During the week I couldn’t help myself and got stuck into all my baking bits and pieces again.  Those of you that can recall my fish cupcakes, will know that I am a baker that loves to experiment.  I also love getting the kids involved, because you never know how the cupcakes are going to turn out.  With the kids participating, they are my excuse, plus they are more than happy to lick the bowl and move on.

I decided therefore to create a cupcake to celebrate the recent loss of my baby girl’s first tooth. After all we celebrated it when she got it, so it seems only fitting to give it a sweet sending off treat as well.  Actually I baked a full batch of cupcakes, but I left them to the girls, who were suffering from school holiday boredom to decorate.  They did this with a little too much artistic flair, and I am still finding patches of food coloring on the floor, inside cupboard doors and surprisingly in finger print shapes on what I thought were clean glasses!

So without further delay I present you with my girl, it is a remarkable likeness if I do say so myself!

Oh and be sure to check back later this afternoon….. if you liked our 50 Amazing Wedding Cupcake Ideas or our 25 Boy Baby Shower Cupcake Blogs, we will later today reveal the first part of our 50 Summer Cupcake Ideas. That is, we will be featuring where to find the best of the summer baking!

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Are you intrigued?  Do you want to get crazy in the kitchen and create something a little bizarre?  Well then this is the post for you.  Today we bring you five of the strangest cupcake ideas, that INCLUDE recipes for you to try at home!

Remember if you give them a go, let us know and send a photo!

1. Grasshopper Cookie Cupcakes

Last week the Babble Blog’s Brooke McLay created these amazing, but rather green looking, cookie cupcakes.  They in fact are Mint, Oreo’s and Cream Cheese cupcake and I am sure they would be a hit to make with the kids!  For the recipe including ingredient list head to Babble.

2. Beer Cheese Cupcakes with Bacon Cheddar Cream Cheese Frosting

So not really the kid style cupcake idea, but this is a super popular cupcake recipe from the Cupcake Project blog.  We love their site as it has so many great ideas, but this must be one of the weirdest!  Personally I haven’t made it so I cannot comment, except to say that 195 people on Facebook like it!  Along with recipe they also give links to other bacon inspired cupcakes!

3. Brain Cupcakes

Okay, these ones are so not for me!  But I am sure they would make a great set of cupcakes for graduation or science week! They are from Epicurious, and come with full recipe and instructions for how to create the brains.  The tips are worth reading including to chill the buttercream to help it to set!

4. Chocolate Coca-Cola Cupcakes

Just when you thought it couldn’t get stranger, over at Kidspot, they have a rather odd recipe for chocolate coca-cola cupcakes! I would love to know what you think if you try this one!

5. Ice Cream Cupcakes

These I really like the look of!  Plus I love Willow Bird Baking‘s style of writing!  Freezer Tetris is something that I always play!  On their post they not only give you the low down on what Freezer Tetris is, but also loads of yummy photos of their ice cream cupcakes and then full step by step instructions with pictures on how to create them!

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If you love cupcakes (we know you do!) then you’ll want to hold or display them sometimes. Whether taking them to a baby shower or displaying them at the actual party, it’s great to know there are special cupcake holders created for this exact purpose.

A cupcake holder is most important because it keeps your sweet cupcakes intact so people can enjoy them. You want a cupcake holder (hold or display) to keep cupcakes from knocking into each other or rubbing up against each other. The other great feature of your cupcake holder is it will help your cupcakes look cute at a party, not simply putting them on a plate or platter for guests to enjoy. A cupcake holder is a fun way to display cupcakes at a party and is often a showcase for your party table.

Here are some of our favorite cupcake holders. Whether you are transporting cupcakes or showing them off at the dessert table, these cupcake holders will certainly deliver your sweet treats in style!

Wilton 16.25” X 12” Dessert Tower 4 Tier W307856 This cupcake tower is sturdy and pretty – and unbeatable combination. Made from white plastic, your cupcakes fit snugly into round trays on the tall tower. You have 4 tiers to fill with yummy cupcakes.

Oneida Bake and Take Cupcake Carrier 62518  Now this is a great cupcake holder – when you’re headed to that birthday party and need to be sure your cute and yummy cupcakes get there and still look as yummy as we know they taste! It can hold up to 2 dozen cupcakes, so it is perfect for most parties and special events.

Wilton 307-651 Cupcakes N more 38 Count 5 Tier Metal Dessert Stand We like this large cupcake stand especially if you’ve got a bigger crowd. It holds just over 3 dozen cupcakes – 38 to be exact! Perfect for that large bridal shower or child’s birthday party where you know your cupcakes will be popular. A sturdy metal stand easily holds this large number of cupcakes and looks fancy.

Wilton 2105-9958 3 in 1 Ultimate Caddy  This is a great cupcake holder. It holds a dozen cupcakes easily, with a large cover so it is great for those fancy and decorated cupcakes many of you like to make. The clear cover also means people can admire the cupcakes as they are brought to the party or you can even be sure they are okay during transport.

