Red Bird Cupcakes

My friend, Amy asked me if I could make some cupcakes for a baby shower she was going to. She was hoping they could echo the nursery theme, which is based around the pillow pictured above - red birds on birch branches. I like making cupcakes, and themes are fun, so I said I'd do it.

Here's what I came up with - white cupcakes with chocolate flecks (to look like the birch branches), iced with a vanilla cream frosting "nest", and topped by a little red bird made from candy melts. If I had a mold, the birds would be perfectly smooth, but I just piped them out onto a Silpat, so they aren't. I like them, all the same, and I'm hoping Amy's friend did too.