New Gift Ideas

After successfully making several diaper cakes, I decided to see if there were other things that I could make using the same concept. Many people may not need that large of a centerpiece or they may need a gift that isn't as costly as a large diaper cake. Using inspiration from Internet searches and gifts that others had made (I firmly believe imitation is the highest form of flattery), I created a few new gift ideas that I could make.

The first was a baby buggy. Now, the buggy that I developed is a little bit different than other's I've seen. I think it is a larger structure and maybe I'll look into a mini buggy, but for now, I'll make them as I have them. The core of the buggy is formed of hand rolled diapers. The internal structure is secured before adding the decorations so that it will stay intact. A decorative receiving blanket surrounds the outside of the buggy. A burp cloth or pre-fold cloth diaper creates a blank surface so the diapers are covered on the inside of the buggy. Wash cloths act as the baby blanket and cover the hood of the buggy. Ribbon is then tied for decoration. This pink girl buggy became my first inventory item for my baby boutique.

The second idea was bouquets. I've seen many variations and these gifts have a lot of options. In my bouquets I've incorporated hand rolled diapers to keep with the idea of diaper gifts. Many baby items can be used to create the "flowers." In this first small basket I put together, I used hand rolled diapers, wash cloths, and bath products. Curling ribbon adds a little bit of extra visual appeal. The basket is then embellished with ribbon and a bow. Inside the basket I used gift basket paper to help hold everything together. While not intentional, this bouquet ended up with a kind of bath theme with the wash cloths and bath products. This basket was primarily for practice. It was disassembled after the pictures were taken. I felt I needed the exercise my skill and wanted to have a visual of how it could look.

A third new concept is a candy dish. For this, various baby items are rolled or formed to create a piece of "candy" and wrapped in cellophane. The items are then placed in a shallow bowl, decorative tin, or large candy jar. I'm still working on developing this project and have only been moderately happy with the outcome of my first attempt at this gift. It does have great potential, so I am hopeful when I try it again.

I'm still pondering new creative ideas for diaper gifts and other baby gifts that I can incorporate into my boutique. I'll probably never stop looking for new ideas, it's just part of my nature.