Happy Monday!  I’m guest blogging today over at The TomKat Studio.  I shared a tutorial for for these adorable Jelly Bean Flower Cupcakes!  And I’m sharing it here as well.  These little treats are super simple and perfect for your upcoming Easter celebrations!

Today we’re taking the jelly bean from basket filler to the star of the show!  In a few simple steps, your cupcakes will be blooming with beauty and ready for Easter!  (Or any other springtime celebration.)  So easy, even the kids can get involved.  Just ice the cupcakes and then provide bowls of jelly beans to your little ones.  They’ll love seeing the flowers come to life… and sneaking a few jelly beans along the way!

Group cupcakes on a large white plate or cake stand to create an edible centerpiece for your Easter table.  Or let a single cupcake serve as a beautiful and unique place setting for each dinner guest.

JELLY BEAN FLOWER CUPCAKES
a DIY by Carrie Sellman

Supplies:

• Cupcakes
• White Buttercream Icing
• Jelly Beans
• Yellow Sprinkles
• Edible Easter Grass

STEP 1:  Completely cover top of cupcake with a small mound of buttercream.  Leave no cupcake exposed.  Smooth slightly.

STEP 2:  Create an outer ring of ‘petals’ by placing jelly beans side-by-side around the outside edge of the icing.  Jelly beans will lay almost flat, sticking out of the side.  Don’t worry about exact position or pushing in too far.  We will adjust them again at the end.

STEP 3: Create a second ring of jelly beans inside the first.  Start this ring so it alternates with the first ring, so beans are nestled tightly.  This row will go in on a slight angle.

STEP 4: Create a third and final ring of jelly beans.  This row will go in almost straight up.  Leave a small opening in center as you position.

STEP 5: Gently push jelly beans in more, starting at the bottom row and moving up.  Gently position until you like the final shape of your flower.

STEP 6: Put sprinkles into a small ziplock bag and trim off the tip.  Use to pour a small mound of sprinkles in center of flower.

STEP 7: Plate with edible Easter grass beneath cupcake.

TIPS:  If your jelly beans are not all the same size, use the largest ones in the outside ring of petals.  Save the smallest ones for the center.

I hope my Jelly Bean Flower Cupcakes provide a fun activity for your family and a delicious dessert for your Easter celebration!

	Carrie Sellman is the Founder & Editor of The Cake Blog. Her work has been published in BRIDES Magazine and featured on TLC, DIY Network, The Cooking Channel, Glamour and more. Read more about Carrie on her bio page.

**** Winner Update.  This giveaway is now closed. Our lucky winner is… Marlana who said “This would be perfect for my Bridal Shower!.” on April 5th, 2011 at 9:30 pm.  Congratulations Marlana!  Please contact me before Friday, April 13th to claim your prize.  Enjoy! ****

It’s Friday!  And we’re kicking off the weekend with a fabulous giveaway!   Most of you are familiar with Kim Stoegbauer and The TomKat Studio!  Kim has been inspiring us with her printable party collections and impeccably styled parties for over three years now.  Her work can be spotted in Parenting Magazine around the web on incredible sites like Pottery Barn Kids and HGTV.  Not to mention her own blog which serves up daily party inspiration (and I’m happy to say that I contribute to monthly).

Kim recently opened a new online party boutique filled with handpicked products to provide you a one-stop party shop!  Now you can find everything from the original printable party collections down to the smallest of party accessories.  From cake stands to cupcake wrappers, favor bags, boxes, baking twine, paper straws and more!  And to to help celebrate the launch of her new party shop, Kim is generously offering a up a SWEET PARTY PACKAGE for one lucky Half Baked reader!!

One lucky reader will win this fabulously sweet party package….

