It’s Been A Year!

Today is a very special day for me and I’m excited to share it with you all. One year ago today I opened up Stay Calm Cupcake Shop. It’s cliché to say, but I honestly can’t believe how fast the time has gone by.
In the past year I have learned so much about myself, my passion for cupcakes, the importance of a great customer, and the best way to be successful in an industry that’s always changing. I want to share a few key things that helped me succeed over the past year. I think these are important things to remember when running your own shop.

1. Do what makes you happy, even if you think it’s impossible! I thought that running a successful online shop and having a full time day job would be impossible. It’s not impossible; it just takes a bit of hard work and alot of dedication.

2. Promote your shop like it’s your job – because it is! I never let a day go by when I don’t post, comment, or interact on social media sites. Make Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram your best friends! They are free tools to help you network and promote your shop.

3. Give people more than they expect. I can’t tell you the many times I’ve given people free cupcakes, surprise samples in the mail, or extra goodies in an order. A little thoughtfulness goes such a long way with your customer.

4. Blog! I love blogging, and don’t post as often as I should. But I can tell you that my inspiration comes from all of the amazing bloggers I interact with on a daily basis. Blogs are great for getting inspiration, support, and even publicity. I would not have been so successful this year had it not been for blogs like: The Cupcake Blog, Sock It To Me, Mrs. Stephanie T, Delightful Designs, It’s Simple Love, and so so so many others who supported and promoted my shop!

5. Trust your customer. Feedback is key. Listen to what your customers are telling you and react accordingly. Without a solid customer base, I would have nothing. It’s important to keep that in mind!

6. Lastly – Make friends with other shops. Don’t be afraid of competition. Sometimes a little healthy competition is good 🙂 I have met so many incredible etsy shop owners that have more than inspired me to improve my shop.

So, what’s next for Stay Calm Cupcake?

Right now I am developing some very yummy fall flavors including Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas treats. I am working with a designer to launch my own website, and am continuing to look for a cupcake truck to purchase. I’m happy to report that my dream of owning and operating the StayCalmCupcake Truck is closer now than ever. I can’t share too much right now, but I’ll keep you posted 🙂 I also continue to cater parties and deliver to locals in the Volusia County, Florida area. Things are moving along nicely! I couldn’t feel more blessed.

Again, thank you for all the support and cupcake purchases over the past year! I cherish all of you and look forward to many more years of successful cupcake baking!

Use code “SweetYear” for a 25% off discount on any single item in my shop. Offer good Until October 1, 2011

Stay Sweet Friends! xoxo

Candy Apple Cupcakes

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone had a great weekend filled with yummy sweets and lots of relaxing. My weekend was packed with lots of baking, birthday parties, and puppy love. If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you will know that I recently got a new pup. His name is Hugo and he is such a love. I’m a new dog mom, so if any of you have advice, don’t be shy. Fill me in!

Let’s get to the sweet stuff though. I’ve been busy in the kitchen getting ready to launch all of my fall flavors on my Etsy shop. In doing so, I have come up with some awesome recipes that are sure to be huge hits at your office parties, family dinners, holiday get-togethers, and more.

I really love the flavor combination that a candy apple provides. With the start of school, it seemed like the perfect time to make candy apple cupcakes. A little sweet, a little tart, a lot of yummy! Almost a year ago, a friend of mine sent me a recipe for Caramel Apple Cupcakes. This recipes is very similar, but with a twist in the frosting.

Enjoy the recipe. Xoxo

Candy Apple Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 large eggs

1 Tbs of lemon juice
1/2 cup melted butter
1 cup applesauce
1 cup shredded or finely chopped, Granny Smith apples

Directions:

1.       Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Prep a cupcake pan with liners.

2.       In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.

3.       In a mixer, stir the eggs, butter, and applesauce and lemon juice. Mix until combined. Carefully add the dry ingredients.

