Cupcake Headache

Remember the time I spent $11 on 20 stickers?

























Wait, I didn't tell you about that, did I?  Well, in that case, *I* remember spending $11 on 20 stickers.

I signed up to make the end-of-the-season cupcakes for Caroline's  basketball team.  I scoured the stores and the Internet for basketball themed cupcake wrappers and toppers. I came up empty in the store search, but found plenty of merchandise online.  Merchandise that would cost 16 or so dollars + $15 in shipping.

Uh, no thanks.

So what did I do?  I found a place to make customized stickers for $4.95.  What a deal!    Of course, in my excitement, I  forgot to factor in the $6 for shipping.

$11 later, I took my customized stickers and made my own cupcake toppers.

I took rounds of black card stock, cut with decorative scissors,

























and toothpicks (and my hot glue gun)

to make these




which were placed atop cupcakes iced with flaming orange (pinky orange?) buttercream frosting.

I already told you about  Friday night's cupcake baking snafu, but thanks to my uncanny knack for creating kitchen catastrophes, Saturday morning's cupcake decorating session brought with it a new set of issues.

First, my orange icing gel had a busted seal.  Oh, the horror!  Clearly, if a streaky Funfetti sprinkle/possible (fantom) yucky egg caused me to run to the store on a Friday night for a new box of cake mix, you can easily surmise that I didn't use the orange icing gel with the busted seal.  YES, I know it's just a tub of chemicals, but... have we met?  I'm Alison.  I'm neurotic.  I did not want to be responsible for feeding Caroline's teammates tainted tinted frosting.

Thankfully, I know from elementary school art class (and a few episodes of Blues Clues) that yellow + red = orange.  Only in my case, red + yellow = pinky orange.  Oh well.

I meant well.

Notice the ploppy, gloppy swirls of frosting?
                   

Ugh, that was problem number two.

I used a different tip this time.  A tip that is completely smooth, as opposed to one with a star pattern in the tip, which yields frosted tops like the ones you'd find in the grocery store bakery. 


Normally, I use the star tip

But yesterday I just HAD TO try something new, which didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped.

Oh well.  I can beat myself up all I want over ugly cupcakes, but I know deep down that the girls didn't care.

Besides, they had fun at their last game.

And  finished their season undefeated!  (even though no score was kept)

To top it all off, all the girls got specialized awards and trophies with girls with flaming pink hair, which coordinated nicely with the flaming orangey-pink frosting on the cupcakes.

Caroline received the "Best Attitude" award.

And NO, that's not another way of saying 'you're-not-very-good-but-you-didn't-cry-about-it-so-here's-an award' award.  Ha!  Basketball may not be Caroline's best sport, but she still played well and contributed to the team.  She just happened to do it with a great attitude, to boot.

Which, as a parent, and the ones responsible for making sure she has a good, hard working, gracious attitude, a 'Best Attitude' award can't help but make you feel proud.  And, not to mention, hopeful that you're actually doing something right.  ;)

Hooray, Hot Shots!