Today’s guest / vendor post is by one of my favorite sellers on Etsy – Shimrit’a cupcakes. One of her cupcakes has made a cameo here before, and now I get to feature her store!

I love having these cupcake props for my birthday sessions. For example, in the photo above, mommy had his special outfit made just for the session and didn’t want to ruin it with icing stains and grease. These look so real (both in person and in photographs) only you will know the difference! They are also great for outdoor birthday sessions because you don’t have to worry about the icing melting and sliding off the cake before you even get a chance to take the shot.

And now a little more from Shimrit’a cupcakes about her fabulous product – plus the chance to win one of your own below!

I guess it all started when I visited too many galleries and bought all kinds of cake stands. One for my kitchen, one for the dining room – but they always stood empty and lonely without a cake to keep them warm. So i thought maybe I would bake a cake ‘one of these days’, but that day never came since I’m not much of a baker… I gave up the idea of making a real cake and started looking for non-edible cakes to put on my stands 365 days a year.

I searched all kinds of places and found nothing. Recently I was in New York and thought it would be the perfect place to find what i was looking for, but yet again came away empty-handed. And that’s how my days of making display cakes and cupcakes began.

Now after a lot of experimenting I’m making beautiful and colorful cakes and cupcakes which will light up any dining room, living room, kitchen, coffee shop, or bakery. They can be used as a Christmas tree ornament, as centerpieces for baby showers and baby’s first birthday parties, as photo props, as paper weights for the office, and as photo-holders.

My cakes and cupcakes also make great gifts for birthdays and the holidays. Recently I even started making miniature cupcakes for necklaces!

You are more than welcome to browse my shop at Etsy: shimrita.etsy.com

And please follow me on Facebook: facebook.com/…/Shimritas-Cupcakes/

As a special treat for Paperie readers, this cupcake will be given away as a prize!

How do you win? Easy! Just do one (or all) of these three things:

1. “Like” the Shimrit’a cupcakes “Facebook fan page”

2. Post about Shimrit’a cupcakes Etsy store on Facebook

3. Post the following Tweet on Twitter:
I want to win a cute CUPCAKE prop with SPRINKLES from Shimrit’a cupcakes / shimrita.etsy.com at PaperieBoutique.com by @shutterblog

Then come back and comment here that you’ve done so – each entry requires its own separate comment.

Comment(s) must be posted here by 11:59 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, August 25th. You can enter up to three times total. Post that you have “liked” the Facebook fan page, or post the links to your Facebook enteries or Tweets, in separate comments to have multiple chances to win!

Please note: The link(s) you post must direct to public accounts. We cannot verify links on private, friends & family only, or passworded accounts and they will not be eligible to win this item. If we have to subscribe to your feed or page or request permission to see it, you will automatically be disqualified.

You can enter / post up to three total times – one entry each for the three options listed above.

You have three chances to win but only one chance PER ITEM – please do not post the same link multiple times – duplicate links will be removed. Each entry requires its own separate comment to have multiple chances to win!

Comments on this entry will be numbered in order of posting. The winning number will be chosen by Random.org, and the winner will be contacted within 24 hours of contest’s end to claim their prize. Good luck!

UPDATE: The winner has now been posted here! Check it out!

Hey, guess what?! Francypants Academy is having a workshop this October and you’re invited! (Click each of the images – 1, 2 – for larger detail.)

Kelli has been a frequent contributor here at Paperie and this is an amazing opportunity – make sure to stop by Francypants Academy for more!

It’s been one of those months. Holiday weekend = good. Entire family battling yet another cold/flu = bad. I’ve been trying to post this entry for the last 8 hours. But finally a bit of peace and quiet to my day and we all win!

Literally.

Because thanks to the fine folks at Clickin’ Moms*, this entry comes with goodies and the chance to win a fabulous (free, year-long) prize!

Clickin’ Moms* is one of my guilty pleasures these days during that rare thing known as free time. Directly from the website: “We are a community of women who have a passion for photography. Some of us are amateur photographers who just want to take better pictures of our family, some of us are hobbyists, and some of us are seasoned pros. We learn from each other and help each other…this is a safe place to share your photos and chat about photography. Our forums and galleries are closed to non-members. Our site features great and easy to understand tutorials, lessons and challenges. All of the contributions are from fellow members who are more than happy to help and give advice to one another. We host amazing photography vendors who offer us discounts and group buys on their products…we have great bunch of women that enjoy hanging out with people that have a common passion – photography!”

