I Love Cupcakes!

I love love love cupcakes. So these ornaments would be perfect for me: http://www.bakeitpretty.com/blog/?p=511

Holiday How-To: Retro Cupcake Ornaments:


These twinkling, cupcake ornaments are an easy and impressive holiday craft that you can whip up at home! I was inspired by a vintage ice cream cone ornament I spotted at the thrift store, and I love the retro look of these shiny, foil cupcakes. The flaky, sparkly cupcake topping is reminiscent of shredded coconut, and a shiny cherry on top is the perfect finishing touch. You can add a string for easy hanging, or simply display them around the kitchen for a kitschy holiday treat. Pick your size: regular, or miniature - both are fantastic for decorating and gift giving! Just don’t try to eat them, (they really do look delicious though, don’t they?)



You will need:

Styrofoam Balls

- 2.5″ size for regular cupcakes

- 1.5″ size for mini cupcakes

Heavy-Duty foil cupcake liners

- Standard 2″ size

- Miniature Size

Artificial Snowflakes

Artificial floral berry sprigs (in assorted sizes)

Bakers Twine or Ribbon (optional)

Wooden skewers

White Craft Glue

Foam or paint brush

Hot Glue

Scissors

(more notes on supply sources at the end of the post!)



Let’s get started!

Stick one Styrofoam ball onto a wooden skewer for easy handling. Use a foam brush to paint the upper 2/3 of the ball with a medium coat of white craft glue.


Roll the ball into the faux snow flakes, gently pressing and sprinkling the flakes to cover the ball nicely. It should look like a frosty, snowball. (This is a great step to involve the kids with!)



Place the stick and ball into a mug or a piece of foam, if you have one, and allow to dry completely. I know, I hate waiting for things to dry! But if you try to glue them into the foil liners now, the sides just won’t stick. Trust me. I tried.



When your cupcakes tops are dry, remove the wooden skewers and you are ready to glue them into their foil baking liners. Hot glue works best, but please be careful not to burn your fingers! Run a circle of glue around the top inside of the liner and place your cupcake ball inside, frosty side up. Cup your hands and press gently around the edges to glue the liner on snugly. Do not push the ball down too far or the bottom will curve and your cupcake will not sit flat, (this isn’t really a big deal if you’re planning on hanging them.) Due to the hot-glue factor, this step is best left to big-kids and adults.



Choose the perfect “cherry” for your cupcake. Cut one floral berry from the bunch, leaving about 1″ or less of wire stem. Add a small dot of hot glue to the top center of your cupcake. If you are planning to hang your ornament, set a small loop of ribbon or twine into the glue first, then press your cherry firmly on top. You can push the wire right into the Styrofoam ball, or flip it around to make a cherry “stem.” Both styles are very cute!




There you have it! I think you’ll find that making these kitschy cupcakes is very addictive! So many color combinations, and so much sparkly sweetness. The mini size cupcakes would look lovely tied to holiday gifts, and both sizes are great for decorating Christmas trees.



I hope you all have fun getting crafty this Holiday season! If you make ornaments using this tutorial, please send us photos of your work, or add them to the Bake It Pretty group on Flickr. And I absolutely plan to make Kits for these cupcake ornaments for the shop, but they probably will not be available until January. However, I’m pretty sure that sparkly cupcakes are not just for Christmas, so I’m thinking that Valentine Cupcake Ornament kits would be a welcome addition for this February!


I can't wait to make these when I get home!