DIY cakepop display

I've been meaning to write this instructional post for a while now. This DIY cakepop stand is super easy and only costs about $5 to make. Level of difficulty: Beginner.

Supply list:
Wooden plaque ($3 after coupon @ Michaels)
Pen / pencil / sharpie
Drill
Drill bit(s)
Ping pong ball
Paper
Blue tape
Powerade bottle cap

First thing is first, gather your supplies.

After that, it requires a bit of planning. Since I have made cakepops several times before, I know approximately how big they are. This is important when planning out your design, because you want enough space so that cakepops don't touch.

In order to do this, I had to find something approximately the same size (hence the ping pong ball).

Well, it was too difficult to trace the ping pong ball, so I ended up using a Powerade bottle cap instead. I folded my piece of paper in half and then half again several times and traced the Powerade cap circle. This way, I only had to cut once and got several appropriately sized circles to then play around with.

I rearranged for a while until I found a design that I liked. I wanted them to be in a sort of pattern that can make several different shapes, depending on the quantity. I could do up and down rows.... middle diamond shape.... or even 9 cakepops in a sqaure. It was perfect.

Once all circles were in place, I pressed firmly with my pen in the very center of each circle. The wooden plaque is very soft wood, so my pen was able to dent it ever so slightly. I then removed all the paper circles and used my sharpie to make the center circle dents little black dots. These dots are where I was going to drill my holes.

Drilling holes.... that is kind of a tricky thing.

I didn't want to drill all the way through the plaque, because then my cakepops would fall straight through too. Instead, I wanted to stop drilling approximately 2/3 through the plaque (see photo).

In order to do this, I read that you should tape off your drill bit with blue tape. That way, you can see how far you have drilled into the wood.

I think I used a 1/16th drill bit, or maybe bigger.

I'm not sure. Grab a cakepop stick and just compare until you find a drill bit about the same size. NOTE: choose a slightly smaller size to start. You can always grab a bigger bit and re-drill, but what has been drilled cannot be un-done.

If you use too big of a bit, the cakepops will wobble around and not stand straight. That would be bad. Also, try to drill straight up and down. Don't drill at an angle, or again, the cakepops will wobble.

Go ahead and drill all of your marked holes.

Now would be a good time to est and see if a cakepop stick will fit. I it doesn't slide in smoothly, grab the next size larger drill bit an re-drill the holes (I had to re-drill the holes 3 times, so don't feel bad if it doesn't fit the first time). Also, you can wiggle the cakepop sticks around a bit while in the whole to smooth away splinters and allow for

easier assembly.

I have found that cakepop sticks vary in size, depending if you buy paper or plastic, so try to be consistent when purchasing sticks from now on.

Once all the holes have been successfully drilled into the plaque, its time to paint it! I chose to stain it light grey, because I liked the wood look. After two coats of stain, I also added a coat of high gloss poly. This way, if any frosting spills, I can easily just wipe it off with water and a paper towel. That's it. Enjoy! Feel free to make a few for family or neighbors and hand them out around the holidays (filled with cakepops, of course!)