how many cupcakes will the 3 tier hold ?

Hi! I’m making a cupcake stand to hold 42 cupcakes and on the top tier there is going to be a cake (not too big). What sizes do you recommend I purchase the cake boards in and the foam dividers in? 

Loved this idea! Made one for a fiesta party we had last night but did it a little different. Instead of using cake bases, I got a thick piece of installation board from Lowes and cut it into squares. I made a square one because it was easier to cut than circles. I wrapped them in foil and pinned ribbon along the edge. I bought two 5 inch styrofoam squares from Hobby Lobby. I stuck 2 long skewers through the middle to secure and that seemed to work. The whole thing cost less than $15! Thanks for the idea!!

Maybe? I have not tried it. You could also use empty cleaned cans.

Thank you for the brilliant idea… made the tower for my niece’s engagement. Tqvm!!

 Oh my gosh, this is SO darn cute! I am so glad I ran across this! I am getting married next month, and making my own cake (crazy, I know, but it’s what I do, so I’ll make what I like, haha!) and just doing 2 tiers and cupcakes. These will look so cute on either side of the main cake!! Beautiful idea, thank you for sharing!!

Here is a picture of my first cupcake stand…

this is too cute & easy…i love it!

where can i buy materials for a dummy cake?

As mentioned in the post, my stand holds around 50 cupcakes. I would recommend you to make two if you need it to hold 100 cupcakes.

I LOVE YOUR HAND MADE CUP CAKE SATND.IAM GONNA MAKE ONE EXCELLENT!!! KEEP ON BRINGING MORE IDEAS AND THANK YOU! I WANT START MAKING CUP CAKES FOR MY FRIENDS AND FAMILY THE STAND IS BEAUTIFUL.

hi how many cake boards did you stack together and glue?

They are 1/2″ and so are the ribbon. Where are you located?

I really love this tutorial, it is really easy. When I first read it, I was very eager to have my own cupcake stand. Thanks Louise!

This is how mine looks like

http://cupcakemanila.blogspot.com/2011/02/my-first-diy-cupcake-stand.html

Awesome!! So easy!! Thanks for sharing

Thanks This is Awesome i cant wait to try this!!!

Thank you so much for this. It took me awhile to get the hang of it, but my cupcake stand turned out great. Thanks so much!

Louise!

I am Brazilian and through a blog I follow you found! I loved the idea of the tower for the cupcakes! I’ll try to do pro 1st anniversary of my daughter!

Thank you!

Nice to be visiting your blog again, it may be months for me. Properly this post that i’ve been waited for so very long. I need this post to carry out my mission in the college, and it has exact topic with your post. Many thanks, great write about.

http://www.k-boutique.com/cupcake_stand.pdf

VERY GOOD INSTRUCTIONS AND IT WAS SO CHEAP AND LOOKED AWESEOME! I put a 6inch cake for cutting on the top of the stand
Just be creative. Thanks for all of your great ideas and comments too

I’m sooo excited to start making my own stand. Thanks sooo much for this tutorial. Also for Comment #409 I also had a hard time finding the cake drums and the places i was looking were really expensive but the cheapest place i found is countrykitchensa.com . For me since Im actually making a five tier stand with the exact sizes mentioned in the tutorial with the cake drums and cake dummies it came out to be $42.25 with shipping and tax. I looked everywhere and for example all these other places for a 16″ cake drum they want more than $14.00 for one and in this webite it’s ALOT CHEAPER!! .

Simply amazing!

had a question. I am making 75 cupcakes plus a 6″ round cake for top for a friends wedding. She made the cupcake stand(haven’t seen the pic yet) and was wondering if it will hold all that?? She made it with 12″, 14″, and 16″ boards?(not sure if they are round or square). She is suppose to send me a pic of it soon! If you kind of had an estimate on if this size will hold that many that would be great!! Thanks

Loved it — great job on the step-by-step of this tutorial with the photos – it’s visually easy to follow and understand… allows you to make substitutions along the way. I had trouble finding supplies for a reasonable price online/locally but ended up getting styrofoam floral supplies from Michael’s, along with all the ribbon and gluing everything together. Found white polka dot gift wrap paper at Hallmark store and laid down double layers so it would come out as smooth as possible. Special ordered the cupcake topper from specialty cupcake bakery — it all came out so well and received such great compliments, just wanted to thank you all for your ideas and comments that helped put it together. PS – feel free to add my photo to your Gallery! cheers-

Hi,
with the above sizes of cake boards given , can the stand accommodate 30 cupcakes??Thanks

this is such an awesome idea! thank you!

this is great i need to make it for my brothers 21st but i need to make it kindof boyish and and a bit stuck?? also i am going to try to use tin cans to hold it up also im am going to try to use mdf wood but any ideas for boyish colours??

I have been looking for simple instructions all day. Thanks!

I made up one of these stands in July 4th colors and it worked out very well! Everyone was very impressed and I even started getting unsolicited orders from friends to do up one for other events!

