Gardening Cupcakes and Gardeners Hand Scrub

A couple of weeks ago, a dear friend called my mom and asked her if we'd make a cake for a birthday party that 2 of her friends shared.

Ummm ok!

We pretty much had free reign over the project, except the flavours of the cake and the theme.

Gardening.

If you know me at all, you'll know that I have killer plant instincts.

Seriously. I kill plants.

But fake chocolate plants, I can live with.

My mom made the chocolate zucchini cupcakes, chocolate cream cheese frosting, carrot cake and the whipped cream filling for the carrot cake cupcakes. Oh and the orange cream cheese frosting.

Basically, my mom made it all. I just got to play and decorate!

A nice change of pace and less dishes.

I melted some green chocolate melting candies. 

Piped it on to a parchment lined cookie sheet to look like sprouts and carrot tops.

Let sit to harden.

I piped the chocolate cream cheese frosting and used some crushed Oreo crumbs to fill in the edges.

I got some green candy leaves from Winners of all places and topped the cupcakes with them and the chocolates sprouts.

SO cute!

The carrot cupcakes are topped with crushed lemon poppy seed cookies and a dollop of orange tinted cream cheese icing.

I let that set up in the fridge a bit before sticking the chocolate carrot topper on.

I made garden stakes with scrapbook paper, vellum and some brads and some plastic garden stakes from the Dollarama.

Here's the delivered cupcakes over at CoCo's house.

This woman KNOWS how to do a dinner party.

Let me tell you!

Each setting had fresh flowers, the two guests of honor had themed gift baskets.

I want a birthday party from CoCo!

As a little bonus for the birthday ladies, I made some gardeners hand scrub.

Easy peasy, people.

Fill a mason jar 3/4 full with sugar.

Dump it out into a mixing bowl.

Add a big spoonful of coconut oil, and a generous squeeze of hand soap or dish soap.

Mix it all up until its nice and pasty.

You don't have to, but I added a splash of lemon extract.

I used left over birthday tags and tied it around the jar.

Happy gardening all.

I'll be in the chocolate patch if you need me.