Turn recycled cardboard boxes, paper rolls, and plastic containers into these fun, silly cake stands. Your kiddos will not only enjoy making them, but will also appreciate having their artwork on display, right next to the main attraction—the cupcakes!

I just love children’s art and how it showcases wild, lively imaginations. This silly cake stand project gives them—and their artistic abilities—the opportunity to be front and center at your next party, and provides you with a table topper that substitutes expensive (and let’s face it) less exciting options.

What You Need

• Printable dog and silly animal stand pattern template (download here)
• Hot glue gun
• Scissors
• Marker
• Paint
• Brush
• Double-sided tape or paper tape

For The Dog Stand

• Sturdy cardboard tray or cake board
• 5 toilet-paper rolls
• Tea boxe
• Cord
• Round stickers

For The Silly Animal Stand

• 2 sturdy cardboard trays or cake boards of different sizes
• 4 toilet-paper rolls
• Paper-towel roll
• Plastic yogurt container
• Spreadable cheese box
• Bottle cork
• Round stickers

Instructions

Step 1
Either remove all the labels from the boxes or turn them inside out and glue or tape them back together to provide a clear surface for the paint.

Step 2
Paint the trays, paper rolls, and boxes using your favorite colors. Download the printable template. Trace, paint, and cut out ears, feet, mouth, and hat patterns.

Step 3
Once all the painted parts are dry, glue each foot to each of the toilet-paper rolls (legs). For the dog: Glue the two ears to each side of the tea box (head), then glue a toilet-paper roll (neck) to the bottom of the tea box.

For the silly animal: Glue the paper-towel roll (neck) to the bottom of the cheese box (head), then glue the bottle cork to the front of the cheese box.

Step 4
Place the large trays face down. Draw a grid in the center of each one to help evenly distribute the legs, which provide the base. Glue the legs in place.

For the Dog: Glue the bottom of the neck to the top of the tray.

For the silly animal: Draw a grid at the center of the smaller tray and glue the bottom of the yogurt container in the middle. Glue the bottom of the neck to the top of the tray. You can leave the two trays independent of each other or glue them together.

Step 5
For the dog: Glue the cord to the bottom of the tray and make the hat following the instructions on the template.

For the silly animal: Cut out the smiling mouth from template, then glue it to the face.
Decorate the faces with stickers and markers!

That’s all there is to it. Hope you enjoy making these funny stands!

Notes: These stands are quite light, so be sure not to overload them with food. You could also reinforce them by filling all the bases with rice or beans before attaching to the trays.