Maya de Groot Passion for Paper Passion for Paper II
The majority of the paper pieces are from these two kits. I made the cherry using these pieces, too.
Process...
I started with an approximate idea of what a cupcake shape looked like, then built the layers of frosting up. Part way through I realized it would be easier to finish if I created a cupcake silhouette and clipped all the papers to the silhouette. Really helped with the bottom part. Added the stitching, some drop shadows, created the cherry with a little help from the warp tool, added the text, confetti, and called it done.
Congrats! both on the standing "O" and the first completion of a birthday challenge. It is outstanding. Love all the "scoops" and the text that follows the cupcake.