DIY – How to make a cupcake stand/cupcake tower – cupcakes & mini cakes

By
Janice Friedman
578

Cupcake cake stand
I think when serving cupcakes or mini cakes, they look so much better when served on a cake stand. So I have made a tutorial that will show you how to make a cupcake cake stand. When you have all the materials ready it is very easy and quick to make. You can adapt it to the color or pattern on your cakes. I have used thick gift wrap paper to cover the cake boards. If you like you can place a 6″ cake on the top tier. I would not recommend placing any larger cake on top.

A 5 TIER CAKE STAND CAN HOLD ABOUT 51 REGULAR CUPCAKES.

materials for making a cupcake cake stand
This is what I have used:
Cake boards:

The Bakers Pantry - cake circles-, Sturdy White Corrugated Cardboard,...
The Bakers Pantry - cake circles-, Sturdy White Corrugated Cardboard,...
  • cake circles HIGH QUALITY, STRONG AND SAFE- made out of high quality corrugated cardboard, our white cake circles are...
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1×8″, 1×10″, 1×12″
Note: If you want two more tiers on the stand, you will need 1×14″ + 1×16″ cake boards.

Styrofoam cake dummies

Oasis Supply 746976 Dummy Round Cake, 6' x 2', White
Oasis Supply 746976 Dummy Round Cake, 6" x 2", White
  • Shape: Round
  • Size: 6" Round X 2" High
  • Materials: Solid Styrofoam. Slight imperfections are considered normal and can be fixed with icing
Check Price

Each 2″ high in the sizes: 2X6″ and 2×7″ (If you can get 4″ high Styrofoam cake dummies, then you will only need 1 in each size)
Note: You will need 2×8″ 2×9″ Styrofoam cake dummies for two more tiers.

Satin ribbon, enough for both cake boards and the Styrofoam cake dummies
Thick paper
Glue stick or double sided tape
Craft glue
Strong double sided carpet tape
Metal pins
A pair of scissors
A pencil

Step 1:
Start by glue the Styrofoam cake dummies together. So they can dry completely.
cupcake cake stand

Step 2:
Take the satin ribbon, and fasten it on the cake dummies with a metal pin. Then wrap it tightly all the way around the cake dummies.

Ribbon for Crafts-Hipgirl 100 Yards 3/8' Satin Ribbon Set For Gift...
Ribbon for Crafts-Hipgirl 100 Yards 3/8" Satin Ribbon Set For Gift...
  • 3/8 inch(3 8 ribbon or 10mm thick ribbon) solid grosgrain cloth fabric ribbon for crafts are perfect for crafting,...
  • All the colors are cute and vibrant. Use with tulle rolls and crochet headbands to match every outfit. Each ribbon is...
  • Ribbon by the roll. 5 yd ribbon spools. Includes: black ribbon, brown, cream, thin white ribbon, purple, light orchid (...
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Note: you can also glue the ribbon on the cake dummies if you like, just use a glue stick.

Step 3:
Secure the satin ribbon with a metal pin or a small piece of double sided tape. Continue with the rest of the cake dummies.
cupcake cake stand

Step 4:
Place the cake boards on the paper and with the pencil draw a line around the cake boards. Cut out the paper circles with a pair of scissors.
cupcake cake stand

Step 5:
Rub the glue stick all over the cake board and place the paper circles on top.
cupcake cake stand
cupcake cake stand

Step 6:
To attach the satin ribbon around the side of the cake boards use either a glue stick or double sided tape.
cupcake cake stand

Step 7:
Now it is time to assemble the cake stand. Use strong double sided carpet tape so that the cake dummies stays in place on the cake boards. Note: Remember when you have assembled the cake stand with cakes on it, not to move it around too much.

IMPORTANT!! If you are having problems finding the materials to make this cake stand. Then please take your time and read through the comment section as you may be able to find links and answers on where you can buy the materials.

You can also cover your boards for the cake stand with rolled fondant.

Please visit my tutorial section if you want to learn cake and cupcake decoration techniques so you can make fantastic creations to put on your cake stand.

Happy Caking!

Louise

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

578 COMMENTS

  1. Lovely idea that looks really simple to follow. I throw a hot tub garden party every year and I’m sure this idea would definitely be appreciated by my guests.

  4. Your cupcake stand gave me an idea of how to make a 3 tiered display for a doll show on October 17, 2015 in Carson City, NV! My daughter will be able to show off her character action figures that she has sewed that go with her comic books in a very unique way. I plan to put the display on a lazy susan to make it “interactive” to attract more customers to her side of the table that I rented! My side has a unusual display too.
    Hope to see some of you there! The table is Shirley’s Creative Designs & Dream Angel Paradise and Tech Warrior Comic Books with her action figures.

  5. I need a cupcake/cake stand the only thing is my cake is a 8/10 cake. The first two layers are cupcakes the top is the cake. Is there anyway I can expand this to make it work?

    • Meghann,

      I’m sorry, but I am not sure how to make this work. I have posted your question to the site to see if any other viewers are able to help find an answer.

  7. I love this article about how to make a cake ball tower. I am making a cake pop wedding cake for a friend and having a difficult time finding a styrofoam cake dummy. I’ve experimented on different types of styrofoam pieces and have found that some are very hard, and some too loose. What kind of styrofoam do you use, and who is the supplier? The cake will be holding 360 cake pops, 5 tiers, so it has to be quite sturdy. The dimensions have to be 5″ high, with the tiers 8″, 10″, 12″, 14″, and 16″ diameter. I tried with a very hard piece of EPS foam and it was nearly impossible forcing the lollipop stick into the material. I’d appreciate any information or advice, thanks!

  8. Hi Louise,

    Thank you so much for sharing this. I am going to make this stand for my niece birthday party! I have a question when attaching the styrofoam cake dummies whivh size do I use first? Is the smallest one used directly under the 8 inch cake board? Please help me. Also if I wanted to make a 4 tier with a cake on top can I start with a 10 inch? Thanks.

  11. Could you use flower foam instead of fake cake foam? I am going to try it for my wedding. Not getting married until summer 2015 so I have time for trial and error.

  12. Am I the only person who can’t find 1 inch thick cake boards? The article would be much better if you listed where to get the supplies online. Just my two cents!

  13. is there anything you can use besides the cake dummies? can I use just regular Styrofoam cylinders instead? or anything else, any ideas?

  14. I have to do 80 cupcakes. How many tiers should I do?? Seeing the cost of some stands, I think it’s cheaper to make one!

  15. I have looked at both Michael’s craft store & Jo Ann fabrics & can’t find the styrofoam dummies in the right sizes. Can you tell me where you purchased your’s?

    Thank you,
    Katherine

  16. Love the tutorial! I think I’ll be making one of these for my best friend’s bridal shower coming up. I’m looking at making around 30 cupcakes for the event and I read that your 5-tier stand in the tutorial has room for 50. So do you think 3 tiers would be enough for the 30 cupcakes? or should I do 4?

    Thank you so much!

    • Hi Courtney,
      I have made a few cupcake stands of my own. I think the four layer size would be better for the amount of cupcakes that you would like to make.

  20. This is really cool! I’m going to use it for a boutique soon. It looks very inexpensive and I’ve been trying to find something like this for a long time. Thank you.

  21. I need to display 100 cupcakes for a wedding. If I make a larger version of this how can I make sure it is strong enough?

    • Use larger styrofoam dummies for the center and use a strong double sided carpet tape maybe? I would make sure that once assembled the cake stand will not be moved around with.

  22. I really enjoy these easy instructions for making a cupcake stand. I have been looking for creative ways and this is perfect and can be decorated to fit any party theme. Thanks!

  25. What a fasntastic idea! I have searched lots of sites on how to make my own stands for my daughters 1st birthday and yours are beautiful. I even have the same tablecloth and pink spotty wrapping paper!

  29. Instead of using the double sided carpet tape for assembly do you think a glue gun would work? Or would that not be sturdy enough?

