Here in the Windy City, with highs in the 80s today, it feels as if we are celebrating the first day of summer instead of the first day of spring.  In celebration of the first official day of spring, warmer weather and blooming flowers, I thought I would post several flower cupcakes.

The Pompom Flower Extravaganza Cupcake from Wilton:

Pink Petal Cupcakes, also from Wilton:

Hello Flower Cupcakes from McCormick:

I am usually pretty good with not overspending on cupcake items but this cupcake Ferris wheel may break my budget!  It is so beautiful but at $89.99, it would be a splurge.  It only holds 8 cuppies and is available from Kohls.com.  If you do decide to buy this, make sure you do a Google search for “Kohl’s coupon code”  because you might be able to find a good discount first!

Have you jumped on the salted caramel bandwagon?  I feel like everything is suddenly marketed as having salted caramel in it and honestly I am a fan! I love the salty sweet combo!  I am very excited about this recipe for salted caramel cupcakes because the Cake website claims that it is the best cupcake ever.  I think will have to make these cupcakes and see for myself if they are worth doubling the recipe as Paige of Style suggests.  The best part is that the toppers, shown to the left, are included in the original blog post!

Here in the Midwest we are having unusually warm weather for March, so my mind is already thinking about summer.  These banana cream pie cupcakes would make a delicious treat to usher in the coming spring and summer.  I love the fact that there is not only a Nilla Wafer on top, but on bottom, too.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  Remember those breakfast cupcake posts?  Similar to the cinnamon toast crunch and Cap’n crunch cookie cupcakes, today’s St. Patrick’s Day cupcake idea is inspired by breakfast cereal.  Lucky Charm Cupcakes! As a kid I loved Lucky Charms, well I think I really liked the marshmallows, and now I can’t help but wonder if cupcakes that include the cereal are as magically delicious! I found several recipes for Lucky Charm cupcakes, two, shown above, called for vanilla cupcakes topped with frosting and then the cereal.  These recipes included one from AMK Designs and Delights, the recipe calls for homemade vanilla cupcakes and a sprinkle of lucky charms.  For those pressed for  time, Betty Crocker’s recipe calls for yellow cake mix, lucky charms, and edible glitter.

For the bakers that take time to bake from scratch, Cupcake Project has a recipe for Lucky Charm Cupcakes using homemade lucky charms that are in the crust, the batter, and on top of the frosting!  This, shown to the left, cupcake sounds more time consuming but also sounds like the true Lucky Charm cupcake!

It never ceases to amaze me what new cupcake items I will see every week. This week Facebook fan Sheila gave us a great tip that Michael’s craft stores has cupcake Duck Tape.   It was regularly $4.49 for a 10 yard roll but of course I used my 50% coupon!  They also had zebra striped, checkerboard, skulls and many other solid colors.  I am not sure what I am going to do with it yet but I am first going to visit Duck Tape’s website because they have lots of fun project ideas.    Do you know what a Ducktivity is?  It is any fashion, craft or anything else made using Duck Tape! 

Thanks again Sheila!  Keep those sweet tips coming and make sure to “like” us on Facebook.

Here in North Carolina we have been having weather in the 80s!  Which means these green ice cream cupcakes from One Charming Party would be perfect for St. Patrick’s Day tomorrow!  Using mint chocolate chip ice cream and green liners, these festive no-bake cupcakes are easy to make in advance, saving you time to celebrate the holiday!

As you all may know, I am all about DIY! It gives me the daily creativity that I need and I love being able to say, “Look at what I did!”

As I was searching for my newest DIY ventures, I found this amazing Cupcake Gift Box DIY from Sew. Craft. Create.

So cute & fabulous!

St. Patrick’s Day is only two days away!  Are you baking cupcakes to make someone in your life’s day extra lucky?  Anna and Blue Paperie’s website  offers the cute, free printable download for cupcake toppers shown above.  There are four topper designs on one sheet, these include a shamrock, the word “”lucky,” or the phrases “kiss me” and “Happy St. Patrick’s Day.”

For fans of something with more color, Modern Moments also has a free printable download for cupcake toppers, shown to the right.  The Modern Moments rainbow toppers read “Happy Saint Patrick’s Day,” “Lucky You,” “Kiss Me,” and “Luck of the Irish”

Another week, another trip to Target.  And another cupcake hunt too!  This week I found this adorable felt cupcake Easter basket for only $2.50.  I also discovered that there is a small version to the large cupcake bucket I posted last week.   The large is $8 and the small one is only $5. It’s going to be a cupcake filled Easter at my house this year!

Got a little man in your life who wants to have some cupcakes for his special day (or just because)?  Cupcakes don’t have to be limited to girls! You should check out the selection of cupcake decorating kits at Williams-Sonoma.  They have a wide selection, from Star Wars to Spider-Man to soccer to Peter Rabbit.  Each kit comes with an assortment of liners and toppers.

