve my goals and dreams, provide for my children, not go hungry. Really the fact that I am typing on a computer right now proves that I am blessed. Blessed to have been given so much by a God who loves and adores me.

Jesus took care of so many who needed him. I want to be His hands and feet and take care of others too. I am passionate about two organizations who are also His hands and feet. World Concern and Compassion International are wonderful organizations I want to share with you today. They both work to bring people out of poverty and provide essential needs for the least of these.

I learned about both organizations on K-Love, which is a Christian radio station. I donated to World Concern to provide immunizations and bought a water filtration system from Compassion. We now make it a Christmas tradition for Lauren to choose an animal to send to a family in need. I encourage you to support these organizations this holiday season and give a gift that is needed rather than wanted. Please join me in being His hands and feet. One person truly can make a difference.

Simple Saturday - Spiced Pumpkin Cupcakes

Since Thanksgiving is next week, (WHAT????) I thought I would share this wonderful cupcake recipe. These cupcakes are moist, delicious and simple to make. The cream cheese frosting is topped with toasted and sugared pecans. My mouth is watering just thinking about sinking my teeth into one of these babies. This is the perfect dessert for your children to help with and all will enjoy eating them. I prefer to make my own frosting so I have added a recipe for that too. Mmm...

Thank you Betty Crocker!

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Servings: 24

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans

3 tablespoons sugar

1 box Betty Crocker® SuperMoist® yellow cake mix

1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)

1/2 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 container Betty Crocker® Rich & Creamy cream cheese frosting *

Step 1

Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pan). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.

Step 2 

In heavy 8-inch nonstick skillet, cook pecans and 2 tablespoons of the sugar over low heat about 8 minutes, stirring constantly, until sugar is melted. Spoon and spread pecans onto sheet of waxed paper. Sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar; toss.

Step 3

In large bowl, beat cake mix, pumpkin, water, oil, eggs and pumpkin pie spice with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, then on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups (about two-thirds full).

Step 4

Bake 19 to 24 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.

Step 5

Frost cupcakes with frosting. Sprinkle edge of frosted cupcakes with pecans; press lightly into frosting. Store loosely covered.

Step 6

Watch them disappear as everyone devours a cupcake.

* For those of you who would rather make fresh cream cheese frosting here is a recipe for that.

INGREDIENTS 

• 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until creamy. Mix in the vanilla, then gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar. Store in the refrigerator after use. 

Thankful Thursday - Thank Filled Quotes

Have you ever looked around the web for a long period of time in search of quotes that will fit perfectly onto a page in a scrapbook, thank you card, or even a DIY project you're working on? Well, I thought I would compile a top ten list for thank filled quotes to help you out. May you all be blessed and filled with gratitude this Thanksgiving.

"The Lord is my strength and shield. I trust him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving."

Psalm 28:7

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation
is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
John F. Kennedy

“If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is ‘thank you', it will be enough.”
Meister Eckhart

“No duty is more urgent than that of returning thanks.”
Author Unknown

“Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.”
Lionel Hampton

"I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy."
Philippians 1:3

"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."
Oprah Winfrey

"Nothing is more honorable than a grateful heart."
Seneca

"Blessed are those that can give without remembering and receive without forgetting."
 Author Unknown

"People who live the most fulfilling lives are the ones who are always rejoicing at what they have."
 Richard Carlson

"There is a calmness to a life lived in gratitude; a quiet joy."
 Ralph H. Blum

What's Happening Wednesday - I need your votes!

Remember when I shared my Thanksgiving Tablescape with you last week? Well, what I didn't tell you was that I created it for a contest. The contest is with Occasions Magazine and I am one of the top eleven finalists. I am so excited!!!! Now, I need your votes please. Visit their Facebook page here and simply "Like" the album that has my scape in it. Simple and easy. I would appreciate you telling others about voting for me too. I would love to win this!

Tutorial Tuesday - First Birthday Tablescape Inspiration

Today I am sharing some tips, tricks and ideas for putting together a fun tablescape. This was from my daughter Emily's first birthday party. Polka dots and giraffes were the focus. I used great fabric to make a ruffle edged tablecloth. I also used a lot of different glass pieces to put all the goodies on. My bows were the added accessory. I hope this will help you create something different at your next celebration.