Catching Up: Ladybug Cupcakes

My daughter's first birthday was all about ladybugs.  One of her first words was "bug" and they are still some of her favorite things.

I used vanilla frosting tinted purple (it had to be purple, my mother was coming all the way from Michigan for this party and purple is her FAVORITE color; also, when the baby dives face-first into her first cake, don't we want the frosting all over her face to be dark enough to look great in pictures?), black decorator frosting for the spots, peppermint patties for the head, and colorful M&Ms for the eyes.  They were a hit!