(c) photo Una J.

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Naked cupcake image courtesy of AbbieTabbie who we'll be featuring next week!

Weekends are for shopping, baking and creating, and so we thought that we would introduce a new segment for you on a Friday bringing you the best coupons!  We would love to make this list bigger and better, so please if you know of some, we would love to add it to our list!

1. Michaels are offering a one use 50% discount of any one regular price item (subject to small print) in store by printing this voucher here and presenting it with your purchase either today or tomorrow.  There is a similar voucher for Canadian stores here.

2. Oasis Supply have slashed everything on the website by 20% till Saturday 10th, after this everything will be 15% off until the 23rd July, so get in there quickly for a bargain or two.

3. Beryl’s Cake Supply have a few deals offering between 15-25% off some of their stock, including a small Christmas angel and some of their Christmas tree cutters and moulds.

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News of the week Monday aims to bring you a run down of the different events in the news over the past week.  Well not all news, just the news that really counts!  CUPCAKE NEWS!

Monday 28th June – In Cleveland, the American Greetings Corp have announced a new sensory greeting card, but not sound or smell, but taste!  Each card will come with a sealed strip that offers a ‘tasty surprise’, say Associated Press.  For example a cupcake card will have a cupcake tasting insert. Hmm…

Tuesday 29 June - ‘What’s New, Cupcake‘ has a review in the Winnipeg Free Press.  Check out Karen Tack and Alan Richardson’s website for lots of videos and tips on how to create these very easy and wonderfully wacky cupcakes!

Wednesday 30 June – In Oakland Kate of ‘Cupkates‘ has gone mobile.  She pulls up in  downtown Oakland where a crowd awaits her gourmet selection of cupcakes!  It is causing quite a stir and is proving very successful.  Photo below is of Kate in her mobile cupcakery. Photo taken by Alexis Tjian, for the Oakland North where you can read the full story of Kate’s success.

Thursday 1st July – Cupcake Camp in Arlington announced in We Love DC.  Apparently, the idea is that people will bake, people will eat, and a few will judge!  If you live around Arlington this could be one to mark on the calendar for September 18th!

Friday 2nd July – Fancy a free cupcake?  Well if you are in Denver, it is not only the cupcakes that SouthWest Airlines is picking up the tab for, but also pedicab rides!  If you live in Denver, check out the Blog South West to ensure your ready to take advantage of the free offers over the next 6 months!

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If you’re a fan of World Cup soccer, how about baking your family and friends some World Cup cupcakes? Here’s some fun soccer cupcake ideas to inspire your creativity.

photo credit: dave_apple

photo credit: Ana_Fuji

Be sure to visit Miss Chris to see her U.S. World Cup soccer cupcakes

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photo credit: cakebreak

photo credit: Breanna

Congratulations class of 2010!! My daughter graduates from Kindergarten on Monday and I’m so excited to see her start “big girl” school next year. Maybe your baby is a bit older and graduating high school or even college. It’s almost summer and time to make some fun decorative graduation cupcakes for your students. I love the cupcakes that Breanna made using chocolate square cookies as caps. We would love to see your graduation cupcake designs that you made for your own 2010 graduate.

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photo credit: clarescupcakes.co.uk

You don’t have to surf to enjoy these cute cupcakes from Clares Cupcakes. I probably would spend more time on the beach with my chair, towel and some snacks including these surfboard cupcakes. This is a fun cupcake idea if you know someone who loves the beach or surfing. Grab your fondant and try making your own surfboard cupcake. If you don’t like working with fondant, you can always use fruit rolls and cut in the shape of a surfboard. Surprise your family for your next beach trip this summer with these cute surfboard cupcakes.

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Tori shares her adorable Pudsey teddy bear cupcakes with us. Pudsey is a mascot for the BBC Children in Need telethon in the UK. The telethon raises millions of dollars each year for UK hospitals. I think Tori did a fantastic job utilizing fondant with dots for the Pudsey bandage. Tori has a fun blog called Torilicious where you can read more posts about cupcakes and fun sweets.

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photo credit: Melody @ Party Cupcake Ideas

Andrea made these monkey and banana cupcakes for her daughter’s 3rd birthday party at school. The monkey cupcakes were made using chocolate icing for the base. Then I cut Nilla wafers in half off center so the cookie was divided in 1/3 and 2/3. The ears were made from mini Oreos with the creme center removed. For the eyes I used a small amount of white frosting and brown M&Ms. I finished off the nose with a little of the leftover chocolate frosting. The accompanying banana cupcakes were made with vanilla frosting tinted light yellow, a dash of chocolate sprinkles and a banana Runt candy to top it off.

In all, the decorating took about two hours for 48. Having all the pieces ready to go to make an assembly line made the process go very smoothly. The trickiest part was carefully cutting the Nilla wafers with a serrated knife – the wrong amount of pressure ended in many a crumbled cookie. They were a big hit with all of her friends and teachers. Thanks for sharing Andrea

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