Totally Adorable, and I Ain't Lion...

Ok, so the post title needs a little work...

After the craziness that went into projects just previous to this one, I was thankful to have a break from the big challenges and make a more "traditional" cake, so to speak. My customer for this cake wanted a lion cake, but wanted it to be simple. The colors were light blue and light orange.

Creating this cake was really fun and though it wasn't as complex as some projects I've done, it wasn't a cakewalk either. See what I did there? Yeah, I really shouldn't try to be funny. Light orange sounds easy enough, but it's not as simple as one would think. There are limitations on the availability of color options when it comes to baby items. There is a little more leeway with decorations, but I've had to get creative in the past. I was very fortunate with this cake to have exactly what I needed - and I used up the last of some items like light orange washcloths which I haven't seen since. I was also able to find some light orange ribbon which helped out greatly. Add some socks and baby utensils that were not quite light orange, but orange nonetheless and I had everything for a completed cake.

For extra accents on this cake I added an adorable plush lion, which, I'll be honest, was maybe a little big for the cake, but it was way too cute to pass up. I really think that this size plush is the biggest that can work for a diaper cake this size. I also added some little lion head accents which were quite adorable.

This cake came together really nicely and my customer loved it. One of the great things about this cake is that the theme was created by one plush animal and decorations. All the other items were basic baby items in particular colors. This makes it a really good option if people are on a budget since a lot of design specific items tend to come with higher costs. The baby items included on the cake are no less usable, and don't conflict with a nursery theme if one has been selected by the mom. Despite this cake being a more clean and less complex cake, it has quickly become one of my favorite creations. I think it's just adorable.

Building an Ark

A friend of mine was helping to plan a baby shower at work. He was gracious enough to share my business with his colleagues and they loved my work and were interested in a small diaper gift. They wanted a buggy with a Noah's Ark theme. Easy enough, right? Not so much...

The basic buggy has a blanket, some wash cloths, a burp cloth and may or may not include additional baby items. As popular as Noah's Ark is as far as baby items go, I have never seen receiving blankets or washcloths patterned as such. I decided I'd look for some Noah's Ark printed ribbon I'd seen in the past an maybe add some toy animals to the buggy. Apparently, the ribbon is popular because I checked several stores and online and the few sources that carried it were out if stock. Back to the drawing board.

As I continue to think what I could do, I contemplated adding ark and animal die cuts to a buggy when I was struck with an idea. Why not build an ark? Sure, it sounds crazy, but it had the potential to be really cute. I decided to take the chance and make one. If my friend didn't like it, I could just go back to the buggy idea.

First, I had to get the basic shape which I built up with diapers. It took a couple tries, but with a tan blanket strategically folded around it, the ark was coming together and looking rather boat-like. I added a few details such as a roof and I had ordered some toy animals, in pairs of course, to add to the ark.

The final ark was so adorable and my friend loved it (as did his co-workers). If I make another, there may be some additional tweaks, or added baby items. We'll see. I'm just glad I had the opportunity to try something a little different and see what could develop!

Two New Projects, a Cake, and a Huge Challenge

Of all the challenges I've had in the past, this one takes the cake. No pun intended. Ok, maybe it was. In any case, I thought that I had received some pretty difficult diaper cake concepts, but since the Geek Chic cake, nothing has stumped me this badly. And the difficulty with this one was not at easily overcome as the geek cake. And that wasn't easy.

When I first spoke with my customer and she described the preferences of the expectant mom, I was very excited. She wanted to stay away from the typical baby themes, booties, and cute animals. She preferred more to stick with a pattern in a particular color scheme. The pattern chosen was the inspiration she used for the baby's nursery: argyle with white, blue, and grey. We looked at several diaper cakes discussing things she liked such as, a large letter at the top for the baby's initial, argyle ribbon, plenty of baby items included on the cake, etc. I was set. All I needed to do was collect the baby items and start construction.

That's easier said than done, I discovered as soon as I began my search for argyle baby items. Argyle items were tough to come by on their own. Finding them in the correct color combination was near impossible. Even finding ribbon to coordinate was difficult. I began to stress about whether or not this was possible. Fortunately, I did have some breaks. I was able to find some ribbon, then some baby items that would work.  I still felt like I was struggling, but I began working on the diaper cake. This cake was a 3-tier "naked" cake. It came together nicely after I managed to collect enough items for the cake. Though, I have to admit, construction of this cake took a lot longer than most, simply because I didn't have all the items all at once and I was in constant brainstorm mode on how to complete the cake and what details I needed to add.

As I neared completion, I still felt the cake needed something else. I came up with an idea to make a pacifier tether. I contemplated a simple ribbon one, but I didn't want it to get lost among the ribbons already on the cake. I decided to hand knot one in an argyle pattern. This worked beautifully, though it was time consuming. I may even make more of these in the future.

After the cake was completed, I added extra details such as decorating the cake board. This was a special request of my customer. She wanted something that made the cake board look better than just the white base they typically have. I was unable to find anything decorative, fancy fabric, baby item, etc. As a way to dress up the cake board, I painted it to match the initial "T" on top of the cake and added grey and white diamonds decorated to resemble an argyle pattern. The cake was finally done.

My customer was also interested in a diaper wreath. I was hesitant to make one at first. I don't like how some styles manipulate the diapers and risks the integrity and possible future use of them (when diapers are opened, the inside is more susceptible to moisture in the air which it absorbs and becomes crunchy). That being said, I wanted to help keep uniformity among the diaper decorations for my customer's shower, so I agreed to create my first one. The wreath was far more difficult than I anticipated, but it came together eventually. I used the rolled style that is often seen as opposed to the style where the diapers wrap around the frame. I added ribbon that coordinated with the diaper cake and a "T" initial that was a smaller version of the one that topped the cake. My customer did request a different pair of shoes than the ones I originally had on the wreath, but otherwise, she was thrilled with it.

I have to say, I am very proud that I have once again met the challenge presented me. All projects turned out beautifully and my customer loved them. I am happy to have another impressive challenge under my belt, and I'm ready for the next one that presents itself.

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!

Owls All Over (Part II)

When I was planning the baby shower for my friend, I really wanted everything to coordinate. Who doesn't, right? That's what pulls a party together. A cohesive look. If you are like me, you want everything to match. Most of the showers I attend, I come as an attendee. A few of them I'm part of the planning, but not many. Most of the time for orders I make diaper cakes to match a theme of a shower. I only hope that the cake coordinates since I don't often see pictures. I've made a few gift sets with diaper cakes that coordinate with other items, bouquets or whatever to go along with a theme, but again, I'm not usually part of any of the decorating. This time was different.

As previously mentioned, my friend loves owls, so I wanted to do an owl themed shower. I made sure that accents and ribbon that were on the diaper cake were seen in other places at the shower. I made decorations that pulled in the same colors and designs that were on the cake.

The individual mobile pieces

The first item I made was what I called a mobile. It was the best descriptor I could come up with. Basically, it was made up of decorated shapes with pictures and images that were hung by string. Accents on the cake had an owl image that matched the shower invitations. The same image was on some of the pieces of the mobile. I used scalloped edges which coordinated with the accents on the diaper cake as well. I also pulled in some other images of owls and onsies with text like "Look Whooo!" and "Little Hoot" on the mobile.

Finished mobile as it hung

Next, I made a banner with the baby's name. It was a standard pennant banner. The letters coordinated with the theme colors and I added extra accents to the ends that matched the mobile.

(Sadly, not my TV.)

The final item I made for the shower was cupcake toppers. These toppers were made in the same design as the accents on the diaper cake with the owl image and scalloped edged background. They were double sided so they looked cute from every angle.

Cupcake toppers in various
color combinations

Scalloped edge owl accent
on the diaper cake

In addition to the decorations I made, we added even more accents to coordinate with the overall theme. We had orange flowers displayed in multiple vases around the shower area. We wrapped some of the owl ribbon from the diaper cake around the vases. We also had orange, brown, and turquoise balloons displayed. And because I can't help but go over the top, I made an owl out of a pineapple and some other fruits and made owl chocolate molds.

It was exciting to see how so many decorations could pull the theme together and I loved being able to create so many items that could coordinate with the diaper cake so well. I'm considering offering some of the shower decorations as options for diaper cake customers. It would certainly help to make shower prep easier and really ensure the overall theme is tied together. I'd love feedback on this idea! Please let me know either in the comment section of on my Facebook page!