  31. Where do I get the dummies from? Hobby lobby? and is dummies the actual name for them? Just want to make sure when I ask for them. and its 2 dummies for each size correct(totalling 4 I would need)? Unless I am able to find the bigger size, then only 1 is needed for each size (totalling 2 I would need only)

    • Cake dummy/Cake dummies can be found in cake decorating supply stores and some crafts stores like Hobby lobby. Global sugar art.com have them. Some do sell 4″ high dummies so then you would only need 1 per tier. If they are only 2″ then you need two per tier and glue them together.

    • The cake stand in the tutorial is for 50 cupcakes. I would not recommend to make one that holds 150 and don’t know what sizes to use then. I would recommend to make 3 cake stands.

  35. I love this! Me and my friend have not long started a cake business and people ask is we provide stands, so this is a fab way to provide stands that will match their theme

  36. This is great! Definitely making one for my cupcakes at my wedding 🙂 Question… If I plan on making about 80 cupcakes and have a 6″ cake on the top tier for us to cut into, how many tiers would you suggest having?

    • I would not suggest to make it in different sizes than given in the tutorial. You can make single tiers fro the rest of the cupcakes or place them around the cake stand on the table.

  39. Definitely going to use this tutorial for my mum 50th! Do you think a giant cupcake would sit ok on top of it? Thank you for sharing this with us!

      • I was thinking of doing 4 tiers, one obviously for a giant cupcake, the rest for cupcakes. Thank you for your help.

      • As long as the cupcake cake is not bigger than a 6″ cake and the cake stand is well assembled so it do not fall apart. I think that it will work. You may need to support the top tier when cutting the cake.

  40. Thank you so much. I was not looking forward to paying a ton of money for Cupcake stands, and this give me the ability to customize for each event. Why didn’t I think of this? So awesome, thanks again.

  42. my daughters first birthday party is coming up next Saturday and i made one but i did squares instead and i just cut up and old card board box and some scrapbook paper on top and on my styrofoam dummies. i got my styrofoam dummies and the dollar tree so i spent a total of 6 dollars on mine and i did a 4 tier

  44. This is a great idea!
    I have a suggestion that may make this a reusable item, and easier to clean up. (Cupcakes tend to leave grease marks and bits of frosting or sprinkles may get smudged around.)
    Use a washable surface like reusable tablecloth or placemat instead of the gift-wrap paper.

    • As it says in the tutorial a 5 tier can hold about 51 cupcakes, less if you place a cake on top. If you place a cake on top this must only be 6″

  49. Can you help me? I am looking for a lace effect embosser/cutter to go around the bottom of a wedding cake, as seen on Cotton and Crumbs wedding cakes. Can’t seem to trace this one.

  51. I am doing some communion cupcakes this weekend, live in the Canary Islands and we can´t get cake dummies :o(, I was thinking of using a heavy duty cardboard tube (poster tube) and covering it, do you think this would work? Only for 30 cakes; thanks for all the ideas!

  52. Are the cake boards the traditional cardboard ones? The boards in your tutorial appear thicker? Wonderful idea–can’t wait to make it!

    • I used the cake boards (cake drum) made in the UK which are thicker. Global Sugar Art stock the thick ones and so do Cake Supplies Depot. Both also have dummies

  53. Hi Louise, you are a great help with splendid ideas! Would you please help me by telling me how many tiers do i need to make a cupcake stand for 120 cupcakes? and what would be the diameter for each tier? Thanks a million GiGi 🙂

    • GiGi, I can only recommend that you make the cake stand in the sizes listed in the tutorial. It can get too big and not charming if they are made too big (in my opinion ;-)) Make more than 1 cake stand instead.

  54. I have been searching for a how to on this and finally found it! Thank you so much for taking the time to post this. Will definitely be making several stands for July’s party.

  57. This is a wonderful idea! I’m going to make one got my daughters first birthday party! I have been trying to find one by google to buy but when this one showed up, I thought this was the perfect one and then realized it was home made!! Love it!

  58. I made two of these recently for my step daughter’s baby shower. I ended up using 14″, 12″ & 10″ boards with the 7″ & 6″ cake forms. I made a few other adjustments as well. I use 1/2 masonite boards & painted them white instead of using the ribbon to cover the edges. I found shelf liner paper at the Dollar Tree in the perfect color–worked great since it is sticky on the back. One roll did one stand with some left over. Instead of using ribbon to cover the cake foams, I laminated textured white scrapbook paper, cut it to the right size & used straight pins with pearlized heads & just stuck them straight into the cake foam. Still used the carpet tape to put it all together. Works & looked great. All of it can be wiped off no problem. I made one round & one square. Thanks for the idea & instructions.

    • As it says in the tutorial. A 5 tier can hold about 51 regular cupcakes. As long as you don’t move it around too much with cupcakes on it it should be steady enough.

  60. Hi! I love this idea!! I am doing a wedding cake/cupcakes in June and need some help.

    I don’t know how many tiers to make as I need it to fit a 6″ round on top and 50 cupcakes. How many tiers do I need? Also, what sizes?

    Thanks!!

  61. Hi! I am hoping to make these as centerpieces at my wedding! I’ll need 23 of them to hold 10 cupcakes each. That’s a lot of materials! Can you tell me what you suggest for making a stand that holds 10 cupcakes and maybe is a little more cost effective? Thank you!

  62. Hi Louise, thank you so much for sharing with us.
    What do you suggest to replace the cake dummy? I am not sure if I can find that here in Singapore. And I am on a tight budget.
    Please advise…

    • It’s a little hard to say, as you can use the three largest or the three smallest sizes of the cake boards if you want it a three tier cake stand. A roughly guess is about 25-30 depending on the size of cupcakes.

  67. You’re a true life saver!!! I have a wedding order this week and was finding it really hard to get hold of a decent looking cupcake stand …. Now, I can’t wait to get this done :)) Thank you so much …

    From,
    The Bliss Cupcakes (Malaysia)

  69. Yes and cake decorating shops.

    Fra: Disqus [mailto:]
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    Emne: [cakejournal] Re: How to make a cake stand for cupcakes or mini cakes

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  70. Hi Louise! I’m turning 25 this Nov 17 and I wanted to make something special for my birthday, something that I could really say that “I made that!” Then I thought of making a cupcake tower. The cupcake stand that you have here is what I was totally looking for. Thank you for sharing this Louise!  

    • I am not sure that it will be just as strong? Maybe just cupcakes? and not cake & cupcakes.
      Fra: Disqus [mailto:]
      Sendt: 27. oktober 2011 22:18
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      Emne: [cakejournal] Re: How to make a cake stand for cupcakes or mini cakes

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  72. Sugarcraft.com has the 4inch cake dummies & cake drums. Very inexpensive. I’m making 2 – 5 tier & its goining to run me $26.61

  73. 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? 

    • You should use the sizes that I wrote in the tutorial 🙂

      Fra: Disqus [mailto:]
      Sendt: 5. oktober 2011 20:31
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      Emne: [cakejournal] Re: How to make a cake stand for cupcakes or mini cakes

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  74. they do but they are expensive…i was looking yesterday and didn’t buy any. I found a local foam place where they’ll cut it to the size i want it 🙂 maybe one close to you will have it

  75. Thank you so much for posting this! This is perfect!
    I am thinking of making it for a 4-5″ cake on top and the rest of the tiers for 40 cake pops.
    I am thinking of 12″ x2″, 10″ x 2″, 8″x2″ and 6″x2″ for the bases. I thought I need 2″ to hold the sticks. Can you tell me what I need for the dummies?
    Does this sound right?

    • I haven’t really made it with pops. I guess that you would need Styrofoam bases to push the pops into? Maybe glued onto a think cake board? I would still use dummies for the center.
      Fra: Disqus [mailto:]
      Sendt: 2. oktober 2011 16:14
      Til: [email protected]
      Emne: [cakejournal] Re: How to make a cake stand for cupcakes or mini cakes

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  78. Thank you for this wonderful Idea. I have always wanted to do cupcakes on a stand for when and if my best friend ever got engaged . I have had my eyes open for a pretty stand that wasn’t a bugdet buster for several years . Well the day has finally come and I still after years have never seen anything that I really liked . Finally I have something beautiful   AND I can do it myself …Love it ! Thank you for saving me !

