This is a great book with lots of cute and fun ideas. Most of the cupcakes can be made with very little or no cake decorating experience. I am making the "spaghetti" for a cake walk and am sure it will be a great hit!
Most of the candy used is easy to come by and you can use cake mixes and canned frosting so you don't even have to be a good baker! If you have kids this would give you some fun projects to work on together.

This is an excellent cookbook. Great pictures. Great descriptions.
Makes you want to start cooking right away.

Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can MakeThis book is the best! I can't wait to start baking and decorating! My grand-kids and friends are putting in their 'orders'! Directions are easy and supplies will be easy to find. You can even use cake mixes and canned icing if you don't want start from scratch. The authors give a few suggestions for enhancing the flavor and texture of cakes prepared with cake mixes. What more can you ask for!

One of the most creative books I've seen in a long time. I enjoy just looking at it. My kids are grown and I may not make any of these treats for some time, but the ideas alone are worth the price of the book. I highly recommend it to mom's of young kids who have to do those classroom parties or birthdays. It's amazing!!!!

I have NO cake decorating skills whatsoever and I have made 2 of the cupcake designs from this book: the pumpkins and the billard balls. Though they weren't as professional looking as the ones in the photos, they were still very cute. Everyone who saw them raved over them. My family has already bought their own copies of this book after seeing the results. I highly recommend it.

Just what I was looking for! A great product with many ideas, pictures and recipes; uses lots of candy and cookies ~ a recipe for success!

We purchased this book for my 11 yr. old daughter to experiment with cake decorating before we invested in a class for her. We had found the author's website and their blog and just couldn't resist.

There are no special skills required, no special equipment, and ANYONE can make these gorgeous little cakes. And the designs--unlike anything I've ever seen in a cupcake book. So completely different and charming that we just looked at the pictures for three days before we even tried to bake anything. There is nice tutorial at the beginning on how to us Ziplock bags as a decorating bag, how to frost a cupcake, anchor design elements and how to use melting wafers, among other things.

The book is full of pictures to help you along and the directions are very clear. Yes, you do have to make a trip to the store for some of the candy items necessary, but all but one of the items is readily available at the local grocery or convenience store. The only thing I have never seen is white circus peanuts used for the horse's heads.

My daughter has made the sunflower cupcakes, the slumber party cupcakes, and the black and whites. We're having a cupcake for every occasion and looking for excuses to make more. There are very few recipes in the book, some are just ways to doctor up a cake mix and some are simple home made varieties, but the authors don't claim to have written a recipe book. This book is completely about decorating, even though the cake mix recipes have been really good so far.

The inspiration and encouragement to come up with your own designs is huge. The author's website features a cupcake club with a monthly cupcake challenge in which readers send in the pictures of their own themed creations or their reproductions of the designs in the book. We didn't join the club, but my daughter has done the flower challenge and is working on turning Rover into a cupcake. FUN!

My recommendation is to BUY THIS BOOK! If an 11 yr. old can produce fun and delicious cupcakes, let me tell you, anyone can do the same. It's a gem that we'll use over and over and over.

The projects in this book look professional but are made with grocery store items! Very doable. The photos are well done, descriptive, leave no questions as to how to do something. Sometimes we just sit down and read it like a coffee table book. Each cupcake is ultra creative and inspiring.

I just got home from a little vacation and found this book waiting for me. I went through it and I can't wait to try it. It shows you step by step how to do everything. I have a lot of baking and cooking books but this one has me the most intrigued. Some books have these great photos but have you on your own as far as replicating them, but that is not the issue with this book. They even tell you how to make your frosting bag and tip out of a zip lock bag and scotch tape! There are so many different designs in this book and it tells you everything you need to make awesome little cakes and the best part for me is that they don't use fondant! They make great use of different candies to make the flattened colorful pieces and none of that tasteless fondant that so many books rely on now. These are truly creative ideas and come with step by step instructions and templates. I can't wait to try them out!

