I LOVE Cupcakes!

Hey Y'all!

I hope where ever you are, you are getting to see some snow! Where I live, we only see snow once in a blue moon, so it is really special when it happens. I just love snow and how white and fresh it makes everything look. My Christmas wish is to go somewhere where it snows during Christmas. I would love to take sleigh rides, go caroling and stay in a big ol' lodge. And. Drink hot toddies! :) Anybody out there have a winning Powerball ticket???

Anyhoo. Since I don't live where it snows, and for that matter, where it gets cold very often, I have to create a Winter Wonderland in my house during Christmas. This year I have three, yes THREE Christmas trees in my living room. One is real, the other two are artificial. I have collected Hallmark ornaments for YEARS, so I have plenty of ornaments for all of the trees. However, this year, I wanted to shake things up. One of my trees is an aluminum green tree. It is like metallic tinsel. Over the past two years, y'all have heard of my love for cupcakes. They are the perfect treat for someone like me because I can't eat a lot of dough-y foods with my stomach. I can still have a sweet treat and not feel sick! So I decided that one of my Christmas trees this year needed to be dedicated to my love of cupcakes. I started to poke around on Pinterest and I found the most amazing craft project. And, y'all know how I LOVE the craft projects. So with some Styrofoam balls, artificial snow, regular glue, hot glue, ribbon and some plastic holly berries, I made some precious cupcake ornaments!

If you would like to make your own cupcake tree (and let's face it, what girly girl wouldn't want one?) here are the craft supplies you are going to need:

2.5 inch Styrofoam balls (use a coupon and get them half off at the craft store)
Artificial snowflakes ( I used regular and iridescent to get a sparkly effect)
Cupcake liners.. foil ones and Christmas themed ones
A hot glue gun and glue sticks
Craft or school glue
A foam brush, a paper bowl, and toothpicks
Christmas themed ribbon
A Solo cup or Styrofoam block to hold the snowballs as they are drying

To start, combine the regular and iridescent snowflakes in a bowl. You might also want to spread paper towels or newspapers out on the table you are working on. The snowflakes get EVERYWHERE! :)

Next, poke a toothpick on the bottom of one of the Styrofoam balls. Coat at least 2/3 thirds of the top of the ball with glue.

Then roll the ball in the snowflake mixture.

While you are making the other "snowballs" you want a place to put the finished ones to dry well. I stuck mine into a Styrofoam block.

I let mine dry overnight to be safe. If it is not dry enough, the next part won't work.

Once the "snowballs" are dry to the touch, plug in your hot glue gun. If you are making this craft with little ones, make sure you take over here.

Separate out your cupcake liners. I did a combination of foil and Christmas themed ones. Simply line the side of the cupcake liner with hot glue. Then, place the "snowball" into the liner, cupping your hands around the ball. Don't push the ball down to the bottom. The hot glue will grab the sides. Your "cupcake" will look rounded on the bottom if you push it down to far into the liner. *Side note.. the foil liners get REALLY hot with the glue, so be very careful!*

Now, once the cupcake liner has cooled, we get to have some fun! Cut one of the holly berries off of the bunch, but leave a stem. With a toothpick, tuck the ribbon down into the cupcake. Insert the stem of the "berry" into the hole made with the toothpick and ribbon. Add a dab of hot glue and push the stem in all the way into the cupcake.

And viola!!! You have a cupcake ornament!

You can also leave the stem "up" and make it more cherry like.

Now you can make enough for a whole tree!

And, a close up!

And here's a thought... if you find a white tree on clearance AFTER Christmas, you can use a Valentine's day theme and keep it up longer! You can also use smaller Styrofoam balls and liners too! :)

I'll be back tomorrow with some pics of my Christmas decorations around my house. I just love to have on my lights in my house at night. It is so peaceful and relaxing to me!

Tootles and happy crafting!
:) JKP