Cupcake Bouquet

One word I would never use to describe myself with is "procrastinator."  I usually finish things well before they are due.  Yes, I always did my weekend homework on Friday afternoon.  I hate things looming over me, and I can be a bit compulsive/obsessive about getting things "done."  But today, just after 2 pm, I realized, I had failed my children miserably.  They wanted to give their neighborhood buddies cupcakes for Valentine's Day, and I had waited (read: procrastinator) and now I had T-90 minutes to go to the store, buy the goods, make the treats, and get my son off the bus.  EPIC motherhood fail.

In a moment of panicked clarity, I recalled  various versions of the cupcake bouquet on CraftGawker.  I quickly forgave myself for today's maternal transgression and made a beeline for the local Dollar and Grocery stores.

I picked up 30 cupcakes; 24 minis for the buddies and 6 regulars to provide me the sugar rush I'd need to whip these bouquets up at maniacal speed. I also grabbed 4 Dollar store red tin vases, 4 foam floral arranging rounds and some obscenely long skewers.  It was just under $16 for everything I'd need to make 4 bouquets.  Not exactly thrifty, but I was in a real pinch.  Here's the how to.

Fit the foam right into the vase and press in to fit snugly.  

Cut the skewers in half so the cupcakes sit just about the top of the vase.  Then just start skewering the cupcakes. 7 fit perfectly snug in this vase which had a 3 or 3.5 inch diameter.  I think that's the diameter.  I only do nurse math.

Pretty!  But wait!  I found myself with a few minutes to spare.  What these needed was a Valentine card of sorts.

Using my printer and Staples Sticker printer paper I printed out this cute sticker which I punched out with a 2 inch round punch.  Isn't it adorable?  I thought it up all on my own.  Sort of.  FINE,  I thought of going to the Avery website and getting a template.  This is nearly the same as doing it myself.  Almost.

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But I added the kids names and stuck the labels right to the vases.  Now that's better.  Whew . . . done.  

Now I'll just sit back relax and . . . I think I hear the bus!!  Enjoy!!