DIY Happy Birthday Cake Topper Tutorial

Hey crafty friends! It’s Tiffani from A Krafting Alley, and today I’m sharing how I created this multi-layered Happy Birthday cake topper using an SVG file I designed and my electronic die cutting machine.

If you love dimensional paper crafts and custom party decor, this DIY birthday cake topper is such a fun project. It’s perfect for adding a handmade, personalized touch to any birthday celebration!

Supplies Used

• Electronic die cutting machine
  
• Happy Birthday cake topper SVG file
  
• Cardstock from CutCardstock.com
  
• Liquid glue
  
• Foam squares
  
• Foam tape
  
• Hot glue gun + hot glue
  
• Cake sticks
  

Cardstock Colors Used

• Cougar White (base and design elements)
  
• Lessebo Pitch Black (sentiment, streamers and cake layers)
  
• Antique Gold Stardream Metallic (cake accents, balloon streamers, sentiment shadow)
  
• Silver Stardream Metallic (shadow layers for cake, balloons, and streamers)

Step 1: Cutting the Cake Topper Layers

First, I cut out all of my pieces using my electronic die cutting machine. This multi-layered birthday cake topper includes several shadow layers, which help create depth and dimension.

I used Cougar White cardstock for the base layer, part of the cake, and one of the streamers. The Pitch Black cardstock was used for the sentiment details and part of the cake design. The Antique Gold and Silver Stardream Metallic cardstocks were used for the shadow layers and accent pieces, giving the cake topper a beautiful metallic shine.

Step 2: Assembling the Cake Portion

I started by assembling the cake layers:

1. I glued the black cake layer onto the white cake base using liquid glue.
   
2. Next, I added foam squares to the back of the white cake piece and adhered it to the gold layer to create a dimensional flame effect.
   
3. Then I glued that entire piece onto the silver shadow layer of the cake.
   

This layering technique really gives the cake topper depth and makes the design pop.

Step 3: Creating the Streamers & Sentiment

For the streamers, I glued the top detailed layers onto their coordinating shadow layers. After that dried, I added foam squares to the back of each streamer for dimension.

For the Happy Birthday sentiment, I adhered the black words to the antique gold shadow layer using liquid glue. Once assembled, I set the sentiment aside to dry completely before adding the foam tape to the back for dimension.

Step 4: Assembling the Balloons

The balloon layers also add so much personality to this birthday cake topper!

• I added foam squares to the back of the gold balloon layer and adhered it to the silver shadow base.
  
• Then I glued the balloon strings onto the silver layer using liquid glue.
  
• Next, I added foam squares to the back of the sentiment layers and adhered them to the silver shadow base.
  

Because both the balloons and cake had dimension, I doubled up on foam squares behind the cake portion so everything would sit evenly when attached to the white backing layer.

Step 5: Final Assembly

Once all the dimensional pieces were assembled:

• I adhered the cake on top of the balloons.
  
• Then I added foam squares to the back of the full silver sentiment layer and attached it to the white base backing.
  

Next, I glued the streamers directly onto the white backing layer.

For the finishing touches:

1. I hot glued the cake sticks to the back of the cake topper.
   
2. Then I added foam tape and a bit more hot glue to secure everything.
   
3. Finally, I placed the second white backing layer on top to create a clean, flat back.
   

This gives your DIY cake topper a professional and polished look!

Final Thoughts

I really like how this multi-layered Happy Birthday cake topper turned out. The metallic cardstock adds such an elegant touch, and the foam squares create beautiful dimension.

You can easily customize this cake topper by changing the cardstock colors to match your party theme. You can also adjust the amount of foam tape depending on how much dimension you want in your handmade cake topper.

I hope this tutorial inspires you to create your own DIY birthday cake topper. Handmade cake toppers are such a fun way to elevate any birthday cake and make your celebration feel extra special.

Well, this was my last blog post for CutCardstock.com and I have enjoyed sharing my design tutorials with you over this past year! It has been a great experience and I now have my favorite cardstock colors from the awesome cardstock CutCardstock.com offers…lol. I hope this tutorial as well as the others I’ve shared, have inspired you to make some new and fun creations.

Thanks so much for following along and reading this blog post as well as all of my others!

Tiffani Hawkins
A Krafting Alley