A DIY cupcake holder can be a perfect addition to your dessert table, especially for a birthday party. It not only adds elegance but also helps to conserve space.
If you're looking for a unique way to showcase your cupcakes, creating a tiered cupcake holder can be a fun and rewarding DIY project that you can complete in just a few hours.
In this post, I have shared the step by step guide to create a beautiful and functional 3 tier DIY cupcake holder that will impress your guests and make your cupcakes stand out. It is a great way to display not just your cupcakes but also your other favorite treats at birthday parties, dinner parties, baby shower and even weddings!
And if you like this cupcake holder idea, you should also check out my other post on how to make cupcakes stands for yet another creative idea for cupcakes and cakes alike! And you might also want to check out this post on how to make your own cake boards to learn how to make your own custom designed cake board.
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✏️Birthday Cupcake Holder
I made this DIY cupcake stand for my son's 12th birthday party. And it was crafted in a simple design to match the theme colors of his Marvel Superheroes party as well as the personalized cupcakes.
The holder I have in the image above is a remake of the original one I made for his birthday. And that is simply because I did not capture any step by step photos while making it then. So I thought I will recreate it and this time, do a detailed step by step tutorial.
And since this is a remake, you will see some slight differences between this and the original one I made for the birthday. See the original one below:
You can see that the boards I used in my original DIY cupcake holder were silver. So I did not have to cover them up in silver paper again. For this tutorial, however, I only had gold ones available at home, so I used silver paper. You can use the same technique to wrap yours if you want them in any other color. I have a detailed tutorial on how to wrap cake boards, so be sure to check it out if you want more details. The other difference is that the base for my original cupcake holder was a thick cake drum. For this tutorial, I used a thinner one. The drum provides additional stability but its really OK to use a normal boards or even sturdy cardboard circles.
And also, the red paper for the center core of the original holder was glittery but not shiny. However, the one in the tutorial below is a shiny version. I could not find the same type of paper that I used originally at my local craft store. Hence I had to settle for the red shiny paper instead.
❤️ Why you will love this tutorial
- It is easy to follow (with detailed step by step images) and easy to make.
- You only need 4 simple items to make the cupcake holder, i.e. cake boards, styrofoam blocks (or tin cans), wrapping paper and hot glue gun. These are relatively cheap items that are easily available and can be purchased from a dollar store or your local craft store.
- You can create custom cupcake holders to match your party theme at a fraction of the cost required to purchase them from elsewhere.
📋Supplies required
- Cake boards - I used a total of three boards. 1 for the top measuring 6 inches in diameter, the one in the center measuring 8 inches, and the bottom one measuring 11 inches in diameter. If you prefer to make these on your own, here is my tutorial on how to make your own cake boards. It is recommended for the 11 inches round cake board (i.e. the base board) to be a cake drum or a thick cake board (you can stack 3 cake boards together to make a thick board) for additional stability).
- Styrofoam cylinder blocks - I used 2 of these blocks for the cupcake holder and they formed the center core. Each was 3 inches in diameter and approximately 3.75 inches in height.
- Wrapping papers - For this project, I used 2 different colors; silver and red.
- Paper glue - I used paper glue to stick the wrapping paper to the boards and the Styrofoam cores.
- Hot glue - I used this stronger glue to hold the cupcake holder together, i.e. to stick and hold the cake boards and the foams together.
🧾Substitution and variations
- Cake boards - you can make these yourself if you prefer with corrugated cardboard. Here is the full tutorial on how to make the cake boards.
- Styrofoam cylinder blocks - if you cannot find these, an easy substitute would be the food cans you have at home. You can even use the ones which are unopened as those will also help to keep the cake holder stable with their weight. All you need to do is wrap the tins or cans as you would with the styrofoam blocks as shown in the tutorial below before using.
Preparing the cake boards
- I started by wrapping these, one by one. To wrap them, I placed each on the reserve side of my wrapping paper.
- Then I drew an outline around the boards. And then another outline after that, this time about one inch larger than the cake board.
- And then I cut the papers following the larger circle outline.
- Next, I made short snips all around the cut outs. In cutting those snips, I made sure they did not exceed beyond the inner outline.
- And then I applied glue all around and wrapped the paper around the cake boards as shown in the image.
- You will need to make small folds on the wrapping paper as you wrap it around.
- The idea is to make sure the board is wrapped as neatly as possible.
- These will form the tiers on the cupcake holder.
- And this was how the board looked like on the front side once wrapping was complete.
- I wrapped all three the same way.
- Next were the center foam cores. To wrap these, I measure the height of each block.
- The ones I used here were 3.75 inches high.
Preparing the styrofoam blocks
- I cut out a long strip of red paper following the width of the foam foam which I measured to be 3.75 inches earlier, with additional allowance of 1 inch on both sides (see the image below).
- And then, similar to the cake boards, I made short snips on both sides of the paper strip before applying paper glue all over it.
- To wrap the foam, I placed it in the center on the paper strip and made sure there is enough allowance on both ends.
- And then I wrapped it tightly around the foam core.
- Once done, I folded the sides in exactly the same way as I wrapped the cake boards.
- This was how both the core foams for the cupcake holder looked like after the wrapping process was completed.
Assembling the tiered DIY cupcake holder
- To assemble the tiered cupcake holder, I started with the largest cake board as the base for the cupcake holder.
- I then used hot glue to stick the first foam core right in the center of the board.
- And then I attached the second largest cake board on the foam core also with hot glue.
