It can seem easy to decorate your cupcakes, but you have to think about so many things. Do you want them plain, with sprinkles, fancy or casual, and what are you using them for? Are they for a Wedding or for a kid’s birthday party? You can’t just take frosting and add some random color blobs on them. Be creative and make your cupcakes stand out from the rest.

Here are a few ideas to help you pick the perfect design and theme for your cupcakes.

Pick a Theme

This should be the first thing you do before decorating. Making Christmas cupcakes? Consider making them with Christmas designs and in Christmas colors.  Halloween cupcakes are another great option. Add that scary look with a mad pumpkin face or a witch face. Begin thinking of your them in order to have an idea what colors you are going to be using.

Gather Your Tools

You don’t see a soldier going into battle without his weapons, and you don’t see a writer sitting down to write a book without pen and paper. The same goes for decorating cupcakes. A tip to keep in mind on how to decorate a cupcake is to make sure you have al lfo your tools .This includes things such as the piping, piping bags, frosting, sprinkles, anything and everything you are going to use for the toppings. Before you begin decorating your cupcakes, be sure to practice how to use the bags so you don’t end up making a huge mess of the frosting all over your cupcakes. Learn about the many different piping tips to help you create that special and unique design that is going to help your cupcakes stand out from the crowd.

Be Creative

This is going to be the most important thing to do when learning how to decorate a cupcake. Don’t be boring. Think outside the box. Take your imagination to new levels and make your cupcakes as subtle or wild as you want. Designing cupcakes for a kid’s birthday? Design a crazy animal design or a clown’s face. Break out the candies that can be used for cake decorating and put them to use on your cupcakes. Spice up your cupcakes as much as you can or keep it plain and simple. The choice is yours on what you want to do.

Determine Your Choices

Do you plan on only using frosting and no candies or decorations? Are there certain candies that you are going to have to stock up on? Are you limited to only doing certain things on the cupcakes? Find out what your choices are as far as decorations go by visiting your local supermarket and candy store to determine what everything will cost you. Stock up on your favorite decorations to make your cupcakes oh so irresistible.

Do What You’re Familiar With

If you aren’t good at handling piping bags and working with them, stay away from designs and ideas that are going to require a great deal of skills. Fondant is a great choice for those who have a tendency to be a little clumsy. Cadies can be sprinkled on top as well to make it look just as good.

No matter what your cupcakes are for, there are literally hundreds of ideas out there. Check the Internet for more ideas as these are just a small handful. Learning how to decorate a cupcake and what to decorate them with can be a breeze if you have the right tools and resources.

Sonya Kissi is a registered pharmacist and a passionate baker/owner of KissiCakes-n-Sweets, LLC a privately owned bakery in Columbus, OH that specializes in gourmet cupcakes and special treats.