Oh, To Be A Kid Again!

Oh hey, just hangin' with my friend Mickey, no biggie.  Family trip to Disneyland in 1985, one of my favorite childhood memories.  My parents were crazy kind enough to drive from Wisconsin to California (and back!).  What an adventure!

Last week I had the honor of making cupcakes for two little girl's birthdays.  One had a Mickey and Minnie theme, the other was a Dorothy's Ruby Red Slipper theme. 

It got me thinking about the days of a cartoon character being the biggest star you could dream of meeting.  I was lucky enough to meet Mickey and many other characters at Disneyland.  Oh to be young, naive, and thinking this is the ONE and ONLY Mickey in the whole world!

I also remember watching The Wizard Of Oz for the first time.  It was probably around the same time of meeting Mickey.  I remember it being on TV every year.  It was magical each and every time.  Oh to be young, naive, and thinking you had to just click your heels to return everything back to normal. 

I'm fairly new to decorating cupcakes with any sort of theme or characters.  I just knew I wanted to create the magic I remember as a kid.  First up were Mickey and Minnie.

 

 

They each had a set of chocolate ears as the main topper.  For Mickey, I did smooth red frosting to look like Mickey's pants, complete with yellow buttons (sixlet candies!).  Minnie's frosting was pink and swirled to look more like a dress, complete with candy white polka dots and even a pink shimmering candy bow.

 

Next I had to make Dorothy's Ruby Red Slipper theme come to life. 

 



On half of the cupcakes I covered the frosting in red sugar and then topped them with a shoe made of candy clay.  I was lucky to find a small shoe cookie cutter, it made mass producing shoes much easier.  To make them sparkle I added a little pearl dust and disco dust.  The other half of the cupcakes had a sparkly Emerald City made from melted green Candy Melts,  a candy clay yellow brick road, and words written with melted white Candy Melts.  Together the cupcakes declared, "There Is No Place Like Home". 

All of these cupcakes were so much fun to make.  I was having so much fun that I really didn't take a lot of pictures.  I really just was so excited to get them delivered to each of the birthday girls. 

The night I was finishing up the Ruby Red Slipper cupcakes, I had myself a bit of an "Aha! Moment".  I had just finished a 12 hour shift at my "real" job and was up until 2 AM decorating cupcakes.  I should have been exhausted but I wasn't.  I was so in my zone, doing what I love that the thought of being tired never crossed my mind.  I really love making cupcakes!

Though the thought of one day owning my own cupcake shop would be amazing, I think I will enjoy the here and now.  Staying up late at night working in my own kitchen to bring smiles and sugar to my friends and family.  Working in small batches to add a personal touch to each and every one, that sounds perfect to me, magical even!  I feel absolutely blessed to be where I am and doing what I do.