My main advice for making the stands is to take your time so it looks neat. Make sure your paper and ribbon on placed on nicely and line up where it needs to. I found all my materials at Michaels craft store. The discs are pricier than I thought though! Next time I will order from an online wholesaler to get a better price. In any case, try to use quality materials that match well together. Otherwise it can look a little to “crafty” instead of nice and professional.

Thank you sooooooo mucho for the inspiration!! You are truly wonderful! We’re getting married in August and my friends are making 260 cupcakes. I’m going to make some of your stands. oxx

I am making one of these tower for my sister-in-laws wedding, my question-which I actually tried to read each one to look for the answer-can the diameter of the cake dummies be a little smaller to accomodate more than a single line of cupcakes on a tier?

The place where I am getting my cake boards, only has them in 3/8 of an inch thick…should I get double for each layer? Would that mess up getting ribbon to cover them?

Thank you so much, now my birthday party is compleat!
i <3 cupcakes

Thank you for the post again, my cupcake stand was a success! I wound up taping together several thin cardboard cake boards for each tier (they are sold in packs of 5 at Hobby Lobby). I covered the tape with the ribbon on the edges. Since I couldn’t find cake dummies I got 2-3 styrofoam cylinders and glued them together with foam glue and covered them with material. I also adorned them with wooden airplane cutouts that I found. Here’s the finished product…
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_O_EiiQjdu2g/S_01SavlgtI/AAAAAAAAADU/yDKtndxagQk/s1600/Hugo+First+Bday+034.jpg

Sorry Louise, I have another question…I went looking for the cake dummies and couldn’t find them like so many other people. Can I use regular styrofoam discs in between the cake boards?

Your cake stand looks fabulous. I have been looking for one here in Turkey and cant find one that I like. I’m also battling to find the ingredients needed to make one myself (they dont have cake supply stores close to me – mind you, they dont even have decent wrapping paper here). Anyway, I know a good carpenter. Do you think I could get him to try to make me a cake stand from wood? Would the paint affect the cupcakes in anyway – ie: hazardous to ones health? Thank!

Thanks for posting this! I ended up using your concepts to make one out of materials I already have around the house. Instead of using cake boards, I used a plastic melamine plate that I covered with foam board cut to the same size. I covered it with scrapbook paper and finished the edge with ribbon.

For the seperators between the layers, I used a canned vegetable can (unopened) which I covered in scrapbook paper.

Then I assembled it using hot glue. It worked great for my party, and didn’t have to buy anything!

This is so Awesome. I was looking for a large plastic cupcake holder to purchase. This is so much better because I can personalize it for every occasion. I plan on putting one of those over sized cupcakes on the top. Thank you so much for this idea.

Hi, Thank you so much for posting this. Now i know what to do on my daughter’s 3rd birthday part. This really helped me a lot.

Hi, You said to glue the cake dummies together, but then I will only have one tier. Or is the instructions for only one tier and if you want two teirs you need to buy more cake dummies? Sorry if I have mis-read your notes

Hi Louise, I am from Indonesia. I love your blog especially this tutorial. Early next month is my son’s 1st birthday and hopefully I can make it for his birthday cupcake. A big thanks for you

My girlfriend got this place accidentally and she really loves this idea. We plan to make this as our wedding gift holder. Let’s see how this thing will turn out.

I just started making cakes and cupcakes and am enjoying it very much! I am loving this stand idea but i live a little town and have searched all over for the cake boards. no places carry the thick ones! It’s very frsuterating..I’m thinking of maybe going to an art supply store and seeing if they have some thick cardboard or styrophome and just making everything from scratch! we will see. I’m NOT giving up.

Hi girls, just wondering how much you think would be ok to charge for a really nice decorative stand for use for a wedding. Ive been asked to make one for someones wedding. (one ive made is in the gallery, last one – gold and blue with butterfly theme)

Nat xxx

YAY! i was looking everywhere for a cake stand but none in the colours i wanted. this solves that problem! i can’t wait to get started but I don’t have any foam things so im just going to use some empty tins. hopefully it works!!

This is such a great idea! I am having cupcakes at my wedding reception, and I just can’t find any cupcake stands to rent or buy that I actually like. Your cupcake stand looks so professional so I’ll definitely try building my own and I’ll send you a photo too! Thanks!

This is such a brilliant idea!! I was going to by a cake stand but I still thought they were so expensive! This fit my project perfectly and I can even personalise it!! Thank you so much for posting this!

Hi. I’ve never done anything like this and I think it would be amazing for my wedding cupcakes! I was wondering if it was be possible to use a hot glue gun on the cake dummies and the cake boards.

Thank you!

Thank you so much for sharing this!
As with many others here, I was almost “loosing sleep” on how to present a cupcakes order I have in the next few weeks! This is great and it is exactly what the customer was requesting.

thank you for your wonderful idea Louise, I couldn’t find the materials needed or I didnt have time–So I just used up indigenous materials sort of– cardboard from the grocery store and wine box from dollarama and it worked-out well! thanks again!

Ooops I’m sorry lol thanks though : )

Hi louise!!

