Archives for November 2022

Cupcake Bouquets as Wedding Centerpieces

November 15, 2022 by Cheryl Barker Leave a Comment

Mother of the Bride, have I got a super-creative, super-yummy centerpiece idea for you and your sweet girl today—wedding centerpiece cupcake bouquets!

What’s not to love about a centerpiece that will definitely not go to waste? And what can be be more exciting for guests than cake at their very own tables? This is definitely a win-win idea!

Ask your cake baker/designer to frost the cupcakes to look like roses and then select whatever color will work best with your décor plan. You can even go with different color bouquets scattered throughout. For an extra touch of variety, you can offer multiple flavors of cake—but nothing is wrong with one divine flavor either!

A variety of bases and numbers of cupcakes in the bouquets can also be used. A pail is used in the examples pictured here, but flower pots, baskets, crystal glassware, or even wooden crates can work as well. A pretty ribbon wrapped around the base also adds a nice touch.

So MOB, see if this idea appeals to your daughter—and then have fun brainstorming cupcake bouquet ideas together!

*You might also like to read Wedding Centerpiece With a Rustic Flair, Centerpiece Idea: Mirror Magic, Watering Can Wedding Centerpiece, Centerpiece Idea: Flower Ring and Candle, and Wedding Cake Trend: Multiple Mini Cakes.

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride and also my Wedding Inspiration cards, check out my Books/My Work page.

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, comes out today. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free! Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.

Flickr photos by clevercupcakes, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: bride, cake, celebrate, decorate, dessert, flowers, food, fun, Mother of the Bride, new thing, preparation, surprise, table, variety, wedding Tagged With: bouquet, bride, centerpiece, Cheryl Barker, creative, cupcake bouquet, Cupcake Bouquets as Wedding Centerpieces, cupcakes, Mother of the Bride, Mother of the Bride Blog, table decor, wedding, wedding centerpiece, wedding inspiration, wedding planning

Are We Among the Last Hold Outs?

November 15, 2022 by Cheryl Barker 2 Comments

Be on the lookout for them in the next couple of weeks. The last hold-outs of autumn.

These stubborn fall leaves will not “go gentle into that good night” (Dylan Thomas). They will cling tightly to life and refuse—as long as possible—to fulfill their God-given destinies to fall to the ground with the rest of their comrades. You might say if they had fingernails, they’d be hanging on by them.

As we look at these last autumn hold-outs, maybe we need to ask ourselves if there is anything we’re clinging tightly to in spite of God’s direction to let go. Is there anything we’re refusing to submit to him?

Are we clinging to a behavior or an attitude that the Word of God clearly calls sin? Has the Holy Spirit shone his convicting light on an area we’re not quite ready to let go of yet? Or maybe we’re clinging to a person, a possession, or a goal when God has asked us to loosen our grip. It might even be something new or different we feel God is leading us to do, but we’re still at a point of resisting.

Let’s not be among the last hold-outs from God. Instead, let’s fulfill our God-given destinies. Let’s not refuse him any longer.

“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24 NIV

*How is God speaking to your heart today?

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, comes out Nov. 1st. It’s still not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free! Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride and also my Wedding Inspiration cards, check out my Books/My Work page.

*My photo

Filed Under: autumn, change, determination, dream, encouragement, fear, fighter, giving, life, listen, nature, new thing, old, opportunity, sin, time, trust, unplowed ground, wait, wisdom, Word of God Tagged With: Are We Among the Last Hold Outs?, autumn, Cheryl Barker, clinging, destinies, destiny, direction, Dylan Thomas, fall, God, hold on, hold out, leaves, resisting, submit, Word of God

Old West, Flyer-Inspired Wedding Stationery

November 1, 2022 by Cheryl Barker Leave a Comment

Well, Ma of the Bride, is your little bride-to-be cookin’ up some rootin’, tootin’ fun for the day she’s gettin’ hitched? If so, why not add to the Old West rustic fun with some invitations that match the style of the wedding?

Typography style stationery that looks like flyers from the Old West will be the perfect addition to an Old West/cowboy/rustic themed wedding. Regional or era-appropriate wording like “Y’all come” or “gettin’ hitched” can add to the overall fun, too, on everything from save-the-dates to invitations to the RSVP cards. The happy couple can get as down-home as they’d like or reign it in a bit, whatever suits their particular personalities and styles.

The typography style flyer-invitation might be something that the bride or groom or another family member or friend could design fairly easily, too. Saving money is always a plus, isn’t it, MOB, not to mention the personal touch that will always be remembered.

So Ma, if your sweet gal is cozyin’ up to the idea of an Old West, cowboy, or rustic-themed wedding, show her this idea and see if it tickles her down-home fancy. Ya’ll have fun now!

*If you’d like to see some other western invitation ideas, check out the Western Wedding Invitation page on Zazzle. You might also like to read Rustic Wedding Idea: Boot Bouquets.

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride and also my Wedding Inspiration cards, check out my Books/My Work page.

*Flickr photo by Sarah Parrott, Creative Commons License

Filed Under: bride, celebrate, creation/creative/creator, fun, groom, help, laughter, memories, money, Mother of the Bride, new thing, old, preparation, rustic, stationery, tradition, variety, wedding Tagged With: bride, Cheryl Barker, cowboy, flyer, Flyer-Inspired Wedding Stationery, memories, Mother of the Bride, Mother of the Bride Blog, Old West, rustic, savings tip, tip, wedding, wedding invitation, wedding planning, wedding stationery, wedding style

We’re Not Too Little to Lead in God’s Eyes

November 1, 2022 by Cheryl Barker Leave a Comment

“There is the little tribe of Benjamin, leading them . . .” Psalm 68:27 NIV

I love the nuggets of encouragement found in the Psalms. I think I could read there every day and never tire of it.

The psalmist David wrote the words above as part of a passage that describes the procession of Israel—God’s people—into the temple. And wow, what a scene of celebration and praise. Singers, musicians, maidens playing tambourines. Dancing surely broke out, too, right?

One tiny detail I don’t want us to miss is who lead the procession. It wasn’t Judah, the greatest tribe of Israel. It was Benjamin. The little tribe.

The tribes of Israel were named after the twelve sons of Jacob. Benjamin was the youngest, the little brother (Genesis 49:1-28). Likewise, and as mentioned in Psalm 68, the tribe of Benjamin was “the little tribe,” the smallest in numbers (Numbers 1:20-43). In the standards of the world, Benjamin—the brother and the tribe—probably didn’t have much clout.

But look who was given the pleasure, the privilege, and the responsibility of leading the procession of God’s people into the temple. That’s right. It was Benjamin. The little tribe.

What an example and what encouragement to us. We don’t have to be the biggest and best to be a leader. We can be the little brother, the little sister. We can be small in size, in renown, or in ability. We just need to be willing to serve, to put ourselves out there like the tribe of Benjamin did.

So, if any of us have been feeling too little to lead or too little to fulfill a task God has given us, let’s be encouraged by the little tribe of Benjamin. We too can lead. We too can serve. We’re not too little in God’s eyes.

“I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ,” Ephesians 3:7-8 NIV

*Has God ever used you to be a leader when you felt little?

*The new issue of Life Notes, my quarterly inspirational newsletter with a giveaway in every regularly scheduled issue, comes out today. It’s not too late to receive it. Sign-up is free! Temporary problem with Life Notes sign-up. To sign up, just contact me.

*For info about my book Mother of the Bride and also my Wedding Inspiration cards, check out my Books/My Work page.

*Flickr photo by cbcmemberphotos2477; Creative Commons License