* Right now Clickin’ Moms is hosting an affiliate referral contest and the link I am posting will help this site in the contest. All new registrations sent from Paperie Boutique though midnight January 31, 2011, will receive 20% off new member subscriptions by using the coupon code PAPERIE2011 at checkout.

But wait! There’s more! Clickin’ Moms has also donated one free year’s subscription to a Paperie Boutique viewer.

To enter, go to your blog, Facebook account, Flickr account, or Twitter account and post the following:

Get your cameras clickin’ with paperieboutique.com & @clickinmoms / clickinmoms.com – pass this on and win a year’s subscription!

You can enter up to four times total – one entry per blog URL / Facebook / Flickr / Twitter account. Post the URL to your link(s) in the comments for this entry. Comment(s) must be posted by 11:59 p.m. EST this Sunday, February 21st.

Comments on this entry will be numbered in order of posting. The winning number will be chosen by Random.org, and the prize code will be e-mailed to that person within 24 hours of contest’s end.

But the fun doesn’t stop there because now there are pretty pictures and product recommendations to pass along!

Recently I received this e-mail from catherineamissphotography.com:

I wanted to share the valentines that I made for my son’s kindergarten class exchange.

I chose a picture of my son and my husband and added the following quote about love: “There is only one happiness in life, to love and be loved.” On the back I wrote “Happy Valentine’s Day! From, Austin.” And then, yes, I [shamelessly] added my website address. The background paper and frame element is from Sassy Designs.

I printed the cards on pearl paper as 4×5 promo cards from Miller’s. I put two Valentine’s per 4×5 card and then simply cut them in half. Then I punched a hole in the corner and tied a little baggie filled with 3 chocolate kisses onto the card with ribbon.

I had considered punching two holes on the side and sticking a lollipop through the card, but I decided that the children’s mothers would be more likely to notice chocolate (and thus my website address).

When my son saw the cards, he loved them! Then he saw the dandelion graphic on the back of the card and exclaimed, “Mommy! It’s the same flower from your logo!” ( I just worked with a designer to come up with a new logo.) Hopefully, the Valentine stood out in a sea of Spiderman and Spongebob and wished his classmates a very “Happy Valentine’s Day” all the same.

Thank you so much for sharing those, Catherine! They’re absolutely gorgeous and as a fellow-kindergartener’s mom, certainly would have got my attention — what a brilliant twist to up the ante and win mommy’s heart through Kisses!

Last but certainly not least… The longer I’m in business, the tighter I get with my prop budget. I allow myself a few splurges each year, but really like to keep things to a minimum if at all possible and keep my profits. I’ve lusted after the Urban Outfitters Distressed and Whitewashed fake wood Trompe L’Oeil Floor Mats for a couple of years now. I just couldn’t stomach the $140.00 pricetag. I’ve also seen links to the Bargain Outfitters Barnboard Fo Flor (by Bungalow who also carries the Whitewash), and links on sites selling the mats wholesale, but they always ran between $99.00 – $187.00. Deep down I had my heart set on the Whitewash version because this portrait of mine (shot on an actual wooden bridge) has always been a favorite. It was just a matter of digesting the pricepoints.

Recently though, I ran across the Fo Flor Mat in Whitewash from Grandin Road.

I Googled for a coupon and ended up getting two 23×36″ accent rugs for $34/each (plus shipping) instead of one large area rug style mat. Together they make a nice-sized 36×46″ faux-floor. My total order was $82.00. Much better on the budget. As you can see, they will work with room to spare for newborn-in-basket type shots and close-up toddler portraits, which are the bulk of my work.

For the planks coming at me instead of going horizontally, I may need to clone the seam line just a bit, but overall they photograph very well. And the white has the added bonus of being a minor reflector.

These are the same fabric-printed-on foamy-mousepad-material you may have seen discussed elsewhere. Very thin, lightweight, easy to roll, and extremely portable.

It really does pay to do a few minutes of extra homework. The 23×36″ Barnboard version at Bargain Outfitters is now on sale for $29.97 and there are tons of coupon codes floating around for that site on Google. I believe their shipping runs about $9.

You can also search for Bungalow Fo Floors at Amazon.com, some of which will allow you to take advantage of their free Prime Shipping option.

With the money you save, you just might have enough to hit Etsy for a cute baby hat or tutu as well… Happy propping!

(P.S. Wondering where I got that cute little cupcake? That one is custom-made, but I got it (and this one) from Shimrit’a cupcakes. I have a lot of “baby’s first birthday” sessions coming up, and I wanted a non-melty-icing option for my outdoor ones. These look good enough to eat in real life and in photos!)