Make-your-own Mini Cupcakes

These are very easy to make, and quite quick too (once the paint has dried, if you use eggboxes, but you don't have to use eggboxes and even if you do you don't have to paint them!).  

To make your own mini cupcakes, you will need the following:

Old eggboxes or chocolate box (the inside bit) - each of the little hollows will become a 'cup' for a cupcake; paint (if using eggboxes); coloured paper & tissue or crepe paper; beads, sequins or pompoms (to make the cake decorations); glue & scissors.

Step 1: Cut out the hollows from the eggboxes or chocolate box insides.  This can be a bit fiddly for younger kids, so an adult or older child might need to do this stage for them.

Step 2: Paint the eggbox cups (if using), and leave to dry.

Step 3: The 'cupcake' is very simply made by screwing up a square of tissue paper (or crepe paper) into a ball and then gluing it into the cup.

Step 4: To make the icing on top of the cupcakes, draw a circle on some coloured paper that is the same sort of size as the top of the cupcake.  Then draw a squiggly line inside the circle and cut round it.  Glue this on top of the tissue paper.

Step 5: 'Decorate' your cupcake.  You can stick a bead or sequin on top as a sweetie or cherry.  You can draw flicks and lines all over the icing to represent sprinkles.  Or you could use glitter, glitter glue, pompoms... whatever your imagination can come up with!

Step 6:  Now your cupcakes are ready to put on a plate and play with!  Why not make a little microwave or oven to 'cook' your cupcakes in?  (This one was made from an old cat food box)...