Calling all bakeaholics! We have the yummiest red velvet cake recipe with cream cheese frosting for you, and just in time for Valentine’s Day. Thanks to our in house diy guru Caitlin for preparing this mouthwatering treat. You will wow your loved ones with this legendary ruby colored cake smothered in cream cheese frosting. We used our Kenmore Elite Mixer which happens to be red and perfect for the job!

To see all the photos from our Valentine’s shoot and to get your Free heart day post card click here. Will you baking a tasty treat for Valentine’s Day? Do share what you plan to whip up. We would love to hear. How pretty is the cake stand from Casa de Perrin?

Red Velvet Cake Recipe:

Ingredients
3 1/3 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 ¼ cup sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
5 Tablespoons red food coloring
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups buttermilk, at room temp
1 ½ tsp cider vinegar
1 ½ tsp baking soda

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees
1. To make the cake: In a small bowl, sift the cake flour and set aside.

2.  In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3.  In another small bowl, whisk the red food coloring, cocoa, and vanilla together. Add to the batter and beat well. In a measuring cup, stir the salt into the buttermilk. Add the batter in three parts, alternating with the flour. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, be careful not to overbeat.

4.In a small bowl, stir together the cider vinegar and baking soda. Add to the batter and mix well. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl, making sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth.

5. Grease and lightly flour the jumbo muffin tin.

6. Divide the batter into the prepared pans. Bake for 2-25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the layers cool in the pans for1 hour. Remove from the pans and cool completely on a wire rack.

7. Once the cake has cooled either frost the cake or continue to make mini cakes. To make the mini cakes, cut the tops of each mini cake off (save the scraps for cake balls or for snacking.) Make each cake 2 layers high. Frost the between layers, then ice the top and sides of the cake with a light crumb coat and allow to chill until hardened. Finally frost the cakes with one final layer of creamy smooth frosting and pile on conversation hearts and other festive candies.

How To Make Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients
8 oz cream cheese, softened
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
16 oz powdered sugar, sifted
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
Combine the cream cheese and butter, cream until smooth.  Add the powdered sugar, beating with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla.

You can really can do so many things with these paper flowers. You can make a flower wall backdrop for your candy table, corsages or boutonnieres for guests, the list is really endless, go nuts. Read on to learn how to make paper flowers. A special thanks to Christa Kimble Photography and Cotton and Brass for being so crafty.

Christa Kimble Photography is one of our exclusive The Hand-Picked Vendors. Hand-Picked Vendors are at the top of their game and provide excellent services! These vendors are chosen because of their commitment to excellence, stylish and fresh ideas, and their overall fresh approach to weddings. To learn more about how our Hand-Picked Vendors are chosen please click here. To see more work from Christa Kimble be sure to click here.

In order to save a little dough this heart day, print out our way cute Valentine’s Day postcard and send it to your bestie, mom or your favorite c0-worker.

All you have to do is click here to download the file, print them out on A6 postcards  and you’re one your way to the cutest Free Valentine’s Day Postcard around town. This adorable cheveron candy heart set up along with all the deliciousness you see below was brought to you by vintage rental specialist Casa de Perrin. Be sure to check out all the photographs by clicking here. Stay tuned to see exactly how to make this delicious red velvet cake that Caitlin whipped up for us. Yum!

Prepare for some serious cuteness and get ready to try our free printable kite invitations. Susie from our sister site, On to Baby whipped up this whimsical kite stationery that includes: wedding invitation, response cards, favor tags and menus. How much do you love these? Be sure to see all of our free printables by clicking here.

Remember our service is not only free, but completely custom. Type in your details, chose your colors and print it out. The only thing we do not provide is the paper. We have so many more free printables in the works, so be sure to leave us a comment on what you would like to see next. The majority rules!

Which on would you like to see next? Doe and Deer Invitations, Elegant Calligraphy invitations or Modern Palm Springs Wedding Invitations? You tell us!

