Welcome to Cupcake Tuesday! Be sure to check out the ALL NEW Cupcake Heaven page! And if you are in need to a special cupcake design, use the “Be a Hero” area!

Before we get to the Valentine Cocktail Cupcakes, I have a little favor to ask of you. A few weeks back, I told you about the Celebrations.com Cupcake Contest. Well, I entered my Stiletto Cupcakes and I would LOVE your vote. Just click on the picture below, and vote…no registration is required, just one little click! Thanks SO much!! Voting ends February 12th.

Now…let’s chat about these adorable Valentine Cocktail Cupcakes! I’ve shared some Summertime Cocktail Cupcakes before, and they have become such a hit, I thought I’d try them again, and make them special for Valentine’s Day.

I baked them right in the martini glasses, but you could certainly change the glass, as long as it’s glass and not plastic it will work fine. You can watch my video showing you how to bake them.

I started with a Strawberry Cake Mix, and the frosting is just canned. I know, it’s not always the best, but when you are melting frosting, it really does work the best. The rims of the glasses are dipped in water and then in pink sugar or Valentine nonpareils.

I used a variety of decorations; Valentine sprinkles, some candy clay hearts and lips left from last week’s Cupcake Chronicles Newsletter, Wilton icing decorations, and Homemade Gum Drop Hearts {watch for the recipe for those on Thursday},pretty much anything will work.

To make the heart flower bouquet…fit a decorator bag with tip #3 and green frosting, add the stem and some leaves, then add the heart icing decorations.

To make the lips…I used Candy Clay and a cookie cutter that I found at Hobby Lobby. If you are interested in the Candy Clay recipe and instructions, I found them in Cupcakes, Cookies & Pies, oh my! Cookbook and shared it in Cupcake Chronicles Newsletter. Read all about the newsletter!

If you are reading this in your email or RSS feed, please click over to see all the great cupcakes added to Cupcake Tuesday!

Now it’s your turn…show off your cupcake creations! I’d appreciate a link back and be sure to check out the other cupcakes!

Well here we are, the first Cupcake Tuesday with the new design! Welcome! You MUST see the new Cupcake Heaven page. Jessica did a fabulous job designing it. It’s so much easier to find what you are looking for. Also, don’t forget about the new “Be a Hero” area, you can look up cupcake designs there too!

All this week we are celebrating Hoosier Homemade’s Anniversary…it’s been 3 awesome years and we are super excited!! Yesterday was the launch with a whole new design and my new eBook…Cupcakes! 12 Months of Happiness! Don’t miss the giveaway!

We continue the party today with the new book from my all time favorite cupcake authors, Karen and Alan…Cupcakes, Cookies & Pies, oh my! is released today! But YOU get a sneak peek!

This new book is full of fun new designs, and not just cupcakes. Karen & Alan have taken their love for the over the top but easy cupcakes, and expanded it to cookies and pies! Since Valentine’s Day is only a couple weeks away, I just had to make the Puppy Love Pops for you! You are going to LOVE them!

I’m seriously in love with these little guys…Puppy Love that is! hehe So how about if I show you how to make them? I bought everything at Walmart. The pink forks can be found in the party section, they come in a package with spoons and knifes and are only $.97 cents.

Puppy Love Pops Supplies:

• Frozen Pound Cake
• Vanilla & Chocolate canned frosting…I know, but it really melts the best
• Pink Forks
• Ears – Tootsie Rolls and Caramels
• Fur – Graham Crackers and Oreos, crushed
• Mouth – Conversation Hearts
• Nose – Mini Red M&M
• Eyes – Mini chocolate chips

Then with the reserved vanilla frosting, add the nose, eyes, mouth and ears. Just adorable!!

And guess what? I have a Cupcakes, Cookies & Pies, oh my! Book for one lucky Hoosier Homemade reader!  Head on over to enter the giveaway! AND be sure to watch the Baa Baa Black Sheep video…it’s really cute, and watch until the end to see what the black sheep does to the white sheep…so funny!

Linking to…Saturday Seven, Sundae Scoop, Made by you Monday

Disclosure: This post is part of a campaign I am participating in with the Walmart Moms. Walmart has provided me with compensation and product for this post. My participation is voluntary and opinions, as always are my own.

If you are reading this in your email, please click over to see all the great cupcakes linked up!

Welcome to Cupcake Tuesday! I’m so glad to have you! I have updated the Cupcake Heaven page, there are over 150 designs and recipes!

It’s Valentine’s Week! Every day this week myself along with three other amazing bloggers and The Paper Cupcake are sharing ideas for Valentine’s Day. We kicked off the fun filled week yesterday with the Pink Lemonade Pie! And a GREAT giveaway from The Paper Cupcake Etsy Shop! Today, Gina at The Shabby Creek Cottage helps you decorate for the holiday. She will also have a giveaway, you won’t want to miss it!!

