Finally… spring is in the air! As much as I look forward to longer days, warmer weather and the smell of flowers, there’s one thing that I dread: Spring Cleaning.
I admit that I am the worst person when it comes to getting rid of things that I no longer need. I always have an excuse to keep those shoes that are a little tight, or that scarf that’s a little itchy, or that sweater that’s two sizes too small.
When it comes to putting items in a giveaway box, I need emotional backup in the form of friends or family. And the easiest way to get them to my house to offer a little help? By offering them a tasty little bribe, like cupcakes!
Sweet treats always make hard work less painful, so in honor of springtime, I decided to make my own cupcake garden with Wilton’s Pink Petal Baking Cups, new Peach Petal Baking Cups, and new Grass Baking Cups. After baking yellow cake in all the cups, I got down to the fun part: decorating.
My sister and I used Wilton’s new pastel fondant colors (pink, yellow, green, blue and brown), flower fondant cutters and the 6 Piece Easter Mini Cutter Set to create some fun and colorful flowers, butterflies and bunnies.
After kneading and rolling each color of fondant to 1/8-inch, we cut out the icons we wanted and used just a little bit of icing to layer them together.
My sister even kneaded multiple colors together to get a bit of a tie-dye effect! They turned out great, but my nephews arrived to “help” earlier than planned and more of our fondant characters ended up in their mouths than on the cupcakes.
For my favorite flower cupcake, I used a star tip from the Tip and Nail Set and a green icing tube to star-tip grass on the top of the cupcake. Then I let the boys add Wilton’s new Daisy Sprinkles all over.
For more impact, we added Wilton Purple Posies Royal Icing Decorations, and used a small dab of icing to strategically attach a Butterfly Sprinkle to the posy. The result was quick, easy and gorgeous!
We also used Leaves, Daisies, Pink Posies, and Nest with Jelly Beans Icing Decorations on the other cupcakes for a varied look.
Our colorful Cupcake Garden was displayed on the kitchen table for cleaning motivation. For every hour of spring cleaning completed, you were rewarded with a cupcake from the Cupcake Garden. After three hours, I had a bag filled with coats to give away, a junk room filled with less junk, and four stomachs filled with cupcakes. Spring Cleaning has never been so sweet!
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Kristie is the Associate Product Manager for Party. An artist at heart, she enjoys anything that allows her to express her creativity: sketching, scrapbooking, planning themed kids’ parties, decorating tasty treats and – her personal favorite – making tutus. Part of a very large and close-knit family, she loves to celebrate any occasion, which makes working at Wilton a perfect fit. 
Love the petal baking cups – so cute!
I love the cute cupcakes and it gave me ideas for our Easter dinner! Thank you!
Love these cupcakes. Love Wilton!
I was just at a hobby store today and bought myself the tulip cups….now to try them!!!
Those cupcakes look amazing! Spring is in the air!
Spring is my favorite season, and these are so pretty!
i would love to win!!
Those cupcakes are TOO CUTE!!!
How beautiful and so colorful. Perfect for spring!
I got cupcakes thuogrh my violin teacher a week ago and they were the nicest I have ever tasted. I showed my friend from tennis them and they insisted on having one each (there were only 2 of them but it was hard to let go of the cupcakes they looked and tasted so good) I saw my friends two days later and they asked me if I had any more they tasted so nice and unfortunately for them my family had eaten them all in that first day I got them! Thanks SO much Tara they were amazing!!!!!!
These are adorable! As a cookie decorator, I would love to branch out and do something with cupcakes. I love the cupcake baking cups! This would be right up my alley!
Great ideas and fun for kids, too!
Looks awesome and not too difficult!
Very cute!
Super cute cupcakes.
)))
They are adorable!! My daughters will love them and my customers will, too!!
I want to make some of these cupcakes in my Kindergarten class. Thanks for the ideas.
We haven’t made cupcakes in years. I am due for a baking date with my daughter.
That’s the way my son has had his hair for years. It was kind of sad the first time he got it cut like that. I missed the ltitle boy hair
Those cupcakes sound yummy
These are adorable!! TFS!
~Kathy
Oh I love cupcakes I do them for every holiday for my son’s school! this would be such an awesome kit I love YOUR cupcakes!
these are adorable! Great idea for spring
Great idea!
So pretty
I love the idea!!
Spring Cleaning Incentive Cupcakes are an AWESOME idea! I think I am going to try this, but put a little twist on it to get help tilling and weeding the little garden space! I’ll bribe.. I mean.. encourage.. my son and his buddies by rewarding them with cupcakes!!! I LOVE IT!!
I’m always looking for new ideas, especially ones that look quick and easy during Holidays and other busy times of the year!!