Another Easter idea... love these cupcakes!

It's getting late, but I saw these Easter basket cupcakes on Family Fun and just had to share because they're SOOOOOO adorable... and look delicious! Click here to find more Easter ideas - from crafts, to desserts to printables - amongst a million other ideas!

What you'll need to make these cupcakes:

- 1 dozen cupcakes

- 1 bag of jelly beans

- 2 cups of white icing

- Sweetened coconut, colored with green food coloring

1. Frost each cupcake with your white icing. Create an arch with a pipe cleaner or piece of licorice and press into the sides of each cupcake.

2. Shake the shredded coconut in a bag, adding food coloring to get the color you desire. Mix vigorously. (I hate coconut... I wonder if I could substitute white chocolate shredded and dyed with green food coloring - would that work!?)

3. Place a pinch of your coconut on each cupcake. Add a few jellybeans to finish complete the nest.

4. Tie a piece of ribbon around your pipe cleaner to complete the look.

... Voila - your little edible Easter basket cupcakes are complete! Bring these to your Easter dinner and watch your family and friends indulge in your cute little Easter cupcake creation!

Two cute nest ideas for Spring!

FIRST - don't forget to sign up for the Favor Affair giveaway I posted about here!

Have you checked out My Insanity's blog? There is definitely some great ideas on there... I strongly suggest you take a peek! While checking out her (Kendra) site, I came across this super cute idea for little nests - and the best part is they're 100% edible. MMMmmmm!! Curious? I was! Here is how you make these adorable little nests for your Easter gathering or just for a Spring snack!

OK - these are made just like rice krispy treats - only instead of the rice krispies, you use the chow mein noodles. After making your mixture, use a large-sized muffin tin to mold your nests. (Because this can get quite messy, Kendra suggests using some greased plastic bags on your hands.) When you are molding your nests, make sure you make a little divot to place your eggs in! If you work quickly enough, you should be able to take these out of the muffin tins and reshape them to make them look more natural - just make sure they aren't too hard! The last thing to do - add your small egg shaped candies! Seriously... how easy is that? I'm impressed.

How cute would these be for a little garden party, too? Or a birdie-themed shower or party? Garden-themed party? Place cards? There's seriously so many cute ideas that I could go on and on - but I won't!

********

OK - so I had to share this idea with you all, too. This idea was found on this other super cute blog, Someday Crafts by guest blogger Stephanie Lynn from Under the Table and Dreaming. This idea is adorable for Spring in general, but to go with our nest theme from above for Easter (and Spring), I thought I'd share the post. This is a super easy projects that shouldn't take you too much time... but turns out adorable.

To make these you will need:

- Yarn

- Fabric stiffener

- Balloon

First, cut your yarn into 6-8 inch strips. You will need many, so it's best to have these pre-cut before starting the project.

Next, blow up your balloon and place it with the tied end down in a bowl (see image below).

Then, pour some of your fabric stiffener (Stephanie Lynn used Plaid "Stiffy" brand, which can be found at your local craft store in the sewing section) into a cup and add about 5-6 pieces of yarn. **Make sure you use enough fabric stiffener to completely cover your yarn strips.** Let the yarn strips sit for a few minutes, to ensure they're completely saturated.

After your yarn strips are completely saturated, place one strand at a time on the top of your balloon, overlapping pieces (See pic below).

Repeat until your balloon is completely covered.

When your yarn is completely dry (Stephanie waited 48 hours), turn your balloon over, takethe bowl off, and gently release the air out of the balloon. If there's any residue from the fabric stiffener left over, Stephanie recommends using spray paint to cover it up.

Your last step - figuring out what decor you want to place inside to show it off! I love the idea of putting candles in it... how cute!

Now, go check out these cool new blogs - I'm sure you'll love them as much as I do!

Adorable Cupcake Idea!

OMG! I saw these cakes and absolutely love them! I think one of the main reasons I love them is because they would be so perfect for a ladybug themed party - which I would love to throw someday for a little girl's birthday. Martha also shows you a way to make these into butterfly cupcakes, too! Uh... too cute, right?!

Anyway, Martha gives you all the details you need to know to make these adorable bug-themed cupcakes.

To make these yummy, adorable cupcakes you will need:

- Cake

- Icing

- Cupcake liners

- 5 small bowls

- 5 tints of food coloring (or the colors that match your party theme... ahem, red and black for a

lady bug theme!)

- Serrated knife

- Small offset spatula

- Gumdrops

- Licorice strings

- Pastry bags, couplers and round tips

Prepare your cupcakes and your icing. Martha offers up a recipe for a one-bowl chocolate cake, Swiss Meringue Buttercream icing or Simple Sugar icing. Divide icing into 5 separate bowls and tint each bowl a different color.

1. Using your serrated knife, cut the domed top of the cupcake off, making sure it's even. Cut that top part in half.

2. Use your spatula to cover the flat top cupcake with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of your colored frosting.

3. Before frosting is dry, gently press the domed cupcake halves on top (with the flat part facing down), positioning it so one of the ends touch each other to represent the wings of the bug.

** To make the butterfly wings, attach pieces with the cut side up and the rounded edges touching each other in the center (the domed shape will create angled wings).

4. Chill cupcakes until the frosting is firm and the "wings" are secure. About 30 minutes.

While the cupcakes are chilling, you can create the heads of your cute bugs.

5. Cut the licorice strings on a diagonal into 1 1/2 inch lengths. Use a toothpick to poke holes into the gumdrop to create the antennae. Insert the pointed edge of the licorice into the holes.

6. Use extra frosting to use as "glue" to secure the heads onto the cupcake bodies.

7. Decorate wings and bodies as you wish. Frost wings with color of your choice then pipe spots, stripes or any other cute ideas you may have!

I just love these! Seriously, how cute would they be for a Ladybug themed party, a Garden-themed party or a Butterfly-themed party? Even a baby shower! I just can't get enough. Hopefully I'll have a reason to make these soon! :)

To see other cute little Spring recipes from Martha, click here.

Easter and Spring place card holder ideas

Hi all - Happy Saturday! I came across this super cute (and super easy) DIY place card. You can use it for you Easter dinner or even for a spring-themed party. My favorite part - it's completely edible (well besides the tree branch).

Below are some other cute place card ideas - thanks to Martha Stewart:

{above} After you've chosen the colors for your flower arrangement, find a pretty corresponding color and create beautiful place card that you can place in the petals of the tulips.

{above} Create an egg-shaped name card on a bright pastel piece of paper, glue onto a lollipop stick and place in this bowl. Why not have your eggs and eat them, too?!

{above} I love the idea of these little flower arrangements in a small pot and creating a fold-out name tag. What a pretty thing to sit down to! How cute would these be for a baby shower!?

For more ideas on table settings and decor for your Easter and spring-themed parties, go here and here.