Beautiful cake stand!! im having a wedding in august of this year we are having a 7′ cake for the top and 60 cupcakes for the rest. the top layer will look like an island the second layer i have 20 “sand” cupcakes and third layer 40 “sea” cupcakes…we are going to use metal sand buckets for the center what would you recommend for deminsions for the second and third tiers? and should i use wood instead of cake boards?? thanks so much!!!

Sheri

hi, louise…
greetings from indonesia.
thanks for sharing.
i found it very useful.
hope to make one real soon
btw, i post your link to my mailing list.

Thank you for this site! helped a lot, I made this for my dads 50th. going to start on another one for my nanas birthday soon, hopefully it will be even better! xxx

thanks so much for sharing this tutorial with all of us. i have a question regarding the sizes of the cake board and cake dummies. if i use cake boards: 8″, 9″, 10″ and 11″ with the cake dummies 5″, 6″, 7″ and 8″. do you think it would work? i am also planning to place a 6″ cake on top of the tier. thanks louise

wonderful tutorial!! any thoughts on if a stand would make 200 cupcakes? how many tiers would i need? what about 130 cupcakes? how about 150 with a 6″ cake on the top? sorry for this!

I love the look of this cupcake stand! Cute stands are so hard to find and usually expensive when you do. Thanks for the great idea, can’t wait to try one out on my next cupcake job.
Thanks!!!!

I’m going to be using this tutorail for my wedding cupcakes stand. I was going to buy one when I came across your idea. I love it thank you for sharing your brilliant ideas with everyone. If I’m going to have 60 cupcakes how many tiers would I need? If I put a small cake at the top of it would it make it too heavy and then it come crashing down?

GRACIAS! me urgia hacer uno y lo encontre aqui!…increible, te felicito!
THANKS! one and urged me to find it here! … incredible, congratulations!

I absolutely love this! I was trying to figure out how I wanted to do the stand for some cupcakes I was doing for a wedding, and I found this last minute and pulled it together wonderfully!

I didn’t have time to find cake dummies because there aren’t any cake supply stores near me that carry them, so I used canned food! I just wrapped it in paper and then thick ribbon from Michael’s.

A hint if you are using cans . . . buy some of that non-skid stuff that people use to line cabinets or whatever else and cut circles and put it between the tiers and the cans. It will keep things from sliding around.

Here is where you can see the picture of my cake stand:

http://buttercreambliss.blogspot.com/

or on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/edit/?id=167178484141#/pages/Buttercream-Bliss-Gourmet-Cupcakes/167178484141

it looks cool but i was looking for a cupcake recipe

Hi
Thanks alot. We made this and it was so easy to do .
Manju Sethia (India)

Hi there,
I’m very happy that you showed how to make a cupcake stand!I just started my baking buisness and its so difficult. The holidays are coming and thats the only buisness i have, and i have questions?
Where do you think i should do to get more customers?
Hope to hear from you soon!
thank you,
Please if possible email me!
Kind Regards,
Erika Raygoza

that was awesome

Hi Louise,
Thank you for the tutorial. I will be making 50 cc and one 8” round cake, Does a 14” 12” 10” and 8” enough? Thanks Louise! Im also thinking instead of cake boards i’ll use styro foam boards? but its really light weight I dont know maybe kids can knock it down

Thank you Louise. I ended up with 2 x 4″ and 2 x 6″. Ive just finished it off and i’ll post once my cupcakes are on it. Thanks for sharing the information with us.

Thank you soooo much for posting this! I will be baking my first tiered cake for my daughter’s wedding in the spring, and I was horrified by the expense of the cake stands available online. It never occured to me that I could make my own, until I was inspired by your cupcake stand. She likes the “floating” tiers so I constructed 3 separate stands at different heights using plastic plates and heavy cardboard tubing. The plates were reinforced with plywood circles and the tubes half filled with rice for added weight and stability. With white paint and glitter they are attractive, sturdy- and very affordable! Will send you pics when they’re done- THANK YOU!!!

Great website! We were going to buy a stand but now we are going to make one! Thanks!

I have my daughters confirmation in 4 weeks & didnt want to spend heaps on a stand, your idea seems great I’m crafty & was thinking of an idea but yours is far more easier. Cant wait to try it. thanks

Are the centers 4 inches high?

Hello! Thanks for posting this! I was very pleased with the outcome of the stand for my friend’s engagement party! Pictures here ->http://www.flickr.com/photos/33992937@N00/sets/72157622459396404/detail/

hello! i have a question im having my baby shower and love the idea of making the stand personal..but will 100 large cupcakes fit? if not do think i should just make the dimensions larger?please help..im so lost and non-creative! thanku!

An easier way to do it is to use tins of peaches and just wrap them in wraping paper

Where can I buy the polysthyrene cake dummies? Are they available at any superstores? I love this idea!! Thank You

Hi! I was surfing and found your blog post… nice! I love your blog. Cheers! Sandra. R.

Thank you for the super easy cupcake stand! I used tissue paper, ribbon, bowls and a glue gun… it worked perfect!

