Individual Cupcake Stands

Many people buy or make a cupcake stand so that they can stack lots of cupcakes at the same time. Those look cute but, if you're thinking of something a little more unique, why not make individual cupcake stands? That way, each person seated at the table gets a cupcake, and each cupcake will have its own stand. Not only do the individual cupcake stands serve to hold the cupcakes, they also create a party look across the table.

For each guest, purchase a small Styrofoam cone from a craft store. The cones are not expensive and are perfect for creating the bases for the individual cupcake stands. If you want to paint the white cones, use tempera paints, since they don't melt Styrofoam like some paints do.

Before painting the cones, cut the very tip off of each one, and dispose of those. You should end up with a flat surface at the top of each cone. After painting, and allowing to dry, you can finish the stands. Things you can glue onto the sides of the cone include small-diameter cord, rhinestones, pom-poms, tiny mirrors, or beads.

Use an old CD, a circle of thin cardboard, or something similar, to make the top for each cupcake stand. First, lay the circular object on a piece of fabric, and draw around it, on the backside. Cut the circle two inches larger, all the way around, so that the fabric is larger than the CD or cardboard.

Glue the fabric onto the circular object and allow the excess to hang over the sides like a tablecloth would on a round table. Put a bit of hot glue on the back of the CD or cardboard, right in the center, and attach it to the flat top of the cone, so that the fabric side is facing up.

There are various ways to present the "tablecloth" on top of the CD. You can cut the edges to have a tattered or scalloped look or you could even glue lace around the edges.

You don't absolutely have to make the tops of the cupcake stands round. Using cardboard, you can create other shapes, like squares, stars, or even diamond shapes. Some shapes, though, are more difficult to make the "tablecloth" for.

The individual cupcake stands are perfect for a birthday party or even a wedding. No matter what the flavor of the cupcakes, or how well you decorate them, the guests will be commenting on the cute little cupcake stands.