  79. Hi there Louise, first of all thank you so much for this site, it´s awesome!. I got a question: this cake stand can hold a  9-10 ¨cake?, I´m afraid it´s not strong enough to keep the cake in place.

  81. 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!!

  84. This is so cute! I’m actually looking to make a cake stand to hold nail polishes on! Thanks for posting this! 🙂

  85. I absolutely love this!!! I made one and called it CUPCAKE CUTIE and I’m on to my next one, a Zebra Print Cupcake Stand. I went to Michael’s Craft Store and to NY Cake West for cake dummies and additional items. I learned the hard way, not to use Goop glue with cake dummies because it will melt. Here is my CUPCAKE CUTIE. Thanks for the easy tutorial! https://picasaweb.google.com/100939158730376997434/CUPCAKESTANDS

  86. amazing  idea i have a baby shower cake and cupcakes to do in two weeks, they want a 6in cake and 30 cupcakes, what do you recommend for cake board sizes for me to use?

    • You should only make it with 4 tiers (8″ 10″ 12″ 14″)

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  88. ;o). This is by far the easiest and prettiest cupcake stand. I recently purchased 1 from a website and spent over $50. THe quality was so poor that I was only able to use it once. I am certain this will not be the case since I will be able to change the colors and ribbons accrodingly. Thanks a bunch!

  89.  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!!

  97. Please scroll down the cake stand tutorial. I have written how many cupcakes the stand can hold in a pink box. I would not recommend to make more than 5 tiers. For a more sturdy cake stand use strong double sided carpet tape if available. Of course there are always a risk of it toppling over but if the cake stand are not to be moved around I think it will be safe.

  99. 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.

  100. 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.

  101. 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.

  104. Hi Louise, thank you so much for sharing.
    I have a wedding cake to bake next month and I would like to alternate between big cakes and cupcakes (I mean cake on top, followed by a set of cupcakes, then a bigger cake followed by another set of cupcakes, and finnally the biggest cake as the base). Do you think this would work? Keen to hear from you.

  110. Excellent, thank you, I can’t wait to try it. This is also a great way to revamp old cake boards.
    I really appreciate all your tutorials and the information you’ve shared. I’ve had so much fun decorating my first four dozen cupcakes and I’ve still got two more birthdays to go. Thanks to your help my cakes will look beautiful.
    Thank you.

  112. This looks really great. I’m going to be doing a holiday cookie exchange at my internship (it’s a competition and presentation counts). So this looks great. My only question, would this be strong enough to hold about 60 cookies? I’m not sure if they’re heavier than cupcakes and I wouldn’t want it to breaka nd drop them. Thanks!

  115. 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!

  117. 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.

  118. Love this idea! I will be making a 6 inch cake with about 35-40 cupcakes for a baby shower. I want to put the cake on the top tier and the cupcakes below. How many tiers/sizes would you suggest for this? thanks!

  120. I found your site and needed a cupcake stand to make a 18th birthday cake/cupcake creation. $35 to hire or $37 to make using MDF (I cut with jigsaw) and furniture legs ($9.87each)from Bunnings. Covered in contact and ribbon around the edges. I drilled a hole in the bottom of each leg and used dowel right through the middle layer, I used the ‘built in’ screw to connect it at other end.

  121. 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!! .

  122. I was so excited to find your page, but I am spending an extraordinary amount of time searching in vain for the supplies. Our Michaels in Durham, NC does not know what cake dummies and cake boards are. After searching for 1/2″ thick cake boards, I discovered that they are called cake drums. If you could advise where I can find these supplies in my area, that would be appreciated. Thanks!

  124. hello, I just wanted to know how thick was the cake board you used in this tutorial and where can i purchase it. Thanks. 🙂

  125. 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

  127. 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-

  128. Thanks so much for posting this, These stands can cost so much and bakeries charge a lot, now I can make my own, Thanks!!!

  130. thank you so much for sharing your ideas. I am making my brothers wedding cake and the stand on the picture they have given me to copy looks just like your one. It has 3 tiers of mini wedding cakes and a 4th tier with a 6inch cake. Do you think it will be sturdy enough?
    Regards, Sadie.

  133. 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??

  134. I love it! I am really looking for a great cupcake stands that i can make on my own. I really need a good one that i can use for my small business. The ready to use cupcake stand is very expensive for me. I asked my husband to make me stand but he used wood. It is so heavy and it’s not convenient for me to bring in the event. Thank you so much, it helps me a lot!

  136. cristabelle: No it can not hold a 23cm cake. I would only place a 4″ or 6″ on this cake stand. So make one just for cpcakes and serve the cake alone.

    Dana: Thank you for sharing your material tips with us.

  137. 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.

  138. Hi have been looking for a solution as trying to hire a stand is so expensive in Ireland, hopefully i will be able to source the bits, could you suggest what size diameters I may need tof a 23cm fruitcake on top and then 48 cupcakes? would it be strong enough to hold the cake too? help!

  139. 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

  140. Rebecca: Im guessing that it will only be the cake and no cupcakes? You can use it for a cake if you like, just make it a 1 tier instead.

    Jessica: Im not sure that the stability will be the same with smaller centers? With 14″ + 16″ cake board there can be more than just 1 row of cupcakes. You just cant get to fit a full 2 row.

  141. 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?

  142. Im getting married in October and we are having 9 inch cakes in the center of each table. Would this same idea apply to a cake? I think its such a cute and affordable idea. It would be so cool to decorate and it would add such a great touch, what do you think?

  143. Claire: I have seen cake stands with “thin” boards aswell. If they are sturdy enough. You can then just use thin ribbon. You can make the cake stand with square boards and square dummies just use the same size as for rounds.

  144. Also, would this work to buy square cake boards and still have circle dummies as the support? or should I have square dummies? The reason I ask about square is because they are cheaper and I feel like they could hold more cupcakes than the circle.

  145. 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?

  148. I would love to see this in pdf form. It would make it so much easier having it readily available! Love this site!!

  149. 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

  150. Leigh: I would not say that painting is the best way. I think that you may still need to have something underneath the CC. If you are trying then use a craft waterbased paint, but I would still have some sort in between.

    Karen: The cake boards I use comes from the UK. You can get them from Global sugar art (1/2″ cake drum)

  151. 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?

  152. Hi Louise, all I can say is WOW!!! I love, love the cupcake stand idea! I noticed that the cake boards that you used looked thick in the picture. What type of cake board did you use, and did you paste them together to make them look thick so that way you could wrap the ribbon around the edge?

  153. 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!

  154. Emma: You should use as it says in the tutorial 8″ & 9″ cake dummies. If you can get them in 4″ use those or just glue 2×2″ together

    Jess: How was the stability when making it 5 tier?

    Casey: Sounds very neat. I like that other materials can be used if not having cake dummies.

  155. 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! 🙂

  156. Just wanted to let you know that I made one of these stands today :)I was looking at buying a cupcake stand or having one made for me but when this didn’t work out at the last minute I was so excited to find your blog with easy instructions on how to make my own! It only took me a bit over an hour to make (I made a 5 tier one). Instead of ribbon, I used some cheap material around the circumference of the cake dummies (held in place with small, coloured dress-makers pins) & I didn’t bother to cover the cake boards; I just kept them silver. I’ll be using this at my cousins hen’s tomorrow & I’m sure I’ll get many more uses out of it in the future! Thanks so much for posting this how-to 🙂 I’ll have to try and remember to send you a photo of the finished product. Jess.

  157. 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.

  158. hello i am going to make one of these as they look great,but i have 3 cake boards 12″ 14″ and 16″ what size cake dummies should i get as i am unsure the width and height i should get hope you can help thanks…..

  159. Diana: I think that you could use them, but im not sure that they are high enough? I have not tried it though. Remember that you can also use empty tins maybe filled with salt to make them more sturdy.
    Styrofoam disc could also be working.

    Amanda: 🙂

    Diane Roman: I have added to the tutorial how many cupcakes it can hold. So far only for a 5 tier cake stand. I can tell that I am working on a much needed update for this tutorial that will include tips on what else to use if there are trouble getting the right materials.