- And I repeated the process for the next foam core and the top most cake board.
- To make sure all the components stick securely to each other, I placed a heavy book on the cupcake holder and left it there for about 30 minutes. And that was basically it, my DIY cupcake holder.
- Seen on this images is empty muffin cups on the cupcake stand to test the space.
Hope you enjoyed this easy DIY cupcake holder tutorial and find it useful. You can use this same technique to create multiple tiered DIY cupcake towers.
💡Expert tips
- Use a cake drum for the base board as it will be much more stable and prevent your holder from falling when the cupcakes are not placed in a balanced position, all around the holder.
- Use the same technique to create multi tier DIY cupcake tower for birthdays and weddings. When making tall towers, you can opt to use two or three layers of the same sized cake boards for the tiers.
- Customize the color the decoration to suit your party theme. There are many ways you can decorate these cupcake stands further. And you can find many interesting deco items in your local craft supplies store or dollar store.
- Instead of plain colored paper, you can use scrapbook paper to wrap or decorate the cake boards. You can further wrap each of the cake board layers with plastic wrap. You can even give the cake board a simple wrap with parchment paper.
- Tie a piece of ribbon along the edges of the cake boards to create a border-like effect and secure them in place with hot glue sticks (hot glue gun).
- The cake board can be replaced with cardboard cake circle and you can wrap them with aluminum foil if preferred.
- Use spray paint to paint the cake boards and the styrofoam core in your party theme colors to suit the party decorations instead of wrapping them with paper.
💭 FAQs
Yes, you can. The holder can be reused many times.
Instead of using this stand only for cupcakes, you can also use it for ice cream cone cupcakes, or muffins or other party treats.
❤️More tutorials you will love❤️
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📖Recipe
DIY Cupcake Holder (How to Make)
Equipment
- Cake boards -Three round cake boards measuring 6 inches, 8 inches and 11 inches in diameter. It is recommended for the 11 inches cake board to be a cake drum for additional stability.
- Styrofoam cylinder blocks - 2 blocks measuring 3 inches in diameter and approximately 3.75 inches in height.
- Wrapping papers - 2 different colors i.e. silver and red.
- Paper glue - To stick the wrapping paper to the boards and the Styrofoam cores.
- Hot glue - To hold the cupcake holder together, i.e. to stick and hold the cake boards and the foams together.
For best results, use the metrics measurements. US customary measurements have not been tested and are only meant for guide.
Ingredients
- 22 cupcakes
Instructions
Prepare the cake boards
- Wrap each of the 3 cakes boards one by one. To wrap them, place each on the reserve side of the wrapping paper.
- Draw an outline around the boards. And then another outline after that, this time about one inch larger than the cake board.
- Cut the papers following the larger circle outline (the outer outline).
- Next, make short snips all around the cut outs. In cutting those snips, make sure they do not exceed beyond the inner outline.
- And then apply glue all around and wrap the paper around the cake boards neatly.
- You will need to make small folds on the wrapping paper as you wrap it around. The idea is to make sure the board is wrapped as neatly as possible.
- These wrapped cake boards will form the tiers on the cupcake holder.
Prepare the Styrofoam blocks (cylinders)
- Measure the height of each block. The ones I used were 3.75 inches high.
- Cut out a long strip of red paper with a width of 4.75 inches. The width of the strip should follow the height of the foam plus additional allowance of 1 inch on both sides (3.75 inches plus 1 inch = 4.75 inches).
- And then, similar to the cake boards, make short snips on both sides of the paper strip before applying paper glue all over it.
- To wrap the foam, place it in the center on the paper strip and made sure there is enough allowance on both ends.
- And then wrap it tightly around the foam core.
- Once done, fold the sides in exactly the same way as was done for the cake boards above.
Assemble the cupcake holder
- To assemble the tiered cupcake holder, start with the largest cake board as the base for the cupcake holder.
- use hot glue to stick the first foam core right in the center of the board.
- And then attach the second largest cake board on the foam core, also with hot glue.
- Repeat the process for the next foam core and the top most cake board.
- To make sure all the components stick securely to each other, place a heavy book on the cupcake holder and leave it there for about 30 minutes before using.
Notes
- Use a cake drum for the base board as it will be much more stable and prevent your holder from falling when the cupcakes are not placed in a balanced position, all around the holder.
- An easy substitute for the styrofoam would be food cans you have at home. You can even use the ones which are unopened as those will also help to keep the cake holder stable with their weight. All you need to do is wrap the tins or cans as you would with the styrofoam blocks as shown in the tutorial below before using.
- Use the same technique to create multi tier DIY cupcake tower for birthdays and weddings. When making tall towers, you can opt to use two or three layers of the same sized cake boards for the tiers.
- Customize the color the decoration to suit your party theme. There are many ways you can decorate these cupcake stands further. And you can find many interesting deco items in your local craft supplies store or dollar store.
- Instead of plain colored paper, you can use scrapbook paper to wrap or decorate the cake boards. You can further wrap each of the cake board layers with plastic wrap. You can even give the cake board a simple wrap with parchment paper.
- Tie a piece of ribbon along the edges of the cake boards to create a border-like effect and secure them in place with hot glue sticks (hot glue gun).
- The cake board can be replaced with cardboard cake circle and you can wrap them with aluminum foil if preferred.
- Use spray paint to paint the cake boards and the styrofoam core in your party theme colors to suit the party decorations instead of wrapping them with paper.
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