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/WJujAEiXIdxVn24zHRZg5A?feat=directlink

Thank you for the idea I made one and it turned out great.

Wow Louise! One question brought in 279 comments! Thank you again for all your help. I will post mine in Sept. I can’t wait to make it.

I just found this post today via One Pretty Thing. I’d love to share it on my polka dotted blog. Would that be okay?

Louise,
I loved this site when I found it, this will be perfect for the cupcakes at my friend’s baby shower. I did attempt the directions, but I found a problem:

I went to Hobby lobby and only found the really thin white cardboard cakeboards, is there another place to find the thick ones like you have?

How thick are they? I would like to know because the thin ones don’t look good to me and I can’t get the ribbon to go around because it is so thin- so the cardboard sticks out on the sides

Hi, I have been trolling the net for a stand that didn’t cost to much. I am making a cake with cupcakes for my sister’s 40th wedding aniversary party… This will be ideal… Thank you

i am attempting to make a stand now, so far, so good. i bought cardboard cake boards (8in, 10in, 12in). i glued 2 together for each size to make each layer thicker. i painted the top of each layer pink instead of wrapping w/paper. i used a hot glue gun to glue colored ribbon around the edge of each layer. i couldn’t find cake dummies, so i looked in the floral section of ac moore and found styrofoam pieces shaped like a cylinder then i pinned ribbon to those. i am worried about getting it all centered when i put the layers together. hopefully it will go well!

Thank you so much for this idea. I was looking for an inexpensive cake stand to put party favors on for my upcoming baby shower & I came across your post. I absolutely love the idea & think it will work for party favors as well. Once again thanks!

Thank you so much for sharing this! I had my sister’s Bridal Shower this past weekend and made a stand for the cupcakes. I modified a little bit and I couldn’t find any cake dummies. The middle tier has a coffee can wrapped in wrapping paper and the poles are wood that I wrapped with ribbon.

I had 49 cupcakes on there, I may have been able to squeeze in a few more.

Here is a link to the phtotos

http://picasaweb.google.com/jslinker/BridalShowerCupcakeStand?feat=directlink

Hello all,

Louise thank you so much for the great instructions on how to make such a cute craft. I send this email to help out my fellow crafters that can’t seem to find the supplies they need. I recently found a website called guildcraftfurniture.com. They sell the cake dummies in all shapes and sizes. They will also cut them to any size you want. So instead of searching high and low for the perfect with cake base you can get the exact size you need. Also the prices are very reasonable. I ordered 3- 4in. cake dummies and 4 1-1/2in cake bases and paid less than $30.00 with shipping and handling included. I have not received my order just yet but when i do I will let you know if it was all worth it. Thanks again and I hope this will info will be a help to others and yourself.

Thanks for having this site, I always find something new and interesting to help me! I need your help! I have an order to make 250 cupcakes plus an 8″ cake for the very top! First I need to know what sizes of cake boards I will need in assembling a cupcake stand. The colors they requested are white icing with a red flower on each cupcake. This brings me to my second question….should I purchase white or silver cakeboards and should I wrap the styrofoam in between each cakeboard with red ribbon? Please help me out as I’m not sure what color scheme would look best.

Thanks,
Paula in Texas!

WoW! This has been a great invention! I used it several times and it help with my business. Thanks!

I just wanted to thank you the the cake stand idea. I was very happy with it:) There is a picture of it on my website. My pictures are not as clear as I hoped for but, I’m still working on the site. Thanks again:)

thank you so much for this great idea- i emailed you the photo of my first cake stand. It was both easy and fun to make!

I have been looking for instructions and picture on how to make a cupcake tower. I will be trying it for my daughters graduation party. Wish me luck!

Hello! Louise, I was wondering if you sell cake stands…like the one you have pictured?

Louise, how thick are your cake boards? I found cake boards that are only 1/2 inch thick…is that okay?

Hello Louise,
How do I stack the cake boards to the dummies? I am making a 4 tiered(8,10,12,14″) stand. Can I just use simple white glue to stick the cake board to the dummies? Thanks

I made this cupcake stand. I couldn’t find paper I liked to cover the cake dummies so I used fabric instead using sewing pins to attach it. It was super easy. I also put a 6 inch cake on top and cupcakes around the two tiers. I wish I could post a picture, I was so incredibly happy with the end result. THANK YOU!

Hi, I am having trouble finding the 1″ cake board. I have checked my local craft stores and all they have are the really thin ones. Thanks!

how do you attach the cake boards to the foam dummies when you build the stand ? do you run a dowel through it all ? I was wondering if it is stable as people remove cupcakes from one side if it is not secured together, or if it may topple over

Hi

For my wedding i am having caramel tarts. I am hoping to have a caramel mud with decorations on top tier eg 6-8inch diam and then placing the caramel tarts on the other tiers.

I will probably have 100 caramel tarts.

I see you had mentioned that it may be too tall with 6 tiers however as caramel tarts as not as tall i was hoping to only use 1×2.5inch cake dummies inbetween each tier.

If i were to do this do you think i could have 5-6 tiers?

Any feedback would be excellent.