Remember to leave a comment and tell us which suite you would like to see next:

1. Doe and Deer Invitations
2. Elegant Calligraphy invitations
3. Modern Palm Springs Wedding Invitations

Who’s ready to roll up their sleeves and get some serious diy on? Well … thanks to Louise Georges Yves we have a spectacular DIY Manzanita tree tutorial for you. Louise Georges Yves used a deep red palette but, you can make it your own by using using the same basic principals and swapping out the florals.

This stunner would make a breathtaking centerpiece or create a whimsical wishing tree for guests to place well wishes on. You simply need a little time and a few materials. Read on to see how you can wow your guests.

Floral Recipe

24 Red Paris Roses
20 Small Chocolate Ti Leaves
10-15 stems red elephant or red james storie
5 Stems Fan-tail Willow
1 Manzanita Branch
1 stem cymbidium orchid

Tools | Supplies
9×9 wooden container
Fabric/ribbon to cover container
Ribbon to hang from finished tree
Floral foam
5 Water tubes
Screw
Screwdriver
Scissors
Floral shears
Floral wire
Spray paint
Rubberized undercoat spray or other water proofing element

Step 1
Before you even begin putting the Manzanita tree together you need to prep your flowers.

• Cut roses to approximately 3” in length. Cut with floral shears at a 45 degree angle being careful not to crush the head as it will cause bruising. Set aside.
• Cut 6 – 8” segments from willow looking for pieces with
• Take your ti leaves and cut a half inch slide 1 – 2 inches from the tip.
• Fold the tip of the leaf under and tuck the stem through the slit. If the leaf tears, you can use a stapler to secure the tip slightly above the stem base. Set aside.
•  Use your floral shears to snip each cymbidium bloom off the stem.
• Take 3 inches of floral wire and fold into a u shape. Take the two ends and insert above the tongue of the orchid taking care not to tear the bloom. Alternatively, you can also thread the floral wire through the stem at the base of the bloom. Repeat for five blooms and set aside. These will be used to decorate the branches.
•  Take the remaining blooms and insert them into water tubes. Set aside. These will be used to adorn the trunk of the Manzanita.
• Snip 7 – 10, 6” segments from the Red Elephant orchid stems. Set aside. These will be used to adorn the trunk of the Manzanita.
• Take each remaining stem and cut into 2 – 3, 3” segments. These will be used to decorate the branches and to tuck into the base of the tree.

Step 2
• Measure approximately 1.5 – 2 inches from box corner and use screw driver to twist screw into bottom of box.
• Ask friend, family or hubby-to-be to help hold manzanita branch in place while securing it with the screw.
Once secured, you can use the glue gun to ensure a tight seal against the box and no movement from the branch.
• Use rubberized undercoat to fully coat bottom and side seams of box. Let dry and test the seal by filling with water and placing in a water proof area. Alternatively, you can line the box with a plastic tray or other water tight material or container.
• Use spray paint (we chose an Oil Rubbed Bronze) to coat trunk and branches of Manzanita. Don’t worry about the box unless you do not plan to cover it with fabric.
• Use glue gun to affix ribbon or fabric of your choice to the outside of the box. Start at one corner, wrapping the fabric around the box until you reach the starting point. Fold the ribbon under at the corner to ensure a smooth, finished edge.
• Soak floral foam in water, but do not push it into the water, instead let it absorb the water on it’s own. This will prevent air bubbles.
• Cut the floral foam into segments that will fill the box and surround the base of the Manzanita.

Step 3
From your prepared florals (small chocolate ti leaves and stems red elephant orchid) it is time to begin building your Manzanita tree
• Take the folded ti leaves and begin to insert them into the floral foam. Ensure the leaves radiate out from the base of the tree. You can trim the stems if they are too long.
• Take the willow tips and insert them into the floral foam. Spread them out randomly among the ti leaves.
• Now, insert the roses among the leaves. Attempt to cluster the roses in groups of three and four connecting the various clusters throughout the base. You can also place roses between the ti leaves and the edge of the box for added fullness. Angling the roses and placing them at varying heights will provide added dimension.
• Next, take your cymbidiums in the water tubes and cluster them around the Manzanita trunk.
• Take the wired cymbidium blooms and attach them to the branches. Place them randomly at different heights and where there is a v shape base upon which they can naturally rest.