4.       Peel and slice the apple. Then using a grater, grate the apple into fine shreds, like cheese. You can also chop it finely which works just as well. Now stir the shredded apples into the batter mixture.

5.       Bake for 15-20 mins, I find that 18 minutes works best. You don’t want the inside of the cupcake to be mushy.

Photo from Just Jenn Recipes

Candy Flavored Frosting

I used a vanilla frosting base and drizzle red candy syrup over the top. I have seen people forgo the frosting and just dip the cupcake into the candy syrup (photo below). Either way will work and either way will be delicious!

For the frosting:

2 sticks of butter (unsalted)
1/2 cup butter (salted)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup whole milk
3 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1tsp cinnamon
1Tbs of Apple Juice
½ Tbs of lemon juice

1.      In a mixer, beat 2 sticks of butter until light and fluffy. Add in 1 cup of powdered sugar and mix for 1 minute. Let sit

2.      In a saucepan on medium heat, melt the butter and brown sugar. When they are melted and bubbly, add the milk. Carefully raise the heat and bring the mixture to a quick boil. Careful – you don’t want to burn it. Once it foams up and turns that lovely caramel color, take it off the heat immediately.

3.      Remove pan from heat and stir in the remaining 2 cups of powdered sugar and vanilla, cinnamon and both apple and lemon juice, mixing until frosting is smooth.

4.      Let cool completely

5.      Once cool, slowly pour into your mixer and combine with the butter and sugar you previously prepared. Mix until light and fluffy. If your frosting is to thin, add more powdered sugar.

Mini Cupcakes dipped in Candy Apple Topping. Photo by HonestFare.com

Candy Drizzle

• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 2 teaspoons red food coloring

1. Bring water, sugar, corn syrup to a boil in a small pot, add food coloring and reduce heat to a simmer. Watch the pot carefully cook it this way for about 20 minutes. After 12 minutes, check the temp using a candy thermometer .You need the candy to reach 310°F                                            (If you don’t have a candy thermometer, use the water test. Drip a few drops of the hot candy into a small bowl of room temp water. When the candy holds its form or makes ribbons, it is done.)
2.  When candy is done, drizzle it over each cupcake. It will harden and make a very delicious topping for y our Candy Apple Cupcakes.

Stay Sweet and have a great week! xoxo

Last Day to Win Free Etsy Goods!

Good Morning!

Today is the last day to enter the Shop Til You Drop Blog Crawl! Winners will be announced tomorrow at 5 pm EST.

What?!? You haven’t entered yet?!? Well, you better get on it. Click the links below to see the awesome giveaways going on now!

Gourmet Chocolate Lollipops

Handmade Rose Accessories

Delicious Cupcakes

Blog Designs

Carseat Canopy

Vintage Tank Top

Toddler TuTu

Personalized Knitting

Stay Sweet my friends! xoxo

Vintage Giveaway

Ah, Thursday! One day closer to Friday – Yay!

Today’s final Blog Crawl giveaway is an adorable tank by Sophia Okada Etsy Shop. Her shop specializes in lots of vintage goodies – perfect for any fashionista! Read below to check out how you can enter this giveaway!

I have some more exciting news. All the giveaways will be opened 5 extra days! Giveaways will close at 11:59 pm on Tuesday the 24th. Prize winners will be announced on Wednesday the 25th at 5 pm EST. So if you haven’t entered, here’s your chance. What are you waiting for 🙂

You can enter to win:
Gourmet Chocolate Pops
Handmade Rose Accessories
Carseat Canopy
Free Blog Button and Etsy Banner
Free Cupcakes
Toddler Tutu

Custom Christmas Stocking

Have a great day ~ Stay Sweet!

Hi, I’m Sophia. I’m a student currently residing in Los Angeles and planning to move to New York City this coming fall.I ‘m a big lover of fabrics and fashion and being able to open a small online shop is now my creative virtual outlet.  I designed my Sophiaokada Etsy shop to be filled with the fun things such as handpicked vintage and funky, recrafted and handmade clothing by yours truly. 🙂

Giveaway:

A vintage red 100% silk vintage shirt. A youthful, tank-top style that drapes beautifully. Perfect for summer nights!

