I Made Top Ten in Wilton Cake Pops Contest!!!

OMG, I am just so excited and happy, I don't even know what to say!  After all that hard work on the cake pops, it must have paid off because I made the Top Ten!  Woooo Hoooo!!

I'm not sure how many people were entered into the contest, but they gave out 40 of the pops kits, and anyone else that wanted to buy the stuff themselves were also able to enter.  Then, the prizes are awarded to the the 10 finalists, which includes me, hehehe!  1st prize get a big prize of $500, and the 9 others get $100.  So either way, all of us Top 10 are getting a nice prize.  Now, are you wondering which one of us gets the $500??  Well, that depends on you!  It is now a voting contest for the last week.

Yep, that's right, the 10 finalists move on and we are at the mercy of the voters, hahaha.  Voting starts today, Thursday January 13, and goes thru Wednesday January 19 at 11:59pm CST.  You may vote daily, and of course, I would really, really appreciate if you voted for me!

I could really use the $500, since hubby hasn't had a bunch of work lately.  To vote, click HERE and look thru all the other wonderful cake pop designs.  Remember: my entry is the Spongebob and Patrick cake pops, and they have the pic zoomed in on the Patrick cake pop, with my blog name BeeCute right underneath it. (You can read the Wilton post right before this one to read my whole article, or you can read it from the contest page.)  Just simply click on the Vote button to submit your vote.

I also want to say Congratulations to all of the other top 10 finalists!  You all did a great job, and I wish everyone luck.  No matter who wins, it will be well deserved.  I can tell everyone took a lot of time and effort to make the cake pops, and it shows.  You all did a job well done!

Thank you to Wilton for sending me the pops kit, as it is amazing!  And of course, thanks for sponsoring the contest and for choosing me as a finalist!

And, last but not least, thank you to all my readers for supporting me in my new blog venture, and in everything I do.  I really appreciate you all, and more fun stuff will come soon, including some giveaways and cool reviews.  Come back soon, and Bee Cute!  Please don't forget to vote!

Under The Sea Cake Pops-Wilton "Pops In A Post" Contest

About 3 months ago, I decided to take on a new venture in my life.  It was getting very close to my daughter's 4th birthday, and I really wanted to learn how to decorate cakes with fondant.  So that's where my newest hobby began.  She really wanted a Hello Kitty cake, and I was very determined to make it for her.  I had a few bumps along the way but, it actually turned out really cute.  It was a hit at the party, and I ended up getting an order from one of the guests to do a cake for her.  So, a couple weeks later, I did another larger cake, and it was beautiful!  All of her guests were asking for my info so they could also order in the future.  That just thrilled me to death, especially since it was only my 2nd cake and it turned out so great.
Now of course, I can't just keep things simple.  I started brain-storming on other ideas to add to my baking.  You know, things like cupcakes, cookies, and just anything that could be decorated to look adorable.  That is when I heard about Wilton's newest contest using cake pops.  I had never heard of cake pops before, so I was extremely excited when I saw them.  Cake pops are basically a ball on a stick, like a sucker, but made from cake, brownies, cookies, and rice cereal treats.
Of course I had to sign up for this contest!!  I just had to try them out.  What was even more exciting is that I actually got chosen to receive a whole pack of their Pops supplies!!  My kids and I were beyond thrilled when we got the box and looked through all the cool stuff inside.

Pretty sweet, huh?!  I had sooo many ideas running through my mind.  The hardest part of this whole thing was deciding on what kind of cake pops to make.  I finally decided on doing some tropical fish, and then of course, both of my kiddos said that I just had to add in Spongebob and his friends.  So, here we go...

I kind of think maybe we went a little too ambitious for this being our first time making these.  But as always, you learn as you go, so I now know things to do better next time I make these. 

To make cake pops, the first thing you do is make a cake (from a mix) and add in one box of instant pudding.  I used 2 8 inch cake pans, or you can do one cake in a sheet.  I decided to use stuff I already had on hand, so our cake was chocolate and with banana flavored pudding.  Just an FYI, this is very delicious!  Ok, now after your cake is made, you only need half of what you made.  So put one cake up for next time, or if you did a sheet cake, cut it in half, and save the other half.  Next, take the half you are using and crumble it up very finely and add in half a can of store bought icing.  Mix your crumbles and icing together until well blended.  Then, just roll your balls into the sizes you want, or you can shape them.  Wilton has a whole line of molds and baking pans that you can use, too!

Now, chill your cake balls, and then add in the sticks by dabbing the end in melted candies.  Let them chill again.  Now you are ready to decorate!  This is the fun part and you can just let your mind create all sorts of different things.

