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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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.