Branching Out

While pupcakes make me happiest, I also tried a few sunflowers in my last batch. The cupcake is iced with a bright green. A chocolate wafer is placed on top and then bright yellow petals are piped all the way around it. A red m&m piped with black polka dots tops it off with perfect contrast as a lady bug.

The Group Shot

The Yorkshire Terrier could have turned out a little better had I 1) blended a yellow with the brown and 2) had used a firmer icing. Mine had been sitting out for too long, while I held a 30 minute photoshoot with Ralph and Lola. Yes, I have favorites! Going clockwise, you have a Schnauzer (George), a Dachsund (Shirley), a Sheepdog (Chewie), a Collie (Carl), a golden Bulldog (Buck), and in the middle is a spotless Dalmation (Maisey) -- I was worried about how the spots would work on her, and liked her just as well without them.

The New Breeds - Sheepdog

As I checked the Yorkies off my list from the Hello, Cupcake! book, I moved over to p.67 to try a few new breeds. These guys don't have nearly as much personality as Lola and Ralph, but nonetheless fun to create. Meet Chewbakkah the sheepdog (with eyes in view).

The Personality

The brown and white yorkie developed a personality of its own with the white stripes on his muzzle--giving him a bit of a scruffy appeal. Obviously masculine, I think he's the perfect pal for the white yorkie. Notice I'm referring to them as the 'white yorkie' or 'brown and white yorkie'... basically, because I don't want to sound too crazed/obsessed by revealing their given names. Okay... if you must know, meet Lola and Ralph.

The Construction

The Yorkies are made of a regular sized cupcake with a mini-cupcake set on top, on its side, for the precious, little head. (It's not a big mound of icing, as many people have assumed.) The ears are a mini marshmallow cut in half and dipped in pink sugar. The eyes are candy coated sunflower seeds, the nose is an mini m&m, and tongue is cut out of a fruit roll-up. The muzzle gets it's shape from a mini-marshmallow placed in the middle of the mini-cupcake, prior to applying the icing.

The Beginning

I once read someone's Facebook quote that said, "Find something you love to do and you'll never work a day in your life." Sorry I can't attribute that quote to the wonderful person that first said it, but I can say that I truly believe it. (And, God bless Facebook, by the way!) ;)

Well, anyhow, I think I've found the "something I love"... and it has to do with being artistic, entrepreneurial, and involves dessert. I've been dabbling with icing, ziploc bags, and sugar cookies for a long time now (since the early 90's). Last summer, I stumbled across a book called, "Hello, Cupcake!" in a new paper store in the Highlands and thought, "I can SO do this." I requested the book on my Christmas list -- and surprise, surprise, guess what showed up on Christmas Eve.

I flipped through it with a purpose; similar to the way I would flip through my BOP magazine to see if it included any bonus fold-out posters of Kirk Cameron. Each perfectly lit, full-color photo of the cupcake creations truly inspired me and made me want to immediately start a grocery list and rank the order in which I would conquer each design.

Alas, I attempted the Yorkies, Doggy-faces, and Sunflowers for a family birthday party. Boy, was I in love with my first Yorkie! I couldn't stop staring at it, almost expecting it to come to life. I took iPhone pics so that my loved ones could experience my excitement with me. The tone was, "She's arrived. It's a girl! 2" and 2 oz., adorable, very healthy, Mom's doing exceptionally well." Seriously, I was that proud!

Once I proved to myself that I could do it, I was off to Augusta to finish the rest within a few miles of the party destination. I was worried that being hundreds of miles away would end with decapitated pupcakes and a broken heart.

I wish I had documented the whole process of my first go at these, because it was truly a team effort with help from my nephews (to place the eyes), my sister-in-law (for encouragement), my mom and dad (for the nifty transportation device), and my brother (for his jealous rage, which only made me try harder). And, the immediate gratification was QUITE therapeutic.

So, I've been dreaming about making pupcakes for the rest of my life... but, in the mean time, just enjoy the pics. And, next time, you'll get full documentation of the process -- I'd love to teach my peeps how to make these!