Cupcake Bites

Yorkie cupcake trinket box

Um, okay.

All together now: 1, 2, 3 . . . random! What on earth is a Yorkshire Terrier doing sitting on top of resin cupcake trinket box ($10)? Aside from helping the box reach its 5" height, I mean.

I see that she's donning a little red bow between her ears, so unless that's what she always wears on Casual Friday, I'm guessing she's attending some kind of celebration. That would explain the confetti sprinkles surrounding her.

Too bad her self-centered decision to sit at the top of the cupcake was so poorly thought out. Depending on what kind of party it is, guests might mistake her for a candle and reach for a lighter. Not only that, but how is she supposed to get down from there without ruining the cupcake? She's already ruined the even distribution of sprinkles.

Children's cupcake birthday game

Other than an adult version of "Pin the Tail on the Donkey" played at a bridal shower (I'm sure you can imagine what it was we were, ahem, pinning on the poster-size drawing of the groom), I don't have any equine-related party game experience.

And since we all want our children to grow up with more than we had, isn't it nice to see a new take on the classic kids' game? With Pin the Candle on the Cupcake ($20) from Celebrate Express, our little girls will become young women who were blindfolded, spun around, and laughed at as they stumbled toward a 26.5" cloth hanging on the wall and failed to stick one of the 14 included plush candles onto a cupcake. How character-building!

Also available in blue.

Cupcake pattern T-shirt

Though variety is said to be the spice of life, sometimes having too many choices can be overwhelming. My husband feels like this when confronted with restaurant menus that contain too many items; with so much to choose from, he finds himself unable to make a decision.

If only ordering food was as simple as ordering this cupcake pattern tee from the cute institute! Rather than ask customers to choose a single cupcake, they've eliminated the decision-making process completely and given us 25 cupcakes in 19 different flavors neatly arranged and printed on a variety of T-shirt styles for men, women, and children.

Multicolor cupcake bracelet for children

When I was a kid, our elementary-school fashion sense was largely determined by the number and variety of bracelets covering our wrists and forearms. We made friendship bracelets, bought those crazy slap-on bracelets, and came up with different ways to intertwine the solid black rubber bracelets with clear glittery ones.

Long gone are those innocent days of '80s jewelry.

Since today's 7- and 8-year-olds are flashing Tiffany bracelets while talking on their cell phones, the Children's Cupcake Multicolor Bracelet ($16.99) from Target must be aimed at younger kids. Pastel cupcakes sprinkled with a trio of sparkling rhinestones and strung together on a silver bracelet could probably still thrill a 6-year-old. A 6.5-year-old, on the other hand, wouldn't tolerate it for a second.

Harajuku Lovers cupcake patch keychain

After seeing the Harajuku Lovers cupcake watch, casual cupcake fans probably immediately wrote off Gwen Stefani's fashion line as intolerably cute. I don't blame them; the highly decorated plastic band was overkill even for me (and I run this site!).

But if they had hung in there, they would've seen that not everything in the Harajuku Lovers cupcake series crosses that thin line between cute and puke. Look at this cupcake patch keychain, for example. The 3" patch, adorned with embroidered sprinkles and the words "super kawaii" (super cute), slides along a lobster-claw chain attached to a three-attachment metal ring. Tastefully cute, I'd say.

On sale for $4.99 from ShopKawaii.com.

Cupcake canvas ready for hanging

Sherri Blum Designs offers a variety of canvas reproductions of original artwork designed for nurseries and children's rooms. My favorite, of course, is this 12" x 12" x 1.5" cupcake canvas ($70). Individually created on top-quality canvas to ensure "saturated color and excellent detail," the cupcake art is signed by Sherri Blum herself and equipped with a sawtooth hanger for instant out-of-the-box positioning on the wall.

Something like this would look best in a group, if you ask me, and since a portion of each sale goes to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, there's simply no reason to buy just one.

Pink cupcake deodorant stick

If you've ever felt guilty about not pampering your armpits, then Spa Therapy Works has something that should let you sleep soundly at night.

The company's 2-ounce stick of Pink Cupcake deodorant ($6) is free of paraben, alcohol, and aluminum but full of the scent of "whipped sugary pink buttercream frosting on top of a fresh-from-the-oven vanilla cupcake." No more tossing and turning in bed; you'll be spoiling your pits rotten with a vegan product that "combats and kills odor-causing bacteria" without stifling their naturally sweaty personalities.

Faux cupcake place card holder

When my husband and I were planning our wedding a few years ago, we briefly looked into setting out place card holders that doubled as favors. We eventually scrapped the idea and let our guests choose from a table of favors (the night was such a blur that I can't remember if there were two or three choices) and sit wherever they wanted.

It worked out fine as far as I know, but the next time we plan some sort of big event, place card holders will be a requirement. That way, I'll have an excuse to buy a case of these faux mini cupcake card holders handmade by Jenni B Originals, the same woman responsible for those beautiful very cherry faux cupcakes.

Each place card holder is sprinkled with rhinestones and sells for $5.

Little Tikes cupcake set interacts with kitchen

Who knew that cupcakes weren't immune to the age-old battle between beauty and brains? You've already seen the poster child for the former, those cute Sorting Shapes Cupcakes by Learning Resources, so now it's time to take a look at the representative of the latter.

The Little Tikes Cook 'N Learn Cupcake Set ($10) is designed for use with the uber-smart Cook 'N Learn Kitchen ($100) but can certainly be enjoyed without it. The RFID tag embedded into each cupcake, which enables the interactive kitchen to recognize it and teach children about sorting and shapes, is rendered utterly useless without the kitchen, but why expose kids to Big Brother so early, anyway? They'll know soon enough that a traffic cam, security camera, or some other eye in the sky is watching and recording every move they make outside, so why bring the freaky "I know what you're doing" technology into their playrooms?

Cupcake and crossbones sheer V-neck

Since only a cupcake could coax me into wearing a skull-and-crossbones design, I don't mind seeing another take on an idea that I attribute (mistakenly or not) to Johnny Cupcakes.

Assuming the ominous-looking cupcake shown at right is an original creation by TheCandiedThread, who offers the artwork on a fitted sheer V-neck ($28) and other styles, I'll say that the colored-pencil look, shading, and skull cherry are all really working for me.

Glass cupcake earrings

Proof that Herry Monster from Sesame Street was on to something with his impromptu "Two Heads Are Better Than One" song from way back when are these amazing lampwork cupcake earrings handmade by glass artist Lezlie Belanger and assembled and sold by RockerJewlz. Not that Herry has ever done anything to make me doubt him, of course, but seeing these Pink Lemonade Cupcake Earrings ($35) certainly restores my faith in the power of teamwork. Each 0.55" glass bead is individually made by Belanger and then sent to Rocker, who flanks the cupcake with Swarovski crystals and secures it to a sterling silver hook earring.

Brought to you by the letters C-O-O-P-E-R-A-T-I-O-N. (I know the letter "O" is in there three times, but I can't have my little nieces thinking "coperatin" is a word.)

Dog Bone Art pirate cupcake stickers

I'm still partial to the Kawaiidoscope Cupcake characters myself, but those with a lower tolerance of the quintessentially cute may prefer Dog Bone Art's crew of kooky cupcakes. They look too much like bucket-headed robots wearing turbans for my tastes, but I can still appreciate the individuality of the pirate cupcake. I admire that unlike his vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and lemon siblings, he casts his eye (and I do mean that singularly) in the opposite direction of everyone else. He's obviously up to something.

Despite what's printed on the label, these "high quality laser color" cupcake stickers are available in packs of 12 for $4.25.