AMber

Here is a link to my cake stand I made this afternoon

http://www.flickr.com/photos/35929131@N05/3344820324/

Another question…I was just going to use decorative scrapbooking paper to cover the cake boards. Will the cupcakes leave horrible grease marks on the paper? What is your experience with that when you used heavy gift wrap?

Ok I just re-read the threads. I am going to do the rest of the cupcakes around the 4 tier stand.

Does anyone have any pics of a tier that holds 150 cupcakes? I am having a fall wedding and making my own stand. I’m not sure if I should put cupcakes on the table for the largest tier or if 60 would fit, then 45, 30,15,and a small cake on top? Any suggestion or pics would be much appreciated!

i have a website for the cake dummies and they are reasonable.

http://www.guildcraftfurniture.com/cake_dummies.html

they are really nice
hope this helps everyone

This is amazing help! I love it!

I have a problem… I live in Utah and can’t find anywhere to get a cake board or cake dummies! I’ve search everywhere and even asked local bakeries. I can’t order anything online because I have no credit card. And I want to make a big cupcake stand for my 18th Birthday. So what do I do?

I am so glad I found this. I was looking around on the internet for a cupcake stand for my daughter’s 2nd birthday and right before I ordered one that I wasn’t too pleased with, but was going to make do with… I decided I would google cupcake stands and this was the first website I came across. This is amazing and so much better than any of the already made ones that I came across. I am not very artistic though, but I these directions sound simple enough that even I can do it. Her party is next month, but I am going to try to make it soon so that way if I mess up I have time to start again. I will let you know how it turns out!

Hi, Thanks for the great inspiration. I was wondering if this cupcake tower is reusable? Do you set the cupcake tower before hand or on site?

Hi Louise, Thank you so much for the cake stand tutorial. I successfully made one for my daughter’s 1st birthday party. It looks very nice. Please visit my blog to see the pictures. http://bakefromscratch.blogspot.com/

I am using 8″ cakes as centerpieces for my wedding and I have been searching for inexpensive cake stands. This seems like an affordable alternative but do you think a one tiered stand would be supportive enough for an 8″ cake? Also, would it be safe to cut into the cake without the cake board falling off the styroam (cake dummy)? Also, how much do cake boards and dummies usually cost? I am going to have 15-20 tables so I am trying to find something between $5-$8. Thanks!

I was thinking about doing this as my centerpieces at my wedding reception so I would only want a stand that holds 8 cupcakes. What sizes of materials would you recommend then?

Hi, I need to make a caketree that will fit about 250 cupcakes. About how big do you think I would need to make it?

Louise–

Thank you for sharing such a creative way to display my cupcakes!! Your tutorial was great, although I did have to make a few alterations because of lack of supplies but still fantastic nonetheless.

Please click to see finished tower: http://morethanonesweettooth.blogspot.com/2008/10/birthday-cake.html

Gabrielle

Thank you so much for this wonderful cake stand idea! I hope to make fairy cakes for my wedding in oct 2009 and this will be both a cheaper and more unique way of displaying them. I think I’m going to have to make 60-70 cakes so will look into ways of making a more solid 6-7 tier stand and will post if successful, otherwise I’ll follow your suggestion to make a 5 tier and have cakes round the table too. Beautiful! C:-)x

Thank you, thank you, thank you! I made a beautiful cake/cupcake stand for my friend’s baby shower following your instructions. I’d love to send you a picture – how do I do that?

I am so glad that I found this site. I am going to take some financial shortcuts, since money is very tight, but I can’t wait to make this stand. You do make it look so easy. I know it will be a hit at my daughters first birthday, second to my baby girl though who will be the star, of course.

For those in the US, the Wine and Cake Store in Norfolk, Va is huge and has wonderful supplies. here’s the cake dummies on the site:
http://www.wineandcake.com/browse.cfm/2,91.html
You can call them for specifics.
This was a really good stand, very nice to share. thanks.

Hi, I’m trying to make a cupcake stand and need help. I want purchased styrofoam discs that are 1” by 14,12,10,8. I would like to wrap the discs so that the 1” side is covered in the paper instead of wrapping a ribbon around the edge. Does anyone have a good technique for wrapping a round disc? I thought I saw something (of course now I can’t find it) that tells you to cut triangular slits so that you don’t have the wrap with folds, instead an almost seamless wrap job.
Help Help Help!
Thanks
Kathy

Hi everyone I am a balloon decorator and found this site whilst looking for cake board supplies.
I use cake boards for a lot of balloon work we have a trick to cover the boards with a balloon and thought it might help some of you to get the perfect cover for your boards that will also match any balloon decor for your event.
air inflate a good quality balloon tightly grip the neck with your right hand lay it on a table with the neck sideways, hold a cake board on the top of the balloon then press real hard controling the air escape from the neck so it doesnt all escape too fast the result you will get is a perfectly covered base with perfect edges, the underneath will be quite ugly as the balloon always shrinks to the shape it wants to take, if it is seen it would be easy to attach a paper cover to hide it. you need a 11/12 inch balloon for up to a 10″ cake board and a 16″ balloon for larger boards, I have not personally done anything over 12″ but the guide for size is normally the balloon size must be greater than the size of the board so I would expect the 16″ balloon to cover up to 15″ size board.
Also for those of you having trouble getting hold of cake dummies have you considered using the clear covers from dvd cake box packaging 50 and 100 size would give you different heights and instead of covering them you could also try filling them as part of the decoration

