Cupcake Liner Bouquet of Flowers

Once again, I need to admit to a bit of an obsession. Cupcake liners.  It's even worse than the vintage bottles.  I just keep collecting them and collecting them.  Even *I* can't bake enough cupcakes to keep up with the influx of cupcake liners.  Well, I could try.  Maybe I will try...

However, at this particular moment I am going to show you how to make these darling cupcake liner flowers. I made these as gifts for the monster's teachers for Valentine's Day.  These would be perfect for a birthday or just to brighten up a gloomy it's allllllmost Spring day.  I have made these in a variety of containers.  Flower pots are a great choice.  Last year I bought vintage McCoy flower pots at a yard sale.  You are only limited by your imagination. 

You will need:
1. A container of your choice
2. Styrofoam that fits inside of your container to hold the suckers in place
3. Cupcake liners - 6 per flower  (I get all of mine at The Bakers Confections)
4. Suckers of your choice
5. Green duck tape or masking tape
6. A hole punch
7. Floral Wire
8. Wire cutters to cut the floral wire
9. Scissors

Each flower needs 6 cupcake liners. Two of these liners will need a hole in the direct center.  Fold it in half and use the hole punch to make a hole in the center.  Then unfold them so that they are flat.

Fold the other four liners in half and then punch a hole about a fourth of an inch above the fold line.  These will remain folded in half to make your flower petals. Now add them onto your sucker stick.  First add the four that are folded in half, turning your sucker one quarter turn for each petal.  Then add the final two that have the hole in the center. 

And now you have flowers.  Have fun with these.  Mix patterns.  Use colors that you wouldn't normally put together.  Use cupcake liners that have scalloped edges or use mini cupcake liners inside and then standard size on the outside petals.  They will be gorgeous.  Trust me.

Now... take one strip of green duck tape and lay it flat on the table.  I would suggest 6 - 8 inches.  Then lay a piece of floral wire of the same length on top of that.  Finally, add another piece of duck tape enclosing the wire in the middle.  (Isn't it duct tape?  Why am I thinking that?)  Now you can trim the strip of tape so that it looks like leaves on each end.  Don't worry about being precise.  Just do the best you can.

 

 

 

 Now you need to twist the leaf around the base of the cupcake liners so that they won't slide down.  This holds the whole thing in place.  Plus, the "leaves" look pretty peeking out of your bouquet.

 

All you have left to do is arrange your flowers.  I needed some height for some of mine, so I used the duck tape to attach a Wilton lollipop stick to the existing sucker stick to give it an extra few inches.  It was exactly what I needed to make my bouquet full on the top.

And there you go!  The perfect gift for someone you care about.  Have fun creating.