  160. Going to make 2 of these cake stands for my daughters birthdays one is turning 3 the other 9 so i’m almost forced to make 2 different ones to match their style..:) i haven’t been able to find the cakeboards nor MDF wood anyother suggestions or know where i can get them i live in Pembroke Pines, Fl. Also if i do find and use the tools shoen in the tutorial how many cupcakes will each stand hold.

  161. 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.

  163. 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

  165. 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

  166. Louise, Just curious….would you suggest buying the Wilton Tailored Cake Display Set http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=304-8174

    Then just personalizing it for those who are having trouble finding individual supplies? I searched online & this set appears to be approx $35. I imagine this is a little more costly than buying the foam cake dummies & cake boards separate but may be easier for those who cannot find the pieces.

    What are you thoughts on this? Have you ever worked with this set or do you know anything about it?

  168. Hi, thanks for the information! I have a question though, I can’t find the polysthyrene cake dummies so I’m going to use empty tins/cans, but do they have to be different sizes to work?

  169. 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.

  171. 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.

  172. Thank you so much!! This is the stand I made for my baby shower. : )
    [IMG]http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv51/lstadnik0817/IMG_4479.jpg[/IMG]
    [IMG]http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv51/lstadnik0817/IMG_4478.jpg[/IMG]

  173. 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

  174. Hello,

    Thanks for this great tip. I am going to use this idea and cover the stand pieces with leather to display my custom bracelets at a gallery in the Dallas area. It’s perfect!

  176. Thanks for sharing this great idea! I used round styrofoam as cake board and clay flower pots to stack them up. Ribbons, pink boa and pearl-head pins. Mom-to-be loved it!

  177. 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!!

  179. 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!

  180. Suzanne: I know this is late, but unfortunately I dont know to all places where you can get polysthyrene cake dummies. There are a lot who have used other things like tins ect. I dod hope that you found a solution anyway.

  181. 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!

  182. I can’t seem to find the polysthyrene cake dummies! I’m in a panic. The baby shower is this weekend and I can’t seem to find a store that sells it. Does anyone know a place in Atlanta?

  183. 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!

  184. I have to bring cupcakes for a baby shower and this is such a simple way to improve the presentation of your cupcakes x 100! I love this. I never thought about covering the stand with wrapping paper that coordinates for the occasion, but it looks so cute. Thank you-!
    -Sylvia

  185. 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.

  187. 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!

  188. Oh, my gosh, I was looking for an idea that I need for a banquet. I will have small cakes as a centerpiece for the tables, and I need some type of tier to display it. I will try this , I just hope that it can stand the weight of the cake.

  190. natalie: That is so sweet. Would you mind sending me a photo? I would love to add it to the cake stand gallery.

    Sherilyn: Please see my comment no.335 for the amount of cupcakes this stand can hold.

    Depending if you can get cake boards in the sizes, Wood is just as good. Maybe even a little better?

  191. 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

  193. 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.

  194. Thank you so much! I am having a tea party bridal shower and I have been looking to add some personalized touches to it. This will be perfect!

  195. 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

  196. Siobhan: This is not intended for more than 51 cupcakes with 5 tiers.

    Rowena: I have only tried it with 8″-10″-12″-14″-16″ for cake boards and 6″-7″-8″-9″ for the dummies

  197. 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 🙂

  198. brilliant re cake stands for cupcakes just stumbled on the site by accident thought the plastic cake stands a bit tacky my daughter’s colours are gold and ivory just being out and bought 7 gold square stands from big to small so heres hoping the stand will work out wish me luck

  199. 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!

  201. 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!!!!

  202. Angle: This cake stand is only for aprox 45 cupcakes. Less if you place a 6″ cake on top. Secure it well with double sided tape. Or you can put it together so that the top tier with the cake can be lifted off for a more easy cutting?

  203. 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?

  204. Thank you Louise, you’re an angel! 🙂 I’m so happy I found your blog it’s sooooo useful for everything! I will make sure to bring a pic of my cupcake stand when I make it.
    Graciasssss!!

  206. Hi, thank you sooooo very much, you’re a geniousss!!!
    I was looking for a cupcake stand and I found it!!! I’m running to Michaels, as we speak 🙂 to buy the materials LOL.
    Just have a quick question…do you think this will also hold a small fondant cake on top?? will it hold the weight?

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

  209. 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

  212. I used this idea for a wedding cupcake tower last week. It turned out so cute! You can see it on my website…www.tatestortes.com in the gallery. It was so easy!

  215. 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

  216. Very cool tutorial. Thank you.

    Does anyone know where I can get the 3 ” doily paper trim that martha Stwert uses on her cupcake tower??? Thanks!

  218. Chil: I would not place cakes larger than 6″ on this cake stand. Not sure that you can have all 50 cc on it it depends on the size of them. Also styrofoam boards is not sturdy enough.

  219. 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 🙂

  221. 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.

  223. 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!!!

  224. Linda: Only if you cant get 4″ high dummies. For the ribbons I think that I used for the two dummies on the pink polka dot cake stand I used around 20 meters, I dont know what that is in feet sorry.

  226. Hi there, this is a fantastic idea. Thanks for sharing.

    Can I just ask if I understand right by saying that I need 4 Polysthyrene cake dummies? all at 2″ high,
    2 x 5″ dummies & 2 x 6″ dummies? I just want to get that right before I buy. Can I also ask how much ribbon was used on the dummies. I dont want to run out mid-wrap. Thank so much.

  227. Liberty: Skip the first tier (8″) then it should be ok for both an 8″ cake and 20 cupcakes or more.

    crystal: yes 4″

    Michelle: If you want an all cake “cakestand” I would bake round cakes that I would stack. The sizes of the cakes would be so that after stacking, you can place cupcakes around the “edge” of each tier.

    Jeggy: The cost of it depend on what you use and where you buy the materials from. I get my cakeboards and polystrene circles from the UK=shipping to Denmark a bit pricy but this is where I can get it from. Mostly I buy cakeboards from http://www.sugarshack.co.uk and P.circles from A piece of cake http://www.apieceofcakethame.co.uk/

  228. Hi Louise, this is a great idea and it looks so nice…much better than any i’ve seen in the shops. Just wondering how much it cost you to put it all together and where you purchased the polystrene cirles? x

  229. 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

  230. This site is great, I’m planning my first daughter’s birthday party 6 months in advance. If possible I would love to make not only the cupcakes out of cake but also the cupcake stand! Have you got any suggestions?

  232. Hi I am making a 3 tier cake stand for my daughter’s mickey and minnie first birthday theme. I was so excited when I came across your site! I need to make this by this coming Tuesday and I was hoping you could help… I will need to hold a 8in cake on top and fit 20 cupcakes on the bottom two tiers. Which cake board sizes and dummies (height and width) will I need to achieve this? Thanks much!

  234. Chelsea: you can find the polysthyren dummies at cake supplie stores. There are a few links to shops who sell them. Please try and browse through the comments.

    Ollie: Great tip, thx.

    Sar: you need it to be at least 4″ in the height. If you cant find 4″ high dummies then glue together 2, 2″ dummies.

    Sallie: this will not hold 100 cupcakes. I would not make the dimensions larger. You could add up to 5 tiers in total and then place the rest of the cc’s around the cake stand.

  235. 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!

  238. Hi!!! this is just what i was looking for!
    Thank You very much.. i’m definitely going to make one cupcake stand following this simply directions 🙂
    sorry for my ‘not so good’ writing,
    by the way, i’m from Monterrey México!
    xoxo

  244. I love you website. I also love your toutorials. I made a cake stand for my brother’s graduation party, I am going to have to email you a pic so you can see it. I am so glad I came across you page. It is full of great ideas. Keep up the great work!!! I am digging the new look.

  245. N: I would make 5 tiers, though im not sure that it would hold 80 CC. But you could always place the rest of the CC’s around the cakestand on the table. That looks really good.

    Daphne Caldwell: http://www.globalsugarart.com have the thick cakeboards that I use. They are 1/2″ high.

    Danielle: Thank you for a great tip on a alternative way to make the “dummys”

    Julie: Sure, if I could just ask you to link back to me? thx.

