How-To: Make a tiered Cupcake Stand out of styrofoam
Materials:
4′ x 8′ x 1.5″ Foam Sheet (from Home Depot or other hardware store)
Hot Wire Foam Factory Hot Knife
Warm Temperature Glue Gun (Or Styrogoo foam safe glue)
8′ x 1/4″ Wooden Dowel Cut into 1′ Pieces
1.5′ String or Yarn
Marker
Quart of Water-Based Paint
Ribbon, Flowers, Tulle, Rhinestones, or Other Embellishments
Directions:
Tie one end of the string onto the center of the marker. Be sure to allow enough room for the marker to spin around within the string but tight enough so it won’t slip loose.
Draw circles on the foam, using the string or yarn and marker to measure and draw a 3 foot circle, a 2 foot circle, a 1.5 foot circle and a 1 foot circle. Hold the string down where you want the center of your circle to be – you could use a thumb tack or tape to hold down the string. Pull the string taught and, keeping the marker perfectly upright, use the string to outline the circle. This will give you a perfect circle.
Cut out the circles with the Hot Knife and set aside.
With the extra foam, draw 15 smaller 2 inch diameter circles for use as risers. Cut out the circles with the Hot Knife.
Paint all the circles and dowels in the color(s) of your choice and let dry.
Stack and glue 2 of the 2″ circles together and set aside until you have 4 risers for the bottom. The remaining 2″ circles will be used as risers for in between the tiers. In between the largest (bottom) tier and the second largest tier will have 4 individual risers and the next level will use the remaining 3.
Once the paint is dry, assemble the risers and 3 largest tiers and glue together. You may wish to use any remaining foam from the sheet as additional stabilization for the bottom tier by stacking and gluing two layers together and gluing them to the bottom middle of the tier.
For the top tier perched on the dowels, push the dowels approximately 1/4 inch into the foam of the bottom of the tier, then remove them and brush with glue and replace into the foam dents you made. Push the dowels into the foam of the tier they will rest on the same way, remove and brush with glue and replace back into the dents.
Add ribbon, flowers, rhinestones or other embellishments to suit your event. Holds 150 cupcakes.
Variations: Create one-of-a-kind birthday, baby shower or other party centerpieces by using smaller circles or trace stars, hearts or any other simple shape. The possibilities are endless!