Size: Small

Material: 100% Silk

Circa 1980s

Valued price: $32

Make sure to head over to Sophia’s blog to enter the giveaway!

Belle Rose Designs Giveaway

Happy Monday!

Another chance to win an awesome prize during the “Shop Til You Drop Blog Crawl”. Make sure you don’t forget to enter some of the other awesome giveaways going on as well (Free Cupcakes, Toddler Tutu, Gourmet Lollipops, Carseat Canopy). All prize winners will be announced on May 2oth.

Stay Sweet! xo, Jill

Belle Rose Designs signature fabric flower rosettes adorn jewelry, hair accesories and much more. Take a look at all that can be found at Belle Rose Designs.

Rosette Ribbon Bookmarks

Zipper Rosette Flower Headbands

Baby Onesies

Fabric Flower Bobby Pins

Visit Singing Three Little Birds to enter the to win a $20 to spend at Belle Rose Designs.

Free Cupcakes!

Happy Saturday! A big welcome to some of my new readers that are following the Blog Crawl! Thanks for joining us in this fun event! Today, my shop is being featured on several blogs and to celebrate, I am giving away FREE cupcakes! Read below for details on how to win a “Cupcake Love” Cupcake kit from my Etsy shop. Have a wonderful day ~ Stay Sweet!

Hi! For those of you who are new to my blog, my name is Jill. I am the cupcake obsessed mastermind behind “Stay Calm, Cupcake Shop”. Thanks so much for joining in on this fun “Shop til you Drop” blog Crawl. Let me tell you a little bit about myself then I’ll share a fun giveaway with you!

 About Me:

I am passionate about creating inventive, delicious, and entirely homemade cupcakes for all of my customers. I opened my shop in 2010 with the hopes of sharing my baking talent with others and making a few extra bucks along the way. To my delight, my Etsy shop has turned into a much greater business venture than I ever anticipated. Thanks to the support of my wonderful fans and customers, I recently made it to my 105^th sale! I feel so blessed to be able to do what I love and share my passion with other sweet treat enthusiasts!

My dream is to one day soon open up a store front and have my own cupcake truck. In my world, a sweet little cupcake can fix almost any situation. Just add a little frosting and a gloomy day is turned sunny again. Stay Calm Cupcake Shop was born out of the simply philosophy that all of us need to slow down a little bit and enjoy the sweeter things life has to offer. I truly love what I do and am looking forward to where the sweet smell of sugar takes me!

Time for Free Stuff!!

I will be giving one lucky winner a “Cupcake Love” Cupcake Kit. This yummy kit includes 6 cupcakes of your flavor choice, a piping bag full of frosting, and a cute little pack of sprinkles. Simply pipe the frosting onto your cupcakes, finish with sprinkles, and enjoy! Perfect for any cupcake lover out there!

How to Enter:

Become a Fan of Stay Calm Cupcake on Facebook 

Follow Me on Twitter @StayCalmCupcake

Comment on my blog  and tell me you are following on Facebook and Twitter 

Thanks for entering and good luck!!

Stay Sweet ~ xoxo

Jill

Stay Calm Cupcake Shop!

 

DoDu Giveaway!

Happy Thursday my sweets!

Are you ready for a chance to win another prize?? This one is perfect for all the moms out there – its a car-seat canopy by DoDu! Read below for rules on how to enter.

Thanks for joining us for this fun Blog Crawl! Come back later today for a yummy cupcake recipe!

Also, don’t forget to enter the other giveaways that are still in progress! Suckers by Steph and Call Me Cordelia

Hi, I’m Josi. I’m so excited to participate in the Shop Til you Drop Blog Crawl.

