Trying to do it myself...

Sonny supervising the cupcake tree project

So besides the invitations, which weren't half bad, the next biggest item on my list thus far was ::drum roll, please:: the cupcake tree. We're doing some fun stuff with the traditional cake idea and I needed a cupcake tree. The only ones I could find in stores were way too fancy...I don't need 7 sterling silver cupcake trees hanging around my house for the next few years...

Following a never ending interweb trail I ended up here looking at tons of different photos for decorate-able options. Now they may be marketed as "eco-friendly" or "recyclable" but in the end they are corrugated cardboard - and right in my price range!


When thinking about how to decorate I remembered I had 4 rolls of a cool surf themed wrapping paper that I had intended to use as a wall covering (before I learned how hard it is to get texture off of walls) and now was just sitting around. As part of this project, I had learned a little bit about decoupaging...but certainly not enough. Anyway, I thought why not decoupage the tree? So I did.

It really wasn't that hard. I simply traced the circles of the tree onto the wrapping paper and cut them out. I tried to stay on the line (thanks nursery school!) but wasn't too careful...and later on I realized it was actually easier to go back and trim after everything was pasted on.

Speaking of the pasting, that was trickier than I thought. I decided to paste on the brown, reverse side of the circles but I got a lot of ridges. I thought this would be solved by pasting on the white side...but it wasn't really. I blame my lack of experience with the technique. Also, when the paste/decoupage glue dried on the cardboard with the wrapping paper covering, the circles curled. I had to work hard to straighten them back out in the morning and they never were completely flat again. If I had to do it over (and I know this because I accidentally did) I would cover the brown reverse side in the glue as well. The one I did (accidentally) as well as the top tier (which had two sides of wrapping as I was trying to figure out which was better) stayed nice and flat.

Another area where I wasn't too happy with the result was with the decoupage on the paper itself. I got a lot of ridges where I brushed it on. Again, I blame my newbie technique, though I did see the instructions allowed for a 400-grit sanding between coats of glue. I was too lazy and unwilling to spend the cash on 400 grit sandpaper for my bargain application, but before I do any further decoupaging I'll give it a shot. Nor was I patient enough to get out all the air bubbles...but that's neither here nor there...

Then I simply hot glued some aqua (or "pool" for those keeping up with my "theme") grosgrain ribbon to cover the cardboard look. That was easy, and very unstressful after my glue issues.


So voila...the final product. Not too shabby! If I had to do it again (for anyone that may be interested):

1. Glue both sides of the tiers
2. Get the special decoupage tool (or buy some Popsicle sticks) to smooth out the air bubbles.
3. Be certain you are opening the holes for the feet in the separators in the correct spot (oops)
4. Don't use a foam brush to apply the glue (just like with painting - the better the brush the better the outcome)
5. Paint the separators...I simply glued grosgrain on the edges to cover the naked cardboard but it really didn't do that much. Maybe a coat of a neutral or darker paint would add to the illusion of substance

So that's it! Off to bed!