Whomping Willow Cupcake Stand

Whomping Willow Cupcake Display for Chamber of Secrets Birthday Party

For the upcoming Chamber of Secrets birthday party for Little Tomato, I wanted to add a few 'Chamber of Secrets specific' props for the party. After completing the Ford Anglia prop, I started working on a Whomping Willow cupcake stand.

Supplies Needed:

Cupcake Stand
Clay (I used a natural 'air dry' variety)
Glue gun & glue sticks (optional)
Primer
Brown craft paint(s)

Process:

The Whomping Willow, with it's knob-like branches, reminded me of a cupcake stand. I found a simple inexpensive cupcake stand at Hobby Lobby and used it as the framing for the Whomping Willow.

First I laid a base of clay at the base of the cupcake stand to give it weight and a solid foundation for the more detailed clay pieces to adhere.

Then I took the clay and began rolling out several long pieces. These became the roots at the base. There was not a specific size or measurement that was used; roots are not consistently sized or shaped. Each of these roots were wrapped around the base of the cake stand in the same direction, as the Whomping Willow's trunk has a directional twist to it's design. 

I added an opening at the base on one side of the trunk with a root that had a big knot... because it is the Whomping Willow, after all. 

Once the base was completed, I continued to make rolled pieces of clay and just wrapped them around the arms of the cupcake stand. Then I molded clay around the cupcake 'cups.'

This process took about an hour or so to make the general shape of the Whomping Willow.

Once the clay dried, I took a glue gun and traced around the roots, up the arms and added texture to the cupcake 'cups.' Since the clay was the 'air dry' variety, it had cracked in several areas when it dried. This glue gun step both added a layer of texture and concealed the cracking. The glue also helped strengthen & hold together some of the thin roots at the base so they would be less likely to break off.

After the glue dried, a layer of primer was applied.

Post-primer, several layers of brown paint were applied. I started with a really light reddish brown, added a layer of darker 'umber' (which was an awful 'excrement brown' color when applied), then layered a couple more browns on top to give the tree a depth of color.

After the paint dried, it was done! It isn't my best work, but it was a quick side project that will be a really cute (thematic) way to display the cupcakes for a Chamber of Secrets party.

* The Ford Anglia car that is shown in the photo is a toy 'bump and go' car from Universal Studios @ the Wizarding World. It can be purchased HERE.