What is a monkeybox?

When I was a little girl, we had a pet monkey named Amanda. My Dad worked in the produce business, so each night he brought home that days culls in a big box - spotty cucumbers, pithy apples, limp celery, moldy oranges and the like. We called it a monkeybox. It was really just trash, but my Mom would take each piece of fruit and trim it, pare it and cut it up to make a beautiful fruit platter for Amanda. Even though it was deemed trash by one, it still had life left in it and was good for the purpose we needed it. That's how I live my life - thrifting, yard saling, looking for another's trash to be my treasure.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

They Say It's Your Birthday.....

It's that time of the year again.  My Birthday.  Woo-hoo.  Not overly excited about the number this year, but I can't let that get me down.  Presents and cake.  That's the ticket, right????  I've decorated with my vintage birthday collection.  I leave it up from my birthday to The Bean's birthday September 6th.  He'd rather have skulls, Ford Mustangs and Vampires decorating the house, but I guess he can wait until Halloween for that.  Not the Mustangs, of course.  That would be just silly.

I really just sort of threw it up in a hurry one day.  I forgot to add in my vintage Birthday Candle collection.  Oh well, mix it up a bit, I guess.
I made this wreath in a hurry.  I envisioned a wreath just covered in cake picks, but I couldn't bring myself to use them all up.  So, I used some old cards, candle holder boxes and flash cards to fill it in.
The shelf beneath it holds all sorts of random items.  

Vintage baking cups, cake toppers, cake cookbooks, party blowers, etc.  Is that PINK Buttercream on that cake?

Crepe paper rolls, more cake cookbooks, party boat candle holders and more.

I love this old bottle of silver decorations.  I remember getting these on Christmas cookies but being told that we COULD NOT eat them.  Well, duh, don't put them ON cookies then!
 See that fabulous single cupcake stand made just for me by Heidi?  It is made of spools of thread and a GIANT bottle cap with a milk cap bottom.  It is adorable!  Thank you, my friend!
I love old boxes of baking cups.  I use the actual liners in my creations and shock of shocks, in actual cupcakes too.  Those little cake toppers have a special spot in my heart.  I wish I could find a truckload of them.  :)
This vintage wooden Party Boat is new this year.  I found it on ebay for only a couple of dollars.  The US Flag fits in the front boat, but it makes it to heavy and it falls over.  I think it would stand up if it was sunk in deep thick creamy Buttercream.  Mmmmmmmm........Buttercream.

Window #2:  Let's just pretend we don't see those numbers.  I thought it was clever when I did it.  Now it just depresses me.  

I love the graphics on this old box of Numbers and Letter Cake picks.  It's complete inside too. 

 I like to use my Baker's twine spools whenever I can because they make me happy.  The Big Bird and Bert are from The Beans cake when he turned "2".  The little chicks - well they are just fun.
More Baker's twine and Cookie Monster with a cake.  Hey!  That looks like Buttercream icing on that cake!

The infamous shelves full of vintage Birthday goodness.

A mishmash of things.  An Annalee mouse with a cake in her hands.  (Buttercream, I thtink?)

Cake picks, The "Best Birthday Book", nut cups, crepe paper, a wee banner (Made by Heidi too!) and some other goodies too.

Party Cups, vintage birthday cards and two suicidal babies round out the top shelf.  Those babies, as you might have noticed, are sprinkled throughout my decorations.  I bought a big sack full of them on Etsy for future projects, but couldn't bear to put them away just yet.  One of them has two left legs and breaks my heart/cracks me up every time I look at her with her upside down foot sticking in the air.

Lastly, a Birthday Corsage I made.  Not sure if I will have the nerve to wear it or not.  I have a fear of strangers singing to me and making me wear a giant Sombrero.  I have made up a bunch of these corsages to sell in my booth.  I think it's cute, but not everyone gets the same things I do.

So, Happy Birthday to ME!  But one of you gets a gift!  Don't forget to leave a comment and a way to reach you and I will pick a winner on Sunday afternoon and post on Monday.  What will you win?  Well, a cigar box packed to the gills with treats and surprises - birthday related and fun in general.  Once the box if full, I'll put it in a shipping box and probably add a bunch of stuff to that too.  Goodies GALORE, I promise!  Just for fun, when you comment - tell me....Which do YOU prefer?  Whipped or Buttercream icing?  I think you KNOW my choice.  Lots of it and and a corner piece to boot!  But, only on my Birthday!

36 comments:

  1. love me my sugar in any way-shape-or-form!!
    I guess if I had my ultimate choice for a cake though... it is CREAM CHEESE FROSTING... does that count??

    HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS SHARA!!!!

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  2. Happy birthday Shara!!!!!!
    For me it's buttercream all the way!!!

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  3. Well a Happy Birthday to you Missy!

    "It's hard to say what's my favorite between the two...

    So, I'll just say, that for today, whatever I get will do!"

