DIY Custom Toothpick Toppers Template

I made toothpicks with our silhouettes and ages on them for our birthday party. I thought they would be a fun way to incorportate the party colors and theme while being functional. We only served appetizers and finger foods so they ended up being very practical.

They were very easy to make and only require a few supplies. Now I want to make them every time I serve an appetizer! I also think they would be really cute as cupcake “flags.” You can download the Word or Pages template I made and make your own. Here’s a little tutorial on how to make them.

1. You will need the following supplies:
– Toothpick topper template for Word
– 8.5″ x 11″ sheet(s) of colored cardstock (each page makes 8 toothpick toppers. Simply multiply this times the number of toothpicks you want)
– a 1.5″ circle paper punch (I purchased mine at Hobby Lobby for a while back, you can get a similar one at Michaels or JoAnns)
– PVA glue (other glues will work, but PVA is the best for bonding paper because it doesn’t wrinkle and is super strong, you can purchase it at your local art supply store or here)
– Paint brush to apply glue
– 4″ skewers (if you making cupcake toppers, I would recommend using toothpicks)

2. Customize the template then print the file on cardstock. Once the desired amount of “toppers” are printed, cut the “toppers” into 4 rows of 4. This is going to allow you to punch them out. The use the circle paper punch to punch out each topper. Sorry I forgot to snap a photo of this step. I found it easiest to turn the paper punch upside-down so you can use the printed lines of the circle to help you align the paper punch.

After you punched out all the circles, use the paint brush to apply PVA glue to the back side of one of the paper toppers. I made the toppers have our silhouette on one side and our respective ages on the other side.

3. Place one toothpick or skewer in the center of the glued topper. You may want to pick it up and check that it will be displayed correctly (for example, if you typed a number or date, you don’t want it to appear upside-down).

4. Take another paper topper and firmly press it onto the glued topper. I found it helpful to pick it up and use my fingers to help align the edges of the two circles. Repeat steps 2-4 and until you’ve made all the toothpicks you want! Super easy and so cute!

How would you use these? As cupcake toppers or toothpicks for small bites?