The toppers can be made in advance so that the cupcakes can be assembled quickly before your party.

To make the lion toppers, start with the body. Add some CMC to the orange fondant and knead well. And then pinched out 11 pieces of fondant in the same size. Shape each to these pieces into pear shapes.

Next, pinch out 22 pieces of fondant for the hind legs. Roll each piece into a short sausage and then flatten one end. For the other end (the paws), flatten the rounded end and the use the sugar craft knife to make small slits for the paws.

Attach the legs to the lion's bodies with fondant glue.

For the front legs, again, pinch out 22 pieces of fondant. Form these into long sausages, with one end thin and the other end fat. Flatten the thin ends slightly and attach them to the bodies. For the paws, use the sugar craft knife to make a few small slits to denote the paws.

For the mane, use chocolate fondant. Roll it to about ⅛ inch thick and cut out 11 scalloped round pieces of fondant.

Use the scriber needle tool to mark the mane lines all around it, starting from the center of each round cut out to their outer edges. And then attach each of these to the back of the lion heads with fondant glue.

Start with the cheeks. Pinch to small orange pieces of fondant for each lion and form them into smooth round balls. Flatten these slightly and attach them to the face with some fondant glue.

Next, pinch a tiny piece of black fondant, form it into a smooth ball and attach it in between the earlier orange pieces. This makes the nose of the lion. Repeat for all the lions.

For the eyes, make them with white fondant. Roll the pieces into smooth balls and flatten them slightly before attaching the face. And then, pinch out tiny pieces of black fondant, form them into balls and attach to the white part of the eyes.

And finally, for the ears, form 2 small balls with orange fondant. Use the back of the brush to make a dent in the balls and then attach them on the head. Repeat for all the lions.

Use black edible marker to draw the dots for the paws and the whiskers. And for the white dots in the eyes, use the fine tipped cake decorating brush, dip it into the white food coloring (do not dilute the paint) and dot the eyes.

Once the lions are all done, leave them aside to set completely.

Next are the cupcakes. Once the cupcakes are baked and have cool down completely to room temperature, apply a thin layer of buttercream on top of each cupcake. If the cupcakes are domed, level the tops with a serrated knife before applying the buttercream.

Next, cut out round pieces of green fondant using the scalloped round cutter and attach them to the cupcakes.

To assemble the lion cupcakes, place one lion topper on each cupcake. Secure them in place with glue and let the glue set completely before moving the cupcakes.