"Mums the Word" Cupcakes!

With Mother's Day and hopefully some decent Spring weather coming...I thought these little beauties would be perfect! They do take some time, but are very simple once the busy work is done.

NEEDS:
12-24 cupcakes
white frosting
1 bag, mini marshmallows
food coloring
sugar
good (very clean) kitchen scissors

You will begin by cutting the mini marshmallows, across the diagonal of their shape. Creating a petal like formation.You will need about 22 cut mallows for each cupcake. Only cut 3-4 at a time, because they begin to dry out before you can dip them in sugar.

Press them sticky side down into colored sugar. (for a short cut, just put a few drops of food coloring into regular white sugar and mix with a fork till blended) I used, yellow, green and pink.

You will repeat this step...a lot!

Once you have all petals, in all desired colors, begin frosting your cupcakes with a normal amount of frosting. Work cupcake by cupcake so the frosting doesn't dry out. Start by arranging the petals in the middle and work your way out! Super simple and because nature isn't perfect- you don't have to be either! I added a nonpareil mint chip for the center, but you could really use anything cute!

Tiny Yo-Yo's...oh so cute.

My mom bought me the coolest thing(s) for Mothers Day! An entire set of Yo Yo templates. They take the guess work out of making these fun and fabulous creations in all sorts of sizes!

They are popping up everywhere...and now I can make them all day long if I want to!

I used the smallest yo yo maker template and created the smallest little flowers. My dear friend Renita is celebrating her birthday and wears clip-on earrings. So I fashioned her 2 pairs of custom ones!

The first set is a delicate pink satin with rhinestone centers.

The other was done in her favorite color, green with pearl centers. I also made a yo yo pin to match the green but didn't get a picture, trust me- it was cute! The possibilities are endless!

If you want to order your own yo yo maker(s) set, here is the website my mom ordered them from.

http://www.nancysnotions.com/

Cherry Blossoms!

About 8 years ago, I was the artistic director (a.k.a, arts & craft junkie) for an after school program at an elementary school. This craft was and still is, one of my FAVORITE spring time ideas. I love the fun colors, bringing outside in (without having to worry about killing any plant life) and the simplicity of the craft. The little guys even helped, making a couple of the blossoms themselves.

NEEDS: about 10-15 sticks in various sizes. Tissue paper in pink or white & green, tacky craft glue.

Cut the squares into 1 inch pieces and the green into half inch pieces. You dont' have to be exact...thankfully.

Twist the tissue paper- green on the outside, on the dull end of a pencil. Smush it tell it looks like an adorable little cherry blossum bud. Dip the green tip into your craft glue and stick it to the stick.

Repeat with as many little blossoms until you're stick looks pretty. Once you have covered all the sticks, you have this....