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I am looking for a cupcake stand, something different.
Does anyone want to show me theres for some inspiration.,,
I have a 7 tier acrylic, I dont really like it though, its a little boring and would like something different!!
![lisamenz Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile](http://cdn001.cakecentral.com/avatars/default/cakecentral-default-avatar-100x100.png)
They do make some nice ones now, if you do a google search on the web. but if you think outside the box, go to the craft stores and start looking around for plates and center pieces to create your own individual ideas and have something that no one else has. I love doing this. I like different and not like you said boring. Hope this helps,
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There was one in the galleries I was looking for but I didn't see it right off -- if you do a search of cupcake stand in the galleries TONS of cool pix come up. http://cakecentral.com/modules.php?name=gallery&meta=search&type=full&search=cupcake+stand&album=-&search_user=
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thank you!! i would love to make one, but where i am it is hard to source things like vintage plates etc, so i am relying on the www!!
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I am still in the process of making one, please excuse the messy shop, DH is calling this my $400 cupcake stand, as he bought a new band saw for me to cut circles out on. Hopefully this will end up with interchangable tiers, DH has these special bolty things to put between each tier so that I can take them off and the top tier will just be able to be screwed on, I made two different sizes for that, 6 and 8".
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![KHalstead Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile](http://cdn001.cakecentral.com/avatars/f/f2/100x100_18645_khalstead_BZco.jpeg)
I have one that I made myself........cost me $30 in supplies to make 3 of them (each with a 6", 8", 9", 10", 12", 14" plates).......I made 2 round and 1 square stand and I also have about 4 squares that are 14" each left over that I use for cake boards.
Here is a photo and I'll add the directions here for anyone wanting to attempt it. It's a little bit of work but it's worth it in the end!
Directions:
I bought MDF wood (medium density fiberboard) you could use plywood or anything else you wanted to use. MDF is very heavy, I bought 1/2" thick, but again any thickness you want is fine (I got 1/2" thick so I could use ribbon around the edges). I used my cardboard cake boards as a template to trace an outline onto the wood. Then using a jigsaw, I cut them all out, cutting just on the outside of my outline.
Once they were all cut out I used an electric sander to sand the edges up to my outline, making sure they were nice and smooth and that the whole thing was evenly round.
Then I used a drill and drilled a hole into the center of each round I had cut out (the hole needs to be just slightly bigger than the size of your center rod, my center rod was 3/8").
Then I bought a length of dowel that was 2" in diameter (I think it was a 2 or 3 ft. section), and cut it into 4" length and some into 6" length (for when I need more space between the layers of the stand). i drilled a hold through the center of each of the sections of dowel (it's easiest if you start on one end and drill a hole to the center, then flip it over and drill from the other side to the center, until your holes meet), the hole doesn't have to be "perfect" but you should attempt to make it at straight as possible, you can adjust the dowels before tightening the stand if they're not perfectly straight.
I bought a 3/8" nut for the bottom of the stand and a 3/8" t-nut for the top of the stand (this is a nut that has a flat top with three teeth that you pound the nut down into the hole and the teeth grab into the wood making it a permanent fixture with the wood, since my top is almost always the 6" board I just put the t-nut into that board and it allows a cake to be placed on top without interfering).
Then it was just a matter of screwing the center threaded metal rod (mine was 3/8" in diameter) into the bottom tier of the stand with the regular nut going underneath the bottom board (the nut will still stick out so I cut an extra 8" round and cut a large hole in the center to use as "feet" for my stand to sit on to alleviate the fact that the nut sticks out of the bottom, or you could just glue on some permanent feet, but I wanted to be able to change up what size the bottom layer would be depending on the numer of cupcakes i was using the stand for.)
Then just slide on one of your dowels onto the metal rod, then slide down the next sized board, another dowel, etc. until you've reached the desired height of your stand. Once you have the top board on (you'll have to thread it down because of the t-nut) and everything is nice and tight, then take a marker and mark the top of the top tier on the metal rod (there is no measurements for the metal rod because it all depends on how thick your wood is and how tall you make your dowels)...then remove the boards and dowel and cut the metal rod with a hacksaw a couple threads below your mark. You don't want the metal rod to stick up but you want enough that it can screw into your t-nut on top.
Then you can prime and paint the stand, I use spray paint and spray primer, for paint I use a semi-gloss so it's easy to wipe clean once it's been used. It's best to do several coats so if you get a scratch on the stand it won't show as much. In order to attach the ribbon to the edges (double sided tape won't stick to mdf) I use a hot glue gun, or extra strength glue dots for a more shear ribbon (note, when I use a sheer ribbon, I put a white satin ribbon on first, then the sheer ribbon because the edge of the mdf board doesn't take the paint as well as the rest of it)
Hopefully these instructions are clear enough, if you have any questions feel free to pm me or email.
Good Luck,
Tina
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How many cupcakes does the round one hold? I have an order for 300 cupcakes and I am sure that I am going to need several of these things.
![Kima920 Cake Central Cake Decorator Profile](http://cdn001.cakecentral.com/avatars/2/2e/100x100_731407_kima920_mB1H.jpeg)
Khalstead this is genuis! I am constantly buying cake boards to make stands out of and never really like the way they come out. This way is much cheaper though I don't have power tools so I think I might have to go to Lowes or Home Depot a have them do it for me But either way this is great and can be used over and over again!
Kima
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