Gymnasts

• Build a pyramid of cupcakes to simulate a gymnasts' tower. Calculate the number of frosted cupcakes needed for the event and work backward to determine the appropriate number for the base triangle or rectangle. Secure the next row over the spaces between the base row cupcakes with toothpicks. Repeat with each additional row until the cupcakes are all in place. Sprinkle the finished tower with colored sugar or candy decorations. Use a single row base for a smaller group. For example, build a four-sided pyramid with a 3-by-3 cupcake base, a 2-by-2 cupcake second tier, and a single cupcake on top for a total of 14 cupcakes. A single row of three cupcakes topped by a row of two, then one serves six cupcakes total.
  
  

Animal Kingdom

• Use an assortment of colored frostings and candies to decorate each cupcake as an animal face. Jelly beans, licorice drops and gumdrops work well for eyes and noses. Pull-apart string candy or narrow lines of frosting provide whiskers and jowl lines. Form manes and fur with a grass tip on the frosting bag. Display the finished animals in a circle for a cupcake carousel.
  
  

Big League

• Take advantage of the rounded top of the cupcakes to decorate them as sports balls. Mix up the sports for fun or create lineups for a particular sport. While baseball, basketball, soccer, tennis, bowling and golf balls fit naturally on the circular top, others require some imagination. Frost a cupcake in grass green, then draw a football across the top. Draw a badminton shuttlecock for that sport. Make the entire top of the cupcake a hockey puck by frosting in a dark color.
  
  

Daisy Chain

• Frost the cupcakes in green. Draw white petals radiating from the center to the edge. Don't worry about making them identical. Daisies display variation in nature. Add a yellow circle in the center where the petals meet, using frosting or a yellow disc candy such as butterscotch. Arrange the cupcakes on a green tablecloth for an edible garden. Try chrysanthemums or pansies for a more ambitious project.
  
  

Corn-on-the-Cupcake

• Serve another kind of corn on the cob at your next barbecue. Arrange candy corn in rows to cover the top of the frosted cupcakes. Insert the point of the kernel into the frosting to achieve the appearance of a corn cob. Add a thread or two of "corn silk" with a fine piping tip on the frosting tube.