St. Patrick’s Day Recipe Craft: Button Cupcakes
by Linette Gerlach
One of my favorite things to do on St. Patrick’s Day is checking out all the different buttons people wear. It’s so fun to read all the cute slogans and sayings people come up with. So I thought, why not make my own buttons and turn them into cupcake toppers? Fun and delicious—what a combo!
The best thing about making buttons is using your imagination to come up with clever designs and sayings. Half the fun is seeing how many different mottos and button ideas your family can think of. If you have some trouble coming up with your own slogans, we’ve got some suggestions for you below. You can use stamps, cookie cutters, and stickers to add texture and fun to your buttons—be as creative as you like!
St. Patrick’s Day Button Cupcakes
Materials:
- Cupcakes (any flavor)
- Your favorite butter cream icing (homemade or store bought)
- Green food coloring
- Construction paper, card stock, or scrapbook paper
- Toothpicks
- Craft glue
- Markers, crayons, or colored pencils
- Sprinkles (optional)
- St. Patrick’s Day stamps or stickers (optional)
Instructions:
1. Bake your cupcakes according to package or recipe directions. If you have green, gold, or St. Patrick’s Day cupcake wrappers, use ’em! They will work perfectly for this project
2. While your cupcakes are baking, cut some circles from your scrapbook paper or cardstock. For each button you plan to make, cut:
3. If you have some small St. Patrick’s Day stamps, you can use them to stamp patterns or sayings onto the smallest 1-inch circle. You can also write or draw your own sayings or pictures on the center of the small circle. Can’t think of any St. Patrick’s Day mottos? Try these:
4. Assemble your button by laying a toothpick on one of the 2” circles, about halfway up, so half the toothpick is sticking out of the bottom of the circle. Then glue the other 2” circle directly on top of the bottom circle and the toothpick to make a toothpick sandwich. Make sure you have glue on the toothpick so all three pieces will stick together
5. Glue your medium circle (or shamrock shape) on top of your large circle
6. Glue your smallest circle on top of the medium circle to create a layered look. Use the glue sparingly (small dots), or it will come out from between the circles and make a mess
7. The solid color 2” circle on the bottom will make the back of your button. You can double everything and make your button the same on the front and the back if you don’t want a plain back. Let the whole thing lay flat until it’s dry
8. While your buttons are drying make and color your icing with green food color
9. Add the icing to a decorator bag with a star tip
10. Once your cupcakes are ready, decorate them with the star tip in a circular motion from the outside to the center. If you want, you can add a few green sprinkles, or colored sugar to the top, for a little extra shimmer
11. When your buttons are totally dry, insert the toothpick end of your St. Patrick’s Day buttons into the top of the cupcake, through the frosting
12. Serve! These are perfect for a school party or just enjoy them with your family
AmazingMoms Tip
If you make these for a St. Patrick’s Day Party, make matching buttons without the toothpicks for your party guests to wear. Just put a little double sided tape on the back so they’ll stick to clothing.
