Sometimes the easiest DIYs are the best ones and these summer cupcake toppers fall right into that category. All you need to make these are a handful of supplies, including one of my all-time favorites: pipe cleaners. I love working with pipe cleaners because of how versatile they can be. You can bend them into so many different shapes and sizes and they come in just about every color imaginable, too. Talk about endless crafting possibilities!

I added these summer cupcake toppers to some store bought cupcakes but they would look just as cute on a regular cake, too! Making your own toppers is a great way to add a little personal touch to a store bought treat plus it’s so easy to do. Once you’re done be sure to grab your sunnies and make your way to the pool, it’s time to grab a hold of summer and enjoy a cupcake or two!

• Pipe cleaners (red, orange, yellow, green, light blue, pink, beige, brown, black)
• Scissors
• Wooden skewers
• Hot glue gun & glue sticks

Bend two small heart shapes using your red pipe cleaners. Then, using a black pipe cleaner, bend two smaller heart shapes to fit inside the red ones. Next, cut a very small red piece and bend it slightly to create a nose bridge that will connect the heart frames.

Glue your pieces together and attach to a wooden skewer.

Start by twisting the ends of a brown pipe cleaner together as shown above.

Then, fold the twisted part over to create the pretzel shape.

Twist the loose ends onto the sides, as shown above, and glue onto a wooden skewer.

Take a yellow pipe cleaner and slowly coil it into a circle and cut small yellow stems.

Glue them onto the circle to make the rays. Attach a wooden skewer.

Start by folding a beige pipe cleaner in half.

Then, fold it in half again.

Take another beige pipe cleaner and coil it around the folded one to complete the trunk of the tree.

Take a green pipe cleaner and bend one of the corners so that it is as long as you want your leaf to be.

Then, wrap the rest of the pipe cleaner around the bent part to finish your leaf (I created four leaves for mine so I repeated those steps four times).

Glue your leaves together (or weave them together if you can).

Finish by attaching them to the trunk and adding a wooden skewer.

Bend a green pipe cleaner in half.

Bend it in half again.

Take another green pipe cleaner and coil it around the folded one to complete the middle stem of the cactus.

Repeat those steps to create the arms of the cactus and bend them so that they look like cactus arms. If you want the arms to be smaller, just cut them to your liking.

Glue the pieces together and attach to a wooden skewer.

Pick the colors you want to use and then bend them on top of one another to resemble a rainbow.

Cut the ends off, glue them together, and add a wooden skewer.

Wishing you all a sweet summer!