Cherry on Top Cupcake Craft

Oooh... I must have really been in the zone, creatively speaking, when I came up with this idea for a Mother's Day card (or gift). I think these cupcakes could also be used for Valentines or for a birthday gift for a special little girl or even as a gift for sweet teacher.

{Cupcake by Mia, Age 5}

Materials:

• white paper (We used 8" x 8" scrapbooking paper.)
• colored cardstock
• paper crimping tool
• scissors
• glue
• shaving cream
• food coloring
• tray/plate/bowl to hold paint
• paintbrush
• red pom pom
• green pipe cleaner 
• picture frame (optional)
• black marker (optional)

Directions:
1) Take your cardstock and run it through the paper crimper to get texture like a cupcake wrapper. Cut into a trapezoid shape. I found this template that should work if you don't want to cut the shapes freehand. Have your child glue the paper trapezoid "cupcake wrapper" to the paper, making sure to leave enough room for painting the top of the cupcake.

2) On your tray (We re-used a Styrofoam meat tray), squirt a small amount of shaving cream. Add a few drops of food coloring (We used neon pink) and mix with a paintbrush to get the desired color. Have your child paint "frosting" above the paper trapezoid. Set aside to dry. This takes awhile, and varies depending upon how thick your painting is. Ours was still a bit tacky after 24 hours, so this isn't ideal for last minute gifts.

3) Once paint is dry, glue a red pom pom onto the top of the "frosting" to make the "cherry."

4) Cut a short length of green pipe cleaner, shape as desired, and then glue by the top of the pom pom to make the cherry "stem." (I realize that cherry stems really are more of a brown color, but green seemed prettier.)

{Another Finished Cupcake by Mia, Age 5}

5) Once the cupcake is finished, you can turn it into a card by writing a message with a black marker. My ideas are along the lines of "Hope Your Mother's Day is Extra Special with a Cherry on Top," "Happy Birthday to a Sweet Girl," or "Thanks for Being a Sweet Teacher." Or, you can write your message and then place the finished project in a frame and then give it as a gift. (Michael's has 8" x" 8 frames for $4.99 that are perfect for this.)

Other Ideas:

• Mix paint with the shaving cream in place of food coloring. (If you are worried about stains, have your child wear old clothing or a paint smock. You might also wish to protect the work area with newspaper before starting.)
• Add sequins or beads to make "sprinkles" for your cupcake.
• Add a flower embellishment in place of the cherry on top. (Try felt or silk flowers since paper may not hold up the best on top of the shaving cream paint.)
• In place of colored cardstock, consider decorative scrapbooking paper for cute cupcake wrappers.
• Or, you could try using actual cupcake wrappers if you wish. (I felt that once you flattened them they lost the proper shape of the cupcake, which is why I decided to make ours from cardstock.)
• If you don't have red pom poms, buttons would make cute cherries, too. (They just won't have the same 3-D effect.)
• If you don't have green pipe cleaners, try short lengths of ribbon or yarn to make the cherry stems. (The nice thing about pipe cleaners is that you can bend them the way you want and they retain that shape.)
• I think this would be cute for things other than cupcakes. I am imagining a triple decker ice cream cone with 3 different colors of shaving cream paint... or an ice cream sundae ... or maybe even a whole cake. There are lots of sweet possibilities.