I have been asked to post instructions on making the cupcake topiary in my pics.......here it goes! Warning, though, I'm not very good with explanations!!! If anyone has an easier way of explaining things or doing things please share. I would love to hear thoughts and ideas. This was a challenge for me and if it can be made easier then share! 
Also, please be so careful. When the cupcakes are pulled off the Styrofoam looks like a mid-evil torture device. Those toothpicks are sharp and will stab ruthlessly without thinking twice. Someone suggested I snip off the top part of the toothpick before inserting them so little hands can pull off the cupcakes and won't be hurt too bad. So, snip away!
Here it goes!::
Equipment:
Styrofoam ball
a disc arranger (small Styrofoam used to hold fake flowers in place) the width of the pot you are using
3 dowel rods if using small ones, or one thick one about ½ inch to 1 inch thick depending on size of Styrofoam ball
green or brown floral tape
lots of toothpicks
a glue gun and glue sticks
a flower pot
Paper towel or plastic bag
*Put the disc arranger into the flower pot. After leveling it use the glue gun to glue it into the pot where it does NOT move.
*Take 3 dowel rods and tape them together to form a shamrock shape if using smaller dowel rods. Use the green floral tape to tape them together. Start at the top and pull the tape taught around the 3 rods until you reach the bottom. If using a larger rod use the floral tape to cover the rod.. You can even use brown if you would rather the stem look like the bark of a real topiary tree.
*Push the rods into the center of the disc arranger in the flower pot.
*Push the Styrofoam ball onto the rods and make sure it is completely even on all sides.
*Take a plastic bag or paper towel at this time and tape it to the top of the pot around the bottom of the dowel rods incase the icing splats off..yes it sounds like a SPLAT as it falls off the ccs.
*Take a cupcake liner and position it on the ball. I lightly traced around the bottom using a marker to mark where I want the cupcakes to be placed. I used a cupcake liner because I know thats how large the cupcakes will be when they are baked. Mark the places on the ball where you will set the cupcakes. There will be gaps between some of them. Thats perfectly fine. You can stuff leaves in the gaps around the ccs!
*Take the Styrofoam ball off the rods and place it UPSIDE DOWN where it will not move while you work on placing the bottom cupcakes on. I just set it directly on another flower pot to keep it in place or just some place stable to keep it from moving. Remember, the hole you just made on the bottom of the topiary should be on top so you can put on the bottom cupcakes.
(I used an extra dowel rod to gently push the toothpicks into the ccs, and used pliers to pull them out if I needed to)
*Place 3 cupcakes around the hole with 1 toothpick in the center of each to make sure they fit well.
Take 2 more toothpicks and put them criss cross into the cupcakes to make them secure. Picture an X shape.
*The 2 toothpicks should be making an X but NOT touching each other in the cupcake or else the cupcake will tear and fall apart when someone goes to pull it off the ball. I put one toothpick on one side of the cupcake and the other on the opposite side.
*Maybe like this: Picture a face on the cupcake and I put one toothpick slanted on it's forhead and the other slanted in the opposite direction on it's chin. The FOREHEAD is the top of the cupcake nearest the hole or directly in front of the hole.
* Keep the toothpicks at a slight slant also or else when the cupcake is pulled off it will tear it. Youll have to experiment here with some extra cupcakes you dont intend to use on the finished product. Put them on and make sure theyre secure, then pull them off to see how easy it is for someone to pull it off. I HOPE IT MAKES SENSE!
*After setting the first 3 around the hole turn it upside down to ensure the cupcakes are secure. Allow it to sit that way for a minute or so. If its secure, turn it upside down again to add the next row, and the next after that.
*At this point I iced the cupcakes and let them sit an hour so they could dry or crust. I needed to add a bit of powdered sugar to my butter cream recipe to make it a tad bit thicker than normal. Someone told me to add flour to thicken it without adding the extra sweetness. I should try that! I didnt want the icing to fall off the cakes and splat on the table or the pot.
*After the icing was dried a bit, I prayed really hard then I turned it right side up and set it on the dowel rods. I let it sit for a minute to see what would happen and probably prayed some more. A couple of the ccs lost their icing on the SIDES and I found splats on the table. I just added more and let it sit for awhile and it set well. It was trial and error at this point. Then I just added the other cupcakes.
*As I neared the top I only needed 1 toothpick per cupcake, in the center of each. I didnt add 3 as I did the others.
*I iced them all and let it sit for about an hour. A couple of the ccs lost their icing but I just put more on and they did fine after that.
