How to Make a Muffin Cradle

To give your muffin a little flair, put together a few muffin cradles.

A muffin cradle is a container that will hold the muffin, usually in order to cover the muffin liner or to match the cupcake to the theme or décor of a party. Making a muffin cradle only takes a few minutes, but if you plan on making more than a dozen or so, be prepared to spend an afternoon putting them together. Also, ensure that any paints, glitters or other decorations you select for the muffin cradle are non-toxic, as they may touch the muffins themselves. Decorations designed for food use are probably your best bet if you are unsure.

Things You'll Need

• Tag paper
• Scissors
• Glitter
• Paint
• 1/8-inch paint brush
• 1/4-inch paint brush
• 1-inch paint brush
• Glue
• 1/2-inch satin ribbon
• Stencils

Instructions

1. Flatten a muffin liner between heavy books, cutting boards or any other objects that will make the liner flat. On one piece of paper, trace the outline of the muffin liner to create a template. Measure the distance from one edge of the circle to the other.

2. Using a non-flattened muffin liner, measure the distance from one edge of the bottom of the liner to the other. Add 1/2 inch to this distance and trace a circle matching this measurement on a piece of paper to make a template for the bottom of the muffin cradle.

3. Using the template for the bottom of the muffin cradle, cut out as many bottoms as you will need. You may want to cut a few extras, just in case one rips or you make more muffins than expected.

4. Using the distance measured from one edge of the flattened muffin liner to the other, cut five strips of paper. Each strip of paper should be about 1 inch wide for a standard liner.

5. Decorate one to side of each of the strips in whatever pattern or color you desire. You can use an array of decorations to do this. But leave aside any three-dimensional (3-D) decorations, as they may get damaged in assembly.

6. Lay five strips in the following pattern for each cradle: one horizontal, two in a wide vertical “X” shape and two in a narrow vertical “X” shape. Line the bottom of the muffin cradle base with glue and place the base on top of these. Make sure all the strips are touching some part of the cradle base and let dry.

7. Fold up the edges of the muffin cradle strips all the way around. Place the cooked and cooled muffin inside the cradle and attach any 3-D decorations desired.

Tips & Warnings

• If you feel too much of the muffin is visible, take another decorated strip and make it into a loop using the glue. Once dry, slide this loop around the muffin inside the cradle to disguise the gaps in the cradle. If using a larger size liner or creating extra-large muffin tops, add about 1 inch to the design of your muffin cradle. This design will work for standard muffins and larger muffins will need more coverage.

References

• The Complete Photo Guide to Paper Crafts: Muffin Cradle.