Cupcake Topiary

I know this is a "design" blog, but I've recently taken a liking to cupcake decorating and after finishing this most recent project I really wanted to post it on here. Besides...who said that you can't "design" with cupcakes & frosting? If you have ever seen the show "Cake Boss" on TLC, you definitely know what I'm talking about. Buddy designs some of the coolest cakes I've ever seen.

I saw this project in a magazine a while ago and have been dying to give it a whirl. I started by gluing a cute ribbon on the trim of the clay pot, stuffed a Styrofoam ball in it, then used a glue gun to attach some of that mossy-grass stuff. I then stuck toothpicks in the ball (2 per cupcake) and slid the cupcakes onto them, before decorating them. I chose to make buttercream hydrangea flowers and created a pink and a red frosting that were just slightly different in value which really gave the flowers depth & helped make them look realistic (It also gave them a hint of shimmer, bonus!)
So, here's the finished project. I used a yellow cake and flavored the buttercream with a yummy amaretto flavoring.