Step 4
• Now, take the longer red elephant pieces and tuck then in again surrounding the manzanita trunk. Place them so that they fan out from the trunk.
• Take the smaller segments of red elephant orchid stems and wire them to the manzanita branches. You can connect multiple smaller segments using individual blooms to hide wire bits. Take care to place the first segments near the cymbidium bloom so that it appears that the orchids are clustered together and growing from a single branch.
• Take the remaining red elephant segments and tuck them in among the roses. You don’t need to worry about piercing the foam. They will be fine for 2 – 3 days out of water.
• Embellish your beautiful manzanita tree with your 1/4” ribbon segments, votive candle holders, photos or other decorative items and enjoy!

If you would like to use other flowers.
If you want to use different flowers, here are tips on how to use them.
1. Pick a combination of full/mass flowers and greens that can help fill the base and long/uniquely shaped items that give height, dimension and interest. Kale, roses, dahlias, safari sunset, succulents, ti leaves, geranium leaves for mass. Craespedia, monkey tail, thistle, scabiosa pods, willow, orchids for shape and texture.
2. In choosing blooms for wiring to branches keep in mind that they are out of water, so use hardier varieties. Orchids come in many varieties and tons of lovely shapes. Roses, succulents, moss and berries can also be used.
3.As for the base, there are tons of possibilities. Hydrangea is probably the one flower I wouldn’t recommend for DIY unless you have extra stems for touchups. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always do well in foam.

In case you haven’t noticed, 2012 is going to be huge over here at The Wedding Chicks. To prove it, we have yet another crazy good free printable to share with you, thanks to Susie from our sister site, On To Baby for creating these uhh-mazing free ombre printables just for you.

Yes this is for real and yes this is all for free. The invitation, save-the-date, thank you card, favor tags, escort cards and an adorable love sign. All for you. You can change the colors, text and totally customize it. Do you love it as much as we do? Get started making your free ombre printables right now! Be sure to check out all of our free printables by clicking here.

Click here to get your Free Ombre Printables!

We have some super sweet treats for all you Do It Yourself fans made with love by  Erica O’Brien Cake Design and Brooke Allison Photography. These ultra stylish DIY Ombre Sugar Hearts could easily be used at a fabulous bridal shower, for wedding favors, as a special surprise for your sweetie on Valentine’s Day or even decor for the cutest wedding cake in the world.

What you’ll need
Two cups sugar (or more, depending on the number of colors you want), divided
4 teaspoons (or more) egg white or liquid meringue (1 teaspoon of meringue powder mixed with 1 tablespoon warm water)
Paste food coloring (found at local craft store)
Large cutting board, baking sheet or other flat surface, lined with Silpat or parchment paper

and

Baking sheet lined with Silpat or parchment paper
Ateco aspic cutters or small cookie cutters

Additional:
Small and medium bowls | spatulas | rolling pin | measuring spoons | measuring cups | ziplock bags | butter | knife

Optional:
3 x 4-inch treat bags | colored ribbon | cake to decorate

Step 1.
Place ½ cup sugar in medium bowl. Add a small amount of paste food coloring (we used a combination of Wilton’s Rose and Violet), and mix thoroughly. This will be your darkest color. (Hint: A little goes a long way and will darken once liquid is added in next step.) Add more if needed until desired color is achieved. Add 1 teaspoon egg white or meringue liquid and mix thoroughly until the mixture resembles wet sand. Be careful not to add too much liquid or you will dissolve the sugar.

Step 2.
Empty contents onto Silpat or parchment lined cutting board or baking sheet. Spread with hand or spatula and pat down, then roll over mixture with rolling pin to compress. Ideally, the flattened mixture should be as compact as possible and level, about ¼”. Press heart cutter into mixture and lift up. Place hearts on lined baking sheet. If cutter will not release heart, gently tap with the back of a butter knife. Repeat 10-20 times or as many as desired. If hearts will not hold their shape, add more egg white or meringue liquid in small increments and mix thoroughly. If sugar builds up in cutter, rinse with warm water and pat dry before continuing. Pour remaining colored sugar back into bowl and proceed to Step 3.

