we just moved, and i wanted to get my name out to my neighbors, while also taking the opportunity to introduce my family. i thought that cupcake bouquets were pretty simple and would make a good candidate. i had never done one, but through trial and error, i found a process that worked great! i made it up as i went, and it turned out pretty easy (and successful) in the long run! hope this helps...

supplies needed, not shown in first picture:

**buckets or clay pots of your choice.

**small plastic portion cups in the pictures, which can be purchased from sams, costco, or gfs. i used the larger cup (5 oz) for my tallest cupcake, and 2 1/2 oz cups for the other 5.

**bag of pea gravel, purchased from a garden center like lowes or home depot, or you can use styrofoam packing peanuts.

** foam board circles, cut out to the proportions of the bucket about an inch or two down.

**hot glue gun and extra glue sticks

you will also need the following items, shown in picture:
green tissue paper, scissors, dowel rods, cutter for dowels, screwdriver to make holes, small knife to cut holes in bottom of cupcakes.



fill buckets to at least half way with gravel or packing peanuts. next, cut out foam circles, and hot glue them into place. this will help stabalize the dowels

start by using screwdriver to place hole in center of foam. stick dowel in, place portion cup down over it, and then trim so you will only have approximately an inch or so sticking up.

since i was doing a total of 3 flavors, 2 cupcakes each, i made 5 additional holes around, sliding the smaller portion cups down at an angle and trimming the dowel. make sure to trim those lower than your middle dowel, to give you the stacked effect.




place small rectangles of tissue paper, twisted in the middle to form two "leaves", behind each portion cup to hide the cupcake liner.


take your knife and twist a hole into the bottom of the cupcake liner, off center, so you can angle your cupcake outwards, once it's on the dowel. i started doing this halfway through, and really liked it better than sitting straight up. complete your bottom tier, doing this process one by one.


twist a hole into your top cupcake, this time dead center. slide it down the dowel.


make small triangles with your tissue paper, and form these into leaves by bringing two corners together and twisting...then place those in random spots to help cover the cupcake liners. i also added a bit larger pieces between each of the bottom tier cupcakes to cover up the spaces.

add a bow, and you're done!!



one done in plastic "clay" pots


in total, i did 24 bouquets for a total of approximately $125.

hope this helps!

Great information! Thanks for sharing.

Very nice method.

Thank you so much for sharing!!

Thanks for sharing, your bouquets turned out great.

great tutorial! Thanks!!

Wow! Thanks for the tutorial! I have wondered how they made the cuppy cakes into a bouquet....? Well, now I know! So cool!! Thanks again!

Yours look beautiful and yummy! Nice job!

Thanks for sharing, I always wondered how to keep the cupcakes from falling, and know I know

THANK YOU!!! and they look awesome.

Thank youfor sharing.
Your bouquets are beautiful!

AWESOME PICTORIAL!!!

I am a visual person. Now I finally get it.

Thanks so much.

Great idea for constructing the bouquets. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for sharing your method! Very cool!

thank you so much

Just curious..does the tissue paper pick up the grease from the buttercream? It looks like the paper touches it in some spots.

not really...i waited until the cupcakes were pretty crusted before working with them. i also tried to finish them right before delivering, so they didn't sit around for a long time. a few of my neighbors weren't home when i initially tried delivering though, one even took 2 days, and they still looked great!

What a fantastic idea! Thanks for the great tutorial!

Thanks so much for sharing! I am so gonna try this!!! Would it be possible to expand it to do a whole dozen and if so how, do you think?

Thanks for the response. I'm gonna have to give this a try.

Wow. why can't I be your neighbor?! hehehe.

this is a great method! i don't have to buy styrofoam ball. i am so happy! Thanks!

sorry, for some reason, i stopped getting notified when i had a reply on this thread.

i ran out of styrofoam packing peanuts after about 8 of my buckets, but if i'd had enough, i would have just stuck with them. i went and bought a bag of pea gravel,w hich was an inexpensive alternative, but it also made the buckets heavier ($4 for a huge bag)...the peanuts, though, are free!!!!!!

we had just moved, and had alot of the peanuts. i have since started saving the peanuts from every package that is shipped to us, and just put it in a large trash can...next time i do the bouquets, i'll just use some from my supply. i filled the buckets up about 4" or so, which gives the dowel rods something to sink into in, but what really stabalizes the dowels is the foamcore circle i hotglued in to the top of the bucket.

i really don't see any reason why you can't make this as large as you wanted...i've had the thought myself to get one of those huge flowerpots or baskets and just go to town sticking cupcakes in, using this same method. i think it would be especially beautiful for weddings and large parties.

Thanks so much! I have to give it a try.

Kara

Wow cute idea I will keep this one in mind for sure.

thanks for posting this--i've used a different method--now i'll have to try this!!

Those are so cute!! And really great pictures and instructions! Thanks.. I know I've been wanting to make some! And the cupcakes were adorable as well!!

Quick question -- is that a little piece of chocolate on the peach cupcake? The kind that you melt from Michael's?

Thanks!!

hi guys...thanks so much for all the awesome compliments! i'm glad the tutorial is helping so many people!

the chocolate i used is merkens, but you could use a candy melt from wilton also. i used it in a pinch, but really was happy with it in the end!

What would you charge for one of these bouquet "buckets"? Just a ball park figure, as I know each area is different.

in my area, i would no charge no less than $40 for the 6 cupcakes, delivered.

maybe I can try this, this weekend. With mum flowers and then pointsetta's for christmas. Awesome!