cupcake box how-to

remember the Valentine mini cheesecake box? well, here's how I did it.

you'll need:
-2 small shirt box tops (mine were roughly 8x11x1) and 1 bottom of the same size box
-clear Mylar sheet (I had some presentation covers in the office that were just collecting dust)
-extra cardboard the same thickness as your shirt box (old shirt box or a cereal box works well, just keep in mind you'll see it)
-x-acto blade
-glue
-straight edge
-cutting mat
-scissors
-round things to trace around

take a circle shaped item slightly larger than your cupcakes and trace around it on some junk mail postcard or paper. take a smaller sized circular object and trace it on either side of the bigger circle. cut out the shape to use as a template.

take the bottom and fold it flat with the inside facing up.

trace around your template as many times as you need holes for your cupcakes, spaced evenly. putting the template on an angle helps save space.

cut out the holes traced.

take a top and fold flat inside facing up like before.

place a small round object (a wine cork or coin work well) in the corners and trace around them.

connect with straight lines.

cut out hole and save for later.

cut 2 strips from the saved top piece twice the depth of the box, and just a little shorter than the width of the box. cut 2 more from the extra cardboard the same as the first two, but make them just a little shorter than the width of the box. angle and round two of the ends or the 2 shorter strips and one longer one. make a score line lengthwise down the other long strip to make your box hinge. if you forget and angle the hinge strip it's okay, it's just not necessary to do so.

cut the Mylar to a little bit smaller than your box and glue to the inside of the top of the box.

glue the strips to the insides of the sides of the top of the box. (this reads weird, but I dunno how else to say it!)

glue the scored strip to one of the sides of the box bottom, and then to the box top to make the hinge.

glue the corners closed to the holder portion of the box so it doesn't collapse, and place inside the bottom of the box.

shut the box and tuck the flaps inside the box if they fit, or leave them to the outside.

that's it! decorate it with paint or stickers or whatever and fill with cupcakes, or onesies, and tie a ribbon around it.

Valentine stuff

I found an awesome dessert to try for Valentines day :) Dulce de Leche mini cheesecakes! it's really good. it's pretty easy, too. I substituted Nestle's La Lechera Dulce de Leche that I found on the Mexican isle at the store instead of making my own from sweetened condensed milk like the recipe says to do.

I baked mine in silicone baking cups instead of in a muffin tin because I thought it'd be easier... but I ended up having to cook them for a LOT longer than the recipe said to, so next time I'll put them in something metal. lesson learned!

I made some cupcake boxes at the last minute from some small shirt boxes I got from the Dollar Tree and some stuff I already had. it was a pack of 3 for $1 and I made 2 boxes that held 6 mini cheesecakes each!

while I was at the Dollar Tree I couldn't help but look around for other stuff because it just seems silly to not browse! I found a hand held fan that was white with striped blades and a red blinking light. looked very 4th of July, but Leo has always loved fans. it's the first thing he looks for in a room. not sure why. anyway, it wasn't very Valentine-y, so I took the blades off (they had a stiff plastic coating on the front side of the foam that hurt while it was spinning :\) and replaced them with plain red craft foam. I added some Hoops and Yoyo stickers to the white handle part and called it done. I think it came out pretty cute :)

I also found some real photo picture books. I never liked this type of books, but Leo really seems to enjoy them more than cartoon lookin' books.

I found a cup at Wal-Mart for a buck that's a frog hugging a heart that I had to get. I was gonna fill it with candy, but the opening is small so I might just leave it empty and keep the candy separate.

I made Matt something that I might show some other day - it's up in the air weather or not I'll give it to him on the 14th.

happy valentines day!