For the last three years, it’s become a gift giving tradition for me to give my plate and bowl cake stand gifts filled with treats as holiday and special occasion gifts. Some of you may remember last year’s cake stands that I made out of melamine plates for teacher gifts that I filled with the holiday peppermint Oreo’s (keep you’re eye out for the Oreo’s they should be coming out soon!!):
This year, I have decided that I’m making cake stands out of cheap white plates and bowls (Dollar Store has the cool square plates) and adding chic gold dots with the cool enamel (oil-based) Sharpies for the holidays. Â I recently made cupcakes for a friend and thought I would share the tutorial for making the stands. Â However, stay tuned because I have a recipe for an amazing cake and gift wrap idea for this year’s cake stands that I’m going to be sharing shortly for the holidays. In the meantime, let’s jump into how to make the cake stand part of the project today!
The main thing that you need to know about the plate and bowl is that it’s best if the bottoms of both are flush. Â I know there are some that have thick ridges and that’s ok as long as it sits flush. Â You need to have something more than a narrow ridge for the E6000 to stick to:
If you want to add gold dots or a design, it’s a lot easier to draw your designs  before gluing your piece together:
The most important thing to know about using the Sharpie is that you need to use the oil-based Sharpie. If you can’t find it at your craft store, Home Depot has it in the paint department (it’s on an end cap). The regular based Sharpie will not work. Â The gold in the oil based is like liquid gold! Â It’s the perfect gold!
I wrote my name on a coffee mug in the oil based  just to test it and ran it through the dishwasher and it looked perfect and I shared a pic on my Instagram last week of it:
Before using the Sharpie, you will want to wipe the area with alcohol first and let it dry completely. Â If you make a mistake, you can just wipe away with alcohol, let it dry and start over. Â The gold will bleed if the alcohol is not dry.
For the gold dots, Â I just kept them medium size for this stand:
The possibilities are endless and you can write things like a monogram, names and dots on the plate like these that I have started making for the holidays:
To glue the plate and bowl together you will need E6000 glue:
Over the years, I have tried other glues and the only thing that works is the E6000. Â Once it sets 24-48 hours, it’s permanent and there is no way to pull them apart.
The deal is that E6000 alone takes at least 24-48 hours to completely set so adding dots of hot glue will hold it tightly together until it sets. Â You’ll want more E6000 than hot glue and what I do is squeeze a generous amount of E6000 around the center of the bottom of the bowl leaving spots for hot glue (you do not want the hot glue and E6000 to mix). Center the bowl onto the plate and push together and hold for at least 60 seconds:
After 60 seconds, you can wipe away any glue excess with a Q-Tip. Â Turn the stand over so the weight of the plate helps add pressure to the bowl. Â Again, it will take at least 24-48 hours for the E6000 to set. Â I never touch them for at least 48 hours just to make sure.
I love the mini-cake stand too and this would be great for chocolates too:
I can’t wait to share the cake recipe with you shortly for the cakes that I’m making to go on to these stands for the holidays. Â I will post it soon and I will also link it here as well.
Thanks for hanging out with me today and I’ll be back for Paint It Monday!
Cheers!
Cyndy
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Lisa@ Creative Raisins says
What a fantastic idea, I love how you can personalize it and give it as a gift~ Lisa
Cyndy says
Thanks so much Lisa!
Phili says
LOVE this idea! So simple yet soooooooooo stylish! Not sure the cakes would last very long in my house though, lol!
Megan @ Our Pinteresting Family says
This is such a great idea, Cyndy! Thanks for sharing the tutorial. I love the polka dots.
Pammie says
Cyndy this is such a pretty unique gift idea. I’m all about anything polka dots… love it..You are always so creative. Several years ago I made one and turned plate upside down from yours and glued bowl on top…used for dip and chips..
Cyndy says
Thanks so much Pammie! Oh, I love the idea of glueing a bowl on top for dips and chips! So smart girl! I need to do one! Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing that with me!!
Julie says
Love the idea for a teacher and hostess gift! One question….can you put the sharpie on the side that food will touch? It doesn’t seem like it would be “food safe” if it’s oil-based.
Cyndy says
I’m not really sure about the food safety of the pen. However, I was concerned about that too and only used the pen around the rim or side where food wouldn’t touch. I always wash them thoroughly before giving as gifts but I certainly wouldn’t use it in the areas in the center.
Thanks so much Julie for stopping by!
Patty says
I love that you used square plates! Curious, also, if the Sharpie is food safe.
Great job. Again. Always!
Elaine Allen says
You! Are my idol!! Fabulous ideas, elegant gifts, kind to the pocket – LOL!
Thanks for sharing.
Elaine Allen
Karen H. says
Cyndy, your DIY trays are absolutely genius! I really love them and intend to make some this year.
You said the plates came from the dollar store, but can you please tell me which dollar store? There are so many…. Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Dollar General…. and there’s probably more I don’t know about! They all carry such different stuff. And I would really like to get those same square white plates.
Thanks so much!
kendra kay says
love this! i made some cake stands with plates and candlesticks a year or so ago and need to make more for my annual cookie exchange- may need to give this a try so i can have some lower plate stands. i even have all the materials! great idea for gifts too. thanks for the share cyndy!
Chris Woakes says
Lovely!! Nice ideas to make plate stands ..really amazing ideas