Cupcake Paper Garland

I have way too many cupcake wrappers in my "pantry" (cubby).  If there were a top five list of things people buy too much of, thinking they probably don't have it at home, mine would go as follows:

Butter.  If I were to die tomorrow, people would find this terribly embarrassing butter stash of mine, and probably think I had some sort of weird butter fetish.  Sounds like a cookie escapade is in order...a girl's gotta have some dignity.
Scissors.  Upon gutting my house during a freak cleaning extravaganza, I have discovered I am the proud owner of FIVE pair.
Lighters.  Which, I believe, has been the main culprit for my candle obsession.  Or perhaps it's the other way around - it's a "chicken or the egg" type situation.
Christmas Lights.  They're good for everything, and I want to put them to good use...but I'm beginning to look like an eccentric undergraduate student with all this bling.
 Cupcake Wrappers.  I mean, when you go on an impulsive cupcake adventure, you always want to "make sure" you've got enough for your endeavors, right?  This gets to be a problem...

So I did a little research in an effort to figure out how I could make good use of these bad boys, and upon stumbling across two wonderful blogs by Creature Comforts  and Pam Garrison, I was inspired.

I found these tiny paper doilies in Hobby Lobby's cake section.

Cut some slits in some for a little added texture.

I love how coral and robin's egg blue look together.

Cut down some brown coffee filters or pattern paper for an antique touch.

How-To:

Mi Madre in the background :)

Collect any color of cupcake wrappers you like.  As I try to do things the Cheap-o way, I grabbed some shinies and some lacies, but used white ones for the coral colored pieces.  Get yourself some paint.  It goes such a long way.  I can't tell you how many times I've busted them out in a pinch.  Poke holes in the middle of the wrappers.  I found a kebab stick to work just fine for me!


A little watercolor 101.  I hate watercolors.  I'm not a big fan of oil paint either.  I am, however, madly in love with acrylic paint.  Why?  It's water based and can be thinned out with exactly that. Not to mention, I'm a total klutz, and if you give me something to ruin my clothes/furniture/life with, I will.  Get yourself a color wheel.  Learn it, memorize it.  You will find you need only 6 paint colors to get WHATEVER color you want.
They are: Red, Blue, Yellow, White, Black, Brown.

If you're in Austin, go to Jerry's Artarama for some killer deals on paint.

Red + Yellow = Orange
Red + Blue = Purple
Yellow + Blue = Green
All together = Brown

White + Anything will Lighten
Black + Anything will Darken

For a coral color, I mixed :
(1/4)Red+(2/4)Yellow+(1/4)White
(For this effect, use lots of water to dilute the color)

Either bake or microwave the wrappers for quick drying and an aged finish, but please...don't put tin foil in the microwave. 

String 'em up on some twine, tying some knots between the clusters for that "piecey" appearance.

Congratulations.  You have made yourself that much more cupcake wrapper light.  Enjoy!  And take care to brag about how you just made something for under $3 (or free if you hoard, of course) that looks like you bought it from Whole Earth Provisions for whatever silly amount they're asking for this Christmas season!  Happy Crafting!