This week we have teamed up with Pizzazzerie, to bring you an amazing giveaway! How does a $200 credit to our Cupcake Stand store and an autographed copy of Push-up Pops sound? ($220 value)

If you don't have the book Push-up Pops yet, it's a must!! This book is filled with delicious recipes, and fun ideas. You can even find us, Cupcake Stand, in the resource section! We were and are honored to be mentioned in this fabulous book! You can head on over to Amazon and pick up a copy.

Head on over to Pizzazzerie to learn how to enter! Good luck!

Giveaway open to US Residents only. Ends 5/9/12. Winner notified 5/10/12.

Our customers are so creative! They create some of the most amazing cupcake stand displays ever!! I'd like to share with you some of the pictures with you that they have shared with me! They will definitely get your creativity going!  

This is one of my FAVORITES! How adorable is this! Hamburger cupcakes and french fry sugar cookies! LOVE! But I also love the picture of the birthday grandma and grandson displayed on top too! How awesome is this!! Excellent cupcake stand!    

                                         Yes, that is a cake on top! Isn't that amazing! I had to actually examine it to see if it was a cake or a toy! So good! I love how they used round and square tiers. That is always a super fun look! This was one thrilled little boy I bet!

Our friends at the Marshmallow Studio don't monkey around! They took one of the tiers from their stand, used it as a cake stand, and wrapped the bottom with craft paper! This is amazing and it screams creativity!!  That cake is so cute, I just want to pinch that monkeys cheeks!        

This is so awesome! This makes me want to have a pool party! I love this and I love dolphins! Summer please hurry up and get here! :)

M I C - K E Y - M O U S E! Can you believe those are cake pops?  SugarMomma's Custom Cakes, Cupcakes, Cookies is the place to go! They amaze me all the time with their work and their attention to detail! Love this display!

Here is another great cupcake stand! I really love how they personalized this with the photo statue on top. Super creative, and adorable! The flowers around it makes it pop too! Love the color combinations!

This is so cute! Everything about it is perfect!! My favorite part is the boat on top. How adorable!! What a perfect cupcake stand display!

Oh My Gosh!! Everyone needs this at their baby shower!! I am in LOVE with this cake pop display! She used very wide ribbon on it, which gives it a totally amazing look! I love the different height cake pops too! Awesome job!!

This is just too pretty not to share! I really love the very soft pink frosting. Its very simple, but elegant! I do have to say my favorite part about this is the little bottles of champagne displayed in the cupcakes. How perfect!

Fun! That's what I think of when I see this cupcake stand! Oh and Yum! Who wouldn't want this at their 40th birthday! This one makes me starving! :)

This is gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous! That huge cupcake cake on top is so perfect! This whole cupcake stand is! This was created by Bake Me A Cake Pastry Shop.

Elegant, beautiful, perfect! This was created by the Kupcake Bar. I love the ribbon they used! I would of never thought of using dangling crystal ribbon! I am so glad they shared this with us so help spark our creativity!

This is so adorable and every little (and big) girls dream! I love everything about this cupcake stand! So beautiful and the detail is amazing!

Cupcake stands are not just for cupcakes! SugarMamma's custom cakes, cupcakes, cookies created this beautiful cookie favor display. Just beautiful! Karen Moriarty photography took this amazing picture!

This is a very cool way to display your square cupcake stand. This was done by a customer who is a caterer. What a great way to display your desserts.

Poker night anyone? How fun is this! What a great theme, and a very creative way to display everything. Love it!

Now what little girl in this world would not LOVE this!! How beautiful! I love the carriage on top. Perfect! Thanks Baby Kakes for sharing this with us!

This was our first "ultimate cupcake stand." We had a request for a special order to make a cupcake stand that would hold at least 300 cupcakes, and because of that, the Ultimate was born. I was told they actually got at least 350 cupcakes on that! Wow! The cupcake stand looks amazing, and I love all the fall details to the cupcakes! Gorgeous! 

I hope you enjoyed looking at some of our customers awesome cupcake stand displays. I wish I could of added them all! No matter how you decorate it, or what you put on it, you are creating something fun, beautiful and creative! I have not seen 2 cupcake stand alike! Every one is an original. We LOVE seeing everyone's beautiful creations. Keep those pictures coming for all of us to share! :)

I am often asked to see pictures of some of the cakes I created while I was a cake decorator, so I thought why not blog about them! Here is some of my favorites. :) 

                                      Detroit Tigers Comerica Park Cake

Topsy Turvy Animal Print Cake (won 1st place with this cake)

                                         Strawberry Cake

                                        Mater Monster Truck (small one is the toy)

                Pig Roast Cake (everything is edible)

                                 Space Cake

                                                        Sand Castle Cake

                        Card Cake

                          Pretty Pink Cake

                      Fun Guitars!

                                     Treasure Chest

    Dinosaur and Volcano Cake (used Dry Ice in a glass in the center of the Volcano Cake)

I accidentally fell into cake decorating.  I taught myself from watching all of the cake and cupcake T.V. shows. I was TERRIBLE at frosting, so I thought there was no way I could make anything resembling a cake! But I found out using fondant wasn't hard at all. It was like playing with playdough. It became an addiction. I truly love making people happy through cakes and cupcakes! If you do something that you love and you are passionate about the rest will fall in place! :)

Apple Pie Pops~

Dough~

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening

1/2 cup cold water

2 Tablespoons sour cream

Filling~

3 cups (about 3 good-size) baking apples, peeled, cored, and diced

1/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons packed light brown sugar

4 teaspoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon each nutmeg and ground ginger

STEP ONE~

Measure the flour, sugar, and salt into a large bowl. Using a pastry blender or your fingers(that's what I did), cut or rub the butter and shortening into the flour until mixture resembles crumbs.