The giveaway for today is a

Dodu (doh-doo) Baby peek.a.boo car seat canopy!!

I started making these car sear canopies when I needed to protect my new baby Nina from the harsh weather conditions of Chicago, but couldn’t find any covers with fabric that I was willing to carry around…AND so was the start of Dodu Baby. 

A dodu peek.a.boo is a fun and stylish car seat canopy that protects your little one from the elements (wind, sun, GERMS, noise, etc) while maintaining a safe and cozy environment. Easy to attach and detach to any standard infant car seat, a peek.a.boo can also be used as a colorful blanket for your munchkin to play on. 

How Do You WIN?

1. “Like” Dodu Baby’s facebook page and leave a comment on the wall! 

2. Visit the Dodu Baby’s shop and choose your very favorite car seat cover…

then come back to the Dodu Baby blog and 

leave a comment about which item you want to win.

3. Become a follower of Dodu Baby

That’s it!! 

Just 3 easy steps!

The winner will be announced May 20th!

Blog Crawl: Suckers by Steph

Good Morning and Happy Monday~

As promised, today is the start of a really fun Blog Crawl called “Shop til you Drop” I will be posting about a new Etsy shop and blog every day, giving you the chance to enter and win up to 9 prizes!

Suckers by Steph is up first. I have enjoyed her delicious chocolate lollipops on many occasions and know you will love them as much as I do. See below for rules to enter the giveaway. Stay Sweet xoxo

Hi I am Stephanie the owner of SuckersbySteph!  I am happy to give away 1 dozen zebra print round white chocolate lollipops with custom tags a $30 value.

I started making these lollipops after seeing them at a local craft show.  I fell in love with them and wanted to make them for my family for the holidays and one thing led to another and here I am.

It has been a crazy ride and one that I am happy to take with such a great community.  My single life allows me to pursue many passions one of them being SuckersbySteph.

I stay busy and after my normal 40 hour a week gig; I am always up for a great giveaway that keeps me up to wee hours in the morning making chocolate!  I love custom orders and personalizing.

If I don’t have the lollipop you are looking for chances are I can make it just send me a message!  My lollipops are great for favors at any event!

To Enter the Giveaway:

Follow the Suckers by Steph Blog

Like Suckers by Steph on Facebook

Make sure to head over to Stephanie’s Blog to enter the giveaway! Winner will be announced on May 20th. Good Luck!

Gourmet Marshmallows

Sweetly Softly Marshmallows!

Thank God it is Friday!!! I need the weekend like you wouldn’t believe.

Today I want to introduce you to one of my new Sponsors, Softly Sweetly: Gourmet Marshmallows. I was so excited that Rachael from Sweetly Softly wanted to sponsor my blog that I headed right over to her adorable Etsy shop and purchased some marshmallows to try. I chose the Peanut Butter Swirl marshmallows. Here’s what I thought:

So excited to see these in my mailbox!!

• Unbelievably fast delivery

 

• Adorable packaging – My 6 marshmallows were packages neatly together with a ribbon tied around them. Perfect for gift giving, except I didn’t plan on giving them away 🙂

 

• Huge portions! I got 6 Marshmallows and each square was at least an inch thick and an in wide. It was massive – perfect size for a quick little sweet treat!

 

• Delicious! I had never tried homemade flavored marshmallows before. Let me tell you – it was a bite of heaven on earth! So fluffy, and the swirls of peanut butter made it so much more than a regular marshmallow. These are not Jet-Puffs, I’ll tell you that.

My boyfriend had one, or two, and absolutely loved them too. I have a couple left in my fridge because I plan on dicing them up and using them as toppers on my chocolate peanut butter cupcakes. Don’t you think that will be so cute and yummy!!

Who wouldn't love caramel filled w/ Marshmallow?

I am so happy to announce that Softly Sweetly is offering you guys an awesome coupon code! Use code CUPPYCAKE10 for 10% off her already incredible prices!