*Funny thing is the ccs on the bottom NEVER lost their icing, just the ones on the sides.
Also, please be so careful. When the cupcakes are pulled off the Styrofoam looks like a mid-evil torture device. Those toothpicks are sharp and will stab ruthlessly without thinking twice. Someone suggested I snip off the top part of the toothpick before inserting them so little hands can pull off the cupcakes and won't be hurt too bad. So, snip away!
Here it goes!::
Equipment:
Styrofoam ball
a disc arranger (small Styrofoam used to hold fake flowers in place) the width of the pot you are using
3 dowel rods if using small ones, or one thick one about ½ inch to 1 inch thick depending on size of Styrofoam ball
green or brown floral tape
lots of toothpicks
a glue gun and glue sticks
a flower pot
Paper towel or plastic bag
*Put the disc arranger into the flower pot. After leveling it use the glue gun to glue it into the pot where it does NOT move.
*Take 3 dowel rods and tape them together to form a shamrock shape if using smaller dowel rods. Use the green floral tape to tape them together. Start at the top and pull the tape taught around the 3 rods until you reach the bottom. If using a larger rod use the floral tape to cover the rod.. You can even use brown if you would rather the stem look like the bark of a real topiary tree.
*Push the rods into the center of the disc arranger in the flower pot.
*Push the Styrofoam ball onto the rods and make sure it is completely even on all sides.
*Take a plastic bag or paper towel at this time and tape it to the top of the pot around the bottom of the dowel rods incase the icing splats off..yes it sounds like a SPLAT as it falls off the ccs.
*Take a cupcake liner and position it on the ball. I lightly traced around the bottom using a marker to mark where I want the cupcakes to be placed. I used a cupcake liner because I know thats how large the cupcakes will be when they are baked. Mark the places on the ball where you will set the cupcakes. There will be gaps between some of them. Thats perfectly fine. You can stuff leaves in the gaps around the ccs!
*Take the Styrofoam ball off the rods and place it UPSIDE DOWN where it will not move while you work on placing the bottom cupcakes on. I just set it directly on another flower pot to keep it in place or just some place stable to keep it from moving. Remember, the hole you just made on the bottom of the topiary should be on top so you can put on the bottom cupcakes.
(I used an extra dowel rod to gently push the toothpicks into the ccs, and used pliers to pull them out if I needed to)
*Place 3 cupcakes around the hole with 1 toothpick in the center of each to make sure they fit well.
Take 2 more toothpicks and put them criss cross into the cupcakes to make them secure. Picture an X shape.
*The 2 toothpicks should be making an X but NOT touching each other in the cupcake or else the cupcake will tear and fall apart when someone goes to pull it off the ball. I put one toothpick on one side of the cupcake and the other on the opposite side.
*Maybe like this: Picture a face on the cupcake and I put one toothpick slanted on it's forhead and the other slanted in the opposite direction on it's chin. The FOREHEAD is the top of the cupcake nearest the hole or directly in front of the hole.
* Keep the toothpicks at a slight slant also or else when the cupcake is pulled off it will tear it. Youll have to experiment here with some extra cupcakes you dont intend to use on the finished product. Put them on and make sure theyre secure, then pull them off to see how easy it is for someone to pull it off. I HOPE IT MAKES SENSE!
*After setting the first 3 around the hole turn it upside down to ensure the cupcakes are secure. Allow it to sit that way for a minute or so. If its secure, turn it upside down again to add the next row, and the next after that.
*At this point I iced the cupcakes and let them sit an hour so they could dry or crust. I needed to add a bit of powdered sugar to my butter cream recipe to make it a tad bit thicker than normal. Someone told me to add flour to thicken it without adding the extra sweetness. I should try that! I didnt want the icing to fall off the cakes and splat on the table or the pot.
*After the icing was dried a bit, I prayed really hard then I turned it right side up and set it on the dowel rods. I let it sit for a minute to see what would happen and probably prayed some more. A couple of the ccs lost their icing on the SIDES and I found splats on the table. I just added more and let it sit for awhile and it set well. It was trial and error at this point. Then I just added the other cupcakes.
*As I neared the top I only needed 1 toothpick per cupcake, in the center of each. I didnt add 3 as I did the others.
*I iced them all and let it sit for about an hour. A couple of the ccs lost their icing but I just put more on and they did fine after that.
*Funny thing is the ccs on the bottom NEVER lost their icing, just the ones on the sides.
