After having bought the materials for this DIY project almost 5 months ago,
I finally decided to just focus and get it done.
I first saw the idea of using a cake stand as a jewelry/lotion/perfume/nail polish/etc stand while reading a Cosmopolitan magazine. They were showing easy ways to reorganize different rooms in your house, and one tip they suggested was, you guessed it, using a cake stand to display items on a dresser or desk.
With no luck finding a reasonably priced cake stand to buy, I figured I could probably just make one. Lo and behold, I am not the first one to do so; I immediately found this youtube video in which a woman bought three pieces from the dollar store to make her own cake stand. So, I have decided to create my own but with my own personal adjustments.
For this project, I used:
{+} 1 candlestick (found for $1 at Dollar Tree)
{+} 1 small plate, or, in my case a small bowl (found for $1 at Dollar Tree)
I decided to use the bowl for two reasons, firstly I liked the idead of the two pieces matching in design, and secondly, since I am not using mine as a cakestand, I will be using the bowl piece as kind of a catch-all for watches, rings, chapstick, or whatever.
{+} 1 large plate (found for $1 at Dollar Tree)
{+} Glue (found at Walmart for about $4)
I used E600, which is an industrial strength glue, since that is what was recommended in the video I found. I'd like to think that either hot glue or superglue might work just as well, but the E600 seemed like a safe bet.
Alone, I think these are all really pretty pieces. I love the dotted design. The plate and bowl both seem to be good quality, despite their steal of a price. Dollar Tree is kind of an amazing place.
So after I collected all my pieces (in March...) I got to putting everything together.
{Step One}
Since everything came with a sticker on it, even the candlestick, I began with removing them. Since they were the awful kind of stickers that don't come off without a fight, I used Goo Gone, a paper towel, and a lot of patience. Then, to remove any of the residual Goo Gone, I went ahead and rinsed all of my pieces off as well.
{Step One}
Since everything came with a sticker on it, even the candlestick, I began with removing them. Since they were the awful kind of stickers that don't come off without a fight, I used Goo Gone, a paper towel, and a lot of patience. Then, to remove any of the residual Goo Gone, I went ahead and rinsed all of my pieces off as well.
{Step Two}
To kind of go against the grain a bit, I decided to add a little personalization to my "cake" stand by spray painting the candlestick with gold spray paint. I love the combination of white and gold.
To kind of go against the grain a bit, I decided to add a little personalization to my "cake" stand by spray painting the candlestick with gold spray paint. I love the combination of white and gold.
This process actually turned out to be more tedious than I might have guessed. I did two coats of spray paint, with roughly an hour wait after each coat to make sure it was dry. Overall I really liked the look of it, but my spray painting skills could probably use some work.
{Step Three}
Finally, the actual gluing process. I had no idea what to expect from this glue, since I had never used it before, except that I knew it had to be used in a well ventilated area. I used the screened-in porch. This glue has a very strong odor, and, apparently, can potentially cause cancer (I'm guessing if it's not used in a ventilated area). So, proceed with caution. Or just follow the directions and it's no problem.
I lined the top of the candlestick with a ring of glue, turned it over, and then carefully placed it in what I considered to be the center of the bowl. I decided to glue the smaller end of my candlestick to the bowl, so as to maximize the surface area of my catch-all. I will also say that, contrary to my belief, the E6000 glue is not like super glue in the means that it does not bond instantaneously. This is good if you place your candlestick and think it's not quite centered, because you can still shift it around some, but for me it was more of a con. In the gluing of my second piece, I accidentally nudged the candlestick causing it to smudge the gold spray paint onto the bottom of the bowl. It's more of an eyesore than anything, and is hardly noticeable (especially once I put stuff in it), but if I ever do this project again I will probably be more careful, or reconsider the spray paint.
Similarly, for the plate, I lined the top (or rather, bottom) of the candlestick with the glue and then carefully placed the plate on top. In retrospect it might have made more sense to glue the large plate first, but since I had no sense of drying time for the glue, it didn't seem like a problem at the time.
After accidentally messing with the glue the first time, I decided to just leave the stand alone for the next 6 or so hours once I was finished gluing. So far it seems to be holding up well, but I don't plan to use it until I can be sure it's secure.
As you can see, I plan on using the top (bigger) plate to display things like perfumes and maybe a candle, because we all know how much I love candles.
Then the bottom will be used for any miscellaneous items, but most likely watches and other jewelry.
Despite the fact that this project, essentially, took me 5 months to complete, I couldn't be more pleased with the result. I think it is functional, as well as adorable. And, best of all, it only cost me $3.
10/10 would try again, but without spray paint.
10/10 would try again, but without spray paint.
♥K