The candy/chocolate warmer I received in my Wilton pack was very handy for this part.  I just put in my candy and melted it down, and simply dipped the balls into the candy.  It does  take a little practice to get it to look really good.  I had read some tips online and heard that adding a teaspoon of vegetable oil into the candy will help thin it down some, and this was the greatest tip ever!  To get the best coverage, just dip it and only turn it once or twice and then lift it out and gently tap of the excess candy while rotating the stick to make sure everything stays even.  Wilton has candies in a bunch of colors, and you can also get the colored gels to add in.  I used all white candies and added in the colors since I wanted so many different colors on my cake pops.

And now just let your imagination run wild!  Decorate with fondant, sprinkles, royal icing, or just whatever you want to use.  I used a little bit of everything, it seemed like!  When using more than one color, the best thing to do is to dip into the first color, then chill, and then on to the next color.  I did that on all of my Spongebob characters.  Are you ready to see what we made yet?

Introducing Spongebob, Gary, Patrick, Squidward, and their tropical friends!

My whole family was in on making these, and we really had a great time.  I'll definitely be making some cake pops again.  I'm already thinking of some really pretty ones for Valentine's Day!  If you would like make some cake pops, you can check out all the supplies from Wilton.  They have everything you will ever need!

Disclosure:  I was sent free products from Wilton in exchange for a post about my own creative cake pops.  10 finalists will be chosen and those finalists have a chance to win the grand prize of a $500 Visa gift card while the other 9 finalists will win a $100 Visa gift card

This site is just too good to keep a secret

I'm sure that most of you are like me, and your favorite pastime is shopping.  I love shopping more than any other hobby, always have, and probably always will.  Even though I live on a budget, that doesn't stop me from finding some really great products--but at a really great price.
The more you get to know me, you find out that you can still have quality, name brand products but at a discounted price.  When the economy started getting bad, and as my hubby is self-employeed in the construction/remodeling biz, it really changed how we lived. A LOT.  As people that were accustomed to going shopping on a regular basis, going out to eat whenever we wanted, and just all that stuff that we all spend money, we had to really cut most of that out.
Actually, I'm kinda happy that we experienced that, because I have learned to be a "Frugalista" and really save a lot of money, but still get really nice stuff when we needed it.  I now only buy certain products when they are on sale, have a coupon, or search around different stores to find the best prices.  I've also started doing some shopping online because you can get some really, really nice stuff for a fraction of the normal price.
I recently found an online shop from one of my bloggy friends.  Its called No More Rack.  They offer daily deals that open at noon (EST) everyday, and have awesomely low prices.  For example, on the day I found out about No More Rack, the daily deals that day was for authentic Coach bags for only $70!!  It was later in the day when I got on the site, so of course, they were already sold out.  What I did find that day was the high end makeup, Smashbox.  It was a kit of several items worth over $85, and I only paid $15.  What's really great is that shipping is only $2.
So far on the site, I've seen items such as jewelry, clothes, purses, makeup, toys, and games.  And everything I've seen on there has been less than $20, with the exception of the Coach bags.  Like today, they have some really pretty earrrings for only $3.
This is a site you have to join to be able to get in on the deals, but it is super easy and only takes a couple minutes.  Trust me, it's well worth it!  Click this link and join No More Rack and be watching your email for your daily deals!

Social Parade on Friday

Hey ya'll!  I absolutely LOVE meeting all of you, and found this blog hop to join to meet even more new friends! 
If you would also like to join this blog hop to meet new friends and get new followers, simply click on the button.  Happy Friday, and thanks for stopping by!

For the Coupon Queens!

Thank you to all of my newest followers! I'm so glad u stopped by, and just wanted to let everyone know that I do have plans for some giveaways coming up very soon, so be watching!

Also, since my blog is still a work in progress and there's not a ton of content yet,this blog will be about many different topics. Saving money is one of them. I wanted to share a link to get your Home Made Simple coupon booklet mailed out. You just fill out the simple form, and then in 4-6 weeks you will get some great coupons on Swiffer, Cascade, Febreze, Mr. Clean and more! Hurry and get yours before they run out!

Now, I'm not going to load up BeeCute with a ton of coupons and ad savings, etc. Trust me, I do follow several of those blogs, and think they are great, but I just don't want my blog to only be about couponing or daily deals. If I find something that I find of interest, then I'll share it with you.

This blog is a place for all of us to come together as fellow divas, hehehe, and just keep each other in the know about fabulous stuff. It's also a place just to chat or vent if you need to. Lord knows I'll probably be doing that a lot! I'm glad you are here, so kick off your shoes and stay awhile. I'd love to hear back from you on what kind of topics you would like to see here, other than product reviews.