Easy to follow and wonderful results. Such cute ideas to turn cupcakes into little cakes of art.

This book has some unusual and fun decorating ideas for cupakes with no special equipment needed.

I bought this book because I saw the writer on the TODAY SHOW. The ideas to decorate cupcakes are the best. I bought it for my grandson and his Mom to use over the summer rainy days, along with lots of decorations to compliment their creations. My daughter absolutely loved this book! I highly recommend it to anyone who loves to create in the kitchen!!

Great pictures and clear instructions for every one of the adorable hit of the party cupcakes shown.

If you are looking for recipes, this is NOT the book for you. However, if you are looking for fun, creative and unique ways to decorate cupcakes you CAN'T pass this one up! My kids and I looked through this book the day I got it and I think their birthday parties are planned for years to come. Every frosting technique is done using nothing more than a ziplock bag, scotch tape and scissors. There is no specialized tools needed. I highly recommend this book.

The is the best cupcake book ever. The cupcakes are adorable and the instructions are spot on. I think I can even make these cupcakes. Also, Amazon is the only place I could get a copy. All of my local book store have been sold out for months!

This is the cutest book on making and decorating cupcakes. I purchased 3 of them for gifts. One I got for my niece who teaches second grade and loves to cook -and make treats for her class. The other two have young school age children. I thought this book would be good for them to make cupcakes with their children and for school parties. I haven't given it to them yet, but I think it is adorable and will be very useful.

I thought this would be more of an inspiration type decorating book but it is made for people with NO artistic skills. If you are good at decorating it is just a jumping off point for more creative ideas. I like to make cupcakes for my grandchildren and for showing off a bit at our neighborhood BBQ's. I love watching the kids reaction when they see them. That is the big pay off for me. With this book it doesn't take that much effort to get great feedback. Instant gratification! Have fun and don't worry about being perfect!

However, this book does a great job providing inspiration for fun ideas mainly for children....and for those of us that are kids at heart. The majority of the book is easy to complete and it provides even the novice baker with some great tools for not messing up!

First, let me say that I love the pictures and decorating ideas in this book. I have had the book for about a month, and I have not had a chance to make any of the decorating ideas out of here, but this is my favorite cupcake book so far. My complaint is on the actual recipe I made. I made the Vanilla cupcakes last night for my daughter's birthday today, and they were horrible. I ended up throwing the entire batch out and luckily I have some cake mixes in the pantry and am making new cupcakes this morning for her birthday party this afternoon! So frustrating!

The recipes in the book are very cute and some look easy to make. I am looking forward to making them for school functions.

This book is a lot of fun and has easy to follow directions for making great cupcakes. Fun with kids.

Whether you just like to cook at home, or do baking as a job or business, this book is chock full of delicious, creative, cute and innovative cooking and decorating ideas. Great Mother's Day or Christmas gift idea.

Real Life Dramas - Volume One

Darren G. Burton

I bought this as a gift for my creative daughter. She had just seen the author on a TV show and had wanted book (unbeknownst to me). She loves it and finds it very easy to follow with detailed instructions. Wonderfully cute ideas. What a hit!

This is a terrific book that allows everyday people to make desserts that look store bought. I have made these creations with my friends and kids and we always get a great reaction from those who see them! The instructions are so easy to follow and what look like very difficult projects, are really not at all! Highly recommend!!

What a wonderful book to peruse. I have made the dogs on the cover and look forward to making more wonderful creations in the future. FANTASTIC!!

This book is chock full of creative ideas for cupcakes, things you never thought of before with easy to follow instructions. Friends will be impressed and kids will be excited. It also makes a great gift.

The cupcake ideas in this book are clever and funny. There are many great ideas presented that I have never seen before. The projects look do-able without the need of special gadgets.
My kids and I are looking forward to creating these confections. The book was well worth the price.

This is a truly impressive, creative book. Anyone would like looking at the incredible pictures, but for someone who enjoys baking, this book can't miss. I loved seeing the expression on my mom's face when she opened this for Mother's Day.

