I have this friend. My friend loves cupcakes. I mean, really loves cupcakes. Her name is Julie. I like to call her Cupcake Julie. She doesn’t know that though. Well, maybe now she does. When she invited me to her Christmas Party this year, I was really excited because I knew she would have some sweet decorations. But, never… never did I expect to see such a visual delight. Let’s just say, when I walked in… I felt right at home… and I didn’t want to leave… ever. Each room was filled with candy and sweets and yes, cupcakes! And I’m not just talking about what there was to eat. I’m talking about the decorations. Here are some of the pictures I took … in low light. Sorry, they don’t come close to doing the decorations justice, but they’ll give you a good idea.

This is Julie’s tree. It is stunning. And it’s guarded by her very own Colonel Cupcake. I think I’m in love.

Another view. I think I want to cry. This is the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen.

Until I saw this. This is her dessert table. It’s gorgeous! Gorgeous! Gorgeous! She made lots and lots of sweets.

Including cake pops! Oh yeah – one tiny little detail. She also made the house.

She needed a little something to serve her brownies on. She’s crafty like that.

Stunning! Lollipops and cupcakes and candy canes and all. She did all of the decorating down to every last detail.

Julie’s collected many of these decorations over the years, but she also makes a lot of them.

She made these stockings, too.

I don’t think she made this. But seriously, where does someone find sugar cone castles?

And chocolate covered strawberries…

…and sparkling chocolate cake ornaments? She will be getting a full interrogation soon.

Look at these Gingerbread men! Ummm… she made them, too. They were shipping boxes in their former lives. They are much happier now.

I love the colors. So cheerful and fun and the inspiration for the cupcakes I made last weekend.

This was a sweet surprise. She also has a Lollidoll figurine like the one I have from the Lollipop Workshop.

She even has some Jenny Holiday artwork. Okay, now I’m going to have to get one of these paintings, too. I’ve been trying to resist, but no longer.

Having fun yet?

Well, prepare yourself for this.

Julie has a miniature play cupcake bakery.

It’s completely as cute as it looks. Get this… Julie and her husband made it. The stand, the awning, everything.

And Julie made all of the cupcakes on display, too. They are made of felt and they are beautiful.

Right about here, I started to feel like a real slacker. I mean seriously. I’ve got to learn how to sew or something.

Sugar cookies and cakes… oh my.

By the way. Julie doesn’t do any of this for a living. Not a bit. Her day job is the complete opposite of her passion.

She does all of this for fun and because she really loves cupcakes and making people smile. She’s the sweetest.

In front of the bakery is the cutest little table with wood block ice cream sundaes. I’m definitely shopping in the wrong places.

Okay, just a few more decorations. The sugar coma will be over soon, I promise.

In her kitchen is a display of glass jars filled with the brightest candies.

I think this made me smile the biggest… The jars and the candy stay on display all year long. That just makes me happy.

Here’s something else that makes me happy.

See this toy soldier nutcracker guy?

Well, he’s really tall.

And he’s not alone… there’s two of them.

They guard the outside of the house. And, ummmm… she and her hubby made them, too…from scratch.

They’re not quite done yet. The hats will be finished off … as cupcakes no less – and they’ll either be holding candy canes or lollipops. Love that!

I hope you enjoyed the tour. I just had to share. I love learning about people’s untapped talents and Julie has many of them.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go make a two-story toy soldier. I’ll see you in a couple of weeks or ten.

NOTE: A lot of you have asked if Julie has a blog. I’m sorry to say, no she doesn’t. And no etsy store either. I told ya … she really just does this kind of stuff because she loves it. But, maybe I can convince her to show us a few things in the future. I’ll work on her.