When I was a little girl, my mom would set wonderful tables for my birthday parties. I remember walking into the kitchen and being so enchanted by the beautiful scene she had created: streamers and balloons were hung from the ceiling, treat bags were arranged and marked with my guests’ names, and each place was set with tableware to match the theme I had chosen. And, of course, there were always little paper soufflé cups (Usually filled with candy, though, not nuts!) nestled in next to each plate.

I have been remembering those cute little soufflé cups lately and I realized that they have become almost nonexistent on today’s party tables–which is a shame, because they can be such a pretty (and tasty!) addition to your gorgeous bridal or baby shower table!

Any small cup—such as small glass votive holders—can serve as a cup for nuts, but the kind I always remember my mom using were these little paper soufflé cups, which used to be widely available in many colors and designs. These days, however, “designer” soufflé cups are few and far-between…luckily, the plain white cups are still fairly easy to find, and they are oh-so-easy to decorate! (Your best bet is a craft store like Michael’s or Hobby Lobby—check in the candy/cake decorating section).

Since it’s Spring and Easter’s right around the corner, today I’m going to share with you a very simple way to dress up these wee cups into darling candy/nut/mint baskets. They are adorable, easy to assemble, and will make a perfect addition to the table at your next bridal or baby shower…or even at a lucky little girl’s birthday party!

Nut & Candy Cups

Materials:

2½” paper soufflé cups

Pipe cleaners, cut into 8” sections

Crepe paper streamers

Craft glue (and/or a hot glue gun)

Ribbon

Paper shreds (can be made out of extra crepe paper streamers)

Candy, nuts, etc. to fill your darling baskets!

To begin, spread a line of glue around the outside (middle) of one soufflé cup. Attach one end of your streamer to the cup, and begin scrunching it up into a ruffle and pressing it into the glue as you work around the cup. (If you’re using hot glue, you’ll want to apply just a bit of glue at a time and work your way around the cup, applying glue and immediately attaching the paper as you go.)

When the outside of your cup is covered, it’s time to attach the pipe cleaner handle. If you’d like, you can first wrap your pipe cleaner in ribbon or twist two colors of pipe cleaner together to add some extra decoration before you attach the handle to the cup. When your handle is prepared, simply glue one end of the pipe cleaner down inside your cup (hot glue works best for this, but if you choose to use craft glue you’ll need to clip the handle to the cup for a bit until the glue sets), bend the pipe cleaner gently, and attach the other end to the opposite (in)side of the cup, holding it gently until the glue dries. 

To give your basket a clean look, you can now cinch the “waist” of your cup with a length of ribbon, tulle, fabric, or a strip of decorative paper. Tie or glue your strip securely around the middle of the cup, along the line of glue you applied the crepe paper with.

Your cup is ready to use at this point, but you can also add any small embellishments you’d like in order to give them each some individual character. Small flowers, bows, beads or jewels make perfect decorations for these tiny baskets. 

When you’re ready to fill your baskets, simply line them with some shredded paper (or even a cupcake paper) and fill them up with your favorite treats!

Enjoy!

Posted by Shannon, a Dot-arilla Blogger