    Sarah: I am close to think that a 5 tier would hold 60 + smash cake. You use the size as in the post + 1 16″ board and 8″ size dummy. You may have to place the CC’s thightly?

  246. Louise,

    Sorry, about my last post, I found a solution to my problem: I decided to paste four of the thin cake boards of each size together (4 of 8″, 4 of 10″, 4 of 12″) and this allowed them to be about 5/8″ thick. I found some cute 5/8″ thick ribbon and hot glued this to the cake boards and …tada! Success!

    Thank you again for this site! Here is my finished work for my friend’s Monkey-themed baby shower:
    http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_JsLXGrMWg84/Snum6D6XVkI/AAAAAAAAAAc/CdfX2t4Onzc/s1600-h/Monkey+Cupcake+Stand.jpg

  248. Louise,

    This is awesome I’m going to make cupcakes for my sisters college going away party this weekend and I’m going to attempt to make this stand to display them. I will post a picture to let you know how it turns out. Thanks Again!

  249. 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.

  250. Hi Louise,
    I love this cake stand. I am having my sons first birthday. I will be making 60 cupcakes and i want to put a 7″ smash cake on top. What size cake boards, dummies, and how many tiers should I use?

  252. Hi Louise,

    Thanks again for this wonderful tutorial. I’m about to work on my second of these, for my daughter’s birthday coming up. I just wanted to pass on a tip for those who can’t find the cake drums. I instead used baby formula tins. I just put rocks in them which kept them stable.

    Thanks, Danielle

  253. 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

  254. I’ve been researching cupcake stands to buy for an upcoming wedding I’m doing and came across your stand – it’s fantastic! I need to make one for 80 guests, do you think four tiers would be enough?

  256. I love your cupcake stand! Its gorgeous! I was wondering if you remember how much ribbon you used??? Also i want to make two stands and have just two tiers. How much cipcakes do you think would fit on one?

  257. 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

  258. Tifani: Huge thanks for the info.

    Jennifer: It is always great to see what the readers make and I like your version with 1 center and then pillars aswell.

    Jennifer: Use the sizes and make 5 tiers for each stand that should hold 100 cc I am pretty sure.

    Christine: Sounds beautiful. I would love to see photos. You can do a paper template and mark out where each column should be placed. Then trace this to the boards with a pencil that way it will be as close as centered as it can be. Good Luck!

  259. 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!

  260. First of all, this idea is so wonderful! I plan on making two myself for our upcoming wedding.

    Sorry to repeat a question that has probably been asked a million times, but I got tired of reading through 271 comments. 🙂 With three tiers, how many cupcakes will it hold? I’m planning on making two towers, to hold 100 or so cupcakes total. How many tiers would you recommend for me to use, and what size cake boards?

  261. 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!

  262. omg i know this couldnt hav come at a better time i am organising my sisters bby shower next month and this is the last utensil i have been SEARCHING for, i either can’t find one to match the theme of the bby shower or they are too expensive say 50 dollars just for one and i need about 10 bcos its a big bby shower lol . so i cant wait to get this started im so excited

  263. 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

  265. 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.

  266. jane: the dummies need to be either 2×2″=4″ or 4″ as one whole dummie. I know there are some links to dummies in the comments.

    Paula in Texas: Firstly Paula this cake stand can not hold more than 40-45 (50) cupcakes and I will not recomend it to be built any bigger to hold more cupcakes. The white boards with the red ribbon around the dummies sound beautiful.

  267. 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!

  268. Thank you so much for posting the directions, it was such a hit with the guests! I managed to make two for two differently themed parties for my daughters first birthday. One was a Hello Kitty themed and the other was a Safari theme with the pink and brown color scheme.

    Safari

    Hello Kitty

    The Safari was a circular type and the Hello Kitty was a square type.

  270. hi, thank you for sharing your fantastic idea, i was looking everywhere for an inexpensive but attractive cupcake stand and now i am going to make one!!

  271. 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:)

  272. Hi I am a little confused about the dummies. What should the final height and diameter be if using 8″ 10″ and 12″ bases. I can find all different diameters but they are all 3″ heigh

  273. 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!

  275. Angela from Sunny San Diego: remember that you can send the cake stand photo to me and then I can upload it to the gallery. Good luck!!

  276. I was thinking about the ladies that want to reuse the towers but are concerned about oil stains. Other than using oilcloth fabric I thought maybe use your favorite paper and then cover it in clear contact paper/shelving paper. That way you could just wipe it off after each use. =)

    My daughter is trying to start a cake decorating business and we are going to make one of these stands for cupcakes this weekend. She is just 18 and about to graduate HS. Wish us luck! I’m nervous!!! I will try and post pics. =)

  277. 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!

  278. thank u sooooooo bery much for postin this!!! my 21st birthday is this aug im makin my own cupcake tower well really want to and didnt even knw how to start. thank you sooooooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!

  285. 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

  287. Gloria: If you do have a photo then you are welcome to email it to me so it can be added to the cakestand gallery.

    Anna: This cakestand cant hold 100 cc + cake. It can only hold about 40-50 cc if you make it with 5 tiers. I would rather recomend you to see if you can rent a large acrylic cupcake stand that is much more stable. unless you want to make two cakestands?

  288. I am going crazy trying to figure out how to create a stand that would allow me to place 100 regular size cupcake and 1 big cupcake on top (I am using a 2-part Dimension pan, it’s suppose to be a little over 7″ hight). My question is how would you recommend I do my tower…would this tower that you shared with us hold this cake?

  289. 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!

  290. Dear Louise,

    I just wanted to add to the many replies and say thanks. Your step by step guide is great! Oddly enough I do not want a stand for cup cakes…but for a sushi cake! And I your guide was just what I needed to get my ideas up and running. Thanks again. Ill try and send a picture once completed.
    Helen

  291. jennifer: Do you mean those where the cupcakes are put together closely on a plate and then you spread frosting over them all like it was one “whole” cake?

    For pics and inspiration go to cakecentral.com 🙂

  292. HI LOUISE I’VEE BEEN SEARCHING AND SEARCHING FOR A SITE WITH INFO ABOUT CUP CAKE CAKES??? IS THIS WHAT THEY’RE CALLED?? I LIVE IN MALTA AND HAVE NEVER SEEN THEM ANTWHERE BUT I ONCE SAW THEM ON TV!! DO YOU KNOW WHERE I COULD SEE SOME PICS TO TAKE SOME IDEAS?? THANKS

  293. Tanya: This cupcake stand is only for 40 max. 45 cupcakes. So if you need to have a stand that holds 150 cc I would recomend you to rent a more sturdy one.

    Ashley: I think that you can get the “thick” cakeboards from Global Sugar Art.com

    Lela: Have you tried to look at your DIY hardware store? maybe they have masonite boards? or thin MDF wood that can be cut in different sizes.

    For the dummies in between you can use flower pots or glass vases?

  294. My daughter’s birthday first birthday is this Saturday (April 18th) and I’ve been searching everywhere for the supplies to create the cupcake stand. I’m desperate and time is running out. I’ve went to Michaels and A.C. Moore (both arts and crafts) stores and neither one has all the materials I need. Can anyone recommend alternative supplies I could use to re-create the cupcake stand? Of course, the birthday theme is our lil’ cupcake so the cupcake stand is the focal point of the party. Please help! Thanks in advance.

  295. 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!

  296. Hi, I am having cupcakes for my wedding and wanted to know how many cupcakes this stand will hold. Or, if you have an idea what size boards and how many tiers for 150 cupcakse that would be greatly appreciated.

  298. I saw this and bought MDF – wooden cake boards. My builder Dad drilled through them and put a piece of dowl all the way through. He put pieces of pipe around the dowel and sat the next cake board on that, then pipe around the dowel again. We ended up with something really sturdy and looks very cool

  299. amber: I am thinking that maybe 2,5″ will not be high enough. Even if you say that the caramel tarts is not high I am thing how easy will it be to take the tarts from the stand?

    I have not tried to make it 5-6 tiers so I cant say weather it will be stable or not. I am still hoping that people will return and tell me so, if they have tried. If you secure the cake stand well, why not give it a try?

