Today I am going to share an easy & fun tutorial for a popular item in my Etsy shop – elephant cake toppers! I have a few different sets, starting with some bird ones I made for a friend, but people seem to really like the elephants.
The cake toppers help me supplement my jewelry sales during the non-holiday season. But when a customer has a last-minute cake crisis, there isn’t always a lot of time to order new decorations. So good news: these are pretty simple to make, especially with my printable template (my husband’s genius idea – I used to cut these out freehand!).
Supplies: All you need for this project is polymer clay in two colors (or one color plus some paint), toothpicks, a roller/brayer or round object like a pen to roll it out (unless you have a clay/pasta machine), an exacto knife or other sharp blade, a dotting tool (or your toothpicks), and something to bake on – a baking mat, tile, piece of foil, etc (whatever you use with clay, don’t use with food!). And of course, your printed and cut-out template. My larger elephant is about 1.5 x 2 inches; let me know if it’s not printing the right size.
Instructions: After conditioning your clay, you will need to roll out each color to about 1/8″ thickness. Then place one elephant template on each sheet of clay, smooth it down with your fingers, and carefully cut around it with your blade. With the leftover clay, cut out the two hearts (remember to use the opposite color for each elephant). Once you remove the paper, stick the hearts on where the ears would be and smooth out any rough edges.
As an optional finishing touch, you can use the dotting tool/toothpick to add little dots or “stitching” around the edges. Then carefully push one toothpick into the bottom of each elephant. Bake according to the package instructions. Here’s what some of mine look like (on my display cupcake).
Well I hope that made sense! Now if you’re in a time crunch, on a budget, or just feeling crafty, you can make your own adorable cake toppers! Feel free to make them for yourself or friends, but if you’re using my template, please don’t sell them. I know I’m not the first person to make elephant cake toppers, but I did create my own template and wouldn’t want us to be selling the exact same thing. On the other hand, if you’d rather buy than DIY (available Here), now you know how they’re made.
These are great as a baby shower decoration – boy, girl, neutral, favorite colors, etc – and I’m sure they could be modified for other occasions. I would love to see pictures of yours in the comments!