Check out this new book, Cupcake Cakes, by Lisa Turner Anderson. It’s awesome! It’s full of ideas of how to combine several cupcakes into a greater design–cupcake synergy! And each idea comes with photographs and instructions. It’s inspiring! Want to make a giant pink princess crown out of nine cupcakes? Or how about a cute blue whale out of 13 cupcakes? Or an almost cuddly teddy bear out of 19 cupcakes? Or a soccer ball? Flip-flops? Polka-dotted dinosaur? All of this could be yours!

You may remember a few months ago Hungry Runner  shared a post about an adorable new book, Coco Levine, Cupcake Queen.  It is a sweet children’s book that mixes a cute storyline with fun recipes and crafts.  This book would be a great Christmas gifts when paired with an apron and some cooking supplies.   It is currently for sale on Amazon for only $11.99 and it is getting rave  reviews!  My little one loves this book and quickly wanted to do all the fun crafts. 

Well, today’s giveaway comes straight from Coco’s creator, Audrey Davidow!  She is giving away one copy of her book to one lucky winner.   To enter this giveaway, click on the comment area below and tell us who you would give this book to if you won.  Maybe a daughter, friend or keep it for yourself!

One winner will be chosen on Monday, December 12th.  Thank you Audrey for creating Coco Levine and thank you for sponsoring this wonderful giveaway!

Make sure to like Coco Levine on Facebook too! 

I just bought this spiral bound gift book for a friend. I found it at a small, local bookstore, but it’s also available on Amazon. Each of the 80 pages features an inspirational quote or verse, and many of the pages feature whimsical cupcake images. At $7.99, it makes a great gift for someone who needs a pick-me-up.

You all may not know this, but I work for Jenni Bick Bookbinding, an Internet company that sells a variety of items from Italian leather photo albums, moleskine notebooks, day planners, calendars and so much more! And every once in a while we get in a fabulous cupcake item, and this one takes the (cup)cake.

We recently got in our 2012 Calendars, and lo and behold there it was, Martha Stewart Cupcakes 2012 Wall Calendar. Anything of Martha’s is visually stunning and very well done, this calendar is no exception. It was designed and put together with us cupcake bakers in mind.

They’re two elements that I absolutely love about this calendar– At the bottom of every month/page there is a baking tip or fact. One of my favorite tips is –Save Butter Wrappers for Greasing Pans, rather than discard the wrapper after you’ve used a stick of butter, stash it in the freezer inside a re-sealable plastic bag. When you need to butter a baking dish take out the wrapper, let if soften slighty, and use.

The second element that I love, is the recipe cards that are provided for the scrumptious cupcakes displayed within the calendar.

You could give Martha Stewart a run for her money with all the knowledge that this calendar provides.

Oh Boy, do I have a craving for cupcakes now!

CoCo Levine, Cupcake Queen: Fabulous Adventures in Cooking, Crafting, and Friendship is a story about a little girl that lives inside a cupcake.  This children’s book includes more than just a story, it also activities like crafts and baking recipes.  Growing up my mom always incorporated us kids into the cooking and baking.  Even if it was small jobs like pouring or mixing we were asked to assist.  I like that this book encourages involving kids in the activities of the kitchen at an early age.  I also like that it starts creating the love of cupcakes early on!  The book is available on Amazon for $11.99.

I am so excited to introduce you to Sara Varon, the immensely creative, cupcake lovin’ author and illustrator of this new graphic novel, Bake Sale. Its intended audience is ages 8 and up, but Sara was sure to include some cupcake recipes for mom and dad.

The book was released on August 30th and is already making its mark with an evocative story about a cupcake who works in a bakery, while dreaming about traveling abroad to meet the pastry of his dreams, whom he saw in a cookbook, of course!

This is the perfect gift for the cupcake lover in your life! (And if you are shopping for a child, you might like to know that educators find graphic novels to be incredibly helpful to reluctant readers!)

If it weren’t for Betty Crocker, my family would starve, so I was pretty excited to discover The Big Book of Cupcakes! This soon-to-be-classic cookbook offers 175 cupcakes, most of which are simple reciples using common ingredients. Many of the recipes can be done using cake mixes and store-bought frosting, and of course, they can all be made from scratch for all you ambitious bakers out there! There’s also a chapter dedicated to kids’ parties. Here’s a sample tease for you, the Chocolate Moose Cupcake: