A Super Simple Cake Stand

Pretend it's a cake instead of apples.

My newest obsession is making cake stands. And by "cake" stand, I mean "anything that needs to be displayed prettily" stand.  I've scoured stores and found tons of gorgeous ones, but didn't buy a single one. I couldn't help but think that I could do it cheaper. And I did. The one above was done for a grand total of...get this...$2.50. And it was Super Simple. What could be better than that?


Ingredients:

• Plate
• Candlestick
• E6000 or your favorite strong, clear glue
• Beads (optional)
• Paint (optional)
• Glass etching cream (optional)

Ingredients

The basic cake stand is just a plate and a candlestick, held together with glue. That's it. 

Simply glue the candlestick to the bottom of the plate.

Basic's good.  Basic's easy. But think of the fun you can have decorating your stand. Just by adding beads to the center of the candle well or by etching your plate, you can turn something basic into something spectacular. Etching takes more effort and time than just adding the beads or painting the candle well does, but can be worth the extra work. The stands on the far left and the far right below are etched.

A plethora of plates.

This plate reminded me of ocean waves, so I added blue and green beads to the center well.

This one is mine, all mine. All of the others have already been given away.

The stand below was etched with a paper doily used as a stencil. The base was painted silver and then, while it was still wet, black was added on top and allowed to bleed through.

A painted base.

The stand below was, by far, the easiest. It just has two large pearl beads in the center.

Pearly!

The one below was made for a friend who loves purple and silver. Hope she likes it!

Purple and silver beads.

The one below is the purple and silver beaded one...with cupcakes on top. Cupcakes make everything better. And, no, I didn't make the cupcakes. They're store-bought.

Mmm...cupcakes!

You definitely don't have to spend a lot of money to make these. The plates were about $1 to $1.50 each, the candlesticks were 50¢ to $1, the decorative bits I had on hand. Check out your local dollar stores, thrift stores, and yard sales for good bargains. Most importantly, have fun!

*edit - 2.24.11 - I can't believe I forgot the most important part! The idea for decorating the insides of the base came from my brilliant husband, Seán. He's a genius.