Tutorial - Vintage Cake Stand

I recently made this cake stand for a friend. Simple but effective!

It's always nice to create a special one-of-a-kind item. If you fancy making a similar one, it's as easy as this...

You will need:

• A plate (a dinner plate is the best size; choose one which isn't too heavy)
• A candlestick with a flat top (approximately 18cm/7 inches tall)
• Epoxy glue (two separate gels which you mix together immediately prior to use)
• White spirit
• A marker pen

Instructions:

1. Wash and dry the plate and candlestick thoroughly.
2. Measure and mark the centre of the reverse of the plate with a small spot of ink.
3. Place the candle stick over this mark (i.e. where you will eventually glue it in place) and draw around it.
4. Lay the plate face down, mix and apply the Epoxy glue to the candlestick, then glue to the plate. (This glue sets incredible quickly so you won't have much time to reposition the candlestick if you make a mistake).
5. Leave to dry overnight.
6. Use white spirit to remove any traces of marker pen from the reverse of the plate.
7.  Place cake(s) on finished stand, admire briefly, then eat.

Tips:

• You can find a massive selection of vintage plates and candlesticks sold individually on eBay.
• Make sure the candlestick has a flat top. Some have rounded tops and therefore less surface area to stick to the plate.
• In preparation for gluing (to create a stronger bond), you can sand the top of the candle stick and the marked area on the plate. Sandpaper is sufficient, but I was fortunate enough to have a helper with a small electric sander! Remember to clean the sanded areas with white spirit prior to gluing.
  
• Wash/wipe clean by hand. Although the Epoxy glue is incredibly strong, I would not advise putting your finished cake stand in the dishwasher.

As always, I look forward to making one for myself!

Handmade Gifts and a Happy New Year

A belated Happy New Year to all! I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.
We had a great Christmas spending time with family and friends, being really lazy and eating far too much.  Despite travelling up and down the country by train, we pretty much avoided the travel disruption caused by the recent snow.

We spent New Year with my boyfriend's parents.  This year's fancy dress theme was Old Time Musical; he and his family enterntained their guests with renditions of old music-hall songs and wore fantastic costumes.  Here is a picture of me in my outfit, which was kindly supplied by his Mum at the last moment (who has an enviable wardrobe to say the least!). 

I've decided to stroll into 2010 and slowly contemplate my priorities for the year ahead.  I can't see the point of setting unrealistic goals and starting brutal health and fitness regimes in the first week of January...anyway, we still have a lot of chocolate left which I would hate to see go out of date.

As always, I did my best to give as many handmade and vintage gifts as possible. Here is a selection of this year's items.

I made these pen and crayon rolls for my four-year-old niece:

 

I also made my neice and her younger sister each a matching set of three appliqued t-shirts (brown as below, one pink and one white). My four-year-old niece loved the pink and white ones but we heard her say, quietly, "Mummy, I'm not wearing the brown t-shirt....ever"!  Fortunately her little sister is too young to object, see below:

I also gave various pieces of vintage china as Christmas giflts (I wanted to keep these for myself, but I just don't have the space).  Hopefully my friends won't hate me for cluttering up their homes.

I also made an 'upcycled' cake stand and transformed a battered picture frame into a beautiful mirror. Photographs and tutorial posts to follow...