Often, when we think of cake toppers, we think of wedding cakes. Most wedding cakes have a topper; it might be one that features a bride and groom or even a large heart. The topper is really the centerpiece for the cake. A beautiful topper can make a cheap, regular cake look like something out of a magazine! You can make such a topper when you start with an ordinary piece of Styrofoam.
Purchase a thin Styrofoam disk and you can make nearly any topper you want. The disk will sit directly on the cake and feature the arragement you’ve made. You can make a topper for a wedding cake, a birthday cake or another celebration. The topper is so easy to create yet instantly gives an ordinary cake an expensive look.
You can paint the Styrofoam or leave it white. If you paint it use tempera paints which don’t melt Styrofoam like other types might. Also, paint only the top and the sides; leave the bottom as it is. If you want the Styrofoam to be glittered, use glitter-glue rather than applying glue then sprinkling on loose glitter. After the paint or glue has dried you can use assorted craft supplies to create the arrangement you want.
Make a cheap but appropriate arrangement for nearly any cake by simply cutting lengths of ribbon and curling them. Cut all gold or silver ribbons for a wedding cake or cut red, white and blue ribbons for a Fourth of July cake. It’s easy to give the topper a theme just by the colors of ribbons you use. Tape or glue the ends of the ribbons to toothpicks and insert them in the Styrofoam topper. Make lots of ribbons, and make some much longer than others, and allow them to topple down the sides of the cake or just curl and rest on top.
Make a different topper by placing toothpicks halfway in the Styrofoam, then attaching chosen foods to the ends of the toothpicks. These can be pieces of fruit, donut holes, candy bar pieces or something else.
Create a simple topper by first painting or glittering the Styrofoam disk then gluing on a flat, thin, wooden shape. You’ll find shapes of pets, sports balls, kids and many other designs at most any craft store. Paint the shape on both sides, or buy one that’s already painted, and just glue it so that it stands up on the Styrofoam disk.
No matter what design you decide to do for the top of the cake, you’ll simply set the Styrofoam disk on top, and remove it whenever you want. It’s up to you if you want to cut a piece of wax paper, parchment or other paper to keep the Styrofoam from sitting right on the frosting. Set a circle of the paper on top of the cake then set the Styrofoam on it. Whether for a wedding, a birthday or another event your topper – and cake – is definitely going to get attention!
Reference:
- Styrofoam disks here: www.michaels.com
