Today I have two more 5 minute decorating ideas for you all, and one of them might just be the best “get the look for less” projects I’ve done in a very long time. Lately, everywhere I look, I see cake stands made out of wooden bases with marble tops, wooden bases with wood tops, or all marble. They are being used to hold soap and a scrubber beside the kitchen sink, toiletries in a bathroom, or actually as a dessert or cake server. Some of them are not too expensive, like the ones I found at Target in the Magnolia Collection, but others, like the one below from Macy’s, are super pricey. I already own a few ceramic cake stands, but there was just something about these marble topped models that really spoke to me.

Then were up at our bungalow in northern Idaho last week and I spotted two marble trivets/servers that I had bought at a Crate and Barrel outlet store for a couple of dollars, and rarely ever used. They have nice rubber feet on the bottom, but the top is too slick to use as a trivet and they just sat on the kitchen countertop under the paper towel dispenser. Aha, I thought, maybe I can use this as the top of a cake stand.

So we went out to some thrift stores and the Goodwill in hopes of finding just the right (and cheap) wooden candlestick holder that could hold the marble on top. Unfortunately, I didn’t find exactly what I was looking for, but did find a heavy metal candlestick holder that I thought could work. There were actually a pair of them, the taller one for $7.99 and the shorter one for $5.99.

The shorter one was a good height for a cake or dessert stand, and initially, I thought I would paint it. But after trying the marble on it with its green patina and off-white relief, I liked it just the way it was. This project just got a whole lot easier:) My husband recommended putting something in the candle receptacle to give it a larger surface to glue to, which was a great recommendation. He had some wooden dowels in the garage that could have worked, but then I spotted my container of wine corks and thought I’d try that. Perfect fit!

Next, I glued the cork into the candleholder, using a hot glue gun. Once it was dry, the cork was cut with a flush saw, even with the metal to provide a level surface to glue the marble onto. By drawing two intersecting lines on the underside of the marble, I found the center. Again using the hot glue gun, I adhered the candlestick to the marble in an upside down position and left it to set.

Once set upright, this cake stand/dessert server turned out so cute, I couldn’t love it more. For a total cost of around $8, this was definitely getting the look for a whole lot less. And what of that second taller candlestick holder, you ask? Well, I decided it would live its best life as what it was meant to be; a candlestick holder!

The cake stand was styled a couple of different ways, first in a guest bath next to the sink, with some body wash and scented hand soaps on top. The second, on the entry table, with a eucalyptus wreath and an architectural piece on top. This arrangement includes the taller candlestick holder set on a metal box, with two small birds in front. I like this one best of all, and will leave it there for now. I can also see this dessert server being used for Valentine’s Day, topped with some chocolate dipped strawberries or a luscious tart. The possibilities are probably endless…

So then what to do with the second marble trivet? At one time I must have gotten some oil on it, and typical of marble, it had absorbed the oil leaving it a little off-colored. Because of that, I didn’t want to use it for the cake server, but was determined to bring it into our decor somehow. Looking around my decorating stash, I found a lovely cloche that I wasn’t using, and as luck would have it, the cloche was just a slightly smaller diameter than the marble. Perfect!

I found a small artificial potted herb plant, gathered two pinecones from the yard, and placed them on the marble trivet. Once topped with the cloche, it looked so nice on in the kitchen on a copper tray. Again, less than 5 minutes and I just love it on our eating bar. One of the nice things about the shiny glass cloche is that it reflects a lot of the natural and overhead light, something that helps on a gray winters day.

I hope you’ve enjoyed, and maybe been inspired by, these easy and fun ways to create new decor items for your home without breaking the bank. So often, even if you can afford the ready-made option, it is nicer to reuse and upcycle things you already own and give them a new life. It can be a fun challenge imagining things in a new way, and some days, stretching my creative muscles is the best exercise I get!

Good tidings,

Diane