For Those Lacking in Frosting Talents

I have been so excited to make lemon blackberry cupcakes. Unfortunately, I came to the really sad realization that I do not know how to frost cupcakes to save my life, so I improvised and decided to play with some powdered sugar to spruce up their aesthetic appeal (and taste!). I think I made it up, but who really invents anything anymore with Pinterest and memories of everything seen online?  I just got a piece of cardstock, cut a heart in the center, placed it over the frosted cupcake and sprinkled powder sugar over the heart.

They came out really good! The tart, lemony goodness of the cupcake perfectly balanced the sweet homemade, blackberry frosting. The cupcakes have pretty much disappeared from our countertop here at home, so I would consider the recipe a success. 

Just a note: I only used 3 cups of confectioner's sugar for the icing (half of what it asks for) and the icing was still a bit too sweet for my personal liking.

Jar of Hearts

This is such an easy and sweet way to cheer up someone's day, celebrate a birthday, or just say hi. AND it's inexpensive! Even sweeter!

All you need is red velvet cake mix, cream cheese frosting, a chocolate bar, and an empty jar with a lid (feel free to change flavors). I found this style of jar at a local shop called Daiso (everything is $1.50!) and decorated it to my hearts content. I love Pinterest and I have been dying to make the folded-heart paper flowers. 

For this project, I cut out six small hearts from solid cardstock and folded them in half. I then glued one side of each folded heart to the jar's lid to create a flower. Just make sure to glue down the same side of the heart so that every other flower petal stands up. Add a ribbon with a tag or whatever accent suits your style.

Note: I found that two cupcakes stacked and held together with frosting filled the jar in a more aesthetically pleasing manner. I topped them the two with more frosting and chocolate shreds. :)

 ENJOY!