Christmas TREEts

Get it?

I made a bunch of these the other day to hand out as party favors for Noii's bday party. I was inspired by this blog. I had a team of pals helping me which was very helpful since these are made out of materials I am not too handy with. They are actually quite simple and the result is pretty impressive..if I do say so meself!

Usually when I see that a list of supplies includes hardware items I skip it. DON"T DO THAT. I am so glad that I went for it.

Stuff to get at the store..or out of your garage..or from your contractor pal..

1 Can of Spray Foam (makes about 40 cupcakes)
Quick Set Drywall Mud (enough to make a large bowl of frosting)
Cupcake papers
Red Bells (or anything that you want to decorate your ornament with)
Sparkles
Paper Clips
Hooks or Yarn

First: Fill your cupcake up with the spray foam. This is tricky. You don't want to fill it up to much, but it is hard to stop the foam once it gets going.

These set up pretty quickly, but I waited til the next morning to mess with them. They look like this:

You can chop off the tip top of them to make them flat. This next part is very interesting. So interesting, that I forgot to take pictures.

You will need to put the compound in a bowl, add enough water to make it "frosting consistency" then add some paint to it...unless you want doo-doo gray frosting. We did one batch of green and one batch of red. Use a bowl that you can just throw away because you really shouldn't pour this compound stuff down the drain if you have a bunch left over. It is ok to wash small amounts down, like off your utensils.

Put your frosting in a plastic frosting bag or big ol' ziploc that you have put your desired tip in the bottom of. I have enormous tips. (i'm giggling right now) this is the one i used:

Keep the cupcakes in the pan and start squeezing out the frosting onto the cupcake, have a buddy sprinkle some sparkles and add a cherry on top. (I used a sparkly red bell, you could use a pom pom or go without a cherry altogether)

Put a paper clip in at an angle. (this will be where you put the hook or yarn)

Let these guys set overnight...maybe even more...

Add your yarn or hook, put it on your tree, making sure it is resting cozily on a branch and thereyahaveit:

These are fragile. If hit perfectly, the frosting will break off the foam. Make sure you wrap them up in a bunch of tissue and tell each person you give them to "this is not a real cupcake and it is fragile" a few times. Then, explain that it needs to be resting on a branch. I handed these out to kids at my 4 year old's birthday party...uhh..

These are perfect for giving to teachers, pals, your favorite waitress, etc..you end up with so many that you can hand them out to just about anyone.

So go make some of these!!! Graciously accept the compliments and feel an extra dose of the ol' Christmas spirit with every one that you lovingly deliver.