Now that it’s almost officially the start of summer, I think it would be so much fun to host a summer solstice party! Even if you’re nowhere near an ocean or lake, make these miniature chairs and umbrella to add a beachy vibe to your cake. (P.S. – How to perfectly frost a messy cake!)

Supplies: Card stock (in two colors), ruler, drink umbrella, flat toothpicks, bone folder, pencil, scissors, paint, paintbrush, hot glue gun.

Step 1: Pop open the drink umbrella – if necessary, use a tiny dab of hot glue to keep it all the way open. Trim off the little white cardboard strips that extend past the edge of the tissue.
Step 2: To make a template for the new umbrella cover, trace the curved edge of one of the wedges and mark the umbrella center as well. Connect the curved line to the center point to form a triangle but trim the top point very slightly to accommodate the umbrella’s tip. Add a narrow curved extension onto the curved edge as shown below. Cut out.
Step 3: Tracing your template, make 7 more pieces. You should now have four in each color.
Step 4: Use the bone folder to make a crease in the curved edge. Fold the extension along the crease as shown.
Step 5: Hot glue the card stock pieces onto the umbrella – you won’t need much glue at all.
Step 6: Continue adding the card stock pieces until the umbrella is covered. I found the best way to do this is by doing one color first and then moving on to the second color. Note: Some of the umbrellas don’t have identically sized wedges, so if it looks like you may have gaps between some of the pieces, cut a new piece that is slightly wider to fill that gap.
Step 7: Time to start the beach chairs! Each chair needs toothpicks at the following lengths: -two 2 1/8″ (original length right from the box)   -two 1 5/8″   -two 7/8″   -one 3/4″  Also cut a piece of card stock into a 7/8″ by 1 3/4″ rectangle.
Step 8: On the longest toothpicks, put a pencil tick at the 1 1/2″ mark. On the second longest toothpicks, put the tick at the 7/8″ mark.

Step 9: Use the tiniest dab of hot glue to attach one of each of the toothpicks together at the marks you just made, keeping a right angle.
Step 10: Apply a dab of hot glue onto one end of  the shortest  (3/4″) toothpick and attach it to the joint of one of the crosses you just made. Apply another dab to the other end of the shortest toothpick and attach the other cross in the same way.
Step 11: Stand up the chair frame – the largest L shape is where the seat will soon be. Hot glue the remaining two toothpicks between the ends of this largest L.
Step 12: Gentle curl the card stock rectangle around a pencil to give it a slight curve.
Step 13: Hot glue the card stock onto the toothpicks you attached last.
Step 14: Paint stripes onto the card stock set if desired.