If I am being honest, Christmas was always my favorite holiday.   But one Halloween 14 years ago, I had the most perfect baby boy on Oct 31st!   With Shane's birthday on this fun and spooky holiday, I have learned to love Halloween!  It is so much fun to create memories with your kiddos.   They grow up so fast, so embrace your inner spookiness and dive right in this Halloween!  

​We had a blast creating this tablescape.  Note the balloon arch per Kaylyn's request!  I have to admit, I becoming an addict to those as well.   Balloon arch tips- be prepared to blow up a ton of balloons, get the balloon tape with glue dots!  And FYI- 1 dot goes a long way!  Those suckers are sticky!   Link below for the ones we used.

 Amazon.com: Balloon Arch Kit Balloon Decorating Strip Kit for Garland, 2 Rolls Balloon Tape Strips with 2 Rolls Balloon Glue Point Dots Stickers for Party Wedding Birthday Decorations : Home & Kitchen
 
We had also planned on having the cutest witches hats hanging from the ceiling in this photoshoot, but someone(Leane) forgot to bring them to Kaylyn's house and with a newborn and a 4 year old as our assistants the hats did not make the cut!  There's always next year.  Haha  

A fun treat you can make with the kids are the Mummy pretzel rods shown.  Get the larger pretzel rods, and the white chocolate candi quick.   Melt to directions and dip each rod in the chocolate(use a tall skinny cup to hold the melted chocolate).  We dipped them twice and then drizzled and added candy eyes to make the "mummy."   Great snacks for lunchboxes!

We fell in love with our pink and orange ghost plates and cups!  We will have them in the shop available for you to purchase!   We also can not get enough of this charcuterie board!  Custom made by a husband and wife team, it is a must have for your Halloween decor bin!  We have them available for purchase too.   Yep, we will totally have you hooked up this year for the cutest Halloween tablescape ever!   *And in case you missed that organization tip- have a holiday bin for each holiday to safely store and organize your items.  

We have always done cookie kits with the cookies baked and cut out and then royal icing for you guys to have fun with.   We decided that we would mix it up a little this time and do these cute monster cookies!  You get the cookie dough and you roll and squish(yes, squish) them out and bake with your family!  While they bake, you can decorate those pumpkins!   Once they come out, we have buttercream icing for you to decorate and create adorable and yummy monsters!  Can't wait to share these with you and see pics of your memories!  
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This one was a fun one for Kaylyn and I to create!  We hope you enjoy it and it inspires you to make this Halloween the spookiest ever!   

Keep Life Sweet- Leane and Kaylyn

Well, it's been a while since we have posted on the blog.    Life, running the bakery and of course COVID got in the way.  But, Kaylyn and I are back and ready to create with you guys!  We can't wait to start sharing our Sweetscapes (small tablescape designs to celebrate life's everyday special occasions)   

Our first Sweetscape is our Back to School edition!   My kiddos are entering 12th and 8th grade.   I honestly can't believe we have a Senior over here!  Kaylyn has her sweet Blakely starting preschool.   As a mom of a Senior, I can tell you that it flies by!   Take the time to create that special memory of the first day of school.   Before you know it, they are off to college.  

We had so much fun creating these cute tablescapes to celebrate that first day of school.   We were going to just do one set up, but then Kaylyn's addiction to balloon arches lead us to 2!    Follow us on Instagram-@traditionssweet to see our blooper reels, tips and suggestions and links to purchase the items shown in pictures.   We will have our graphics available for download in a few days!  

Hope you enjoy!    Keep life Sweet-  LeAne  and Kaylyn

I’m Kaylyn. You may have seen me decorating cakes in the front corner of the bakery through the window. I’m also the girl in the front corner with the robotic prosthetic arm. 

I found love for decorating cakes in high school and knew I wanted to use my crafty abilities in my future. I graduated from Johnson & Wales University of Charlotte in 2011 and found my forever work family a few years later at Sweet Traditions. 

Exactly 18 months ago, my world was completely rocked on a Sunday afternoon when my husband and I were in a rollover ATV accident that crushed my dominate right arm. While I prayed countless words during my ambulance ride, I knew in my heart I had just become a permanent lefty. 

Wow, have things gotten a little hectic and exciting around here!  We are moving right along with our store renovations and they are finishing up all the painting as I type.....  floors go in next and then "bam!"....  we get to move in the kitchen stuff!  To say our heads are spinning is an understatement, but it's a fun spin!  We are getting so excited about the grand opening and can't wait to share all the sweetness with our customers!  We are now picking out the décor stuff for the store, wait til you see all the cool stuff!  This will be the cutest cupcake shop ever!!!

Stay tuned for more sweetness updates...... it's only gonna get better!    Spread the Sweetness!

I am sitting here at the computer and thinking of all the events that have led up to this day……  I still remember my mom saying, “ Are you sure you want to start this?  Once they taste how good these cakes are, you will be so busy you won’t know what to do!”   Still to this day Rowland makes her say it every time he sees her…  “I told you so!”    Growing up, I only knew my Granny’s baking.  It was just how food tasted to me.  It feels my heart every day when I hear how much someone enjoys our cupcakes and cakes!   I look up to heaven and smile :)  Granny, see your legacy lives on!! 

t's the day after Christmas and I am feeling sad it is over and excited to get things organized and ready for the new year!  Every year I do this, this urge to organize, clean and plan ahead!  Such a wonderful year and we are so very grateful for all of our new "cupcake" family members!  We never thought when we started this venture that we would be working on a storefront in 2014!  Wow!  Time to make the lists and get to work on our next adventure!  Read More