Up and coming author, Meg Donahue’s debut novel, How to Eat a Cupcake comes out today! In honor of her and her novel we are doing a giveaway . One of our fabulous ATC readers will get their very own autographed copy of How to Eat a Cupcake.

To enter this giveaway, click on the comment area below and tell us how you eat a cupcake. One winner will be picked at random a week from today.

Here is a bit more about the book …(description taken from Meg Donahue’s website)

You can purchase How to Eat a Cupcake from Indie Bound

You can also follow Megan on FaceBook and Twitter

Last year I found these cupcakes after St. Patrick’s Day so I was too late to post them but I figured I would save them for this year.  As I have said many times, I love simple, tasteful designs and that is why I love these Lucky Vanilla Cupcakes by Sprinkle Bakes.  The cupcakes are a vanilla cake with honey cream cheese frosting that is topped with ground pistachios which is mean to look like a grassy knoll for the  simple chocolate horseshoe to sit atop.  These cupcakes are a fun twist on the traditional St. Patrick’s Day cupcakes which are usually green with shamrocks or leprechauns.

Magnolia Bakery’s cupcake of the month is currently the pistachio cupcake.  These little green nuts make the perfect St. Patrick’s Day treat.  Take a look at these lovely cupcakes, topped with pistachio meringue buttercream, and if you live close by, try one out for yourself!

This is one thing that I never ever thought that I would see adorned with cupcakes, FALSE EYELASHES!

Would anyone out there wear these? I am not sure if I would be able to pull them off.

You can get these False Eyelashes at 15 bucks a pop from the Etsy shop EyelashJewerly .

When I go to an event, people expect me to bring cupcakes. Well, for last night’s event, I was pressed for time, and just didn’t think I had any fondant leprechauns in me. So, I tried to make things simple. I picked up some St. Patrick’s Day cupcake liners at the local craft store. I used a white cake mix (didn’t tell anyone) and some green food coloring for the cupcakes. Then I simply piped on some shamrocks, added some green sparkles for good measure, and called the job done. And guess what? People raved about them! Who would have thought? Happy St. Patty’s Day to me!

My local Joann Fabric store had these fun and festive cupcake yard decorations.  I love that they are very colorful and are the perfect decration to tell party guests which house is the house of the birthday boy or girl!

Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day, here are some yummy looking green tea cupcakes.  I think they look quite festive.  The green tea powder, used in both the cupcake and the frosting, gives them a nice cool green color.

I love Target! Why? Because I almost always can find something cupcake there!  This week I went hunting in their Easter section and found this adorable cupcake bucket for only $8. It’s a pretty good price considered it’s about a foot tall.  What a perfect place for the Easter bunny to put his candy and eggs!  They also had Easter cupcake kits, sprinkles and toppers. 

Did you know that the Oreo cookie turns 100 years old this month?  What better way to celebrate than with Oreo cupcakes??

My favorite way to eat an oreo has always been icing first, cookie last.  However, after seeing this cupcake, I think my favorite way to eat an oreo would be in cupcake form!  Be sure to check out the Oreo Birthday Cupcake recipe, which of course features lots of those delightful treats called Oreos.

Today I ran into Walmart to pick up a few groceries and I noticed a display for a new Duncan Hines product, Frosting Creations.  Frosting Creations are flavor packets that you stir into frosting to create new flavors.  The steps are really easy, start with the frosting starter and choose one of the 12 available flavor options.  Make a hole in the frosting center, add the entire flavor packet, and stir until well combined.  The flavor options include bubble gum, cotton candy, chocolate marshmallow, cherry vanilla, cinnamon role, white chocolate raspberry, and more!  At my local Walmart the flavor packets were $0.94 each.  If you decide to try the flavor packets, check out the website, there are recipes for each flavor!

Just in time for spring, here is a very cute idea for ladybug cupcakes!

 Okay, now that I have your attention- get your mind out of the gutter!

These cupcake thongs are actually for books!   Check out this adorable set of three pretty pink cupcake bookmarks from Etsy seller, HandmadeWhimzy.   I own one of her coin purses and was so impressed with her work, I had to share her shop with you! She has several styles of cupcake thongs so head on over to her shop and find your favorite!

 Handmade Whimzy has also made (and quickly sold!) quite a few cupcake aprons too.  If you’d like one of those, just go to her shop and send her an Etsy message.  She would be happy to work with you!

Have all you folks out in Southern California heard the news?  Sprinkles in Beverly Hills will soon be opening a 24-hour cupcake vending machine.  This means never-ending access to their delicious freshly-baked cupcakes, mixes, and apparel.  Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me!  Check out their facebook page for more info!