DIY | Animal Cupcake Toppers

Okay, you got me! This post was obviously one of my Christmas posts that didn’t make it up in time for the day. However, as I have been using these little guys as pot plant decorations in lieu of cupcakes, I figured that they could really pass as winter themed toppers, right?

It feels a bit weird to be sharing winter themed projects with scarves and sweaters when it we are in the middle of a heat wave here in Australia. But I know my US readers in particular are freezing at the moment, so hopefully these colourful critters are just the thing to cheer up those cold days!

What You Need:
Miniature Animal Figurines
Wooden Skewers
Super glue
Paints, nail polish, string, wool, paper straws etc.

What You Do:

There isn’t really a set order to making these cupcake toppers. It will all depend on how you want to decorate them, so, instead of giving you step by step instructions, here are some suggestions of wintery styles for your animals:

• For little winter sweaters, paint on a base coat over your animals front legs and torso. Apply a second coat to ensure even cover and once this has dried use a thin brush or coloured pens to draw on sweater patterns.
• Braid together a few strands of multi-coloured string or wool to make a teeny scarf. Knot and leave the ends with tassels and wrap around the animals neck (secure with glue if needed)
• Add some sparkle with a few liberal coats of glitter nail polish.
• Make paper party crowns by cutting away a jagged edge into the end of your paper straw (around 3mm deep) then cut off the end around 2mm away from the jagged cuts. Secure to the (party) animal’s head with a dot of glue and hold firm while it dries.

Once your animals are all dressed and ready to party, take a wooden skewer and snip off the sharp end - for cupcakes I cut around 8cm from the end, but if you want to use for taller cakes you could always leave them longer. Apply a drop of super glue to the flat end of the skewer piece and stick firmly to the underside of the animal. Be careful not to let the glue drip down the stick. Once dry you can stick into the top of your cupcake for a fun and wintery topper!

Like I said before, they also work well stuck into the base of a pot plant. Mine have been living with my cactuses on my windowsill since Christmas!