How to make your own cake toppers using wooden dolls

Guest post by La Morocha

wooden cake toppers with cat

I finally got around to our cake toppers. I wanted something fun, so I came up with a cute mini versions of us — and our furry baby, of course! Let's not forget the baby.

To show you how it was done, I am going to separate the project in two: the dolls and the base and arch (optional).

CakeTopperTools

What you will need:

CakeTopper_Shoppinglist

Select your design: You can customize the design to match you, your fiancé, and even your lovely pet(s).

Mark design: Lightly mark your design on the dolls in pencil. Don't worry, you can erase any mistakes made — I did it a few times. Just make sure you like the design before you move to the next step.

CakeToppers_pencil outline

Paint the wooden dolls: You certainly need to work slowly and carefully. Leave that glass of wine until your painting is done. Pour your choice of paint on a plate, remember to wet your brushes first and then dab on some paint. Test the brush before touching the surface of the dolls. Remember to wash your brush before moving onto the next color. Apply a second coat if needed — mine did. Tip: If you happen to paint on the wrong place, dab your brush in water and apply onto the surface you want to clean, then use a paper towel to dry.

Let the dolls dry.

Apply accessories and have fun. Use hot glue to attach them to the dolls. Tip: If you glue that lovely headpiece on the wrong place don't worry, you should be able to easily remove it. Just wait until dried. I speak from experience 😉

Congratulate yourself for the great job done!

CakeToppers_Recipe finished

The base and arch (optional):
In our case we decided to go with a wooden base of 6″ diameter to match the rest of the décor of our wedding, but there are plenty of other options. In fact, you don't even need a base at all with this type of cake topper.

We went hard tech and used a laser cutter (technology that uses a laser to cut materials) to cut our wooden base, but I recognize not everybody has access to one. If this is your case, you can use a Dremel tool and/or hack saw and some sand paper. Make sure you take the proper safety precautions when managing tools like these.

A variant of this is build the base using a styrofoam disc of your desired diameter, which you can buy at craft stores. Cover the disc with paper or fabric. You can also decorate with ribbons.

Tip: Whatever material you decide to use for the base make sure that it is sturdy enough to hold the toppers but not that heavy that it could potentially weigh down your cake.

Have fun making yours!

DIY wooden cake toppers with cat alternative wedding ideas from Offbeat Wed (formerly Offbeat Bride)

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Comments on How to make your own cake toppers using wooden dolls

  1. Ahhh- I love these! I made our wood doll cake toppers too AND included our Boston Terrier!! Great job!!

  2. This is so cute! Any suggestions on how to make a person in pants? Do they sell dolls with legs or do you have to paint them in?

  3. As to how to put them on the cake, what about drilling a hole in the bottom and putting a sharpened dowel sticking out the bottom? You could stick them in place like a plant spike! These are so cute and classy, nice job!!

  4. I am also making a wooden cake topper, complete with 2 cats! Could you please tell me how you got the cat’s ears to look so nice? I can’t seem to figure out how to do it. Thanks!

  5. These are just what I’ve been looking for – we’re having a cat-themed wedding, and this way we can paint it so that they look like our cats! That will be a nice way to incorporate our cats, who can’t actually be there on the big day.

  6. We weren’t planning to have a cake, but now I’ve GOT to have one just so I can make these. Thank you for the ideas and congratulations to you two!!!

  7. I bought my blank wooden cake toppers from an Etsy store. They came with a heart shaped base that I am going to attach them on after painting and then I bought a little cake topper banner (2 sticks and the banner part) that I am going to put in the cake for the ceremony and then affix the sticks to the back of the heart afterward so that we have a nice little all in one cake topper souvenir that we can place on our bookcase or mantle. My sister is an artist so she has the steady hand to paint the figurines. Our wedding is skull and smiley themed (based on our collections) so the groom will be a skull and the bride will be a smiley.

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