I am considering making a cupcake stand for my wedding next summer. I’m thinking of having a heart theme. One of the previous posters “Carlene” posted a great website

http://www.guildcraftfurniture.com/cake_dummies.html

they have heart cake dummies 1st they don’t have a 5″ length in hearts so how would I go around that?

second I am thinking about heart shaped cupcakes on the hearshaped cupcake tower; how many cupcakes do you think each would hold?

Our approximate guest count is 50. I was thinking about making 2/3 towers of 4/5 tiers. Do you think that would be sufficient? Thanks for the help your instructions seem so easy and everyone’s comments and pictures are great.
Thanks so very much!

it s very nice

Dear Louise,
what a fantastic idea. It’s my little boys Birthday in September he’ll be 3 and
I wanted to make him a cupcake tier but I didn’t have a stand. You’ve given me a fantastic idea!
ThanK You,
Valerie
P.S. I will post the photo’s once I’va made the cake.

i love it !

Making 250 cupcakes for duaghter’s sweet sixteen oriental theme any Ideas on how many cupcake stands I would need to make and the sizes I need. also any crafty ideas on decorating stans for oriental look?
I live in Puerto Rico craft stores are hard to find will have them shipped from stateside (Materials)
THANKS

HI Everyone! I just wanted to say that I’m SO looking forward to making these! I am having cupcakes for my wedding – 3 different flavors, so I’m making 3 different stands…to coordinate with my wedding colors. I found a great inexpensive website to purchase the cake dummies from…
http://www.guildcraftfurniture.com/cake_dummies.html

They have just about every shape and size you could possibly imagine!

I’ll post pics as soon as I get the stands made (probably around the end of august).
Have fun!

Whoops! I meant this company:

http://www.craftcompany.co.uk

Thanks for the wonderful idea!!!!! I decided to make cupcakes for my daughter’s baby shower & having been going crazy trying to find a nice large “affordable” cupcake stand (they do not exist). I am pretty crafty so when I saw your stand I was ecstatic. I can’t wait to start it!!!!!! Wish me luck.
Thanks Again, Roxy

Hiya! I posted here some time ago with my idea about using oilcloth for the stands? Well, it worked a treat with strong double-sided tape (from DIY shops) and oilcloth means it can be wiped clean and used over and over again. Here’s a picture from my facebook page…the album is on a high privacy setting so hope you can still see it. If not, let me know. Mine was based on a few ideas from here, so thanks everyone for their part in this! It made a great cake display for our wedding (held at home, hence office chair, lamp and notice board in pic, hehe)

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3639031&id=670720330

Samantha: use the dummies: 7″, 8″, 9″ I think that will look the best.

Kim Wedlock: Well if you dont want to put on new paper from time to time. The the only thing is to protect it with the sticky back plastic.

Samantha: I think it looks best when the boards jump 2″ like 10″, 12″, 14″ & 16″ and then have dummies in the sizes: 6″, 7″ & 8″.

If you have a 4 tier stand (8″, 10″, 12″, 14″) it can hold around 40 reg. CC’s, 54 if you have 5 tiers (16″)

Hello Louise, I was wondering if you could give me any tips on how to combat grease marks on the paper? My cupcakes have oil in them and they tend to make the cases greasy, and I am worrying about the wrapping paper I am using on the stand. The paper is secured to the stand, so is there anything I could cover it in to protect it? Varnish? Sticky-back plastic? I hope you can help

- Kim.

p.s. for anyone who could not find thicker cake boards, neither could I! I just used spray adhesive to glue 2 thin boards together. Then I mod-podged tissue paper over the top and edges to seal them, and added the ribbon. It was an extra few steps, but it was the only way to achieve the look I wanted! Plus it added a fun texture which I accented with lots of glitter. Sprakle makes everything better!

Hello
So happy i found this for an upcoming wedding I am doing (my first!) Any cost averages for building this from those who have already done so? Also, time to create from start to finish?

Thanks!

This is AWESOME!! I started googling cupcake stands online and wha-la… there you were. I’m making yummy strawberry cupcakes for my friend’s bridal shower in a few weeks and this will be a very cool way to display them! I’m excited! Thanks for posting this!!

Hi Louise! I already sent you an email with the photo of my cupcake stands Let me know if you were able to receive it.. Have a nice day!

Did you use a thicker cake board ? As I bought cake boards today but they were just thin ones.

Thanks,

Sacha

Thanks Louise! Yes I would love to send you a copy.. Kindly give me your email address.. Here’s another shot of the stands with the cupcakes..

http://community.webshots.com/photo/2136736980080638636JqoCNL

BTW, I’m from the Philippines.

