DIY Wedding
How to Make a Clothespin Cake Topper
comments (9) May 13th, 2009
Erika Kern, contributor
28 users recommend
With a bit of paint, glitter, and lace, clothespins become an adorable bride and groom.
Photo: Erika Kern
I have been looking at many a bridal magazine in preparation for my friend Jen's upcoming wedding, and the one thing I'm starting to learn is, boy, is everything expensive. Even the cake toppers! If you want something unique and individual, you'd best be prepared pay. I saw a cute wooden pair in one magazine for $80. Being the crafty gal I am, these prices did not discourage me; no, $80 for a cake topper is a challenge. And I think I've figured something out...all for the bargain price of $10.
Here's what you'll need:
- Doll pins (you can find them at your local craft store or here)
- Pencil
- Craft paints
- Clear gloss varnish (I like Delta Ceramcoat Gloss Interior Varnish)
- Lace or ribbon with a width of at least 1-1/2 inches
- Small buttons for bouquet
- Multisurface glue (like E-6000)
- Fabric glue
- 2-1/2-inch-diameter wooden circle
- Glitter (I used Martha Stewart Crafts Fine Glitter in White Gold
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Plain wooden clothespins just waiting to be transformed. |
These pins come in big bags of 30, so why not use this technique and make individual dolls of the whole bridal party?
Once you have your pins, it's time to figure out your design. Use the bride and groom as inspiration for your cake topper. Give the dolls their hair color and style...dress them in clothes to match their bridal attire.
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Use a pencil to draw the outline of your design onto your clothespins. Use a light touch at first so you can erase stray lines. |
Once you've settled on a design you like, it's time to paint. I used paints I already had on hand, but you can get craft paints for 99 cents a bottle. Have fun with your colors! If you don't have the right shade, mix colors until you've reached it. You can also layer colors to give your painting extra depth. This is especially nice on the hair.
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Once you've painted your bride and groom, coat them in a gloss varnish. After painting, your groom is done, so now we have to add the skirt to our bride's dress. |
I used lace for the bride's skirt, but if your bride's dress is all satin, feel free to use ribbon. Alter the technique in any way to make the dress more like your bride-to-be.
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Starting at our bride's feet, glue the lace onto the clothespin in a tiered fashion. I used two glues: a multisurface glue to glue the lace onto the wooden pin and a fabric glue to glue the lace to itself. |
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Sew a small button and a bit of ribbon onto the center of the last tier of lace as the bridal bouquet. I used vintage buttons I had in my stash, but you can find many beautiful small buttons in your local fabric store. |
Now that your bride and groom are finished, it's time to make the base.
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A 2-1/2-inch-diameter wooden disc found at your local craft store serves as the base for your bride and groom. |
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Cover the base in fine-cut glitter. Once the glue from your glitter has dried, apply several coats of clear gloss varnish to lock the glitter into place and prevent it from flaking off on your cake. |
Let the varnish dry overnight.
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Glue your bride and groom onto the glitter base. Once it's dry, your topper is ready for your cake! |
$10 for a cute cake topper...that's $70 more you can spend on the honeymoon! Woo-hoo!
After you make this project, show off your work to other members!
Post your project in the gallery
Comments (9)
Posted: 8:44 am on July 27th
Posted: 11:02 pm on May 18th
KarylC
Posted: 7:34 pm on May 16th
but here in Chile we don'r use that kind of clothespin, we use the ones that have like a metal coil thingie... and we call them "perros para ropa" , perro=dog, and ropa=clothes.
i wouldn't know how to translate it tho :P
Posted: 4:30 pm on May 16th
Posted: 5:28 pm on May 14th
Posted: 2:23 am on May 14th
Posted: 4:17 pm on May 13th
Posted: 1:05 pm on May 13th
Posted: 1:05 pm on May 13th