"Mexican Food" Themed Cupcakes + And The Winner Is...!


H i, everyone! Is everyone staying warm? The big chill has reached Tennessee and I know it's not nearly as cold here as it is elsewhere, so I hope you all are staying toasty warm at home!

My little one had a party this week in her Spanish class to celebrate the end of the six weeks. Her teacher had asked me to make a cake for the party if I could. I decided to docupcakes instead. I cheated a little and just had the bakery make and frost the cupcakes for me, but I was excited about making the "Mexican Food" themed toppers. {It took about 8 hours to make toppers for 30 cupcakes, and baking the cupcakes and making frosting would have added another couple of hours - so why not have someone else do that part?!}


I made the Mexican food from Starburst, Twizzlers, and frosting. For those of you that may be interested in trying this project, here is what I used to make everthing:

tortillas:yellow Starburst {I pressed the flattened Starburst into yellow sprinkles to add a little more texture}
cheese: orange Twizzler
lettuce: green Twizzler
tomatoes: red Twizzlers
plates/bowls: Starbursts and Twizzlers {depending on the color}
meat filling: canned chocolate frosting
guacamole: canned white frosting that I tinted green
sour cream: canned white frosting
red sauce/salsa base: red icing from a tube {red frosting is REALLY hard to make...it's so much easier to buy red cookie frosting in a tube. It was the perfect color and consistency for this project.}

You can soften Starburst and Twizzlers in the microwave for 10-12 seconds, one piece at a time, and then flatten them to cut with a cutter or small extra sharp scissors or mold them into whatever you need to create. How neat is that?!

So with just a few candy supplies and a lot of time, hehe, I was able to create eight different dishes, like Chips and Salsa...


Burritos...


Guacamole dip...


Taco "pizzas"...


Nachos...


Tacos...


Quesadillas...


And taquitos!


These were so much fun to make. If you have any questions about any of it, please let me know!

I'm linking up to Cupcake Tuesday @ Hoosier Homemade!




The Contest is Over! And the Winner is....


I want to thank everyone for their support the last few weeks during round one and two of the home improvement contest I entered a couple of months back. The contest is over now and the winner has been announced! The bad news {but I have mixed feelings about calling it bad news} is that Twice Remembered did not win the final round $1000 grand prize. But the good news is that the winners, Lorraine and her husband of Van Dyke Project are so deserving of this big win. You have to visit their blog to see how they, by themselves, converted this little old house {photo below} into a spectacular bungalow. It is an amazing transformation, inside and out! {Seriously, they built their own front door...how talented is that?!!} Please check it out when you have a moment!



The other part of the good news is that hubs and I did win $1000 worth of Home Depot gift certificates in the first round, and let me tell you, that will help us so much with our projects here. We will be using the certificates to purchase the beadboard and trim that we need for the rest of the kitchen, living room, and hallway, as well as the materials we need to create a fireplace for the dining room and to makeover our living room fireplace. Thanks again for your vote contribution! We truly appreciate it!

39 comments:

  1. You are amazing! That is so creative and I can see why it took 8 hours just to do the candy toppers. I'd love to hear how they went over with the teacher and class.

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  2. those are really cute and intricate toppers! I wouldn't have the patience!

    Sorry you didn't win, but a 100$ in home depot is still good.. I could use that!

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  3. Kim, seriously you should either open a bakery at your home, or work at a bakery, you are too talented, my sis.

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  4. Whoa! Those cupcakes are too cool!

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  5. Those are just the cutest little things you've embellished for them! You're so creative. And I'm sorry about the not winning, but I voted!
    Brenda

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  6. I LOVE LOVE LOVE!! I have no idea how you found the time---and how are your feet?:)

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  7. Wow, you're amazingly creative... and patient! And even if the kids just gobbled them up without a second thought, I'm sure the other moms and teachers were very impressed. Sorry about your non-win, but, gosh, don't you feel like such a winner anyway because you get to live in your gorgeous home every single day?! Have fun spending those HD cards!

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  8. My Betty Crocker of a mother-in-law told me the secret of frosting. She buys it from the bakery section at her local grocery store because she also says that the color red is really hard to make and not only does the bakery have beautiful colors, they taste good too! They will put it in a little tub for you and print out a scan sticker with about a 4.00 price tag on it. It's bigger than the tubes and you can frost a whole cake with it if you wanted! I use this tip all the time! Those cupcakes are adorable!

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  9. Can you see me with my arms crossed, tapping my foot? Finally I take the chalk and add to your 'Tah - Dah' List (known as To Dos for the rest of us):

    1. Believe that I (Kim) can do just about anything I set out to do

    2. Open a mail order bakery so Deborah can order from me

    3. Make my poem into a Children's book.

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  10. PS Martha Stewart is getting up there in age and will soon need a replacement. I nominate you!

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  11. Your small motor skills must be insane. In a good way. Those cupcakes are awesome!

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  12. Your cupcakes are ridiculous, in the best possible way! I cannot believe the detail and how realistic they look. even my hubby appreciated how cool they are. Beautiful job, Kim. You are a true artist.

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  13. You are so talented! You should have your own professional cupcake shop or bakery, your stuff is amazing.

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  14. Oh Kim, those cupcake toppers are amazing! You are amazing!

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  15. Those are the most amazing cupcakes! I looked at them again and again. Is there no end to your talent and creativity??!! I too voted for you. You really gave it a good try, but still, those HD gift certificates are pretty awesome. You and your husband will have fun in Home Depot!