**** Winner Update.  This giveaway is now closed. Our lucky winner is… Marlana who said “This would be perfect for my Bridal Shower!.” on April 5th, 2011 at 9:30 pm.  Congratulations Marlana!  Please contact me before Friday, April 13th to claim your prize.  Enjoy! ****

Continue Reading…

I love seeing the creativity of women shine through when planning parties for their children.  And today we have an amazing example of just that!  Stay at home mom, Heather McKinney, is not new to our site… we featured the adorable Giraffe 1st Birthday Party she hosted for her oldest son back in 2010.  So when I saw a note from this talented mother in my inbox, I knew it was going to be good!  Navy, yellow and grey pair up to celebrate another first birthday in the McKinney house.  Created with an incredible attention to detail, a bold mix of patterns and a whole lot of love… check out Grayson’s Mod Elephant & Chevron First Birthday Party!

From the invitation to his little portrait… could the man of the hour be any cuter?!?  Okay, I’ll let the pictures take it away from here and then Heather will give us the scoop on all of the party details at the end.

I love that the elephant logo ran through the entire party.  From the invitation to the cake, cupcake toppers, birthday hat, onsie, and on and on…

Heather thought of everything!  To include tiny chevron bags filled with baby snacks like Mum Mums and yogurt melts.  It’s a party for a one year old after all!

Heather gives us the party scoop…

We celebrated our youngest son’s very first birthday with a mod elephant and zig zag party. We chose a navy, yellow and gray color scheme. Stripes and a chevron pattern were mixed in with a mod elephant motif, as the main design elements.  I created his logo, which featured a chevron-patterned number one with a yellow elephant graphic provided by Kaylee Bug Designs. Although I’m still a stay at home mom, I love decorating, and this was just another outlet for my creativity.

THE DECORATIONS

The cake table was the main focal point. It featured a seven-foot fabric installation that served as the backdrop. I made 18- and 12-inch, yarn-covered letters that spelled “one.” They were suspended from the ceiling with clear monofilament. It gave them the appearance of floating. Sweet Art Bakery made a logo-inspired, chevron smash cake, as well as 48 vanilla almond and buttercream cupcakes and 30 dark chocolate fudge cake pops. I created the cake pop stands, using upside-down drink dispenser bases stuffed with Styrofoam and shredded paper. We also featured several photos of Grayson, taken by husband of Chad McKinney Photography.

We made 12 yarn balls to create a chandelier effect in the living room. That space was also decorated with two handmade banners and paper garland. Additional decorations filled three other rooms in the house and included nine hanging cutouts, more than 20 signs, two banners, handmade table cloths, cupcake toppers, food tags, water labels, milk carton covers, soda bottle stickers with straws, yard sign, high chair cover and smash cake station decorations. Each of the 32 children who came received a zig zag or stripe goody bag filled with animal crackers, a coloring page, specially-ordered navy and yellow Crayola crayons and candy. From the yarn balls and yarn letters to the banners, printables and goody bags, nearly everything was handmade. I did, however, custom-order a few things, and my vendor credits are listed at the end of this submission.

THE FOOD

In addition to the amazing treats by Sweet Art Bakery, we also served Grayson’s favorite food, hushpuppies from Delaney’s Irish Pub. We made a pecan cheese ball and homemade sugar cookies that were cut out in the shape of a one. I filled tiny, chevron bags with assorted baby snacks, such as Mum Mums, yogurt melts and arrowroot cookies, for the little ones at the party. The other foods included a veggie tray, Chex party mix, white chocolate dipped Oreos and crackers.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS

My all-time favorite Etsy boutique, Initial Here Gifts, custom-made two adorable shirts and a hat. She used the party logo and patterns to inspire her custom design on a fluffy birthday bat, a onesie and a t-shirt to wear during the cake smash.

My husband created a 15-minute movie that chronicled Grayson’s first year, featuring video clips, custom graphics and music.

Vendors & Credits:
Birthday boy shirt, onesie and hat:  Initial Here Gifts
Cake, cupcakes and cake pops:  Sweet Art Bakery
Invitations:  Kaylee Bug Designs
Hushpuppies:  Delaney’s Irish Pub
Cupcake liners, straws and tiny chevron bags:  Sweet Estelle Baking Supply
Fabrics:  Texas Susannie’s Fabric Store
Photography backdrops:  Swanky Prints
No. 1 cookie cutter:  The Cookie Cutter Shop
Goody bags:  Bake Me a Party
Photography:  Chad McKinney Photography