A beautiful cake stand can add so much to your tabletop decor, but this DIY tree pedestal really takes the cake! Perfect for a woodland wedding or any event with rustic charm, this unique and memorable piece will be icing beneath any cake. I first spotted the project on art maker Laurie Cinotto’s site, which led me to these step-by-step instructions from the gorgeous wedding blog oncewed.com.

Materials:

A Cross-Cut Wood Plaque (round or oval) available in crafts stores or at Hotcraft.com (Under $5).

A Cross-Section of a Tree Limb   (Make sure the top and bottom are parallel) Check locally first, but if you can’t find anywhere, try Save-on-crafts.com.

Titebond Ultimate Wood Glue (or a similar extra strong wood glue)

A Large Wood Clamp

Steps:

1. Take your tree limb section and wipe the cut surface clean. Put a generous amount of extra strong wood glue on the surface. (see figure 1)
2. Place the limb section in the center of the back side your wood plaque and press down firmly.  Wipe away any excess glue with a clean, damp cloth. (see figure 2)
3. Place the two joined pieces in a wood clamp and let dry for at least one hour. If you don’t have a wood clamp, you can stack a few heavy books on top of your pedestal until it’s dry. (see figure 3)
4. Use your pedestals to display cakes and desserts (see figure 4) or use as a base for a centerpiece.   If you want to place food directly on the wood surface, coat it first with a food-safe wood sealer.  If you would like to keep the wood it’s natural color, place a piece of parchment paper beneath your cake or dessert.

If you love it, but aren’t much for crafts, I found these two for sale on Etsy for $40-$49.

Seeing this cake stand reminded me of this beautiful woodland wedding I saw featured in ReadyMade magazine a couple years ago. I really wanted to show you guys pictures from this wedding (it was that amazing) so I hunted down the article at my library. I hope it inspires some ideas. I just love it. I love this couple, love the s’mores bar, love the twig utensils, love the flower in the bride’s hair. Aren’t they the cutest thing ever? I’m not at all a country girl, but this makes me want a country wedding.

Photos by Jessamyn Harris (sorry for the less-than-stellar scans)

One really adorable detail I need to share from the magazine… “Campy Favors: The couple treated their guests to custom-embroidered Cub-Scout-inspired patches…” Available at americanpatch.com I guess the groom had a thing for badges.

The one thing I would add are these Martha Stewart Star-topped s’mores sticks, instead of a star though, I’d use heart. Too cute for words!

Until next time,
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