When I was a kid, my grandma used to bake all of my birthday cakes. She was a really great baker and had her own pie business in her basement for awhile. My favorite cake of all time was definitely my lollipop cake. I don’t remember how old I was, and it was a very simple white cake with lollipops on the top of it, but there was something so magical and special about this cake that it’s always held a special place in my mind. So who says your centerpieces have to be flowers? They can be whatever you want, whatever makes YOUR event feel special to you through color, texture, or memories.

Posted by Kate Berry, Floral and Event Expert
From: Martha Stewart Weddings

Who says your centerpiece always has to be flowers? As much as I LOVE brilliant blooms on the table, sometimes it’s refreshing to see a different idea sprinkled through your reception. In the current Summer 09 Weddings issue, we featured the wedding of Cheree Berry, one of our favorite stationery vendors. It’s chock-full of inspirational ideas, including these lollipop trees she created. They weren’t her centerpieces, but I think they’d make great ones that you can make ahead of time. See how she did it here.

What’s gracing your table’s centers? And do you agree that sometimes it’s nice not to see flowers on the table?

Tools and Materials

• Styrofoam cone from Baisch & Skinner
• Floral spray paint (choose a color that will match your ribbon)
• Extra-wide flat washers (these will add weight to the bottom of the cone and keep it steady; to get a heavy-enough weight, Cheree used 2 and hot-glued them together. The more surface of the base that the washer covers, the steadier the cone will be; so, if you can find a “Large OD” washer that’s 8 millimeters or wider from a plumbing-supply store, that would be best)
• Hot-glue gun
• 8 yards of 5/8-inch-wide ribbon (use 1-inch-wide ribbon for a 24-inch-tall cone; Baisch & Skinner)
• Gold-topped boutonniere pins (about 30)
• Lollipops (some of our favorite sources include Ju-C Suckers, Hammond’s Candies, CandyDirect.com, and Sugar Shack)
• Flag template (download template here)
• Slim wooden dowel (for flag)
• Craft glue

Lollipop Stand How-To

1. Spray paint cone with floral spray paint, and let dry. Hot-glue the flat washer to the bottom of the cone, and let set.

2. Cut the ribbon into graduated lengths so each wraps once around the cone, with extra for overlap; the shortest piece (for the top of the cone) will be about 5 inches. You will need 25 pieces of ribbon for 16-inch cone, 28 pieces of ribbon for 18-inch cone, and 27 pieces of ribbon (of 1-inch-wide ribbon) for 24-inch cone.

3. Cover cone with ribbon, starting from the top. Wrap the first ribbon snugly around the cone (you will need to wrap the ribbon at a slight angle so that it lays flat on the conical surface). Fold the end under to hide the raw edge, and use a pin to secure. Continue down the cone, overlapping the ribbons only slightly.

4. Insert your favorite lollipops into the cone, slipping the sticks between the ribbons and angling them down. We used rock-candy swizzle sticks, so we used scissors to cut off the balls on the ends of the wooden sticks.

5. Stick a sign into the top of the cone, or insert a single lollipop instead. To use Cheree’s flag, download her template and print it out, then use a craft knife and a metal straight edge to cut the flag just inside the lines. Glue it to a slim wooden dowel; if you like, cut a second sheet of paper and glue it to the back of the flag to cover the dowel.

First Published: Summer 2009