Butterfly Cupcakes

It's Monday which means another tutorial for cake decorating. As you may remember, several weeks ago I had four different treats that I worked on. Among them were my sea turtle smash cake, piano themed birthday cake, Oscar the Grouch cupcake toppers, and these butterfly toppers. These toppers were for a baby shower for a friend of my sisters. The nursery theme is butterflies, so that was the theme of the shower as well.

When my sister asked about me making a few cupcakes for the shower, she mentioned the butterfly theme and I started trying to come up with some ideas. I decided to try and make 3D butterfly toppers with a swirl of light purple and blue. The first butterfly I made (shown in the pics in the steps below) was a little darker than I wanted, so I made some lighter ones. These butterfly toppers were a hit and complimented the other decorations as well. They are really easy to make!

Here's the steps I used:

• Start by dyeing some fondant two different colors you would like to have swirled together (I went with teal and purple)

• Mix the two balls of fondant together some, but not completely so you can see swirls of both colors
• Roll out to 1/8 inch

• Print out a butterfly shape you are wanting
• Use an Exacto knife to cut out the butterfly shape

• Roll out a small amount of brown fondant to a snake like shape
• Attach the brown piece to the butterfly by brushing on gum glue (pieces of fondant or gum paste dissolved in water)

• To get that arch in the butterfly wings (making them more 3D), dry the butterfly with the wings resting upon a small circular shape lid. I turned my food gel containers upside down and lightly pressed the wings against the curved shape

• Let the butterflies dry 12-24 hours

Here's the display of the lighter butterflies I made. I baked 6 cupcakes in light green polka dot wrappers (there were other light green decorations), and then placed the butterflies on top!

Don't forget to follow my blog, or follow me on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) for updates and photos of new projects! I've got a delicious banana and caramel recipe coming up Wednesday, and a special cookie DIY treat bag for Mother's Day on Friday!

Also, I'm excited to announce that I am starting a blog link party, "Sweet Tooth Tuesdays." While the focus will be on (of course) sweet treats, you can link up savory recipes, DIY projects, crafts, etc! I love participating in blog link parties, and am excited to try out my own. I'm planning to have my first party go live on May 14. I'd love to have some co-hosts, so send me an email if you are interested. I'll leave you with a sneak peek of my button for the party!