Lovely Little Mother’s Day Cupcakes and Free Mother’s Day Cupcake Topper Flags

This weekend, I made cupcakes for a birthday party. It was the first time, outside of friends and family, that I had been hired to make anything for someone and I had so much fun doing it! The party was for a two year old little girl that loves Dora the Explorer, so I created some fun Dora cupcake toppers and put sweet pink flowers on the cupcakes. I loved how they turned out, and I can’t wait to do something like that again.

When all was said and done, though, I had some extra cupcakes leftover. They weren’t decorated or anything yet, and hubs and I were just going to share them with our friends, but then inspiration struck and I had to turn them into pretty Mother’s Day cupcakes. I don’t get to see my mom for Mother’s Day. I haven’t gotten to in about 10 years now. Such is the life of the military family, but if I did see her this year, these would be for her.

I’m so happy that inspiration hit, because these just make me want to have a girly, frilly little tea party in the back yard! I created the topper flags myself, and because I love ya so darn much, I’m sharing them with you (link below)! I love the colors, and I matched the cupcake decorations to them. The only thing they’re missing is to be surrounded by beautiful cookies, a whimsical cake, and dozens of glass bottles filled with pink lemonade and stripy straws!

For the toppers, I wanted something a little different, more unique, so I used 12-inch wooden skewers and cut each one to a different length. Normally, I prefer to use cardboard lollipop sticks for cupcake toppers, because they’re a little safer for children, but I wanted to do something special with these that required the pointy end of a skewer. I decided to glue pretty pink glass beads to the top of each skewer before adding the flags. It’s kind of an extravagant little touch, but Mom definitely deserves it, and it adds such a sweet, elegant touch to the toppers.

All you have to do to make these is place a somewhat generous dab of super glue on the pointed end of the skewer. Next, take a bead that has a hole in the center (found in the jewelry making aisle at craft stores) and gently push the point of the skewer into the bead as far as it will go. Hold the bead in place for 15 to 20 seconds, then prop it against something to keep the bead in the air. Allow them to dry for 10 minutes or so, then glue the flags on.

For the flags, just click the link below to download them. Print the flags onto heavy bright white paper and cut them out, following the lines around each one (when you print the flags, be sure to print them at 100%, do not scale or fit to paper). Once they’re all cut, fold each one in half, lining the points up. Next, use your finger to spread a tacky craft glue on one side of the flag. Make sure to get the glue right up to the crease of the flag, so that it won’t slide down the skewer. Fold the flag around the skewer so that the top of it is flush with the bottom of the bead. Line the edges of the flag up and press together all the back to the skewer. Allow to dry for 20 to 30 minutes before putting into cupcakes.

I simply adore the way these turned out! They are so pretty, fun, and special with the glass beads on top! They are lovely and whimsical, and there’s so much potential for other ideas here! Imagine a sweet garden fairy party with jeweled cupcake toppers like these. I love these so much, I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to make a plain cupcake topper ever again!

As for my cupcakes, I decorated them in a variety of ways to show that you can go as simple or as dressed up as you like, and the flags still look fantastic. Some of my cupcakes just have a simple swirl of frosting, using a large star tip. It looks clean and professional, but is incredibly easy. The cupcakes above are even easier, because you don’t need to fill a pastry bag or use a special tip. To make these, just fill a small bowl with plain sugar. Next, spread a mound of frosting on each cupcake. Before the frosting dries, dip the tops into the sugar, rolling them slightly to get them completely covered. If you can, frost the cupcakes right up to the very edges where the paper is. I ran out of frosting before I could do that, but it looks great.

The last cupcakes I made are the most complex looking and time consuming, but they’re still very easy to do. For these cupcakes, I covered them in tiny fondant ribbon roses. You just have to be ready to invest time into them because they take about 15 minutes each to complete. Of course, like most things, the longer you work at them, the faster you get. To make these I frosted the cupcakes normally, nothing fancy. Next, I made about 40 to 50 roses per cupcake, and completely covered the tops of the cupcakes with them.

If you’ve never made fondant ribbon roses, they are super super simple. All you need is fondant in the color of you choice. Roll the fondant out relatively thin. Cut a strip of fondant that is about three-quarters of an inch wide. Fold the strip in half lengthwise, then just roll the fondant around itself creating a spiral. Once the rose is the size you want, tear the extra fondant away and roll the base lightly to lengthen it a bit. Finally, cut away the excess from the bottom of the rose with a pair of scissors and place the rose on the cupcake. You can make these as big or as small as you like – the size of the rose depends on how wide you cut your strip of fondant. A two inch wide strip will produce a much larger rose than the ones I made.

These are definitely my favorite of all the different designs I made. I like that there’s only a few though. I think that what adds to the whimsy of all these cupcakes is that they’re all different, with different heights of picks in them. It gives a sort of shabby chic look to the group, which I love.

For these rose cupcakes, if you want to save a little time, you can make half as many roses. Before adding the roses to the cupcake, roll the edges of the frosting in sugar. Next, just arrange the roses in the center of the cupcake (like the cupcake on the left, above).

I had so much fun making all of these lovely cupcakes. Their designs and colors are perfect for Mother’s Day, or even just for a pretty Spring garden party. Plus, the jeweled flag toppers really make them stand out. If you’re lucky enough to spend Mother’s Day in the company of your mom, she’ll be delighted to receive these bright, happy cupcakes. Enjoy!

Marshmallow Fondant

Raspberry Lemonade Cupcakes

The Best Vanilla Buttercream

To make the Mother’s Day cupcake topper flags, click on the link(s) below, then click File > Save as or Print. Print at 100%, do not scale, on heavy bright white paper, cut out, and assemble as directed above.

Mother’s Day Cupcake Topper Flags

Toppers designed by Darla