Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Whisk and set aside.

In a mixing bowl combine the eggs, melted butter, vanilla, and sour cream until combined.

Slowly add half of the flour mixture to the liquid, stirring to combine. Repeat with the rest of the flour mixture.

Divide the batter among a muffin pan lined with muffin liners, fill the muffin cups to be about a little more than 1/2 full.

Bake for 14-16 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean.

In a mixing bowl, combine the room temperature butter and shortening, beat using an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes, until light and fluffy.

Begin to add in the powdered sugar, about 1 cup at a time. Slowly beat the mixture until the powered sugar is incorporated. Continue this process, adding enough powdered sugar to make sure the frosting isn't too wet.

Add in the vanilla and beat until just combined.

Divide the frosting into 2 bowls - about 2/3 of the frosting in one bowl to make the blue frosting and 1/3 in another bowl to make the orange frosting for the legs of the octopus.

Dye each bowl the appropriate color using food coloring and mix both bowls combine they are well combined.

Transfer a portion of the blue frosting to a large piping bag with a large piping tip (I used wilton 2D tip). Push or squeeze the frosting down, getting rid of any air pockets.

Begin to pipe the frosting onto a cupcake, starting with the outside edge and working your way into the center of the cupcake, progressively stacking the frosting as you go around in circles. Refill the piping bag as needed.

Transfer a portion of the orange frosting to a large piping with a small round piping tip. Push or squeeze the frosting down, getting rid of any air pockets. Begin to add octopus legs, 4 on each side. Once you have the legs drawn, add the octopus body on top.

Melt half of the orange candy melts with about 1/2 tbsp of vegetable shortening in a small pot over the stove on low heat, stir occasionally. It make take the candy melts up to 10 minutes to melt completely, but keep the heat on low. Once the chocolate is melted, place one marshmallow in the pot at a time. Spoon chocolate over the marshmallow, making sure it gets completely covered. Remove the marshmallow with a fork, gently tap off any excess chocolate and place the dipped marshmallows on a silicone baking mat or wax paper to set. Once the chocolate is set, add two candy eyes to each octopus. Use the leftover orange candy melts as “glue” to attach the eyes to the marshmallows. To do this I simply used a toothpick to dab a small amount of chocolate onto the marshmallow, held the eye for a few seconds and then repeated with the other eye.