While cupcakes were once relegated to the classrooms of kindergarteners, these days, they’re seemingly gourmet fare. With cupcake bakeries opening up here, there, and everywhere, and television cooking shows dedicated entirely to these now decadent treats, cupcakes can be the perfect choice for almost any occasion from birthday parties to holiday or Easter get-togethers to weddings. The key, though, is building an amazing display for these tiny little cups of wonder.
A Cupcake Stand: There are hundreds of different stands and tutorials devoted to cupcakes both online and at your local party store. Traditional cupcake stands tend to be round, flat, and tiered, but with the popularity of cupcakes has come some creativity in this arena. You don’t have to stick with three graduated round tiers anymore. Instead, you can go with a pyramid shape, a stand that has alternating tiers on the left and right sides, or even those that have your cupcakes looking more like something you might see on a show about wedding cakes. While you can certainly buy a cupcake stand, it’s fairly easy to make one too. At its simplest, you just graduate three flat tiers of cardboard with something like soup cans. Cover everything in beautiful patterned scrapbook paper, use your hot glue gun to stick it together, and you have a stand almost everyone will think you’ve purchased.
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A Bouquet Arrangement: Whether you’re doing a wedding, a baby shower, or just a big family Easter event, a cupcake bouquet is a beautiful touch, and it’s very easy to make. Some bakeries even offer them as an option, too, if you’d prefer to buy yours. Just choose a flower pot you like, then buy some Styrofoam to put down inside the pot. Add wooden bamboo skewers to the Styrofoam, place your cupcakes strategically on the skewers, add a bit of icing, and you have a bouquet everyone will love. Alternately, you can use hot glue to attach 5 ounce paper cups to each other in a slightly globe shape, then place a cupcake in each cup. Decorate, and you have the perfect bouquet.
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Alternate Ideas: As you start brainstorming ideas, you’re going to find out that there are many vehicles that seem destined for cupcakes. Take a look at some of the plant stands in your local hobby shop, and you’re easily going to see “cupcakes” written all over them. They are elaborately beautiful, and most will hold 8 – 10 cupcakes per shelf, so they’re the perfect vessel for your little feats of greatness. Platters and cake plates of almost any kind would work too, as would any other pedestal. Just make sure that it’s food safe at the outset. If it’s not, you’ll need to cover it with something that is like parchment or another material. And consider buying party favor boxes designed specifically for cupcakes just in case your guests would like to take one of the amazing creations home with them to enjoy later.
The key, no matter what you decide to do, is to get creative. Almost anything can make the base for a beautiful cupcake display if you think outside the proverbial box with your cupcakes. Then again, even that box might make for an interesting display with just a little creativity.
About The Author
JJ Smith is a party planner that shares her cupcake recipes, cookie gift ideas for both adults and kids, and event planning suggestions at www.cookiegiftbaskets.com . She enjoys contributing on a regular monthly basis.
