Turn a plain cake into a decorative centrepiece with these wooden cake toppers.

Mrs Katrina Alana Yu-Acibar, 30, is a service quality executive who is part of Crafty Singapore. The craft group has about 10 active members who hold craft parties every few months and share pictures of their crafts online at www.craftysingapore.com.

She has this tip for first-timers: "If you make a mistake while painting, wait for the paint to dry, then sand it off with a piece of sandpaper."

What you need

Wooden doll (available online from craft supply shops)
Fine sandpaper
Pencil and eraser
Air-dry clay
Rolling pin
Toothpick Hot glue gun (or use super glue)
Acrylic paints
Palette
Paintbrushes
Water-resistant sealant (available from Art Friend)
Round lid of a cardboard box (about 10cm in diameter)
Fake moss (optional)
Small ribbon roses (optional)

What to do

Sand the wooden doll with sandpaper until its surface is smooth, so that paint will adhere to it better. Draw a face, hands and clothing on the wooden doll with a pencil. As the eyes will be the focus of the figurine, start with the eyes first, then draw the rest of the detail around the eyes.

Use clay to give volume to the hair. Pinch out enough of the clay to cover the head of the doll, then use a rolling pin to roll it out to a thickness of 2mm. Lay the clay sheet on the head of the doll, and press it down so that it is shaped around the head.

Trace the design of the doll's hair using a toothpick, then remove the excess clay. You can also make additional decorations such as bows or hair pieces.

Leave everything to dry for about six hours, until the colour of the clay changes from grey to white. If cracks appear in the clay after drying, press fresh clay into them to create a smooth surface.

After the clay is dry, sand it lightly. If you made any additional clay hair pieces, use a small blob of glue from a hot glue gun to attach them to the head. Press the piece against the head for a minute before letting go, then leave to dry for about an hour.

Begin painting the cake topper with acrylic paints, according to the design that you drew earlier. Squeeze the paint out onto the palette and use the paintbrushes to apply at least two coats. Leave each coat to dry for at least 20 minutes, until the paint is no longer sticky.

It is suggested to use a flat-headed brush for the larger areas, a round-headed brush for the smaller areas and a toothpick for fine details such as the eyes.

Paint a thin coat of water-resistant sealant over the whole wooden doll. Look at the instructions on the packaging to know how long it will take to dry.

Make the base of the cake topper. Take a round lid from a cardboard box and position the wooden doll in the middle of the lid, then use a hot glue gun to attach the doll to the lid.

Decorate the base any way you want or leave it blank. Here, a ribbon is glued around the cardboard lid, and fake moss and ribbon flowers have been used to create a garden around the doll.

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