I saw this book on numerous shows (namely the Today show!) and thought the ideas they showed there were SO cute, I was hoping there were a ton more they didn't show, and I was pleasantly suprised!! I am a dessert caterer, and got so many adorable, creative ideas for cupcakes and wonderful recipes meant specifically for cupcakes, I love this book!!!

I gave this as a gift. I'm told it is very fun and full of ideas. Some creations are easier to do than others.

Somehow, the irresistible sight of meticulously assembled westies atop vanilla cupcakes on the cover draws out my inner Japanese aesthetic for artistic detail. What these infectious creations actually taste like is almost beside the point, as professional food stylist Karen Tack and writer/photographer Alan Richardson have teamed up for a one of the most wildly imaginative food decorating books I have ever seen. The timing of this publication couldn't be more ideal as the decorative cupcake has quickly become one of the more enduring female-dominated fads thanks to the likes of Manhattan's trendy Magnolia Bakery and a little publicity thanks to Sex and the City. The co-authors claim the decoration process is quite easy, and judging from the common grocery items they use, I would agree to a point. However, you also have to be somewhat crafty by nature to appreciate what it takes to create the cupcakes showcased here.

They offer tips on everything from filling cupcake cups, spreading frosting, dipping, edging, and using multiple cupcakes for designs. You do need a piping bag if you are not already a pastry hound, and a steady hand is essential for the more elaborate designs. The results are impressive and often unexpected. The "slumber party" cupcakes are inarguably adorable and like many of the recipes, require food coloring. You also need some Starbursts, Jelly Bellys, vanilla wafers, red sprinkles, mini-marshmallows and bear-shaped graham crackers. Some are visually startling like the "spaghetti and meatball" cupcakes. Others are not as intimidating for first-timers like the "corn on the cob" cupcakes that mostly require yellow and white jellybeans and the "popcorn" cupcakes that use mini-marshmallows, some dyed yellow, to replicate the popped kernels in movie theater bags. Best of all, the book really triggers the imagination as to what other unprecedented creations may be within your artisan soul. It's oddly inspiring in a sugar-coated way.

This book has the cutest cupcakes. They are all easy to make with ingredients that are easily found.

wonderful book, great ideals for daughter's school activities.....she is now cooking & baking and enjoys doing for herself...

A review of this book was on television and so we were interested in it. My children and I enjoy making desserts and fun things to eat for others. This book is exactly what we are looking for: clear and beautiful pictures with great directions. We will enjoy this as a family for a long time to come.

I spent four hours making 60 cupcakes derived from this book with my three kids, 12 and twins who are 10. We all had a blast and the cupcakes looked AMAZING! Very fun ideas and so easy to do. I highly recommend this book to anyone who's looking for an easy, creative, fun way to dress up a normally boring dessert.

I purchased this book for two reasons: (1) my sister took a cupcake decorating course taught by Karen Tack and (2) my 10-year-old daughter went to a cupcake decorating birthday party for a friend, also performed by Karen Tack. Both my sister and my daughter couldn't wait to try cupcake decorating on their own. Being quite skeptical of my own abilities, I thought we would try the cookbook for fun rainy-day activity. The directions were extremely easy to follow and the results looked amazingly like the pictures; how often does that happen with cookbooks?!? ... especially for an amateur like me. The wonderful thing is the "special" edible decorating items are easily found in the grocery store. I was so pleased with my end results; never imagined I could create something so lifelike and yummy, I bought four additional copies and shared them with my friends. Do it for fun, do it for your kids having the best looking cupcakes in their class and, most importantly, do it for yourself ... it will bring a smile to your face :0)

Spending time with your children has never been so much fun!!! And, if you don't have children, become one again by trying a few cupcakes and treat your neighbors or co-workers.

I bought this book for my daughter, but it turned out that it was all her children that adored it and are constanly asking to make new cupcakes, even the teenage boys. It has been great fun for the family.

Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make

Hello Cupcake is a really cute book. With a lot of good ideas for decorating cupcakes. There are so many cute ideas we will use it for many parties.

The directions are easy to follow and the pictures are great.

OMG!
This is the best idea book for cupcakes I have seen in my whole life!
The pictures in the book hardly do the final product justice. I have never seen a better cookbook for ease of directions, pictures that actually match the finished cupcakes, and list of ingredients that tell you exactly what to purchase (some cookbooks say "candy covered chocolate bits" but Hello Cupcake tells it like it is, and just says M&Ms!)
My children have helped in making cupcakes from this book, and the neighbors and coworkers have all been recipients of these delightful, imaginative, delicious treats. Not only are there dozens of designs for the whole year (holidays, birthdays, just for fun) but the recipes for the cake part of the cupcakes are delicious as well.
Can't wait for the sequel! ...There will be a sequel, right?

Fantastic ideas for kids and theme parties! It's amazing what can be done with some frosting and fondant. Love the veggies like the corn on the cob and peas/carrots, it looks so realistic. This one's a keeper.

Wonderful creative ideas for making cupcakes. Everything you wanted to know and more. This makes a wonderful gift for someone how loves to bake.

Very good instruction, great ideas, I am an experienced cake decorator and this book is appropriate for beginner to advanced

I made these "pupcakes" on the book's cover from an article in "Family
Circle" magazine and just had to order the book. It's full of fun, easy cupcake and decorating ideas and you don't even need any special equipment. The writer, Karen Tack, gives practical, easy to follow techniques for baking cupcakes either from box recipes or "start from scratch". Even frostings are covered. FUNTASTIC and very yummy.

The book that I ordered Hello Cupcake is wonderful.I could hardly wait to start making these cute little cupcakes. This is much easier and more fun then decorating a whole cake. After making these easy cupcakes, I don't know if my family will be getting cakes baked for them any time soon. The book is in great condidtion and was delivered in a very short time.
I am very happy with my purchase.

This book is a wonderful creation! It takes the most adorable cupcakes and makes them possible to complete. I could not be more pleased. They put everything within reach, and they have left no stone unturned. I am so impressed. This is by far the best baking book I have ever read.

I don't have much to add that hasn't already been said, however I just wanted to say I couldn't get over all the cute cupcakes in the book. I made the "Corn on the Cob" and the "Spaghetti & Meatballs" cupcakes for my son's birthday party. Both were super easy and incredibly adorable! I got so many compliments on them and will definitely be making more cute cupcakes as birthdays and other occasions arise. I'm not very good at "cake decorating", however I found these cupcakes to be extremely easy to decorate. Some are a bit more advanced, but all the techniques you need are in the book with color pictures so it's pretty foolproof. A+++++ book!

This is a wonderful book. It really is easy, even for a beginner. I had a blast and was so proud of my results-my cupcakes acutally looked like the picture. My 4 year old son helped and he was able to be a wonderful assistant. There was no frustration for either of us.

This book was a fun and fabulous find for me. With cupcakes becoming such a hot dessert trend, it is great to have a resource at my fingertips to make treats that get rave reviews, without stewing over coming up with the ideas. Some of the cupcakes are clearly more time consuming (not to be attempted by the amateur) but most of them are pretty easy to replicate and are a marvel for kids to have a cupcake and eat one too.

I just can't express enough how amazing this book is. It is very thick, full of ideas that I would have never even dreamed about. They're all easy to replicate, too! Really, there are no words to describe how fantastic this book is, you really must buy it and see it for yourself. There are cupcakes for every occasion, from funny to formal. Buy it. BUY IT!

A fantastic cake decorating book both for the professional or home baker. The cupcake designs are truly unique and the extensive range of designs ensures cakes for any occasion or traditional celebration. As yet this book it not available in book stores in Australia. After seeing the author of 'Hell Cupcake" interviewed on television we had to have the book. Thank goodness for Amazon. com. We are gradually working our way through the book.