Chase turned 35 a few weeks ago. He's never been very enthusiastic about his birthday, typically opting to stay in, see a movie, and/or go to dinner...but just the two of us. My surprises usually overwhelm him and I've learned to tone it down with the activities and funnel that energy into decor. This year we celebrated in Desert Hot Springs so before we left, I stocked up on pink flamingos, a banner, and just about anything tropical the Dollar Store was selling. I also grabbed a pack of mini zoo animals in the toy section and crafted these sweet birthday candle holders to top his traditional pineapple upside-down cake. They added just the right amount of "something extra." This method can be applied to just about any small figure so grab some toys, gold spray paint and let's DIY.
What I used:
A pack of zoo animals (from the Dollar Tree)
Candles with plastic holders (from the Dollar Tree)
Gold spray paint
Wire snippers
Glue OR candle/hot needle method
If you see the video below, I heated a metal poker (this is a tool I use for sculpting clay) over a candle and melted a hole into the backs of the animals. I then snipped just a millimeter off the plastic candle holder, and wedged it into the hole. If you'd rather skip the pyrotechnics, just snip the plastic stakes off the candle holders and glue them in place. If you go with the glue method, you'll just have to wait 24 hours for them to dry before spray painting.
Place your figures in a cardboard box and spray them all with one even coat. Wait for it to dry completely before going in with another coat. Turn them all over and repeat the process on the other side until they are completely covered. *This seems silly to explain the process of spray painting, but far too often, I see people impatiently spraying object far too close, with too much paint. It will never dry properly that way. Be patient, your first coat shouldn't be opaque.
I swapped out the rose-gold candles for some classic yellow and white candles (also purchased at the dollar store) These little details really pull everything together and make it look more cohesive so don't feel obligated to use the candles that came in the pack.
And that's really all there is to it. Such a simple way to elevate plain cakes and completely customizable to the birthday person's interests. Let me know what you think, and if you make some of your own, don't forget to tag me on social so I can see!