STEP TWO~

Blend the water and sour cream in a measuring cup. Pour half of the liquid over the dry ingredients and toss the mixture with a fork to combine. Add the remaining liquid( I didn't need all of it) and continue mixing until the dough coheres. If the dough seems too dry, add more water 2 teaspoons at a time.

STEP THREE~

Divide the dough in half. Knead piece once or twice on a lightly floured countertop or piece of waxed paper. Set aside or refrigerate while making the filling.

STEP FOUR~

Combine all filling ingredients and mix well.

STEP FIVE~

Roll 1/2 of the dough on a lightly floured countertop. I did not roll my dough very thick. Not see through thin, but not thick either. Using a cookie cutter (I used a circle cookie cutter, but you could use other shapes as well) cut out dough circles. Take a dough circle and put it on a cookie sheet. Put a cake pop stick on it so its placed in the middle of the dough and the stick. Make sure the stick is on at least 1/2 of the circle so it doesn't break off after cooked and cooled. Put a tablespoon of filling in the center of the dough. Place another dough circle on top and light press around the edges. Now take another cake pop stick and press all along the edges to make the pie crimped looking edges. Optional~sprinkle with sugar.

STEP SIX~

Bake at 350* until golden brown. Sorry I don't use a timer so I actually don't know how long these took! :) Next time I make them I will check the time! ooops! I knew I'd forget something!

STEP SEVEN~

Let cool completely before trying to pick up with the stick.

These are soooo yummy! My kids and husband LOVED these! The crust is awesome! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the crust! :) You can make these with any filling and in many different shapes. I think little hearts with cherry, strawberry or raspberry would be adorable for Valentines Day!

Don't let the name fool you! You can use your cupcake stand for so much more then cupcakes! They are a perfect way to display any desserts, appetizers, fruits and vegetables, sandwiches, and so much more!

Many customers have used their cupcake stands for all of their party foods! It creates a beautiful display plus saves you space too! I used 3 cupcake stands to display our picnic foods this summer. It was a HUGE success and I can't wait to have another party just to use my cupcake stands again! :)

I LOVE to have fun with my foods and come up with fun, cute, creative ways to present it!                                              Some fun food ideas for you!

                                                              Radish Mice~

Use Radishes with the "tails" on them still. Cut the tail off a smaller radish for the head, and use a larger radish with the tail on it still for the body. Connect the 2 radishes with a toothpick. Cut 2 slits in the small (head) radish for ears. Cut 2 slices from another radish for the ears and then put them in the slits. Use whole cloves for the eyes.  TaDa! Cutest mice ever! :)

                                                          Black Olive Ant~

Use 3 black olives and connect them with a toothpick. Cut a slice of olive in half for antennas. I used 2 dots of sour cream for the eyes, but next time I would use cream cheese because its thicker. It was a hot day and the sour cream wanted to melt a little bit. Then add a tiny dot of black olive in the center of the eye.  The ants go marching one by one,  Hurrah! Hurrah!!

                                                          Hamburgers Anyone?

Buns are sugar cookies. Hamburger's are made out of brownies, ketchup and mustard is colored frosting, and the lettuce is green fondant. These were super easy and lots of fun to make! They really did look like mini hamburgers!

                                                    "Sweet" Corn on the Cob anyone?

These are 3 mini cupcakes with white frosting and white and yellow chocolate candy's. I just sat them next to each other and stuck corn on the cob holders on each side. Super simple to make!

                                                              "Veggie" Veggie dip

Bell peppers of different colors, with the tops cut off and the seeds cleaned out. Fill with dip and you have the prettiest and tastiest dip bowls!

                                                         Real Watermelon Vase

I used a small watermelon for a vase for the beautiful sunflowers! It was a perfect addition to our beautiful summer picnic!

Why are cupcakes so "big" right now? What makes these little cuties so special that people line up around the block, waiting in line to purchase one? Why are people having cupcakes instead of the traditional cakes at every event from birthdays to weddings? Even famous people like Carry Underwood had an amazingly elegant cupcake stand at her wedding. Why? Look at them all cute, packaged up in their little perfectness. They can be naked with just frosting, or over the top elaborate. It doesn't matter, we love them anyway we can get them.

Having a cupcake stand at your event makes a huge statement. Cupcake stands are one of the most beautiful centerpieces, for any event, you can have. Not to mention how scrumptious they are too. They are not just pleasing to the eye, they are also budget friendly. Wedding cakes are priced through the roof these days! Having cupcakes helps keep the cost way down. 

My hopes and dreams for having this blog is to share ideas and decorating tips that I have learned from not just being a cake decorator, but from being a mom, going to tons of birthday parties, showers, graduations, weddings over the years, and watching way to much TV! I would love to share your ideas and pictures too.  Make sure to "like" me on Facebook where I will be  having contest and giveaways. Who doesn't love free stuff?