Another Precious "Little Man" Cake

I was surprised and excited yet again when I received another request for a "Little Man" cake recently. Having completed two prior, I was especially excited to show off my work of other cakes done with the same theme. I love being able to say, "I've done something similar, do you like anything about these cakes?" especially if the customer is not quite sure what they want. In this case, my customer had an idea, but after seeing one of the cakes, she liked certain aspects so she decided she wanted that instead.

Custom made mustache bodysuit

This new "Little Man" cake was to be a three tiered cake. My customer liked the blue and green blankets that had been incorporated into the first "Little Man" cake I had done so we had a color scheme as well. I found some awesome mustache ribbon which made me really excited for this cake. I incorporated mustache pacifiers similar to those that I had found for my white, grey, and black "Little Man" cake. I added multiple coordinating baby items as I usually do. Similar to the last "Little Man" cake, I also added mustache, bow tie, and bodysuit accents to decorate the cake as well as scalloped edge badges that read "Little Man." As requested by my customer, a larger badge was added to the front of the cake that also read "Little Man." Once again, I found myself creating a custom item for the cake. This time, it was a bodysuit with a mustache on it.

I love the look of this cake. My customer liked it as well, and from what I hear, so did the expectant mama. I couldn't ask for anything else. As an added note, this cake was shipped further than any cake I'd shipped prior. I'm happy to say it arrived in tact and looked just as great displayed at the shower as it did when I took pictures of it after completion!

More Owls!

I'm noticing that owls are becoming increasingly popular these days, so it's a good thing I had two owl cakes under my belt. I was contacted by a potential customer that was interested in an owl cake. She actually liked the first one I had done and wanted a cake like it.

When I first received the e-mail, I was really excited. I started thinking about the possibilities for this cake. Looking at the cake, the color scheme was developed by the ribbon and the owls. That meant it could technically be made in a variety of color combinations depending on the wishes of my customer. I had already made the washcloth owls in a variety of colors for the two owl cakes I had done previously. The color options for the washcloths (and yarn color options for the owl on top) are slightly more limited than the ribbon, but most color requests should be do-able. I made sure to let my customer know that she had the option of selecting other colors if she needed a different color scheme.

In this particular case, however, my customer wanted the same colors as the original cake, hot pink and lime green. I won't lie, I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to try the same cake in a different color, but of course, I was more than happy to create the cake again. I also have to say, I'm quite proud that I had a difficult time telling the difference between the original and "copy" cakes based on the pictures alone. I'm certainly happy that my work is consistent enough that the cake can be what was requested.

Despite not making the cake in a different color combination, I took the idea and this became my fist item that I listed in my Esty shop. To gain access to more customers, I opened an Etsy shop in January, but it wasn't until March 2013 that I opened the shop with this cake as my first item. I offered color of choice for this cake and I'm excited to see how it does. I can't wait for the opportunity to create additional versions of this cake. To view this and other products currently listed in my Etsy shop, please check it out here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/BethsBabyBoutique00

Little Man: Same Theme, Different Cake

When I had done my first Little Man diaper cake, I knew it was getting popular, but I can't say I expected to have another request for it. No, that doesn't make much sense, but, I didn't. I was excited for my new challenge on the theme, however. This new cake was to be white, grey, and black. While one may think this a dull color combination, it was fantastic, and with the use of pattern, I created one truly adorable cake. In addition, I got to pull out my new gadget, a die cut machine, to add some unique accents which you'll start seeing more and more evidence of as I continue to make cakes.

Some of the adorable tuxedo items I found for the cake as
well as some of the mustache cutouts decorating the cake

The cake started as most others as a spiral tiered cake. My customer requested a "naked" cake (one where the diapers are showing rather than covered by blankets) which made the color scheme much easier since the diapers are already white and finding black and grey baby blankets would have been a bit of a challenge. I found some adorable harlequin patterned ribbon in black and white and placed it a top grey and white ribbons. Next came adding the adorable accents. While my previous little man cake primarily gained its theme from the decorations, I was able to add a bit more in the way of baby items with this one. I had found some precious mustache pacifiers to go with the cake. In addition, my customer requested tuxedos along with bow ties, mustaches, and bodysuits to go with this theme so I was able to find some adorable socks and a precious bib with tuxedo patterns on them.

A "Little Man" badge, bodysuit cutout,
and bow tie cut out can be seen here among
the other baby items adorning the cake.

The top of the cake displayed the increasingly popular "mustache on a stick" that I made with my die cut machine. My previous mustache had been a crocheted one, which was adorable, but relatively impractical. This one was purely for decoration, and while it could be used for pictures and whatnot, it could easily be discarded after use or placed in a scrapbook for memory keeping. To finish off the cake, accents were added such as argyle printed "badges" that declared "Little Man,"  as well as bow tie, mustache, and bodysuit cutouts.

The final cake was adorable, and far from boring with the color scheme. The argyle and harlequin patterns as well as the tuxedo prints gave plenty of visual interest to what one might originally think was a relatively monochromatic cake. My customer loved it and I'm so happy to have gotten the opportunity to use my new little toy for adding accents to my diaper cakes. It's an exciting step to making my cakes unique and helping create my own style. With it, I can do an even better job addressing some of the more challenging themes when baby items aren't always available. I can't wait for future opportunities!