It's not just cake that deserves to be put on a pedestal. Using dishes you already own and flea market finds, you can build footed dishes in various styles that rise to many different occasions.

To create a whimsical granny-chic pedestal stand, glue a tchotchke to a gold-trimmed or floral-patterned dish, and then affix that dish to an upside-down teacup or bowl. A largely white palette will keep the pedestals -- used here for keys, jewelry, or mail -- from looking kitschy.

Mix and match blue-and-white-patterned dishes -- just a few dollars apiece in Chinatown shops or online. We used them here to display sweets, which works especially well when you stack the stands into a tier.

Rightmost pedestal, from top: Bowl (SLI-PLT05-002), 5", $3.50; and cup (NHF-09-062), $1; pearlriver.com

Raid the kitchen-supply store (or the recesses of your cupboards) for white dishes. Sticking to a single color will unify a range of shapes and sizes. Stands of various heights tuck neatly underneath one another.

Quiche dish (pedestal with rings, top), 4" round, $2.75; mini butter crock (bottom), $1.50; and quiche dish (pedestal with brush and bottle, top), 6 1/2" square, $5.25; and square quiche dish (soap dish), 6 oz., $3.50; bowerykitchens.com.

Unbreakable, affordable, and easily found on eBay and at thrift stores, enamelware pieces make great pedestals. Combine dishes in a common color scheme (we like red and white), and use them for parties or in the kitchen.

Top: Enamelware bowl (GG005), $20, pearlriver.com.

Construction is simple: Glue two dishes together. Pick your adhesive based on how much staying power you need.

Temporary
Roll up a large worm of poster putty (1), and stick dishes together with it. It should come off easily, but you can use another piece of putty to remove any stray bits if necessary. Poster putty, $6 for 2 oz., duckbrand.com.

Semipermanent
Apply glue with a hotglue gun (2) on the low temperature setting. It will hold dishes together firmly but is removable -- just pop the dish in the freezer for 30 minutes and the pieces will come apart. Hot-glue gun, by Martha Stewart Crafts, $15, michaels.com.

Permanent
Use a household cement (3), or apply hot glue on the high temperature setting. It should hold up through multiple washings by hand, but don’t put it in the dishwasher. Duco cement, $2 for 1 oz., dickblick.com.