This is a Miss Rotten Frosting how-to.  Part two of three!  Today our gigantic cake has cooled and we are ready to FROST.

Note that all the frosting ingredients, except papier mache flour and quilt batting, can be found at the dollar store as well!   Cheap frosting!

Quilt batting, 2 yards

Needle and white thread

Old, cheap umbrella

Hula hoop (you should still have the smaller one intact)

Duct tape or clear plastic tape

Papier mache (add in a few days of drying time)

Hand stapler

Newspaper

Patience

Use your cupcake base as an umbrella holder.  Put the open, old, run-down and unusable umbrella in the center and bend down the spokes around the cupcake’s top.

Just plop it in.

Pretend the umbrella is a lonely spider, hugging the top of a drainpipe.  You’ll be forming the papier mache around the umbrella top.  I recommend you create a makeshift stand outside to place your umbrella on while you slather it with multiple layers of papier mache, letting it dry between layers, of course.

Use a hairdryer to help dry between layers.  Remember not to wrap the paper around the bottom of the umbrella.  You can let it hang down, but don’t wrap it.  Once the paper has dried, we’re going to remove the circus-tent looking top from the umbrella and throw the umbrella in the trash can.  American waste in the name of giant cupcakes.

Now, you’ll need to make this frosting top sturdy.  So take the hula hoop and reinforce.  Just duct tape it on.  Add a bunch of tape on the inside too.  Fold up any kooky edges and duct tape all along the edge.  No one will see it.  Just make it strong.

Now we frost.  The frosting gets a bit complicated.  Get an artistically inclined friend to help you with the batting arrangement.  It is a delicate endeavor– intuitive yet technically tricky. But don’t be afraid to try it yourself!  Batting is wonderfully fluffy fun stuff.  You may surprise yourself with the creation.

Take the batting and wrap the longest side around the bottom of your papier mache top.  Staple the batting to the inside.  Make sure you leave fluffy, poufy edges around the frosting.

Batting is see through, and you’ll eventually be slicing a chunk out of the cake and peering through the batting to see.  Once the batting is secured around the edges, you’ll have a weird looking circus top wearing a long white skirt.  Don’t fret.  Begin your frosting top by lifiting up the longest edge and stapling it to the top of your circus tent.  Use a sturdy needle and white thread to secure.

Move around the papier mache top, building your frosting with small stitches into the paper.  Go bottom to top.  Envision a delicious cupcake as you go.  Try to make it look like a swirl, swooped over by a knife.  Make big, bold crevasses with the batting.  It’s light and easily held in place with a few stitches.  You don’t need a pattern for this.  The method is very forgiving.  Continue wrapping your batting around until you run out of excess fabric.  Take a good look and then make a few more vanity stitches.

Place the piece on top of the cake.  Looking good.  It’s time to get your face on.

Cake cooked and frosting frosted?  Move on to part three, facetime!