DIY- Cupcake Stand

Ever need something to display all those wonderful, yummy cupcakes you slaved over, but don't want to spend all the money on one of those fancy ones? Well, I have a super easy and cheaper alternative for you. I am throwing a bridal shower for my sister next month, and I am serving cupcakes instead of a cake. I didn't want to just sit them on a platter, so I decided to make my own cupcake stand. I had seen a few sites with different ways to make them, but I ended up using the one that Annie from Annie's Eats posted a few weeks ago. I didn't take step by step pictures, but if you need/want to see a picture tutorial, you can go to her site to see her original post. This took me about 30 minutes to make, and I think it turned out just perfect for what I need. I did a couple of things different from Annie. I made my stand larger than hers and instead of making a base for the stand, I used my glass cake stand. Directions are below the pictures.

 

 See my cake stand on the bottom?

How to make a cupcake stand:

You will need:

Cardboard cake circles, two of each size – I used 16, 14 and 12-inch circles for a three-tiered tower. You can make any size that you want.

Ribbon

2 soup cans (the same size)

Card Stock

Cake Stand or wide container/styrofoam circles for base

Hot Glue Gun

Directions:Glue together both cardboard circles of the same size, unfinished sides inward, to end up with a double layer.

Repeat with the remaining sizes until all the cardboard circles are doubled up.

If you want to, you can cover each cardboard circle with card stock. I decided to omit this step this time around, I just wanted it to be white anyway. If you're going to use card stock, trace around each of the cardboard circles onto the card stock that will cover them and cut out the corresponding circle. Hot glue the card stock circle onto the cardboard circle to cover it.

Cut a piece of ribbon long enough to edge each of the tiers. Hot glue along the edge of the cardboard circle and press on the ribbon, being careful to keep the top edge even with the surface. Repeat with each of the other circles.

Now, use card stock to cover the soup cans that will act as the pillars. Use the hot glue gun to secure the card stock as a tight band around the soup can. Repeat for the other can. If you want to make a base, choose something wide. Like I mentioned before I used my glass cake stand and covered the base in white card stock to match the two cans I covered. You should have two covered pillars and a base.

Now that all the pieces are put together, we’re ready to assemble the tower. One thing to keep in mind while assembling all the components is to keep the seams of the card stock covering the base, pillars, and the seams of the ribbon all in the same direction so that they can be the “back” of the tower and stay out of sight, giving it a more finished appearance. I forgot to do this, oops!

Hot glue the base in the center of the bottom tier (be sure to glue on the bottom, uncovered side of the cardboard circle).

Then, glue a soup can pillar in the center of that circle. You can just use an eyeball it to center it and make sure it is balanced or measure it to make sure it's in the middle.

Glue the next cardboard circle on top of the pillar, making sure to keep the finished side up. (Since the lid of the soup can is not an even surface, you need to glue around the edges to ensure that the can has firm contact with the cardboard circle.) And repeat once more until all the pieces are in place.

After you have all of your pieces glued together, you have a finished cupcake tower! Now all you need to do is fill it with some yummy cupcakes! Sorry I don't have pictures of a cake stand with cupcakes. Since the shower isn't for a couple of weeks, no cupcakes yet.

I'm hoping my cupcake stand will hold 40+ cupcakes. Remember, you can make your stand any size you want, I almost made a 4 tiered cupcake stand! What a wonderful way to display your hard work, and you can make it to match any theme! Good luck!

This recipe is linked to Potluck Sunday, It's A Keeper Thursday, Tasty Traditions, Beauty and Bedlam, Fat Camp Friday