This DIY Candy Cart is the perfect addition to any kids party! With its bright colors and fun look, the kids are bound to come calling for dessert!
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Why you’ll love this project
- Simple Design: This is the perfect project for any beginner due to its simple design and minimal needed tools.
- Fun Colors: Bright and fun, this is the perfect diy dessert cart for a kids party.
- Customizable: Paint and decorate this candy cart diy any way you feel would fit your party.
- Sturdy Design: The sturdy construction of this wood candy cart makes it safe around the kids.
- Versatile: This cart is not just kid birthday party approved! It can also be used for adult parties, weddings, bridal showers, and baby showers!
Looking for more party ideas you can build yourself? Try making your event special with one of these projects: How To Make A Foldable DIY Mobile Bar, How to Make A Flower Box Welcome Sign DIY {Perfect for Beginners!}, How to make a DIY Champagne Wall For Your Next Party
Why Make a DIY Dessert Cart?
My baby girl is turning 3 next week and being the extra mom that I am (lol), of course I’m making a few things for it. We are doing an ice cream theme so I immediately wanted to make some sort of cart for treats. I decided to stick with a very simple design and make it pop with color!
This project is a part of my You Can Make This series where I show you how to make various projects that are totally beginner friendly! So without further ado, let’s get into this build!
What is a Candy Cart?
Call it what you will, a candy cart, an ice cream cart, a dessert cart, or a sweet cart, it is just a fun way of accommodating the best part of any party…the candy, the ice cream, the desserts, and the sweets!
In this DIY sweet cart design, I offer you a sturdy cart made of wood and fun design details fit for a little girl’s birthday party. But this cart could be altered in color and some design elements to create the perfect cart for a wedding, wedding shower, or even a baby shower.
Materials Needed
Cut List
3/4″ THICK PLYWOOD CUTS BELOW
Base Front piece – 54″x30″
Base Sides – 20″x30″ (2 qty)
Base Bottom – 54″x20.5″
Counter Top – 57″x24″
Topper 52.5″x20 (You can also use 1/2″ thick plywood for this if you want)
1×5 CUTS BELOW
54-3/8″ – 1 qty
20″ – 2 qty
DOWELS
Cut 4 to 35-1/2″ each (You can make them taller or shorter)
Variations/ Adaptations
With a few modifications, you could use this “concessions cart” for a completely different party. Here are some easy changes you could make to re-use this cart for even more fun occasions and parties.
Wedding: To make this a concession cart for a wedding, paint the cart your wedding colors then add things like tulle, flowers, lights, and any other decor you love.
Baby Shower: For a baby shower I would get some baby bottle garland to hang around the topper and add a cute stork sign on the front.
Backyard movie: this is the perfect concession stand for a backyard movie night. Decorated it with movie themed appliques and then stock it with fun flavored sodas, popcorn, and boxed candy for all to enjoy.
Boys party: This was a kids ice cream cart I made for my daughter’s themed birthday party. But to make this more boyish, I would just repaint it blue, or black.
Make it with wheels: You could totally put caster wheels on this DIY cart instead of the table lets. That way it would roll to wherever you need it.
Theme Party: Having a theme party? Decorate this cart for a sports party, a Halloween, a Valentines Day, or any other theme you can think of.
Add Lights: For an evening party, this cart would look great with some Christmas lights or twinkle lights.
How to Make A DIY Candy Cart
Now, I have a lot of scrap wood laying around so I used mostly 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch thick plywood for the base of the build. But if I were to do it over, I’d definitely use 3/4 inch thick plywood for the base so the instructions will include using 3/4″ plywood.
- Attach your front base piece to your side base pieces as shown below using wood glue & screws (Image 1).
- Attach your bottom base piece as show below. Secure with wood glue & screws (Image 2).
3. Attach the legs by installing hardware at each corner using screws in package and then screwing on the legs (Image 3).
4. Assemble the topper framing by attaching your 1×5 strips together using a drill with wood glue & screws. I used a nail gun and added a few screws for extra support (Image 4).
5. Attach the 3/4″ plywood topper sheet inside the frame and attach the closet rod holders to each corner of the topper (Make sure you measure where you put them so they match up to each other) (Image 5).
6. Once that’s done, you’re going to pop the dowels in to make sure they fit well and everything looks even (Image 6). Next, you will attached the closet rods to the other end of the dowel (that’s not already attached to the topper). This is so when you flip it over and put it on your countertop, you’ll be able to mark where you want to install the rod holders.
7. Paint all your pieces. I painted the base and topper then went back and added more color to the rest (Image 7).
8. Stand the base of the cart up and place the closet rods for the topper in the closet rod holders on the base (Image 8).
9. Now that the build is done, it’s time to make it fancy! Of course, you can get as creative as you’d like at this point but I’ll show you what I did. Of course, I needed a wheel for the cart so I grabbed this from Hobby Lobby and painted it blue and yellow (Image 9).
10. I also ordered scallop wood trim from Etsy because its just so cute! I spray painted it with Krylon Fusion Matte Beach Glass along with the closet rod holders (I took them off to spray paint them then re-attached) (Image 10).
11. I also add some moulding and trim painted in different colors (Krylon Colormaxx Gloss Gum Drop & Krylon Colormaxx Gloss Bright Idea) (Image 11).
12. And VOILA! This is the finished cart! (Image 12)
If you made this, then you are ready to try one of my other projects! Check out DIY Candy Wall, How to Make A Flower Box Welcome Sign DIY {Perfect for Beginners!}, How to make a DIY Outdoor Movie Screen
Tips for the best result
Now, I have a lot of scrap wood laying around so I used mostly 1/2 inch and 3/4 inch thick plywood for the base of the build. But if I were to do it over, I’d definitely use 3/4 inch thick plywood for the base so the instructions will include using 3/4″ plywood.
What are some other ways you could use this DIY cart?
This DIY cart would be perfect as a lemonade stand for your kids, a concession cart, an ice cream cart, a drink cart, or just an extra flat surface for you to place food for an outdoor party.
Feel like you might do better watching this tutorial instead of reading it? You can also check out my 2 part videos here (Part 1) and (Part 2).
Let me know if you give this build a try! xoxo
FAQ
Could I add wheels to this so it rolls?
Absolutely! I think caster wheels would be a great addition to this build!
Could I add lights to this somehow?
Yes! Any string lights would work great!
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