    I am eager to hear about it.

    sweettoothmom1: Use double sided carpet tape for extra strenght and or a dowel.

  301. 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

  302. I made my first cupcake stand a few weeks ago for my daughters 4th birthday party. I use pink fabric and covered it with contact paper (I wanted to be able to reuse it for my other daughters birthday is a couple of months). The contact paper of course did not want to stick so I heated up my iron and laid a towel over it so not to damage the adhesive. This worked wonderfully. I will send pics shotly, thanks for all of your guidance Louise!!!

  303. 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

  306. Lesley: You could also place a dummy under the “bottom” cake plate to give it some hight.

    You will see grease marks:( But you could do a testing with a small piece of paper and place a cc to see how long it takes before grease marks appear.

  307. 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?

  308. If I only have 2 dozen cupcakes, but I still want the stand to be tall enough to be the centerpiece, should I use smaller cake plates for a 3-tier stand?

  310. Hi… I am definately trying this! Wow.. you made it look so easy… just wondering… on average… how much does this cost to make?

  313. Celeste: No you use dummies in the sizes: 5″, 6″ & 7″ these need to be 4″ high each. The reason I am writing 2×5″ is because I can get 4″ high cake dummies so I need 2 of each and then I glue them together.

    I hope it makes sense?

  314. I C U ARE USING 2X5, AND 2X6, CAKE DUMMIES, DOES THAT MEAN U ARE USING A 10 INCH AND 12 INCH HIGH DUMMIES, PLEASE XPLAIN I”M NEW 2 THIS WHOLE CAKE THING SO A LITTLE COMFUSED. I WILL B USING THE 8,10, AND 12 INCH CAKE DISC U SUGGESTED, SO CAN I US 4 INCH HIGH DUMMIES? THANK U SO VERY MUCH 4 YOUR HELP!

  316. OMG I am so excited to do this for my Daughter’s Baptism!! I can’t wait to get started. I will post pics when I finish the stand. Just one question…if anyone has used the 8″, 10″, 12″, and 14″ cake boards do you remember how many regular sized cupcakes can be placed on the 4 tier stand? If not then I can always just do the 4 tiers and then put the rest of the cupcakes around the stand on the table.

  317. Kristina: I am working on making a tutorial for a larger cakestand like the one you are asking for but it will not be before may I will look into it. So I hope that you can wait that long.

    Celeste: if you look at step 1/2 in the tutorial you can see that I glue the two dummies together. The reason why I do use 2 dummies id because I can get hold on 4″ dummies.

  319. 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!

  320. Tammy: I can only advise you to try and browse though some of the links here. of course it depends on what size of dummie you are looking for. But I know there are 1 or 2 links online to cake dummie “specialist”

    You can also use flower pots or a vase?

    Lucia: thx for the link.

  322. Hi, I would love to make this for a babyshower this weekend and display a small personal cake on top. Do you happen to know where I could buy the supplies at? I live in San Francisco, CA. I checked online and am having the hardest time trying to find the right dimensions.

    Thanks a bunch!

  324. Rosy: Maybe you can get some masonit from your lokal DIY store? It is not that hard to cut out and you could use flower pots for the dummies.

  325. 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?

  326. Lyndsay: I LOVE IT 🙂

    Tammy: It can be re-useable. It depends on what you use to assemble it with.

    michelle russel: have fun with the project 🙂

    Melissa: I would love to see the results. You can email me the photos. Have fun

  327. 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!

  328. Oh my goodness this is so cute I have a teenage girl who loves to cook and do crafts I believ we will do this on saturday. thanks so much for the great idea.

  329. 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?

  330. Hi everyone! I made a variation of this cake stand using a round ceramic planter instead of the styrofoam cake dummies. I found it at a craft store, it was inexpensive and you can glue-gun ribbon or fabric to it, and easily remove the ribbon or fabric for future use. Visit my blog to view pics: http://www.cococakecupcakes.blogspot.com
    Thanks so much Louise for the inspiration!

  334. I made 2 of the cupcake stands for a big donation of cupcakes I was doing for foster children. Thanks to you! I found the 4″ cake dummies right off the bat at Jesters, which is in the area where I live. Thanks for your idea. 🙂

  336. Meghan: Im not sure. This stand is minded on mini cakes & cupcakes. But when you look at ordinary cake stands then why not. Just remember to attache the two parts well together with carpet tape or something like that.

    I would try and use 7″ dummy and 10″ board.

    The price on dummy’s & boards is diffeent from place to place. You can find some great links if you scroll through the comments.

    Judy: I cant get hold on 4″ dummy’s thats why I use 2×2″ 😉

  338. Wouldn’t it be better to use a 4″ cake dummy for in between the boards? I have some and plan on trying this for a big cupcake job coming up. It just seems it would take one less step and be more secure. I love this idea. You are a genius! I can’t wait to do this project. I love being resourceful and crafty. Thanks for the tip. 🙂

  339. 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!

  341. Krysta: I would rather go for some beautiful store bought cake stands in glass or porcelain. I dont think that you will get a good result making it that small.

    nenu: First you need to drill a hole in the largest cake board. Then you take a wooden dowel not to thin and sharpen one of the ends with a pencil sharpner. then find the centers of both CB and styrofoam columns. Drill holes in the boards. Take the dowel and very carefull you push it through. Then hot glue the dowel to the largest board and asemble the stand.

  342. hello, lousie, I really want to try to make this stand but I just want to know how could I insert a dowel to make it more sturdy? thank you so much for all your help!!

  343. 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?

  344. Leah: This type of cake tree is not build to fit so many cupcakes. So I would not recomend that you try. It would be soo sad if the tree collapsed.

    I would recomend to look for a more sturdy one like acrylic. If you still want to build your own 2 or 3 of the above cake tree would be better. You will have to change the size of boards and drums. So a good advice is to look through the comments as I think this has been up before.

  349. 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

  351. 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?

  353. 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.

  356. Hi… I’m a mother of 3 kids. I recently had my twins’ (girl and boy) 3rd bday. I saw this easy step in making a cake stand. I just want to share my experience and i’m very proud of my product.

  357. 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

  358. hi louise, love your website! made a cupcake stand for a friend’s engagement. but didn’t realize that UHU glue will EAT into the styrofoam:) yikes! will email pictures to you soon. Looking fwd to trying out the other tutorials 🙂

    Thank you so much for sharing.
    Greetings from Malaysia.

  359. 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

  360. Carlene: Please do send a photo when the cake stand are displayed with CC. I would so love to see it:-)

    Kethurah: I would use 6″ 7″ 8″ heart dummies instead (10″ 12″ 14″and also jump on the bord sizes. I see that you can even get them 5″ thick. Great site btw. I dont know how many a heart shaped stand would hold. But I can try with my cake pans and place some paper cups? I will look at that this weekend and then leave a comment.

  361. 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!

  364. Adriana: You can use square dummies but then I would also use square cake bords aswell.

    Valerie: Great to hear. Can wait to see the photos 🙂

  365. 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.

  366. Has anyone used squared cake dummies? I’m planning my sister’s 24th birthday and I thought if I used rectangle or squares.. it might look more like a grown up cake…

  368. Jeamandy: it can hold around 54 cupcakes with 5 tiers (Boards: 8″, 10″, 12″, 14″ & 16″) (Dummies: 5″, 6″, 7″ & 8″) you can place thes rest of the cupcakes on the table. try look at the cake stand gallery on the site for insperation on how to display the stand and the cupcakes)

    For an orientel look I would use strong and bright colors like pink, warm red, orange, green and maybe black? Use ribbon trimmings on the boards and maybe also decorate with real or fake orchids.
    I dont know if thats what you had in mind?

  369. 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

  370. Kathleen: Enjoy the fun making the ckae stand. I bet your daughter will love it.

    Roxy: Good luck 🙂

    Kat: 3″ will not be enough unless you make very flat cupcakes. Use two so you get 6″ I dont think that will look bad. Also thx for the link!

    Tracy: Cool to hear about the oil cloth on the cake stand and the photo is great.

    Carlene: I will look forward to see the photos and good to know about the cake dummies, I will remember that.

