One of my favorite things to do on St. Patrick's Day is checking out all the different buttons people wear.So I thought, why not make my own buttons and turn them into cupcake toppers? Fun and delicious—what a perfect combo for a St. Paddy's Day recipe! The best thing about making buttons is using your imagination to come up with clever designs and sayings. Be as creative as you like!

Materials

• cupcakes (any flavor)
• your favorite butter cream icing (homemade or store bought)
• green food coloring
• construction paper, card stock, or scrapbook paper
• toothpicks

• craft glue
• markers, crayons, or colored pencils
• sprinkles
• St. Patrick's Day stamps or stickers (optional)

Instructions

1. Bake your cupcakes according to package or recipe directions. If you have green, gold, or St. Patrick's Day cupcake wrappers, use 'em! They will work perfectly for this project.

2. While your cupcakes are baking, cut some circles from your scrapbook paper or cardstock. For each button you plan to make, cut:

   • 2 larger circles, each about 2" in diameter
   • 1 medium size circle, about 1 1/2" diameter (If you want to get fancy, use a shamrock cookie cutter to make a shamrock shape instead of a circle like pictured.)
   • 1 small circle, around an inch in diameter

3. If you have some small St. Patrick's Day stamps, you can use them to stamp patterns or sayings onto the smallest 1-inch circle. You can also write or draw your own sayings or pictures on the center of the small circle. Can't think of any St. Patrick's Day mottos? Try these:

   • Happy St. Paddy's Day!
   • Kiss Me! I'm Irish!
   • I've Got the Luck of the Irish
   • St. Paddy's Day is Magically Delicious
   • I'm a Lucky Leprechaun

4. 

   Assemble your button by laying a toothpick on one of the 2-inch circles, about halfway up, so half the toothpick is sticking out of the bottom of the circle. Then glue the other 2-inch circle directly on top of the bottom circle and the toothpick to make a toothpick sandwich. Make sure you have glue on the toothpick so all three pieces will stick together.

5. Glue your medium circle (or shamrock shape) on top of your large circle.

6. Glue your smallest circle on top of the medium circle to create a layered look. Use the glue sparingly (small dots), or it will come out from between the circles and make a mess.

7. 

   The solid color 2 circle on the bottom will make the back of your button. You can double everything and make your button the same on the front and the back if you don't want a plain back. Let the whole thing lay flat until it's dry.

8. While your buttons are drying make and color your icing with green food color.

9. Add the icing to a decorator bag with a star tip.

10. 

    Once your cupcakes are ready, decorate them with the star tip in a circular motion from the outside to the center. If you want, you can add a few green sprinkles, or colored sugar to the top, for a little extra shimmer.

11. 

    When your buttons are totally dry, insert the toothpick end of your St. Patrick's Day buttons into the top of the cupcake, through the frosting.

12. Serve! These are perfect for a school party or just enjoy them with your family.

Tips

• If you make these for a St. Patrick's Day Party, make matching buttons without the toothpicks for your party guests to wear. Just put a little double sided tape on the back so they'll stick to clothing.