Everything old is new again, the glued cake stand

True confessions time.  CompuServe was my first online presence (as Deirdre, a nice Irish name) and AOL my second (4 identities there).  I’m calling attention to this as there’s an apropos phrase “everything old is new again”.  Folks have been doing some things for so long that it’s hard to give credit to whoever may have been the first. 

Case in point is the glued together cupcake/cake stand.  My own introduction to this was through Gardenweb Junk forum.  Gardenweb used to be a great discussion board created and run buy a guy named Spike. But, Spike sold it.  Parts are still very active, some not so much. Many great crafty folks and gardeners have left the site as, unlike our newer social networking sites aka Facebook, many discussions boards (Gardenweb being one) threaten to throw you out (and they seem to be able to bar all id’s associated with your computer) if you link folks outside the site.  So, if some poor soul desperately needs embroidery machine software advice on one of the Home Forums and you know of 2 nifty Yahoo groups where she might get answers and you’re kind enough to post that – ping, out you go. And, poor soul can’t get her expensive machine working. Now that you stand warned, know I may often link over there in acknowledgement of a project’s origins. There were (and may still be) GREAT craft artists on Garden Junk  and one of the later spin-off forums Hypertufa.  There’s also great gardening advice and pictures in many of its forums. But it’s pop ups/ads galore now and a dictatorial style of management.

The gardenwebers were gluing things together to place around their gardens in the 90’s (pennies or marbles on bowling balls, teacups with saucers on copper pipe as bird feeders, stacked wood items, glued china and glass items as totems, and of course glued china and glass became cake stands).

My latest project is late to the game of glued together cake stands. But, seeing differing approaches is why we blog surf, so here goes.

  

  

  

  

  

I like glass – it can match any holiday. I can use paper doilies or make a cloth holiday doily to place under items.  For those of you with 99 cent stores – they have glass (or black plates or white, all nice basics). I chose a sugar bowl plus dinner size glass plate for a grand total of $1.98 plus tax.  I already had the E6000 glue.  Some folks use GE Silicone II, others Gorilla Glue or Super Glue. Just think, I could make 5 of them to place down the center of the table for less than $10.00. I can make it taller or combo short and tall by using glass sundae cups, candle holders or vases. I’ve seen some made with mugs and cups but I’m not a fan of the “it’s obviously a cup glued upside down look”.

One hint on a YouTube video I searched when looking for instructions to link you to (and now can’t find, sigh) is to use a washable marker and mark the center of your plate on its underside, carefully center the base and mark on the plate bottom four dots or points just outside the edge of your base so you’ll center correctly. Be sure to wipe off the center dot before you glue if you’re gluing glass (or it will ALWAYS be there) and when you’re done gluing you can wash off the marks outside the rim of the base you used for centering. It’s very easy to glue them off center a tad which just won’t look as nice.  You also want to be sure the area you’re gluing is spotlessly clean – no fingerprints.  I constructed it upside down, using a toothpick to spread some glue on the plate bottom, placing the upside down sugar bowl on top of that and a book on top of the whole thing to weight it while the glue dryed. The whole thing only took minutes to put together. I did work on newspaper to protect my counters.

As mentioned, I like to link you to instructions for items that have been done for years. No reason for me to take the time to rekey it all over again.  I hop onto Google or YouTube, see what I can find and here you go. So, for a simple how to tutorial go here: Armelle Jewelry’s Tutorial.  For a visual, go to  YouTube and key in “cake stand how to” or “cupcake stand how to”.  If you stumble across the one where she uses a washable marker to mark the center, please send me a link so I can update this post. Don’t forget to handwash these puppies – no telling what the heat and water in a dishwasher might do to the glue.  

Apron Redo

Like many of us, the Siren’s song of aaaaaawwwwww kitchen apron hit me hard.  Time spent at the sewing machine, the embroidery machine and printing images to cloth has resulted in apron collections for me, those I create handmade Christmas and birthday gifts for and a local charity.  My most recently completed creation is this bright cupcake apron, fabric from JoAnn‘s.

I have a really ancient Simplicity pattern (8106) that had you put buttonholes on a towel piece and buttons on the waist band to fasten a handy cloth right at hand.  I saw it when perusing my patterns and realized, given my complete penchant for creating a total mess (how do other folks keep flour from drifting about or drips and smears from adorning their countertops?) that I must start doing this.

 

Excuse the look of the pattern – when my kitty companions were young they found their way into a pattern box.  For those of you who know cats, ‘nuff said.

As I was doing a full size apron, the buttons looked better on the hip than waist. I made two at the same time. This one was a gift for a Patricia, thus I embroidered the Embroidery Library Script P on the towel.

I’d also seen a cute heart shaped fingertip pot holder pattern over at Martha Stewart (like her or hate her – she has great recipes and craft patterns, remember she did build her empire starting there, wouldn’t have made it far if were just crap. Her scone and biscotti recipes are staples in my baking for gifts – and me – repertoire).  But I digress. Thought the pot holder would be a nice addition.  Altered mine from her pattern (quilting both the top and the bottom and changing the shape a tad).

In addition to the half apron, the old pattern also had a simple chef’s apron that I used to rely heavily upon – had a friend who would borrow it often as well.  I really did get excellent use from that pattern. When you find the patterns on cloth irresistible and yearn to possess a fabric the way Gollum obsessed to possess the ring, you look for uses and ways to display that fabric.  The old pattern allowed one solid canvas to display a prized fabric.

But the old pattern no longer resonates for me.  I still love the fabric for my fall apron.  It’s in great shape as the Thanksgiving holiday had been rarely celebrated in my tiny previous home but reserved for relatives with the space to accommodate.  It’s now time for a redo and upcycle.  The cupcake apron was a combo of two patterns. The apron from Simplicity 8720 view E shortened and the flounce from Butterick 6567 also shortened to fit width wise.  I line all of my aprons with muslin. Being a fabric enthusiast, this means that for light colored cottons any pattern you may be wearing underneath the apron will not interfere with the look of it, should you make a mess, stains have less opportunity to bleed through and I strongly prefer the look of a lined apron.

First I added the flounce across the bottom of the apron from a sparkly brown I had in my stash.

Then I added binding made from the flounce material to the apron and binding from the leaf material to the flounce.  On my about page, I use a magpie as analogy – you’ll find it’s a common one for me as I like sparkly things and fabrics.  Fabrics with a sponged gold or iridescence make me quiver in anticipation of what I might create with them.  Think Michael Miller’s Fairy Frost (that I’ve already been stockpiling for my Christmas sewing).  The brown is perfectly sparkled with flecks of gold throughout. The original leaf fabric also has a sponged irridescence.

However improved, this still needs something and is a work in progress.  My intent is to use my embroidery machine to create a lined maple leaf pocket for this apron.  I’ll blow up one of my appliqué patterns from Embroidery Library.  I’d found some brown towels and tan towels, but neither color is right and this isn’t a gift. I’ll just have to make myself reach for my towels and potholders.  When completed I’ll post the final picture here.