diy construction theme birthday party food table

Roadblock Cupcake Stand | DIY Construction Theme Birthday Party

Learn how to build an easy roadblock cupcake stand for the food table at your DIY construction theme birthday party!

construction birthday party DIY roadblock cupcake stand

My son, like so many little boys & girls, is obsessed with vehicles, especially construction trucks. So I wasn’t at all surprised when he chose a construction theme for his 3rd birthday party.

This is actually the first birthday party we’ve ever thrown for him! It was so much fun to watch his excitement build up to the day of the party and all of his joy at the party.

I tried my best not to go overboard with decorations and projects that would just be used once. It’s so easy to fall into the Pinterest-perfect party trap and overspend for kids’ parties.

All my son really wanted was a day to play with his friends and to eat cupcakes, so I kept it pretty simple. But, I did make a few projects and tried to only use things I already had on hand to keep the party from getting too expensive.

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DIY cupcake stand construction birthday party

My FAVORITE project is this roadblock cupcake stand! It was so fun to make and it turned out really cute. I usually start a woodworking project by drawing out my plans, but for this one I just made it up as I went along. It was really fun to figure it out as I went along and a great change of pace.

DIY Construction Theme Birthday Party

food table for diy construction party with truck cupcake stands

All the DIY projects that I did for this construction theme birthday party were focused around the food table. I mean, that’s the more important part, right?

In addition to the roadblock cupcake stand, I also made 2 toy truck cupcake stands from broken thrift store trucks. I used one for cupcakes and one for drinks. The last little DIY I did was to make the tire bowls on the day of the party. They’re so simple – just cut up egg trays wrapped around a bowl.

My son loved the DIY construction theme birthday party we put together for him! It was a fun challenge for me to create the food table decor and I think it turned out really nice.

Roadblock Cupcake Stand Woodworking Plans

download the free woodworking plans, preview pictures of roadblock cupcake stand printable woodworking plans

I put together free printable woodworking plans to make this project super easy for you! You can grab the Roadblock Cupcake Stand Woodworking Plans in my woodworking plan shop.

All of the woodworking plans in my shop include a lumber list, cut list and supply list. They also feature digitally rendered images and detailed instructions that walk you through each step of the build. I use easy-to-understand language that’s perfect for beginners.

Build a Roadblock Cupcake Stand

Project Time & Skill Level

This project took me about an hour to cut the pieces and build. It’s fairly simple and can be build pretty quickly.

I think this Roadblock Cupcake Stand could definitely be built by a beginner woodworker. You need to be comfortable using a miter saw to make angle cuts. I also used a table saw to create a groove in the top of the cupcake stand to display pictures. If you don’t have a table saw or you aren’t comfortable using one yet, that part can easily be skipped.

Estimated Cost

I was able to build this project entirely out of scrap wood that I already had on hand from previous projects. If I was purchasing wood to build this project, I would expect to spend about $20 on lumber in my area. Lumber prices vary based on where you live, so your cost may be a little more or less.

Materials Needed

How to Build a Roadblock Cupcake Stand

You can get the lumber shopping list and cut list for this project in the free printable woodworking plans in my plan shop.

1. Make the legs

I made the legs for this roadblock cupcake stand using scrap 1×2 boards.

I first cut the ends of all the boards at an angle using my miter saw.

use a miter saw to cut 15 degree angle on legs for roadblock cupcake stand

Next, I attached two legs together by nailing and gluing a 1×2 between the two pieces. It was a little challenging to get the cross support at exactly the same height for both sets of legs.

use level to keep legs straight while building

To attach the cross supports I first laid the legs on the ground, putting the angled part of the legs flat against a long level with the tops of the boards touching. Then, I marked a line on each leg for where the top of my cross support should be.

completed legs for road block cupcake stand construction birthday party

Next, I used wood glue and a brad nailer to attach the cross support to the legs. Then, I stood them up and hoped they weren’t wobbly – and, they weren’t!

2. Add the shelf

Once I had the legs completed, it was time for the shelf. I used a leftover piece of 1×10 board. Attaching it was pretty simple. I just put the 1×10 on top of the cross supports and secured it with wood glue and brad nails.

add shelf to construction theme birthday party diy cupcake stand

Instead of centering the 1×10, I left a longer overhang on one side. I figured this would make it easier for people to reach in and grab cupcakes off the shelf.

3. Finish up the top

After adding the bottom shelf, I added a few more supports to the top of the legs. I added 1×2 supports to the top of each set of legs and a 1×3 across the front and back of the cupcake stand.

attach top support

The last thing I added was a 2×4 to cap the top of the construction cupcake stand.

To make it a little more fun, I used my table saw to cut a 3/4″ groove into the 2×4 and used that groove to display pictures we had taken of my son on tractors and construction vehicles. If I were to do this again I think I would try cutting the groove at a slight angle (maybe 10 degrees) and I think it would display the pictures better that way.

cut groove into 2x4 for diy construction cupcake stand

To attach the 2×4 to the top of the roadblock cupcake stand I just used long brad nails. Because the top is angled, there wasn’t a good spot to add glue. Using only brad nails doesn’t create a very strong hold so be sure that you don’t pick up the roadblock by just the 2×4 – it could come apart.

If you look at the roadblock from the side there is a gap under the 2×4 and the nails are visible. This didn’t bother me, but I wanted to point it out just so you were aware.

4. Paint

The last thing to do was paint. I started by painting the whole thing with two coats of white paint.

paint roadblock cupcake stand white

After the white paint was dry, I used painter’s tape to tape off vertical stripes across the shelf and across the 1x3s at the top of the cupcake stand. I spaced my tape 1″ apart. I then painted over it with 2 coats of orange paint.

completed construction theme birthday party roadblock cupcake stand

I chose to paint everything and then attach the 2×4 to the top after the painting was completed. I think it was easier to paint the stripes this way.

DIY Construction Theme Birthday Party

This DIY construction theme birthday party was so much fun for my son and all of his little friends! (and for me too) I’m glad I decided to build this last minute roadblock cupcake stand because I just love how it turned out!

construction birthday party food table

I set up the food table with the roadblock cupcake stand, two toy truck cupcake stands and a couple tire bowls that were another last minute DIY. The top of the roadblock cupcake stand held pictures of my son sitting on different construction vehicles and he thought that part was so cool!

If you decide to display pictures, I recommend taping or gluing the photos onto cardstock. This helped the photos stand up much better than just sliding a photo in.

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I want to hear from you!

If you decide to make this project will you pretty please share it with me?? You can find me on Facebook and Instagram as @MamaNeedsaProject.

I can’t wait to hear from you!