Step 3.
Add ½ cup sugar to colored sugar  from Step 2 to lighten. Mix thoroughly. Add 1 teaspoon egg white or liquid meringue. If desired color is not achieved, continue adding additional ½ cup sugar plus 1 teaspoon egg white or liquid meringue and mixing thoroughly until desired color is achieved. Repeat Step 2. Continue with Steps 2 and 3 until desired shades and number of sugar hearts are achieved. We recommend at least three to five shades. Leftover sugar can be stored in ziplock bags for future use.

Step 4.
Heat oven to 200 degrees. Heat hearts in oven for 10 minutes. Allow to harden overnight. Sugar hearts will be the consistency of sugar cubes.

Design Options:
Place 10-20 sugar hearts in treat bag. Staple ribbon to bags. Tie ribbon. Can be given as gifts or used as favors.

For cake: Attach sugar heats to cake using royal icing. Begin with darkest color on smallest tier. Continue with lighter colors.

These sweet and tasty Do It Yourself Ombré Sugar Hearts were shared with us by Erica O’Brien Cake Design and Brooke Allison Photography. We have a little  Ombré Wedding Tote in our WC Shop that would be fabulous with the sweets. Click here for more DIY Edible ideas.

If you are a new visitor, then you might not know about our Free Printables. We have an extensive collection of monograms, save the dates, invitations, signs, menus, table numbers … you name it we have it. We love how our Vintage Monogram looks next to the beautiful Claire Pettibone gown shot by Elizabeth Messina. I ripped that our of the new Martha Stewart magazine the second I saw it and pinned it to my personal inspiration board. Slightly obsessed. We also love the Chiplettes™ From The Dessy Group, they make it so easy to create the perfect palette.

In 2012 we plan on growing our Free Printables even more with new designs that are completely custom and 100% free, but for now we want to share with you our top 10 Free Printables of 2011. The Vintage Monogram as seen above has been downloaded over 130,000 times and counting.

Above are all of our top monograms and invitations that have been downloaded along with our vintage Bride and Groom sign. Our top save the date was our Vintage Free Printable Save the Date Cards.

Vintage Letters Custom Monograms
Formal Crest Custom Monogram
Antique Custom Monograms
Fancy Custom Monograms
Retro Free Printable Wedding Invitation Templates
Tandem Bike
Vintage Free Printable Save the Date Cards
Monogram Free Printable Wedding Invitation Templates
Circle Love Custom Monogram
Bride and Groom sign

To see all of our free custom printables click here. Be sure to add your name to our mailing list to see when we come out with new freebies.

Pink is one of the number one colors for wedding and we can see why. It exudes romance, femininity and everything we associate with pretty. One of the perfect ways to incorporate a splash of pink into your wedding is by using pink flowers. From a beautiful succulent to a garden rose, we have a lovely variety of pink wedding flowers for you to swoon over. Will there be pink at your wedding? Again, a huge thank you to Krista Jon for helping us out with our Flower Guides. Of course stay tuned because we have so many more colors to share. Any particular color you would love to see next?

The following pink flowers used in this guide are dahlia, larkspur, Dutch hydrangea, Dutch tulip, garden blossom, garden rose, rose, grafted cactus, helleborus, hyacinth, peony, ranunculus, succulent blossom, and wax flower.

How much are you loving our Flower Guide? Have you seen The Yellow Flower Guide or how about The Orange Flower Guide or our personal favorite The White Flower Guide. All are equally as beautiful and simply as lovely as our next installment, Green Wedding Flowers. Again, a huge thank you to Krista Jon for helping us out with our Flower Guides.

No matter what the variety, a green flower always makes a statement. All of these dramatic green blooms would look stunning in any wedding bouquet or flower arrangements. You must see our wedding bouquet recipes that pair perfectly with our Green Wedding Flowers.

Our green flower guide consists of antherium, button-mum, green brasillia, green dianthus, green hyrangea, green mink protea, green ranunculus, hypercomb, ring of perals, super green rose, and spider mum and dendrobium orchid.