    8-)

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  4. Anonymous9:13 AM

    Happy Birthday Shara! I love your blog and have been reading it for about a year now. You have the best stuff.

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  5. Happy Birthday, Shara!

    I'm a buttercream boy myself!

    Can I steal your pic of that bd letters and numbers box? It says 48th Birthday on it and that's what I'll be this year. I want to use it in my blog in November. I'll give you credit, of course.

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  6. Its gotta be buttercream. I mean butter and sugar together it doesn't get much better than that. Happy Birthday! Hope you have a happy one. Eat lots of yummy treats and buy yourself lots of goodies.

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  7. Happy birthday, Shara! It's my big sister Tina's birthday today, too - and I hope you both have a GREAT one!!

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  8. Happy Birthday! I love seeing the different displays you do. My favorite is buttercream.

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  9. Buttercream, of course!
    Happy BDay to you and early BDay wishes to the Bean:)

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  10. Anonymous12:15 PM

    Happy Birthday Shara to you and the Bean!!!
    For birthdays it is buttercream all the way baby! Nothing to me says birthday like buttercream.
    I hope you both have the happiest of years ahead of you. It was my big 5-0 in June and I am thrilled. I thought I would hate it but for some reason I am excited by it. Not everyone gets to celebrate it so why not enjoy it. Right? Right ?

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  11. Anonymous12:18 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  12. Anonymous12:18 PM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  13. Buttercream, buttercream buttercream! Love your birthday display; you know those tiny chickens could make it into a "young chick" display - of course that doesn't work for the Bean....
    By the way, what kind of display do you put up for the Breadman's birthday? I'm thinking it has something to do with Razorbacks??

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  14. Buttercream in pink. Great birthday decorations and have a stupendous birthday!

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  15. Hally happy birthday! I love your collections. I feel like you should have one of those nostalgic museums to curate. :)

    I like Buttercream and now I want cake. GREAT

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  16. Happy Birthday! I love seeing your decorations...I own many of the same items too :)

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  17. Happy Birthday Shara!!! I LOVE seeing all of your fun and creative displays!!! I'd have to pick buttercream, although I'm not much of a sweets person. Salty is more my thing. Hope you are having a great day-it's just a number,not who you are!

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  19. Happy Birthday! The numbers aren't bad, although from a Mother's perspective I'm sure that 17 is a bad one - because he should still be about 7, right? :)

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  20. Happy birthday, Shara! I'm going to treat myself to another piece of chocolate chip zucchini cake in your honor.

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  21. Happy Happy Birthday Shara! Love your vintage collection of birthday/cake goodies!! I want cake with pink icing now! Hugs, Linda

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  22. Happy Happy Birthday Shara! Enjoy your day and Best to the Bean too! I fancy buttercream but truth be told if it's cake, I'll eat it frosted or not! Enjoy enjoy enjoy!

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  23. Happy Birthday Shara!!! Please include me in the giveaway. I have a "51st" birthday on August 21st. It would be awesome if I happened to win. And butter cream it is. I make Some yummy birthday cakes with "butter cream".If you lived closer I would make one for you!
    Debra

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  24. Happy Birthday Shara!!! Please include me in the giveaway. I have a "51st" birthday on August 21st. It would be awesome if I happened to win. And butter cream it is. I make Some yummy birthday cakes with "butter cream".If you lived closer I would make one for you!
    Debra

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  25. My birthday is very close to 9/6. I love either type of frosting - anything with sugar and fat. Mmmmm!

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  26. I don't know which I prefer--I don't know the difference, I guess!

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  27. Ooops, my contact info is dbombach@gmail.com

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    Replies
    1. Happy happy birthday. Im using my new phome up inthe northwoods of minnesota. Our hotel has internet access in parts of it. LOL. Im probably in thre minority with whipped. Enjoy your celebration

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  28. What a great blog you have!! I'm so happy that I just found you! We have so much in common.
    Have a great Birthday!
    I'll now be following you!
    Erica :)

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  29. Happy belated Birthday, so nice to have you stop by my Blog and boy am I glad to have found you, your Birthday display is wonderful so much to look at I just kept going back and forth looking at all the detail, and
    now I am your newest follower... by the way I vote for buttercream. And now fingers crossed that I win the box of goodies. Hugs, Diane

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  30. Happy birthday Shara! You have the cutest things!

    I'll take Buttercream please.

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  31. chocolate butter cream....especially fun to lick it off the waxed paper that you pull out from underneath the cake once you are done frosting it...no calories, right? oh, and spread between graham crackers isn't too bad! Anne

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  32. Love whipped!! My favorite!!

    Happy birthday!!

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  33. I may have missed the deadline,oh well.

    I am partial to my sis's buttercream icing. She has a secret ingredient that she will not disclose.

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  34. Anonymous10:59 AM

    Pick ME!

    Happy Belated!

    ~Laurie in MN

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  35. Buttercream!!! Happy Birthday!!

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