Have you ever wondered how to bake a shaped cake inside a cupcake or cake? I’ve seen several around, but never really knew how to do it. Then a little while back Kristy from Mommy Hates Cooking shared some pretty cool Valentine’s Day Cupcakes that had a heart baked in the middle, that she had found on Pinterest. I commented on them, and told her I’d give them a try. But after reading the directions, I wasn’t really sure how they would turn out since the heart in the middle is baked twice.

But…low and behold…it worked! Yay! I had to tweak the directions a bit to make the heart shape fit, but they aren’t hard at all. I’m excited to share them with you…

Aren’t they adorable? The hearts are cut from Red Velvet Cake, but you can certainly make pink hearts if you choose. I used the Wilton Mini Romance Cookie Cutter set, it comes with six different cutters including two hearts.

Ok, let’s talk about how to make them. They aren’t difficult, but they did take some time and a little experimenting to figure it all out.

Oh and let’s not forget about the divine frosting! Remember the Pink Lemonade Pie from yesterday? Well, I had a little extra, so I whipped up some heavy cream, and folded in a few heaping tablespoons of the Pink Lemonade Pie filling…YUM!

Pipe on the frosting with a Giant Round Tip, top with a fresh raspberry and you have a VERY special cupcake for your Valentine!

Don’t forget to follow along every day this week, and on Friday, YOU will have the chance to share your Valentine Ideas too! Each blog will be hosting a linky party for you to add your Valentine posts! How cool is that? Just add your ideas to any of the blogs and it will show up on all FOUR! I also created a Pinterest Board for Valentine’s Week, and will be pinning your awesome ideas! So follow along and gather some ideas!

Linking to…Works For Me Wednesday

Now it’s your turn…show off your cupcake creations! I’d appreciate a link back and be sure to check out the other cupcakes!

Welcome to Cupcake Tuesday! I’m so glad to have you! I have updated the Cupcake Heaven page, there are over 150 designs and recipes!

Over the weekend, Doug and I put together a fun Chinese New Year Celebration for you. Most of the week, we will be sharing the recipes, decorating and crafts we made. We also have a giveaway on Thursday, so stay tuned for that!

These Dragon Cupcakes were the perfect addition to the Chinese New Year Celebration, but you could certainly use them for your dragon lovin’ kiddo’s birthday party. I used bright colors, but you could certainly change the colors to fit the birthday theme.

Dragon Cupcake Supplies:

• 8 {or more} regular size cupcakes – I used Orange Flavor Cupcakes {recipe from Cupcake Chronicles Newsletter}
• Decorator Icing or your favorite frosting
• Decorator Tips Giant Round, #12 {round}, #10 {round}, #3 {small round}, #352 {leaf}
• Decorator bags and couplers
• Coloring – Sky blue, No-Taste Red, Orange, Buttercup Yellow, Leaf Green
• 2 dark colored jumbo sprinkles for the eyes

Instructions:

1. Color icing and fill bags
2. Place cupcakes together to form dragon

Dragon Body:

1. Add a #10 tip to the decorator bag with orange frosting
2. Pipe on small dots, 2-3 rows on one side of each cupcake, making sure that you are connecting the rows
3. Add a #10 tip to the decorator bag with yellow frosting
4. Pipe on the remainder of the cupcake
5. Add a #352 leaf tip to the decorator bag with blue frosting
6. Add “spikes” to the top of one row of orange

Dragon Tail:

1. Frost cupcake with green icing and smooth
2. Using the bag fitted with #10 Tip and yellow frosting, pipe on tail
3. At the base of the tail {where it meets the body} add a few more dots to make it a little thicker
4. Pipe on the “spikes” with the #352 leaf tip and blue frosting

Dragon Head:

1. Frost cupcake with green icing and smooth
2. Fit a decorator bag with a giant round tip and fill with blue icing
3. Pipe on a large circle for the head
4. Change blue frosting bag to a #12 tip, pipe on snout
5. Add the nostrils with a #3 Tip, I used a lighter shade of blue for the nostrils
6. Add a #3 Tip to the bag with red frosting
7. Pipe on the horns and tongue
8. Add #352 Leaf Tip to the blue frosting and add the ears
9. Add a #3 Tip to the bag with white frosting
10. Pipe on the eyes and add a couple jumbo sprinkles or other candy

How cute is he? I think we should name him…maybe Denny the Dragon?

We kicked off the Chinese New Year Celebration with Orange Mango Chicken yesterday. It has amazing flavor, and is a quick and easy meal for anytime, not just for the Chinese New Year.

And speaking of celebrations, I wanted to be sure you knew about the Cupcake Competition that Celebrations is hosting.

The Celebrations Cupcake Crown is an annual awards competition to find the most creative cupcake in the country. The winner will receive a $2,500 travel voucher from Wyndham Vacation Rentals valid at locations across the globe!

