This is a very quick and simple project made from things I found at the dollar store or around the house.
If you are crafty or on Pinterest constantly like I am then you have, I'm sure, seen lots of DIY cake stands. You can make them out of almost anything. I have seen candle sticks, tart pans, pie plates, cups, plates and many other things used to make a stand. A few photos from Pinterest are below to show some of the range of things you can use.
^ This project uses a glass dinner plate and glass candlestick holder as the base.
^ This looks like a ceramic dinner plate and a white candlestick holder.
^ Here they used a dessert cup and dinner plate (pink) and a martini glass and dessert plate (orange) and then spray painted it so it was one uniform color.
^ This one is one of my favorites because I like that it's a little bit unusual. They have stacked up coffee cups, tea cups and a variety of different plates all in white. Very artistic but maybe not as practical to actually put food on.
Here is my version.
^ At The Dollar Tree they sell these neat platters that are very thin and light but are coated with metal, probably aluminum or nickel. It's hard to capture in a photo but they have neat etchings across the bottom and the edges are decorative. I have been buying these for a few years because I like the neat sort of 'old house' feel I get from them, especially as you use them and the metal changes a little.
I wanted to keep the trays the way they were so I looked for something for the bottom that would not only compliment the trays but looks nice on it's own since I would not be painting them. I liked the look of the oval trays best (I had the choice of square, rectangular, round or oval) and the glass candlestick holders worked well. I liked them because they were relatively thin and didn't take up a lot of room on the tray so more food will fit. I had a few votive holders at home that I was going to use but since I specifically wanted seven matching trays I bought all my supplies this time.
The construction part was incredibly easy. I set down one candlestick holder and squeezed E6000 adhesive around the top edge of the glass where it would touch the try. I they tried my best to get the candlestick holder in the center of the tray by just eyeing it. I pressed firmly for about 15 seconds and then let it dry for a minute. I then put adhesive on the bottom edge of another candlestick holder and tried to line it up with the first, gluing it on top of the try this time. Another tray went on top and I had a two tier cake stand. I ended up making 2 single tier stand, a double tier stand and a triple tier stand. I would not suggest taller than three with the height of base I was using because I think that would be too tall and might fall over. After I was finished I liked the look of the double stand so much that I glued to the 2 single tiered stands together and I now have 1 triple tier stand and 2 double tiered stands. They do not look overly Halloween so I can use them throughout the year but I can also spook them up. Mine will hold jello shots this year.
NOTE: If you DO decide to paint your stand be sure to use food safe paint, not all paint is safe to eat off of. If you're not sure if your paint is safe then either look for a food safe clear coating or be sure to always use napkins, doilies or something to put between the stand and the food.
Here are my finished stands. I am very happy with them. IF I this project again I might try finding the center of the trays ahead of time and marking the bottom so they lined up neater than mine do now but they are not unstable so it'll work.
I spent $1 per tray and $1 per candlestick holder and I had adhesive on hand. This was a total of $14 for me. It could be less if you use dishes you have at home already or find cheap at a garage sale or flea market. You can also keep the cost down by making one instead of three.
What do you think? What serving pieces are you looking for? How can my instructions be better? Let me know!
~Liz