Hi Jovie: They look great. I would love if I could use the photo in my cake stand gallery?

You can email the photo to me along with your name and whee you are from.

Thanks!

Dorinda: If you have a photo of the cake stand I would love to see it. as I am making a readers cakestand gallery. Thanks!

Clarissa: I love the way you made the tower. With the thick tiers i guess that you used cake dummies for that???

Mandi: Your welcome

endhy: Thanks and you too are so welcome. Great pics!

Thank you so much for posting this! I have been looking everywhere for a cupcake stand that I can make my self. I am using it for my wedding!

Hi Louise,

Thanks for your tutorial. You are the only one on the net to have this wonderful piece of information! I was wondering if white styrofoam pieces at my craft store can be used in place of cake dummies? Do you think that will work?

Also, I am worried that after I assemble all of the pieces, it will not be stable. Is there anything additional that I should add to it to ensure it will not fall apart – like inserting a small wooden rod down the center?

Thanks much!

Thanx alot…i love this.
I actually adapted this idea to create a “gift tower”…
for a baby shower…this is awesome info

Here is a link to my cake blog to view pics of my tower. Mocha and Coconut Cupcakes. With chocolate covered Almonds, Peanuts.
It was at the Calistoga Ranch in the Napa Wine Country.
Enjoy,
Shara
http://pinkladycakes.blogspot.com/search/label/Cupcakes

Andrea: Please do so. I would love to see if I can be at any help.

liser 40: So glad you could use it. I would love to see some pictures. You can email them to me if you like?

OMG thank you so much, I have been looking for something like this for my wedding cake. I use to work in a bakery and Mrs. Fields Cookie Co., and I fell in love with decorating and am pretty good at it. Well I was wondering if you could email me so I could send you a pic of how i want my wedding (cupcake) cake to look like. i found a pic on the net and couldnt think of how to make the stand. its square instead of circle and the cupcakes are in lil clear favor boxes with ribbon wraped around them. so if you could email me so i could send you a pic and maybe you can give me some advice on how to accomplish it!!! thanks anthonyandreagabbi@yahoo.com

The last link did n’t stick so here is the third one I made- sorry.
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e233/chellemichel/SexInTheCityMovieParty3.jpg

Thank you Big Mama

very cool!

Hello:)
One more question. I can order the Styrofoam cake dummies in different heights. Do i have to order two 2″ cake dummies or can I just order one 4″ tall cake dummie and forget about gluing them together? Here is the site I found the cake dummies on. They have a lot of sizes.
http://www.guildcraftfurniture.com/cake_dummies.html
Thank you for your prior reply,
Shara

Shara: You should be able to do it. Just make sure that the dowl goes straight in the middle so it will stand up straight.

Hello:)
I make wedding cakes. Do you think using a wood rod(dowl) just like you would in a multi layered cake? When I build my cakes I put a very long wood rod through the whole cake before I put the top layer and and then put the layer on. This makes the cake very stable from tipping. Could i do this with the cupcake tower? I am going to make a five layer stand.
http://www.pinkladycakes.blogspot.com

Iara: Have fun with it:-)

thank you so much for posting this great tuturial i will try to make one, hope i can do it perfectly! LOL take care!

Iara:

The cake boards are made of masonite. You can buy cake boards from most cake decorating shops. I buy mine from cake decorating shops in the UK.

Fifi: Cheers!

Sorry I should probably have specified that I was talking about getting oilcloth to stick on the cake boards and dummies, but thanks! I’ll try your suggestions

Hey there,

I’m not entirely convinced the school glue will work as the store sent me a sample and it peels off with a little bit of a tug. Do you know of something I could use to maybe stick through the whole stand to make sure it stays together? E.g. skewers (but something stronger of course).

Thanks very much!

Jung: That is very pretty. Very Martha Stewart like.
Good luck with the wedding and happy wishes.

Hi,

Hmm I would use an all round school glue (not stick) they should be working with the oilcloth texture.

Hi, thanks for this gorgeous idea. I’m thinking of making this for my wedding but instead of paper, sticking oilcloth to the cake boards so that it’s easy to clean. Do you think the glue will work okay with this?

Thanks and best wishes!

thank you so much, i am planning my first babyshower and this will really make it special for my guests! thank you forever thank you!

You are a genius! I’m hosting a couple’s wedding shower with Blue and Pink cupcakes, so I wanted a stand with color. Now I can choose my own! Plus, the cost to make is significanly lower than to buy. Great job Louise. : ))

I just stumbled onto your website earlier in the week. You are amazing! I made a stand this week and tried my hand at poured fondant. I need more practice but I am excited to have something new to try. Thank you for all your wonderful instructions.

Kellie: Yes I think it would. Great idea!!

Louise!

I just have to tell you how grateful I am for your wonderful instructions. I was dead set on making my own cupcake tower for my daughters 1st birthday because I couldn’t find anything that I liked.. I didn’t have a particular theme as much as just colors… I am a brown/pink/blue/green NUT!

I am not a very crafty person but your instructions were so great that I decided to give it a try. I got tons of compliments and it has inspired my “crafty” side. Thanks again!