  371. 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!

  372. Hi everyone,

    I posted here a while ago about attaching oilcloth to the cake stands and it worked a treat when I made two for my wedding recently. I used double-sided tape from DIY shops and it means they can be wiped clean and used over and over, no problem. Downside though, I guess is that the design can’t really be changed (I suppose a different paper/ fabric could be pinned on). I really like some readers’ ideas here with the fabric draping the supports etc. Anyway, mine were based on some earlier ideas posted by other readers (and Louise’s tutorial, of course) so thanks very much everyone!

    Here’s the link to a picture from my facebook page – it’s on a private setting so do let me know if it can’t be accessed from here http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3639031&id=670720330

  374. Great info! We’re going to make a stand for our wedding this summer and I’m looking for the supplies. This company has good prices, but the cake dummies are 3″. Would one of those between each tier be sufficient, or would we need to put two together to go up to 6″?

  375. 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

  376. Hello,

    Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

    It is my daughter’s 30th birthday next month and I have searched high and low for a decent cup cake stand. I do not like any of the ones for sale and they are quite expensive. This stand is perfect, it looks the business and is so cost effective. Once again, thank you for this and I am really glad I found it on the net.

  377. 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

  378. Hiya! I posted here some time ago 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

  380. Thank you Louise for your feedback.

    My top cake consists of a 20cm cake. I would assume that a 20cm cake sits on a 10″ board. If I am not wrong, you have previously mentioned in one of your comments that if it is a cake sitting on a board, you would recommend a 7″ dummy to support it?

    If this is the case, would 10″, 11″, 12″ and 14″ cake boards work for me? can I still use the dummy measurements of 7″, 8″ and 9″ or is it better to use 7″, 7″ and 8″?

  381. 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″)

  382. Hi Louise,

    I am thinking of making a 4 tier cake stand. My top cake board is 10 inches. I was thinking of making a 10″, 11″, 12″ and 13″ stand. And if so, what size dummies should I use? Do you know how many cupcakes (roughly) would I be able to fit onto the 11″, 12″ and 13″ boards?

    Thanks.

  383. 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.

  385. 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!

  386. Thank you so much for this idea! I altered your tutorial a bit to make 8 centerpiece stands for my wedding. I had a hard time finding cake dummies, but stumbled upon mini lamp shades instead! They worked perfectly for my smaller versions! I only did 2 tiers to hold mini African violet favors for the guests seated at each table. No one could belive these were hand made!

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmgallo/2671565365/

  387. 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!

  388. Jovie: Yes thank you I have just been away on holiday so I will upload them soon;-)

    Vinick: I would use 6″, 7″ & 8″ dummies. Do you mind sharing where you can get all the materials from??

    Christina: Glad to help. Remember that you can have your cake stand photo added to the cake stand gallery.

  389. 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!!

  390. hi louise!
    I finally found a website where I can oder everything I need to build a 4-tier cupcake stand. I was planning to use 10″,12″,14″, and 16″ drums and wasn’t sure what size dummies I should use. Do u think I should use 6″,8″, and 10″ ?Would there be enough room to place the cupcakes on there because of the large diameter dummies? Thanks!

  391. 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! 🙂

  392. Sacha: I get my cake boards from the UK and there they call the “thick” ones for drum. You can use thinner ones as long as they are firm and stable.

  394. Vinick: It can hold around 40 regular cupcakes with 4 tiers and around 54 regular with 5 tiers.

    Jovie: GREAT!!!! You can find my mail if you look just above the “CakeJournal” banner you will find a contact link.

  397. 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!

  399. 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!

  400. Thanks for the idea. I couldn’t find anything to suit my needs. I have two girls and needed something to hold a lot of cupcakes for a luau. Your idea was perfect.

  405. 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!

  406. annette: There should be no problem using the other styrofoam. You can glue it with a hot glue gun and use a small wooden rod in the center for extra safety.

  407. 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!

  408. Lesli: I used 5″ & 6″

    Shara: It is a very lovely display & thatnk you for the link to your blog:-)

    Caresse: What a great idea to turn it into a gift tower. Do you have any photos of it?? I would love to see.

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

  412. hi. wow, this looks great. i was wondering what size cake dummies you used for your 7″ 10″ 13″ boards.. many thanks. beautiful work!

  413. 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?

  414. I absolutely loved this idea. I made two for my daughters baby shower. I’ve posted a link to see some pictures. Everyones look beautiful!

    liser40

  415. 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 [email protected]

  416. Hi Michelle,

    So cool to see photos of the fantastic work you have done with the stands. I like your ideas of the draped fabric and the pins!! and I am sure the rest of the readers do to.

  418. I have made 3 of these but made a few changes. Instead of using ribbon on the styrofoam I have been buying 1/2 yd of fabric and draping it around. It is cheaper than ribbon and very easy to customize. I also have not been gluing the ribbon or fabric, rather , I have been using pearl top strait pins. They look cute and it makes it easier to change the tier to something else. I have 2 stands and have been using those to change the theme. I did not want a garage full of these so this will do for me. Thak you so much. I have a link to your site on my blog! See my pics here or on my blog
    http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e233/chellemichel/SBtiercupcakes.jpg
    http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e233/chellemichel/SexInTheCityMovieParty6.jpg
    http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e233/chellemichel/SexInTheCityMovieParty3.jpgg

  420. WOW!!! This is awsome! I would have never thought of making one, and it’s so cute and afordable. I was looking for one but they’re so expensive. Thank You so much for sharing this with all of us! God Bless You!

  422. Theresa: Thank you so much. It is always nice to know where I can advise too.

    Shara: If you can get cake dummies 4″ high then use those offcourse to save some time:-) thank you for the link also.

  424. I got most of my supplies from a local cake/bakery supply store in Akron, Ohio. They no longer carry cake drums so I used three cardboard cakeboards and glued them together to get the desired width for each tier. The tier sizes I used were 8 inches, 12 inches & 14 inches. There is a 9 inch three high section under the bottom tier to give the whole tower lift so it wasn’t flat on the table.
    I purchased shiny quilted paper at a local discount store, that is what I covered each tier with.
    The ribbon to cover the cake drums and trim each tier was purchased at Jo Ann Fabrics.

  425. 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.

  426. Theresa: Thank you for showing me your cupcake tower. Both tower, cupcakes
    and colors are beautiful.

    Would you share with me where you got the materials from??

    Louise

  427. 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

  433. 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.

  434. Hi,Louise
    I want say thank you for your sharing your wonderful work with oss.I have also one question.I`m sorry for my bad english…:-) but i wonder if those cake boards are made with paper.Because I leave in the place where I can’t find those kind of things.I must explain very well…thank you for your help…

  437. 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 🙂

  438. Hi: I would only use school glue for the paper/ribbon. If you want to secure the whole stand then use hot glue or double adhesive carpet tape. I have tried with skewers but did not get a good result.

  439. 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!

  444. Hi! Thanks for this wonderful idea. I’m in the process of making two for my wedding, but instead of sticking paper to the cake boards, I’m wondering if oilcloth will work okay with the glue? I thought this would be useful as it’s easy to clean. Any ideas?

    Thanks and best wishes

  445. 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!

  446. Ingrid, Eunice & Nova: I hope that you all will have fun making the cake stand. I would love to see photos as well please:-)

  447. 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!

  449. 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. : ))

  450. Hilary: I got mine from our lokal craft store. So if you have one of those then try and look there. Scrabbooking paper is also good to use.

    Misty: I am glad that found my site and i am glad that I can inspire you to try out something new 🙂

  451. 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.

  452. Hi Louise—I am in love with this cupcake stand and I plan on making one for my daughters 3rd birthday–I was wondering if there was any way you could tell me where you found the adorable polka dot wrapping paper?

  454. Great idea. I have been searching for a stand to place krispy kreme doughnuts on for the grooms ‘cake’ at my wedding. This should work out to be great. Do you think that it would work out with the doughnuts?

  455. 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

  458. Karen: Thanks! You can secure the layers with either strong glue or double sided tape? only just remeber to make sure that the columns stand i the middel. Good luck.

  459. 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!!!

