Easy DIY Glass Cupcake Stand

My sister-in-law is getting married this August. Thanks to the ridiculousness that is Pinterest, I have spent many hours looking at all the wedding pretties on far too many pin boards. Since cupcakes are being used as wedding favors, I thought it would be a fun idea to display the cupcakes as a table centerpiece. Enter this DIY cupcake stand. It turns out Dollar Tree stores have a great selection of glassware and you can order in bulk on their website and pick it up in store for free, a handy feature for the spendthrift bride.

To construct the cupcake stand, I got two of these taper candle holder sticks:

and one of these 10 inch cut glass plates: 

The plate is surprising sturdy and pretty. All of these items were a buck a piece (so we're up to $3 worth of material, if you are keeping count).

To glue all this together, I used E-6000 craft glue. You can find this at pretty much any craft store for about $5 and it is pretty awesome. It does have a strong smell so I recommend using it in a well ventilated area. 

Start by cleaning and drying all your glass pieces. Place a small amount of glue around the rim of one of the candlestick holder tops. Flip the other candlestick over and place it on the gluey piece. Any excess glue can be wiped away with nail polish remover. I let this candle holder pillar sit for about an hour. It was still tacky so take care not to bump it too much. 

Find the center of the underside of the plate. This is easy on this particular one because the candle stick top fits right around the perimeter of the flowery star burst design in the center. Add a small amount of glue around the rim of the candlestick pillar then carefully set it to the underside of the plate. Let this dry for at least 24 hours, though the glue says it can take up to 72 hours to cure, so be careful with it until then.

 And Viola! Here is the stand with some of my felt food on it. I can't wait to see it with real cupcakes. This stand would also be great for displaying brunch goodies if  a wedding isn't really on your radar.

Happy Crafting!

~Brittany

     

Summertime Root Beer Float Felt Food Tutorial

Summertime will soon be waning away but there is still time for frosty cold treats before the sun disappears again. A pregnant friend of mine suggested a felt food root beer float and far be it from me to deny the whims of  a gestating lady. 

The Ingredients: 

In dark brown felt you need:
-base circle, 2 inches wide
-top circle, 2.5 inches wide with a .75 wide circle cut out from near one side. This is where the straw is going to sit in the root beer.
-body of root beer, a trapezoid shape with a base of 7 inches, sides 5 inches tall and the top side 8.5 inches long
-2.5 by 1.5 inch rectangle for the sides of the straw holder
-.75 inch wide circle for the straw holder bottom

In cream felt:
-8.5 by 1 inch scalloped piece for around the top of the root beer body
-2 inch wide wavy piece for the cream on top of the root beer. Be sure to leave a notch for the hole for the straw.
-4 inch wide wavy circle for the ice cream

-4.5 inch long by 1 inch wide piece in white felt for the straw
-scraps of red felt for the straw stripes

for the glass:
-another trapezoid shape with a 7.5 inch base, 6.5 inch sides and 10 inches long on top in either vinyl from the fabric store or I cut up a clear plastic sheet protector that goes in binders.
-2.25 inch wide clear circle for the glass base

-matching embroidery thread
-stuffing

As a note, when sewing side pieces around circles, I usually allow extra length in my measurements. It's easier to trim the pieces up as you sew than cut them too short in the first place.


The Recipe:

First, we'll start with the straw. I laid my red felt pieces in diagonals and running stitched them to the white straw piece. Be sure to knot off your thread after each red piece. I tried to be lazy and keep the stitch going but when you fold the straw over in the next step, the stitches are too loose.

Whip stitch the straw seams together. . .

and our old timey looking straw is complete.

Next comes the ice cream. About a half inch from the edge of the wavy  circle piece, put in a running stitch.

Add stuffing then pull your thread tight so the ice cream is closed on the underside and knot off.

Next, sew the cream piece to the top circle. Make sure to line up your pieces to not cover the hole for the straw. I just used quick running stitches for this.

To make the straw holder, sew the small dark brown rectangle to the three quarter inch dark brown circle. This will form the cavern the straw sits in. Sew up the seam so you have a little tube.

Then, attach the tube to the underside of the top circle.

Now, when I did this, I sewed the creamy part to the body of the root beer before I sewed it to the top circle.

 I ended up with some overlap, which I just tucked in as I sewed, but it would be neater to sew the top circle to the root beer body, trim as necessary, then sew on the cream part. Be sure to sew the top circle to the wider top part of the root beer body.

Once you have the top circle sewn on, stitch up the seam to make a big root beer tube.

I added stuffing as I went and pinned the seam to keep it neat. Be careful not to over stuff near the straw holder. You want to be sure the straw still fits in there.

Then, sew the bottom circle to the end of your root beer tube.

Lastly, the glass. I found the sheet protector page material to be pretty thin so be careful not to tear it. If you are using a thicker grade vinyl this might not be an issue but it may be harder to get your needle through for the stitches. I put the root beer in the glass as I sewed to help keep the shape. Try to keep your stitches as neat as possible since they will be visible, but this isn't an easy task.

Lastly, sew up the seam on the glass. I started at the top and worked down. I found that pinching the seam so I had a little ridge to sew through made this easier, but I still had a few wonky stitches. Trim up the glass side piece as needed.

All done! A four piece root beer play set for serving up a cool felt food treat!

Happy Felt Fooding!

~Brittany