Go Team!

Some time ago, I decided I wanted to make an Aggie diaper cake - mostly prompted by the fact that I attended Texas A&M University. My oldest received a gift basket full of Aggie items for babies as a gift when he was born and I was excited that there were such baby items and we could start the brain-washing early. Of course, the receipt of such items also got me thinking that they could be incorporated into a diaper cake. My sister-in-law had actually received such a diaper cake when she had one of her girls and after she passed that cake along to me (she didn't use it and had it sitting in her garage for several years), I had even more inspiration to make a cake of my own.

After thinking about it, I decided that my prejudice for Aggie items really could be extended and diaper cakes could be made for any number of teams or schools. Finding appropriate baby items may take a bit of extra time and cost, but once acquired, a diaper cake to support almost any group is possible. My boys had a number of items supporting various teams, so I decided to experiment a bit and use their items to build several sample cakes for demonstration purposes so people could get an idea of what is possible. I made four different items for what I refer to as my "Fan Series."

The first items I made were Cowboys gifts. I put together a two tier diaper cake and a baby basket. The diaper cake was composed of diapers in a spiral style. The tiers were wrapped in custom made decorative burp cloths which were a hand made gift from a friend of mine. The topper for the cake was a fabric toy cube that I made for my little one. White socks and wash cloths were added to finish the cake. The baby basket included many of the same items as the cake. The structure was formed from the custom made decorative burp cloths. The inside of the basket was lined with diapers arranged in a spiral fashion. A Cowboys toy football and wash cloth "flowers" were added to the basket to finish the gift. 

Next, I created a Cubs diaper cake from items that were given to me in a gift package. The collection included a number of items that worked quite well in a diaper cake. This cake was a 3-tier diaper cake built in a spiral style. A Cubs blanket was wrapped around th bottom tier. The middle tier held pre-fold diapers/burp cloths, and the top tier was covered with a Cubs hat. A Cubs onsie, bib, and pair of booties finished the cake. I added crinkle paper to this one for a completed look. It also came in handy to cover the part of the top tier that the hat did not cover completely.

The last (at least for now) item to be included in the Fan Series collection was my long awaited Aggie diaper cake. For this, I used items that were included in the Aggie baby gift basket we received for our oldest child. This cake was a two tier, off-centered cake. I chose this configuration because, for this cake, I included the plush bear that came in the basket. By creating an off-centered cake, the bear could be seated on the lower tier and attached to the upper tier. Unlike most other cakes, this one had a large lower tier and a small upper tier rather than a slowly graduated difference between tiers. The tiers were wrapped in pre-fold diapers/burp cloths. The lower tier held an Aggie onsie. The upper tier held a "Gig 'Em Aggies" beanie hat. A pair of Texas A&M socks topped the cake. As mentioned, the plush bear was seated on the lower tier and situated to hug the top tier. Two Aggie pacifiers and crinkle paper finished the cake.

I'm happy with the way these cakes turned out. They add some more choices for people who are interested in ordering a cake. Options like these were always available, but when people get an opportunity to see it in action, so to speak, it makes the possibility more real and adds an option they may not have known was available. As I mentioned before, these cakes were all sample cakes. The fan items used were all personal items so, those that gave them to us as gifts can rest assured that I'm not building these cakes with the intention of selling them. They were built for pictures to help people see what is possible and get more exposure to the style and look of diaper cakes that I make. The cakes were then broken down and the baby items placed back in their drawers. I look forward to seeing what I can create in the event that a fan cake is ordered in the future.

New Gift Concept for Easter or Whenever

With Easter only a week away, I was again inspired to create a holiday baby gift. Ok, technically, I made it several weeks ago, but now, you get the inside scoop on my latest creation. Over the past couple of months I've created unique holiday inspired mini diaper cakes that brought to diaper cakes new ideas for themes. This month, I turned to the next major holiday: Easter. While I originally intended to create an Easter inspired diaper cake, I decided to go in a different direction. After all, an Easter basket is much more iconic.

You may be familiar with one basket I made in the past for a friend who was expecting a baby girl. The basket was intended as a centerpiece for her shower and given that the new baby was to be given the name Rose, I felt it was especially appropriate to create a Baby Bouquet for her. This was no ordinary bouquet, however, and I developed a diaper basket to hold the bouquet. (Check out the inside scoop here) The basket was created with ribbon woven into hand-rolled diapers and gave an awesome effect.

So, incorporating this idea to a certain extent and adding in Easter as a theme, I created a new option for baby gifts: the Easter Basket. This basket, similar to the first one I made, was formed of completely usable baby items - no actually basket was included. This basket was started as a spiral diaper cake with diapers creating the base of the basket. A burp cloth was used to wrap and decorate the outside of the basket and a handle was formed with a coordinating burp cloth making the basket cohesive. The basket was then filled with crinkle paper (rather than plastic grass). A stuffed bunny and wash cloth roses were then included to fill the basket with usable baby items and complete the effect.

Of course, the most exciting thing about this gift is that it's not limited to an Easter theme. This basket can be filled with a baby bouquet as it is here, or it can be filled with Baby Candy (baby items rolled and wrapped to resemble candy) or other baby items. The size is also variable, although larger size baskets may require structural adjustments. I'm excited about this newest addition to my product line, although, because of the versatility pricing may be a bit difficult to figure. The most exciting part of this project is that while many of the gifts that I make are available in similar forms from other boutiques and diaper cake producers, I have never seen a basket similar to this one, making it an incredibly unique option for a gift.

A New Kind of Bouquet

With yet another expectant mom among my friends, I had another project ahead of me. I was asked to make a centerpiece for her shower and I was happy to oblige. This time, however, I decided that rather than make a diaper cake, I'd make a bouquet to go with the theme of the shower which was roses to welcome the baby whose middle name was to be Rosalinda.

I wanted to make a large bouquet as it was to be a centerpiece. I was excited to pick out some girl items (this was my second diaper gift for a girl) selecting purple, pink, and white socks to make roses, as well as purchasing diapers and wash cloths to make additional flowers.

To assist with the size of the bouquet and to add value, I decided the basket would be made of diapers rather than just purchasing a basket. I hand rolled the diapers and wove them together with pink ribbon to form a ring. I used a cake board as the base. I lined the inside of the basket with tissue paper, opting for purple to counter balance the pink ribbon in the basket, and then filled the inside with shredded paper in several shades of purple and pink and white. I then pieced together the bouquet of "flowers". With 6 pairs of socks, 6 wash cloths, and about 9 diapers (not counting the basket) the bouquet was rather large. During the process of building this bouquet, I did have to go through a little bit of trial and error to get the look just right. The diaper "flowers" had curling ribbon to spruce them up a bit and green ribbon was tied to the "stems" of several of the other "flowers" to give the appearance of leaves. The extra embellishments were well worth it, but I think they may have gone unnoticed because of the size of the bouquet and the presence of the tissue paper - basic visibility problems.

In the end, I was happy with the final result. I think if I repeat this concept of the diaper basket, I may make some alterations, but otherwise I was pleased. The expectant mom seemed to like it, so that is what matters in the end.