  460. Hi, wow, am new to this website and i dont believe how helpful it is. This cupcake tower is amaaaaazing, i just wish i saw it a few weeks ago for my brothers wedding. Faaaantastic ;o)

  461. 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.

  465. 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^_^

  466. That is really pretty Marie-Eve.
    It is also nice to hear how many cupcakes you could have on your stand.

    Thank you so much for letting me see it.

    Louise

  468. I just found another link on how to make your own square cake stand. I think the original design is from one of Martha Stewarts magazines. http://images.google.dk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.k-boutique.com/images/cupcakestand.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.k-boutique.com/g_wedding.html&h=344&w=281&sz=12&hl=da&start=3&sig2=Q7aGXkDio0R-F6YfDcdbFQ&tbnid=7mVqkPqUPWdCBM:&tbnh=120&tbnw=98&ei=pt66R72VGJXWgQKHoPToDQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcupcake%2Bstand%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Dda

    Have a great day

    Louise

  469. 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

  470. I am actually asking the same question as the last anonymous person, only I would like to know about how many cupcakes each stand would hold and what your thoughts were on building a stand big enough to hold them all. I think we will have about 150 cupcakes plus a small 2 tier cake for the cake cutting and anniversary tier. I believe we will have the cake on a separate stand, but the cupcakes… I just am not sure how to get that many on one stand of if I should build more than one.

    any suggestions would be helpful.

    Thanks!

  471. 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!

  472. Hi Im just wanting to know how sturdy it would be. I need to make one for my sil’s wedding. It will hold about 250 cupcakes and then a 6inch cake on the top for the cake cutting. Thank you for any advice. This is my 1st wedding that im doing.

  474. This is my first time here… I’m from Venezuela and I think your ideas are wonderful. I’m preparing my daughter’s cake for her baptism and I consider this very useful
    Thanks a lot!

  475. 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:-)

  476. I am having problems finding the styrofoam columns in 2″. Does anyone know where I can purchase one online or what I could use to substitute the columns? Thanks! This will be for a baby shower any other creative ideas to decorate the stand I would love to hear

  477. 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)

  478. Hi Mandy!

    Congratulation with your son.

    I have seen both the cupcake stand with and without cupcakes on and I must say that it all looks really beautiful. Thanks for letting me see it.

    Louise

  480. Hi Louise,
    I was looking on line to see if I can buy a cake stand when I came across your idea and I thought “what a great idea!” I loved the fact that I can decorate it the way I wanted. I did it for my son’s first birthday party in addition to his birthday cake I ordered, and to my surprise I got more compliments on my cupcakes than the cake! Here are the pics… Thank you so much!
    Mandy

  481. 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

  482. Hi Judee Ann,

    Welcome to the wonderful world of cakes & cake decorating. You could also use cake boards instead of drums. Try look at craft stores or cake supply stores too.

  483. 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

  484. Well you can use a bit larger ribbon on the boards. Have you tried to look in craft stores or places where they sell fabric/sewing thing??

  485. 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.

  486. i’ve been trying to find a cupcake stand for a while now.I didnt want to spend to much on buying one from martha stewart..my daughters 1st birthday is coming and i have a month to finish every thing.thank you sooooooo much. im glad i searched around first.

  487. 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

  489. 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.

  490. Hi there,

    thanks so much for the idea of the cupcake stand! I absolutly loved the idea!
    I did a little change to it by using not cakedrums in between but also syfoam. woks also perfectly.

    Thanks again!
    xxx
    Liis

  491. 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!

  496. That did not happen to me here. As I use a kind of hobby glue that you can use on paper, wood and so. Try look in a craft store?

  497. Hi Louise, will the white glue melt the styrofoam and cause a hole to be burnt on it? I’ve worked with styrofoam on school projects before, and no matter what glue i use, it burnt through the foam..

  499. OMG! This is FABULOUS! I am doing cupcakes for my wedding and am trying to DIY as much as possible! I consider myself “crafty” but never even thought of this! Thanks so much!!! I can’t wait to start making one (actually, I might need 2)

  501. Hi maro,

    Your welcome!

    I think your cake stand turned out great. I love the colors you have put together. I would love to see it with cakes on:)

  503. Hi!

    Sorry I have been in bed sick so I have not had the time to write a reply.

    Regarding the amount of mini cupcakes the stand will fit. Let me take a look on that and I will give you a hint. Also yes it is the large columns that goes in the bottom:)

    handmaiden: your welcome:)

  505. Hi I am so glad that i found this. I think it is great. I am making this for an anniversary party and am making mini cupcakes. how many do you think i will be able to fit on?
    also just to clarify your directions the largest of the columns goes on the bottom obviously? you know its those “easy” things that mess everything up.
    Thanks a bunch.

  506. Hi phyllis,

    Try to see if you can find the styrofoam at your lokal cake supply store. You should be looking for “cake dummies”:)

    Good luck!

  507. I love the idea, but I’m having trouble finding the styrofoam pieces for the project. I’m in Rhode Island. Can you suggest where I can find them? Thank you.

    • Maybe you could look at purchasing them on-line and get them delivered straight to your door. I have done this several times.  If you shop around you can get some products at a great price, delivered within days  ( :

  508. I love the idea, but I’m having trouble finding the styrofoam pieces for the project. I’m in Rhode Island. Can you suggest where I can find them? Thank you.

  509. i love this i am having a halloween wedding and i have been looking for a cupcake stand and i came across your wonderful idea …i am trying to have a diy wedding thanks a million ,,,,,sonia

  510. Hi,

    I have been looking on the sizes of cake boards and I doubt that even the larges cake boards would fit 100 cupcakes.

    My best advise would be to make maybe 4 or 5 tiers and place the rest of the cupcakes around the stand.

  511. thank you for sharing your tiers making…..:)….

    i need a 3 tier stand to fit 100pcs of regular paper cases…do you know the dimension of the cake board?

  512. Hi there,

    There can be around 40 cupcakes on the stand with 4 tiers. 54 cupcakes
    if you make 5 tiers. This is with regular paper cases.

    Louise

  515. When you say that you used cake drums, do you mean cardboard cake circles? or should i be looking for something else?

    thanks for the help!

    -bec

  516. Hi there,

    I am not so sure that a 6 tier tower would withstand the height. What you could do is to make a 4 tier cupcake tower place a steady box on a round table.

    Place the cupcake tower on top (make sure it dont slide off) That way you could place the rest of the cupcakes under the tower and out on the table.

    Hope it makes sense:)

  518. Hi, I was wondering if you have ever tried to make a taller stand. Some friends and I are having a huge 25th birthday party and we want a 6 tier cupcake tower. Do you think you stand would withstand that height?

  520. It depends on how much “space” you want between the tires, and what kind of cake your are presenting on the cake stand. I could not get any 3″ high columns so thats why I have use 2×2″ columns insteed.

    Please write again if you have more questions.

    Louise

  521. This looks perfect for what I am doing but I have 1 question. In the list of materials, do I need 2 columns that are 5″ wide and 2 that are 6″ wide then glue together so that they are each 4 inches high?

  522. Louise, I am going to attempt my very FIRST wedding cake for a gfren of mine who is getting married in August and this information definitely help me through. Wish me luck. hehehe

  523. this is so excewllent i had some nice pyramid bowls and china plates i adapted to this thank you so much for sharing

  524. Oh that’s so perfect! It’s my little girl’s 5th birthday party next week and we will be awash with cupcakes. Thank you so much for posting this!

  527. This is such a treat. I have been worrying about this for at least 2 weeks and now you have posted a solution. Thank you so much.

  528. That’s great to hear destini. I am only glad to help fellow cake friends:o) I hope you will show me how your stand turned out… and the mini cupcakes aswell.

    Happy Caking

    Louise

  529. Louise your timing couldn’t be more perfect. I have a mini cupcake job next week and have been searching high and low for a stand that looks half this good. You made this look so simple. I hadn’t even thought of making one. I can’t wait to get started.

  530. Thank you so much for posting this. I need a stand for a job next week and I have searched everywhere for one that looks like this. I never thought of making one. You made it look so simple. I can’t wait to get started.

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