Here are some pics of my tower.
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n160/1stXmama0413/Finns%20Birthday/100_2344.jpg
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n160/1stXmama0413/Finns%20Birthday/100_2275.jpg
http://i111.photobucket.com/albums/n160/1stXmama0413/Finns%20Birthday/100_2274.jpg

Do you have any pictures of this cupcake stand with cupcakes on it?

This is such a cute idea — I need something like this for a 50th birthday party. I was wondering, do you secure the layers together with anything to keep them secure so they don’t separate? I’m thinking about giving it a try, but want to be sure it doesn’t come apart. Very cute!!!

Hi May,

If it should be able to hold an 8″ cake the Polysthyrene columns should be 7″ to give the support and I dont think that I would make it more than a three tier due to the stability of the cake stand.

Hi evangelione,

Your welcome, please share the link with your friends.

THX nomie!

hello Louise, thanks you for your kindness to sharing this wonderful tutorial! i am so happy that i found this tutorial, my friend are looking for a cake stand like this for her little girl’s birthday party, and i think this is the one! thanks for your brilliant idea and may i link this tutorial link to my blog? i want to share it to my friends too^_^

Thanks Louise for this great tutorial. Here you have my own stand and cupcakes. 12” – 10” and 8” cake drum make a stand where I could put 24-25 cupcakes.
My stand:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v698/MEDRO13/100_2444.jpg

Many of you ask me how many cupcakes this cupcake stand would hold and how large it can be made.
I think I have writen it here in the comment section ( so please scroll up)

But I personally would not make it more than 5 tiers then I would rather go with one made in acrylic. Just to be sure that it is stable.

Now cupcakes dont weigh that much but its better to be on the safe side. You can always place the rest of the cupcakes around the cake stand or make two cake stands maybe?.

Great link to acrylic cupcake stands http://www.cake-stand.co.uk/category/34.aspx

I just wanted to say that you are BRILLIANT! I needed multi-tiered trays for my daughter’s wedding reception and I’ve seen the ones made from dishes but I do’t have have anything suitable that’s not already being used. I’m going to make a few of these for tea sandwiches instead of cupcakes. Thanks for the idea!

Hi & welcome Mari-Caracas.
Good luck with the cake for your daughter’s baptism.

Louise

What you use for columns is cake dummies made by using 2×2″ round dummies glued together. Look at links above I am sure you will find them there:-)

Here is a list of places on where to get the materials for making the cake stand. Ribbon & paper can be found in most crafty stores ect.

http://www.sweetwise.com (US)

http://cakedecostore.com/cgi-bin/webc.cgi/st_main.html (US)

http://www.decopac.com/ (US)

http://www.cksouth.com/ (US)

http://www.countrykitchensa.com/ (US)

http://www.taylorfoam.com/taylorfoam_com/cakedummies/ (US)

http://www.michaels.com/art/online/home (US)

http://www.bakerysugarcraft.com.au/product.asp?group=116 (AU)

http://cakedeco.com.au/ (AU)

http://www.choicecakes.com/index.php (AU)

http://www.almondart.com (UK)

http://www.design-a-cake.co.uk/ (UK)

Hi Ambjer,

Send me an email and I will try help you out:-)

Louise

Wow. You made it look so easy.
I will be trying to do this if I can.
The thing is, I live in a small town, and there really aren’t cake decorating or cake supply stores in my vicinity.
Is there anywhere else I could get the cake drums and cake dummies?
Or is just cardboard with the wrapping paper on top okay?
I’m new to cake decorating/making [I've only been doing it for two months].
Thank you so much!

–Ambjer

hi! i love your cakes & your creativity! where can i get this cake drums? I’m new to baking and stuff so i dnt understand much some of the stuff you use here. =D

I have 1/2 thick foam boards but I am having problems finding 1 in thick ribbon to wrap around the side… 7/8 doesn’t cover it.

Thank you for all of your comments.

On where to buy thick cake boards It deppends on where you live;-)
You can always email me and I wil try to help.

Thank you Liis for the note that it can work with styrofoam aswell.

Cindy, I think the cake stand looks great. I hope your girl had a great day.

Louise

Hi, I found this through an old wedding forum because I needed a cupcake holder for a halloween party. Great DIY idea! The only cake supply store near me closes early, so I used styrofoam discs from the floral section at Michaels, and this is my favorite part — for the columns I used empty aluminum cans (like Campbell soup cans) wrapped in paper. I jammed the open end of the can into the styrofoam to secure it.

I love this idea! It is perfect for what I am doing for my wedding! I was just wondering on the cake boards…I can only find 1/2 inch thick cake boards I cant find any 1 inch thick ones, could you maybe tell me where I could find those, I have been looking online because I dont know of any cake decorating stores in my town. Thanks for the idea!

This is fabulous! I did cupcakes for my daughter’s first birthday party. I changed a couple of things but used the same basic idea/design of your stand. Thanks so much for this!

Here is a picture of the stand I made.
http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd212/AvaleePictures/Cupcakes.jpg