Happy Fourth of July, everybody! Today we brought the whole family over to the house for a classic barbecue and cupcake extravaganza! I made the red velvet (of course!) cupcakes last night and decorated them this morning- a little light cream cheese frosting was great for the hot weather. Normally, cream cheese frostings are very heavy and dense, sometimes almost sticky, but today I added quite a bit of whipping cream into the mixture in order to make it fluffy and airy.

I was definitely running late this week, and seriously didn't buy anything for the cupcakes or the button art until last night. It was super affordable, quick and easy. The cupcakes were delicious and simple, and the button art was an adorable and renewable craft that can actually be hung up year after year!

For the cupcakes:

I used one box of Duncan Hines Red Velvet cake, however, I added a dollop of sour cream because it always makes a cake extra moist. For the frosting I used a "light" cream cheese frosting recipe from Divas Can Cook, which turned out perfectly light- necessary for a hot day! Then I mixed in some color paste, got (somewhat) creative with the decorations, and they were the ultimate Fourth of July cupcakes. For the cute stars I just used a pre-made box of fondant from the store, cut out stars with a small cookie cutter, and then sprayed on some silver shimmer dust; super cheap and available basically anywhere that has sprinkles!