I posted this craft over at Paper Crave recently, but I was so happy with how it turned out that I wanted to share it over here, too. My inspiration for these cupcake liner trees came from the cover of Martha Stewart Weddings’ 15th anniversary issue, which featured a gorgeous sugar flower cake by Sylvia Weinstock on the cover. I thought that the ridged flower petals looked a little like cupcake liners, and that planted the idea for this craft in my head.

When I first attempted to make a tree, I used full size cupcake liners, but I felt that they were too large for the look that I was going for. Then I remembered this great cupcake liner flower tutorial from Intimate Weddings, which used mini cupcake liners, and I used this as a jumping off point to create the flowers on the cupcake liner tree. The mini liners worked out perfectly!

The cupcake liner trees are versatile decorations and would be at home as an embellishment on a reception dessert table or on display for any holiday, and you can use different colors and patterns for different looks. Red and white striped liners would be great for circus or retro themed parties, and I’m already planning on making a Halloween tree using black liners. Here’s a shop with lots of mini cupcake liner choices to inspire you.

You can easily change the look of the tree by adding decorative embellishments, too. Using a wire cutter, I disassembled a holiday berry pick from the craft store and used the berries to create a Christmas version of the tree:

I used one full mega pack (350 count) of the mini white baking cups (1 1/4″) from Wilton to cover one tree form, but I think that the 1 3/8″ size would work also work very well since there’s not much of a size difference. It took me a little less than two hours to put together my first tree, and since I had most of the supplies on hand already, the only thing I really needed to purchase for the craft was the baking cups, which were about $4 (less with a Jo-Ann coupon). If you had to purchase everything to make the trees, then I think you’d spend around $20, but the pins, glue gun, and glue sticks would last for several trees.

Okay, are you ready for some scrunching action?

DIY Cupcake Liner Flower Trees

Supplies you’ll need:

a styrofoam tree form (I used a 9” tall form)
mini cupcake liners (1 1/4” to 1 3/8” size)
straight pins, preferably with a ball head
a hot glue gun and glue sticks
accessories for decorating (ribbon, decorative picks, etc.)

Directions

1. Separate cupcake liners into groups of five. Flatten the liners, and poke a straight pin through the center of each group.

2. Gently “scrunch” the top cupcake liner around the pin head, taking care not to rip the paper.

3. Repeat the scrunching action for the remaining liners. When you’re finished, you’ll have a flower.

4. Using your thumb and forefinger, grab the flower at the bottom and press the liners together and away from the length of the pin. Add a bit of hot glue to the pin, and immediately insert into the styrofoam tree form.

5. Fold two or three layers of the liners over the pin head, taking care not to burn yourself on any hot glue that may have found its way toward the pin head, and press the pin head in until it’s flush with the tree form. Hold in place for five to ten seconds, until the glue starts to cool and the pin is firmly attached. Fluff and adjust the flower “petals”, if needed. Continue adding cupcake liner flowers, starting at the bottom of the form and working your way around and up, until the entire form is covered. Add embellishments and decorations to the tree to coordinate with your occasion, if desired.

images by Kristen Magee

I’m excited to let all of you know about a guest post that I did for Cottage Industrialist recently. The post is all about hosting your own canning party, and I designed free canning party printables, including invitations and envelope liners, recipe cards, and jar tags and labels, so you’ll have all of the paper goods that you’ll need to throw a shindig.

The tags in the canning party set may also be of interest to those of you have asked about tags beyond the designs that I included in my first set of jam jar tags. Since the canning party labels and tags are completely blank, you can print them out and write in whatever you’d like. Or, if you have access to a graphics program, you can open the files and use them as a background for a text layer containing your information.

Picture it, my living room, three or so years ago. I was at the tail end of an elimination diet (no sugar, dairy, or gluten), which I’d undertaken in desperation after having been told by my doctor that nothing was wrong with me. Yeah, right.

My carb-loving self was having a mean craving for anything cakey, and I didn’t know how long I’d be able to last if I didn’t get a cupcake or muffin in the very immediate future. Apprehensively, but hungrily, I made my way to the kitchen cupboard that contained my then tiny supply of gluten free baking ingredients. Having never baked gluten free before, I wasn’t sure what to make, but after flipping through my only gluten free cookbook at the time, Gluten Free Baking Classics by Annalise Roberts (still a favorite!), I decided on the carrot spice muffins. It’s amazing how easily I can justify eating several muffins or cupcakes in one sitting when they have something healthy like carrots in them.

I mixed up the batter, using these strange new ingredients and agave nectar as the sweetener, popped the muffins into the oven, and hoped for the best. Looking back, I think I can say that I was extremely lucky to have tried such a great recipe for my first gluten free baking adventure, because I knew after taking my first bite of that slightly spiced, moist muffin that it was completely possible to make something that tasted just as good (or better) than what I was used to in my pre-gluten free days.

As a result of my first experience baking gluten free, carrot-y baked goods still hold a yummy place in my heart, and this time around I tried the prize carrot cake recipe from Bette Hagman’s The Gluten Free Gourmet Cooks Comfort Foods, which has become another of my cookbook favorites. Though I was intrigued by the fact that the original recipe called for a healthy amount of pureed green tomatoes, they’re not exactly easy to find in a city, so I replaced them with applesauce, which provided the same moistness, as well as a little bit of sweetness. I do wonder how different the flavor would’ve been if I would’ve used the tomatoes, because I can tell you that this cake was absolutely delicious even without them. Seriously, I think that this may rank in my top three favorite gluten free recipes. The texture was amazing, and boy was this cake ever moist, even after three days (that’s how long the cupcakes lasted) and even though I used the sugar free sweetener xylitol, which tends to suck the moisture out of baked goods.

I halved the recipe because I didn’t want to make a full cake, but you can double it if you want to make a three layer cake, which is what the original recipe made.

Having an ice cream maker at your disposal can be a dangerous thing. I find that, every time I break out the machine to make a batch of ice cream, I have a thousand – well, at least a dozen – flavor ideas swirling in my head, and then I want to make batch after batch of ice cream. This is great for my taste buds, but not so good for my thighs.

I forced myself to put my ice cream machine back in the cupboard and out of sight, but not before I made this luscious batch of sugar free cherry vanilla. Add 1/4 cup of shaved dark chocolate for an absolutely decadent chocolate cherry combo, or leave it as I did and enjoy the classic pairing of cherry and vanilla.

If you’re looking for packaging ideas for small Father’s Day gifts, then you’ll want to head over to Paper Crave, where I share a Father’s Day packaging project that you can put together in a snap. These shirt and tie gift boxes will hold things like fishing lure, small electronic or kitchen gadgets, watches, gift cards, and more. Download templates for a necktie, a bow tie, and for the gift box, too!

I always feel like I’m getting away with something when I make a dish that tastes like it should have a bazillion calories, but there’s no butter, cream, cheese, or bacon to be found in the ingredient list. I spotted this creamy garlic pasta recipe in the June issue of Eating Well, and it’s both tasty and quick to make (less quick if you’re deveining the shrimp yourself), a great combination for a weeknight dinner. The yogurt adds a nice tang to the creamy, garlicky sauce, and loads of veggies make it a fresh-tasting, nutritious dish. I’d describe it as a cross between fettuccine alfredo and pasta primavera, with shrimp (always a welcome addition, in my book) thrown in for good measure.