DIY Super Simple Cupcake Stand

When you find plastic bowls and plates in retro modern colors at IKEA that are totally cheap and can be used to make the most adorable little cupcake stands, well who can resist? Certainly not me! And the only reason that these bowls and plates remained way up high in my kitchen cabinet for a few months was that I just didn't have the right little dessert that would work with them. (My daughter made these mini cupcakes in her new multi use cupcake cakepop waffle iron that is working really well.) Of course these DIY cupcake stands would look great as catchalls on a desk or sideboard too, if you can get away with it! I just love the colors and they remind me of one of those color mixing educational tools I might have played with in kindergarten, though I can't quite put my finger on it.

These cupcake stands can be assembled for a party, or even given to kids to use in their play kitchens, right? For a party I'd set them on an all white table with silver accents and maybe a bunch of DIY glitter or tissue paper decorations. Whatever you do, let the colors of the cupcake stands pop against a neutral background without too much other competition and the look will be amazing.

 And truthfully you only need a very small quantity of unhealthy treats, as even natural almonds look amazing!

You'll Need:

• one set of multicolor plastic plates and one set of bowls (these are from IKEA but any bowls that can stack would work)
• adhesive of your choice: hot glue, silicone, gorilla glue, or for a temporary bond try modeling clay
• an electric drill and long bolts and nuts, if you want to rig up something that is stable but can be disassembled

How To:

Place the first bowl face down, and place the second bowl on top of that one, face up. Then place the place of your choice on top. Shorter cupcake stands can be made using only one bowl as the base. And double height cupcake stands can be made by simply stacking one cupcake stand on top of another. And if you are making a bunch, I would mix up the heights for the best presentation. Just make sure to stock up on enough plates and bowls so that you can go to town!

Note: if you decide to use hot glue, just be aware that the bond likely wont be permanent, but that may be even better as then you can separate them and store more easily?

Oh, and if you are wondering about those mini cupcakes, well my daughter used the very same recipe that she used to make the mini doughnuts for Hanukkah, so if you have a mini cupcake iron, which is a perfect way to let kids have some fun with baking, go to town! Though I must say, I really love that our mini cupcake iron also makes doughnuts, cake pops and waffles. Enough of a variety to keep us (or rather my kids) interested for quite some time!