Here’s just a few of her incredibly delicious sounding treats:

Toasted Coconut

Triple Chocolate

Bacon Chipotle

Rocky Road

Orange

Caramel Covered!!

Stop over at Softly Sweetly and get your sweet fix for the weekend. Stay Sweet!

xoxo,

Jill

Sweet Gifts

Valentine's Day is 11 days away!

After looking around the blog world, I realized that I better hurry up and jump on the Valentine’s Day bandwagon! Everyone has great posts about Valentine treats, gifts, date ideas, and reservation tips! I haven’t really had much time to think about Valentine ’s Day, but no more excuses – today is a VDay post!

Need some sweet ideas for that special someone? I am here to help!

Sweets for your friends.

 

 

So Sweet!

 

Cupcake Love, Cupcake kits are perfect gifts to give to your girlfriend of any age. My customizable kits are fun to decorate and even more fun to eat. Each kit comes with 6 unfrosted cupcakes, a piping bag full of homemade frosting, and a container of custom sprinkles. Just cut the tip off the piping bag, frost your cupcake, top with sprinkles, and enjoy!

Better yet, get a bottle of wine, turn on a chick-flick, and have a girls night decorating cupcakes with your closest gal pals.

A Gift for Cupcake Lovers!

 

 

Delivered straight to you door!

 

Try the gift that keeps giving (for 3 or 6 months atleast)!

StayCalmCupcake Club is the perfect gift for the cupcake lover in your life. Get a cupcake kit delivered right to your doorstep once a month for 3 or 6 months! Join the club and get exclusive coupon codes for the whole year – up to 50% off coupon codes, buy one get one deals, and so much more. This is a much cheaper way than buying cupcake kits individually. Each membership is 100% customizable, from date of delivery, to months you want them delivered, to flavor, and recipients! Stop by and take a look!

Looking for a sweet treat your man will love?

 

 

Cupcake Jars - Easy and Delish!

 

 

Cupcake Jars do the trick every time. 2 moist cupcakes topped with fluffy frosting, neatly baked into a mason jar. Ladies, we all know men don’t want the hassle of decorating their own cupcakes, so give them what they really want…a cupcake treat that they can eat mess free sitting in front of the tv! Each order comes with 3 jars and is decorated with fabric and ribbon. Does your guy have a favorite football team, hobby, or TV show? Let me know and I will decorate each cupcake jar according to his favorite things! Cupcake jars can be eaten right out of the jar, or can be warmed in the microwave and added to a bowl of ice-cream. What man could say no to that?

What about treats for the Single Ladies out there!

 

 

Single Girls Need Sweets Too!

 

I have some girlfriends who really dread the day of love! So for you Miss Independent, I have the Single Girls Survival Kit! A pack of cupcakes just for you, no need to share! This kit comes with 6 Chocolate Fudge Cupcakes filled with chocolate mousse, your choice of frosting, and a container of sprinkles! You will also receive 4 chocolate dipped Oreos…because no girl can have enough chocolate 🙂

Have Kids? Want an easy treat for them to take to school?

Cupcake's Individually Wrapped - Perfect for class parties!

My individually wrapped cupcakes are perfect for school parties, or Valentine treat exchanges. Not to mention you’ll look like a super mom who “baked all those cupcakes”. Each cupcake (order as many as you like!) is individually wrapped in a pink heart cellophane bag and tied with a ribbon. For each cupcake valentine you order you will receive a miniature bag of icing, and a small bag of sprinkles. Kids will love decorating their own cupcakes! It’s a fun way to trade Valentines. All orders can be customized with name tags if you would like.

Don’t forget to use code SCCS10 FOR 10% off your purchase. And if you spend more than $10 you get 4 free mini cupcakes added to your order.

~*~Check back tomorrow for a Spicy Hot Cupcake Recipe!~*~

Stay Sweet, xoxo

Jill