Here’s how to enter:

1. Go to Celebrations.com and upload a photo of your most creative cupcake
2. Name your cupcake and in a sentence or two about it
3. Click publish to submit your cupcake and you will be entered for a chance to win some awesome prizes
4. Voting will be open to the public starting January 30th. through February 13th.

I added my Stiletto Cupcakes, check them out!

If you are reading this post in your email or RSS reader, please click on over to see all the great cupcakes!

Now it’s your turn…show off your cupcake creations! I’d appreciate a link back and be sure to check out the other cupcakes!

Welcome to Cupcake Tuesday! I’m so glad to have you! I have updated the Cupcake Heaven page, there are over 150 designs and recipes!

We continue our very strange Winter, with not much snow and warmer than usual temperatures, not that I’m complaining at all! I hear snow is coming our way though in a couple days. To get you in the spirit and remind us all that it is really Winter, these Easy Snowflake Cupcakes are perfect!

Did you know that cutting paper snowflakes by hand is not as easy as it looks? I started out to make enough of these little beauties for my Dining Room window, and after a few hours, and a hand that I don’t think will ever feel the same, I only had a handful and hate to say…gave up. Stay tuned for a much easier way to make snowflakes, coming on Friday!

Enough about the paper snowflake making…let’s create a much easier version…Snowflake Cupcakes

Now it’s your turn…show off your cupcake creations! I’d appreciate a link back and be sure to check out the other cupcakes!

Welcome to Cupcake Tuesday! I’m so glad to have you! I have updated the Cupcake Heaven page, there are over 150 designs and recipes!

Happy New Year cupcake fans! Were you able to create some cupcakes during the holiday season? We are sharing them today, so be sure to add yours to the linky at the bottom.

I mentioned in the Review of 2011 and Look Ahead to 2012 post, that Cupcake Tuesday will be changing a bit. I have been trying for over three months to have time to work on eBooks. I’ve also picked up another writing job {more on that below} and they are asking for at least one cupcake creation per month, along with 3 other recipes. There is only so many cupcakes you can dream up my friends, and only so many hours in the day.

One of my goals with Hoosier Homemade this year is to get back to where we began, sharing decorating, DIY projects, crafts, baking, organizing etc. etc. Helping you “Make your house a home” and sharing ideas for you to become a hero to your family. I really want to have some time to create amazing content for you, not that I don’t feel we haven’t been.

Ok, sorry…I’m rambling, back to Cupcake Tuesday. I will still be sharing cupcakes, but not necessarily a new creation every week. My plan is to feature some of the cupcakes that you all link up and possibly some from Pinterest {follow my Cupcake Board}. I have also had lots of questions about how to bake, decorate and frost. So I will be doing some Back to Basics posts for those that have questions. Feel free to leave a comment with questions below.

Let’s get the party started with…Snowman Cupcakes

These cute little Snowmen will be featured tomorrow {Wed} on Lifetime Moms. And be sure to check out my weekly recipes every Wednesday. Update – Find the Snowman Cupcakes over on Lifetime Moms.

This Snow Family was created for Cupcake Chronicles Newsletter last year…how cute are they?

Did you get your Snowman Cupcake Toppers last month in Cupcake Chronicles Newsletter? The Snowman Cupcakes are part of the planned eBook…coming soon {I hope}

We finally have snow on the ground, after a very strange start to the Winter. But the snow may be melting like these Snowmen, later this week when the temperature go back up again.

A BIG Thank you to all that add your cupcake creations to Cupcake Tuesday each week!! Last week we had some exciting things happening right here on Cupcake Tuesday. As you know I’m a Walmart Mom. Well, occasionally, their Facebook team shares a link to one of my posts and last week, it was the New Year’s Eve Cupcakes. AND, because there were bloggers that linked up their cupcake creation, they also received some traffic…quite a bit in fact, almost 2,000 total!! And there were only three linked up. That’s pretty good cupcake fans!

So…link up! Tell your friends! You just never know what will happen in this crazy blogging world!

Now it’s your turn…show off your cupcake creations! I’d appreciate a link back and be sure to check out the other cupcakes!

Welcome to Cupcake Tuesday! I’m so glad to have you! I have updated the Cupcake Heaven page, there are over 150 designs and recipes! Check it out!!

Can you believe Thanksgiving is only a couple weeks away? I seriously don’t know where the time goes. How about you?

We have some fun Thanksgiving Cupcakes planned to share with you, and these fun Turkey Cupcakes are just the one’s to kick off the holiday. With their simple design they won’t take long to make and are perfect for the kids and can be enjoyed by all.

These cupcakes would be a great addition to the kids table at this year’s Thanksgiving celebration, you can even use them as a nice edible centerpiece if you can keep everyone away from them…including the adults!

Don’t forget to visit Eat at Home for our Prep & Planning: Steps to a Peaceful Holiday , Tiffany is sharing Make-Ahead food for the Holidays.

Now it’s your turn…show off your cupcake creations! Be sure to link back so others can enjoy the cupcakes and check out the other cupcakes!