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  16. You are so creative! I could spend all day looking at those cute, detailed toppers!!! Congrats on all the Home Depot $$$! I wish you could have won more.

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  17. WOW.. just wow. Those toppers look crazy good, detailed, and professional! You should look for some contest for 'best cupcake toppers.' (And I'm sorry to hear that you didn't win the final round for your remodeling project contest, but oh well, you at least got some gift certificate so that's good)

    I'm wondering though, how would having Starburst on top of a cupcake make it taste? Hmm... I'm kinda suspicious about the adding of chewy Starburst on top of a soft cupcake. Tell me how it tasted!

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  18. I can't wait to see what you do with the Home Depot money. I can't believe those toppers. You are sooooo talented. They look amazing. I know I wouldn't have the patience.

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  19. Thanks, everyone! I wish I had what it took to work in a bakery - the fast pace required would get me, I'm afraid!

    Kathy, the kids and teacher really loved them - the hardest part for them was picking out which "entree" they wanted, hehe!

    Natalie, that is SO good to know about the icing! I would MUCH prefer buying it - and that's a great price!

    Deborah, you are so sweet! I wish I really did have that kind of confidence! Ha! about Martha Stewart! Cute!

    Greenyourkitchen, I have no idea how the toppers tasted with the frosting. But then again, I was making them for 9 and 10 year olds who love both frosting AND candy...they didn't think twice about them and seemed to really like them. I think if were creating for adults, I'd learn to make fondant to mold. I've only ever molded store bought fondant and gumpaste, and it tastes absolutely horrific. But I've heard that it tastes much better when you make it yourself. I haven't been able to experiment with recipes yet, so the candy route was better for me this week. Have you ever seen or read Hello Cupcake? It's a great resource for themed cupcakes - it outlines which candies can be used for different colors and textures. Take for instance, these cool corn on the cob cupcakes with jelly beans on top!

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  20. I am in awe of your cupcakes! Seriously AWESOME!

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  21. Your cupcakes are uber adorable and you are equally insane for spending 8+ hours on them! Love it :).

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  22. Oh. My. Lands. I may actually COVET those cupcakes... but seriously?? 8 hours??? You are amazing.

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  23. These are too cute. I bet it takes a lot of patience and motor skills to pull this off. Your desserts are to beautiful to eat. Very delightful for the eyes. I love this!

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  24. Oh! Your cupcakes are seriously cute! The detail is really amazing. Even the textures of the foods look perfect.

    Sorry you didn't win the big Home Improvemaent prize, but I'm sure the HD gift certificates will come in handy. Congrats!

    Kimberly :-)

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  25. These cupcakes are truly incredible! I just cannot believe that you took 8 hours from a busy schedule and did this ~ Bravo! I can only imagine the appreciation from the teacher and the excitement from the class.

    So glad you won the $$$ from HD. I'm sure that will help a lot! You have BIG wins in the future.

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  26. Those cupcake toppers are FANTASTIC!

    Congratulations on your $1,000 HD win - I am so looking forward to seeing more progress on your projects.

    Best of everything to you!

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  27. I'm sorry you didn't win the grand prize but the gift certificates are wonderful! And your cupcakes are very cute. I can't say as I blame you on having the baking done.
    ~Michelle

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  28. Those cupcakes are so fabulous I am beyond words! And I'm usually a bit of a yapper. :-) LOVEEE them.

    Congratulations on winning some money towards your reno projects...better than nothing, right?! Plus I think you're a winner to everyone who reads your blog...and that's worth something. ;-)

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  29. I officially deem you "Mother of the Year." I cannot believe those cupcakes! Hands-down those are the most awesomely creative cupcakes I've ever seen.

    And, by the way, you totally should've won that contest. Bummer. Congrats of the Home Depot gift card though!

    Hope you have a very Merry Christmas!

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  30. Those cupcakes are AMAZING! You are so talented. Congrats on the HD gift cards.

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  31. Those are the most awesome cupcakes I have ever seen haha! Love them!

    All the best,
    Allison

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  32. My gosh you are amazing. I love those cupcakes. I would love to try them. Thanks for sharing. I cannot imagine how you did it. Your so creative.
    Thanks for sharing.
    Blessings,
    Sherry

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  33. Oh my goodness, these are simply amazing!! I just found your blog over at the Lettered Cottage and I love it!

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  34. Hey Kim ~ Sorry I haven't been around much in the last several months. I have just been getting back into "blogland" again.

    What cute cupcakes! I can imagine how delightful those were for the kids!! =)

    Sorry to hear you have been sick. Hopefully you are on the mend now! One of my boys just came down with some sort of flu yesterday eve so I am letting the boys sleep in this morning hoping they can get a LOT of rest and get over it quickly.

    Well take care!!

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  35. These are amazing! I look forward to seeing all of your posts...this is going to take time! Come visit GrannyMountain when you have the time!
    Joycee

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  36. Thanks, dears! I'm very happy that you enjoyed those cupcakes...I'm wishing now that I would have eaten one of them myself!

    {Jessica, so glad to see you in blogland again! You've been missed! I hope your little one gets to feeling better really soon and that whatever it is, it doesn't linger too long!}

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  37. Wow, those look amazing! You did a great job! Thanks for joining in the fun at Cupcake Tuesday!
    ~Liz

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