Home made birthday goodies!

I am re-posting this for a friend who is making Elmo cupcakes this week. Both of our little girls are having birthdays, so I am looking at things we did in the last 2 years for inspiration. If you are doing Elmo cupcakes, some things you will need:

We used orange cake mix. Use whatever you have. Only fill the cups 1/2 high prior to baking.
You will need LOTS of red dye for your icing otherwise it will look pink.
You will need white icing for the eyes. Just put it in a plastic bag and cut the tip and squeeze that way.
You will need jelly beans - ORANGE - for  Elmo's nose.
You will need black deco icing for the smile.
The kids will LOVE these. I always wanted to do Cookie Monster cupcakes for my son, but he was sick that year and ever since he has been into Thomas the Train. Have fun! :)

Here was her cake from last year: