Frogs with Frills

As I've mentioned before, I love classic baby themes, so I was excited to receive another order for a frog cake. This one, however, had a twist. Rather than being the typical gender neutral frog cake, this request was for a girl frog cake. In addition, I was asked to make some baby candy to go along with it for added decorations.

I was excited to find at the time of the order that there was actually some girl frog items available so I grabbed them up and they became the inspiration for the overall cake. I found some pink washcloths with frogs on them and then I found some adorable ribbon with frogs and flowers and I was off.

This cake was a "naked" cake starting with my standard boutique spiral design. Three layers of ribbons were added to the tiers finishing with the frog patterned ribbon. Washcloths, teethers, and a handmade bow added decoration to the cake and a super soft plush frog was added as a topper. To finish the cake, I added some precious frog and bow die cuts to bring it all together.

The next challenge was finding a way to make the washcloth candy and diaper cake a cohesive set. To achieve this, I opted to create candy in both styles - roll and spiral. I used green and two shades of pink and wrapped all the candy with the same frog and flower ribbon I used on the cake. These made a precious matching addition to the overall cake and created a great accent as table scatter for the shower.

This set turned out beautifully. I was so excited to see how it all came together. My customer was pleased with the final product which is all I can really ask for.

Bananas for Another Monkey Cake

Can I just say, I love monkeys as a baby theme? I don't know why, but I think they are adorable. With all the new fresh trends come new challenges and opportunities to get creative, but sometimes I just like going back to basics and sticking with more traditional baby themes - jungle, monkey, ducks, frogs, elephants, etc. While some of these old standbys come back with a flourish, not all of them do, so when I get a chance to make a good ol' traditional themed cake, I'm excited.

I especially get excited because some of my favorite blankets to use are these great neutral monkey blankets and, of course, if you'd sorted through images of my diaper cakes, you'd see those as well as this adorable Ty monkey that have become some of my favorite monkey accents.

So, I had a request for a monkey cake about 5 months after making a similar cake. I'm more than happy to repeat themes, but I do have to clarify that no two diaper cakes are going to be exactly alike. I can create two that are pretty close to the same thing when made together, but with the changes in availability of certain items, I can't always repeat a design after the fact.

For this cake, I started with my standard spiral cake. I used my favorite monkey blankets around the top and bottom tiers with a coordinating blanket for the middle layer. For this cake, I had some brown washcloths which aren't a common baby item, but I had some extra from a special order for a previous cake, so they made a great addition to this one. One of my favorite parts of this cake was the adorable monkey hat that I found. Complete with monkey face and ears! So adorable! The cake was topped with the good ol' standby Ty monkey. Just like the previous monkey cake I made (and a few other monkey themed baby gifts). I then added some super cute monkey die cuts to decorate the layers.

There are definitely differences between the two cakes I made, though the overall look is very similar. It's tough for me to decide if I like one over the other just because they are so similar. Not that it matters, the finished product was a great hit. I'd love the chance to make another monkey cake. Truth be told, I already have the monkey topper. He's so cute, I just can't help myself.

Purple Carriage

I love getting new challenges! One of the great things about diaper cakes is that they are such a great visual and decoration in addition to being practical and useful. A lot of times they are incorporated into baby shower decorations. One thing I'm really trying to break into is complete baby shower sets. Sort of a complete done for you, baby shower in a box, so to speak. Several years ago, I had a customer send me a diaper cake request to coordinate with some digital invitations she had used for the shower she was planning. I loved that idea. Coordinating a baby shower top to bottom is definitely in my wheelhouse. At the time, including invitations was not something I had developed the skills for, but these days, it's all part of what I can offer.

I love a cohesive baby shower - one where the invitations, decorations, food, and thank you cards all coordinate. It takes planning, but it makes everything so nice and shows the expectant mama how special she is to those hosting the shower. I love to create these complete sets and had the opportunity to really explore it further as time went on, but when this cake was created, I was still new to it.

The chosen design was an adorable grey and purple carriage invitation. At the time, it was actually quite difficult to find purple baby items. Since baby items, colors, and themes change over time, it occasionally can be a challenge to find exactly what I need. If you've been following my blog though, you know I love a good challenge and I try not to limit myself with nay-saying, I stick with it and so far, I've figured out a way to make it all work.

This cake was another big one. 4-tiers tall. It looks rather lavish in my opinion, but it was actually quite simple. The base was, of course, my standard spiral design. To avoid clashing patterns from the invitation, I kept it simple with a "naked" cake and reflected the invitation patterns (grey chevron and purple with white dots) in the ribbons I used. At the top of the invitation, a vintage baby carriage was featured, so I added carriage die cuts to various locations on the cake. By request, I also personalized the cake with a badge reflecting the baby's name. Multiple baby items were included which I finally was able to find in varying shades of purple. I got a bit creative using socks as a topper which turned out adorable. Finally, I added a homemade crochet beanie to finish it out.

I absolutely love the way this cake turned out. I love comparing it with the invitation and seeing how well they work together. It was well received by my customer who was so excited at how closely I was able to incorporate the details on the invitation with the diaper cake. I am so thankful to have had the opportunity. Even though now I have the skills to create invitations myself, I'm so happy to see that I can create a diaper cake to coordinate with a theme that someone may have found elsewhere and I can offer additional decorations to match if the individual that created the invitation doesn't offer diaper cakes and other shower decorations. Very exciting prospects to say the least!

In the Jungle...

I can't believe it's been over a year since posting a blog about the creation of one of my diaper cakes. Time gets away from us so fast! I'm going to try to get caught up again on my blog posts and give my awesome fans some more behind the scenes looks at my creations.

I was thrilled when I received a request for a Lion King set. There are so many adorable Lion King baby items and some great possibilities when it comes to accents that when I received the order request, I instantly started having ideas. I was even more excited that this order was the largest one to date. My customer not only wanted a large 4-tier cake, but she also wanted a coordinating buggy. I was pumped!

One of the pitfalls to doing licensed items on baby gifts is balancing costs. While these themes are so fun to work with, the costs can add up quickly. Like the previous LSU cake I had done, I had to consider the budget I was working with and make sure to include enough accents to ensure a uniform and identifiable theme while keeping costs down with coordinating, but not necessarily licensed baby items.

For this cake, I opted to create a more neutral base that was reminiscent of the Lion King baby items that were widely available. I kept with browns and greens and used these awesome blankets that had leaf patterns on them. They worked great with the leaf accents seen so frequently on Lion King paraphernalia. I also incorporated some giraffe ribbon which again was a common print seen with Lion King baby products.

Of course, I included plenty of Lion King officially licensed goodies including teethers, pacifiers, a soft book, and of course an adorable plush Simba for the cake topper. I also included a few additional washcloths, just to match the colors.

As final accents for the cake, I added some additional Lion King badges and leaf die cuts.

For the buggy which was made to coordinate, I used a matching blanket and the same ribbons I used on the cake. I included color coordinated washcloths as well. My favorite part was an adorable Simba lovey, that when positioned just right, made it look as though Simba was tucked into the buggy. I loved the effect it had! I also finished the buggy off with the same Simba badges and leaf die cuts so the two pieces were a complete unit.

Just like all my other gifts, this set became my new favorite. I love the opportunity to make the larger cakes because there is so much to work with. This cake had tons of items and visual appeal without going overboard and costing a fortune. My customer loved it, which is, as always, the best part of what I do.

School Spirit!

In an attempt to show examples of diaper cakes that were school or team spirit based, I grabbed several items I had for my own kiddos and put together several example cakes and gifts to demonstrate what something of that nature would look like and let my potential customers know it was possible to make a diaper cake that showed loyalty to their favorite school or team. Thus was created my "Fan Series." These example cakes were created more than two years ago - I remember because I was in the middle of working on them when my labor started with my second son. Needless to say, I ended up finishing the project after the baby was born. In any case, that was the last time I created a diaper cake for a specific team, until a couple months ago when I was approached to make an LSU Tigers cake. Now, this hurt me a little since I'm an Aggie, but I had to be a good sport and I was excited about creating another team cake to add to my collection.

The LSU cake was a 2-tier "naked" cake. I found some awesome options for ribbon and finally settled on a purple ribbon with tiger and LSU logos on it. The rest of the cake was adorned with purple and gold items. I'm glad I found a supplier of dark purple washcloths because darker colors are not typical among baby items. To top the diaper cake, I found an adorable plush tiger. I also added several paw print die-cut accents in purple and gold to finish out the cake.

Now, you may notice that one of the differences between this cake and my other Fan Series cakes to date is that the decorations and color scheme created the theme rather than the baby items themselves. One big thing to remember when it comes to baby items (or other items in general) is that licensed or specialty items typically come with added costs. For those on a tighter budget or those that prefer to keep the theme more subtle, incorporating items in the chosen colors and a few theme specific decorative accents can present the theme just as effectively. It really leads to a decent amount of flexibility so a gift can be created for a whole range of budgets and personal preferences.

My customer really liked the cake which is awesome. I'm so happy to have had the opportunity to make a team spirit cake and I look forward to helping more expectant parents celebrate their teams and share their spirit with their new additions - especially if they are Aggies.
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Monkey Cake!

Can I just say, I love monkey themes for babies? I really do. So when a monkey cake was requested, I was more than happy to oblige. I have frequently purchased a set of adorable green blankets with monkeys on them which give a great green and chocolate color scheme for a diaper cake. Add in some super cute monkey baby items and you can't help but have an adorable gift!

For this diaper cake, a 3-tier cake, I started with the stacked tiers. On this cake, I opted to include two blankets for the middle and bottom tier and added some waterproof multi-purpose pads to the top tier that matched the monkey blanket. I also found an adorable monkey beanie hat set that I included and a super cute monkey teether toy. Coordinating washcloths and baby lotion completed the baby items on this cake. Of course, I had to add the adorable plush monkey as a topper for this cake - I really like that monkey. To finish off this cake I added some monkey die-cuts, because obviously, I didn't have enough monkeys on this cake. They were just too cute not to include.

The final cake was adorable. My customer loved it. If I had one complaint, it would be the lighting when I photographed it since it ended up with a bit of a glare on the top. Natural lighting really can cause issues at times! Regardless, the cake was a winner, so I can't really complain too much.

Dinos!

The Noah's Ark "diaper cake" led to another order since my friend's co-workers were so impressed by that one. This time, I had the opportunity to create a cake using some blankets that I'd been waiting to use with some adorable dinosaurs on them. I couldn't wait to put it together and add all the details and decorations!

This cake was truly fun and I love the vibrant colors. The order was for a 2-tier covered cake so I began as usual with the stacked tiers and, for this cake, the dinosaur blankets. I added wash cloths, socks, spoons, and other baby goodies to the cake to provide some usable baby items (along with the diapers and blankets).

My favorite part of this diaper cake was the dinosaur die-cut accents. I was fortunate enough to have designs that matched pretty closely to the dinosaurs on the blankets, so I made them in colors to match. It was so exciting to be able to add this kind of detail to the diaper cake. The topper for the cake was also a die-cut dinosaur, but a much larger one. For this I actually placed two of them back to back so there was a finished look from all sides of the cake. Die-cut toppers are a great option as they won't add as much to the final cost of the cake as a plush toy will. This means they are really advantageous for those with a limited budget and they still help to give the cake a finished, polished look.

My customer loved the cake which as I've said before is one of my main goals. I really love how this cake turned out!