Buncha Mini (Diaper) Cakes - Craft Fair Prep from How Long Ago?

Since I'm catching up on my older diaper cake creations, here's a collection...

Several years ago, okay, it was like, 8 years at this point, I was getting prepared for the annual craft fair that I participate in. I was having some issues because I didn't have a lot of inventory but at the same time, I had noticed that my larger cakes just never sold well. I'm not sure if it was a matter of people wanting something more specific or they just weren't able to get something at that price point. So, I came up with an alternate plan.

I decided I wanted to create some diaper cakes with as much impact as the full size cakes, but make them half the size. I already had some 1-tier cakes, but I wanted to make some 2 and 3-tier cakes as well as making some diaper buggies since those sell regularly at the fair.

So, first up is the 2-tier cakes. I created 3 diaper cakes.

The first diaper cake was a cute little boy puppy cake. I used an adorable plush dog I had and matched it up with some puppy blankets. Along with some blue and brown ribbon and baby items, I put together this cake that had 20 diapers which is half of the normal amount for a 2-tier cake. I finished it with some dog die cuts that coordinated with the other decorations.

The second diaper cake I created was a 2-tier lion cake. This cake was a girl cake using pink, light brow, and cream to go along with a little lion plushie I had. Since the puppy cake was a covered cake, I decided to make this one a "naked" cake where the diapers were exposed. I added some pink and cream colored ribbon to the tiers. I included some pink baby items on each of the tiers. Lastly, I added some lion die cuts as inspired by a lion cake I had made previously by request.

I was most excited about the third diaper cake which was a gender neutral cake. This diaper cake was giraffe themed - I love giraffes. I had a super cute giraffe plush and some giraffe print ribbon which pull this orange and brown cake together. I didn't add die cuts to this cake because the printed ribbon created a bit of a busy look and I didn't want it looking chaotic. I absolutely loved it. It was one of my favorite diaper cakes I created for this craft fair.

I already had on full-sized 3-tier cake in stock that was a brown and blue boy cake so I didn't feel the need to create a mini 3-tier cake as well. I just made a mini gender neutral and a mini girl cake to round out my offerings.

For my first 3-tier cake I decided to create a neutral cake. Per my decision to make half-sized cakes, this diaper cake had 30 diapers. I created a "naked" cake with a relatively common theme of ducks. I had some super cute wash cloths with ducks on them and a cute plushie for the topper. The orange and yellow colors kept it neutral. I did add some die cut ducks to this cake as well.

My second 3-tier diaper cake was another favorite for that year. I created a hot pink and zebra stripe cake. With a cute zebra plushie and some zebra print ribbon, I created another "naked" cake with the diapers exposed. I was especially proud of one of the decoration pieces which was a stacked bow placed on an alligator clip. It looked like it was just a bow for the diaper cake, but it was a real bow for a baby's hair. I added some more hot pink and white baby items as well as some die cuts. I'm not sure why the zebra print seemed less busy than the giraffe print, but it was so the die cuts looked just fine.

Along with the diaper cakes I also made three buggies to round out what I already had in stock. I made a pink girl buggy, a green neutral buggy, and a brown and blue boy buggie. They were the basic buggies that I make regularly which include 15 diapers to make the basic structure, along with a blanket and some other baby items.

For my prep for that show I also make a few other items, hair bows and baby beanies and I was ready to go.

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.

Versatility of Baby Buggies

Recently, a friend contacted me seeking a baby gift for a friend of hers. She wanted a buggy and while she started out saying anything was fine, after some discussion about specifics, we turned to looking at the expectant mom's registry. This really is my preferred method for developing baby gifts. I do have some ready-made inventory in stock which is great for last minute gifts, give-aways, auctions, moms who are unsure what they need or want, etc.; however, I feel customized gifts are more personal and take into account items that the mom wants (assuming she knows, of course). I never was particular about coordinating blankets with my little one's nursery, but many people are and by using registry items as a guideline, even if specific items can't be incorporated in the gift, a diaper cake, buggy, bouquet, or other gift can be made to coordinate and is sure to be a gift the expectant mom enjoys. Of course, ideally, registry items would be able to be used. This, luckily was the case for my friend's friend, though it did take me out of the box a bit and I incorporated registry items in new ways.

As I mentioned, my friend requested a buggy which are a very popular item since they are less commonly seen and tend to be more compact (and lower in cost) than a diaper cake but carry a lot of the same impact. I began "construction" with hand rolled diapers. The registry contained burp cloths which I felt could be incorporated beautifully where I traditionally use a blanket around the main structure of the buggy. A baby duck printed hat was used for the "blanket" in the buggy and matching baby mittens decorated the front. The hat and the mittens were both on the registry.

Aside from the use of the burp cloths and hat which were fun alternatives to my regular "components" I like that this gender neutral buggy stood out from the commonly seen green in gender neutral items. Yellow is, of course, also commonly used, but the beaks on the ducks printed on the hat and mittens really called for the use of orange on the buggy hood which really makes this buggy stand out. The printed hat allowed for the use of solid colors around the buggy and pulled it together quite well.

I also updated the packaging for the buggy in a small way. Buggies are presented to the mom-to-be (unless otherwise requested) on a cake board and shrink-wrapped. The wrapping is tied with curling ribbon and a tag is attached to let the recipient know what items are included in the gift. For this buggy, I included crinkle paper on the base to give it a more professional look. The effect turned out just as I had hoped and gave a great final presentation.  My friend seemed pleased with the buggy and I hope the expectant mom also enjoyed this adorable presentation of items she selected as well as a few extras.

My First Craft Fair!

I seriously thought I had typed this up already, but apparently, I was wrong. About 3 weeks ago, I participated in my first craft fair with my baby items. I had done this craft fair in the past with my jewelry and dream catchers, but this was the first public event for my baby boutique.

My mom and I had worked this craft fair together for the past 3 years. She had worked it for years before that, but I joined her more recently. I like this one because there is a minimal fee for booth rental and then a portion of your sales goes to help the youth group (the craft fair takes place at a church/private school). If you don't sell much, you aren't out any more than the small investment to rent your space.

We like to set up in booths that run between aisles. This gives us extra space to display our wares, one table on either side of the booth area. One of my tables was dedicated to my diaper cakes and baby gifts.

The weeks preceding the fair, I drove up to the Dallas area where my mom lives and the fair took place. I didn't travel with many diaper cakes but worked on the projects there and ended up with three each of 3-tier cakes, 2-tier cakes, and baby buggies. For each type of baby gift I had a girl, a boy, and a gender neutral gift. I arrived with only the 2-tier gender neutral cake and the girl buggy which was my first inventory item.

I'll give a short description of the items I created for the sale.

Baby Buggies:

The baby buggies are made with hand rolled diapers to make up the shape. A receiving blanket, wash cloths, and burp cloth are added for the outer shape and pattern. Ribbon finishes off the buggies. I have made buggies with extra baby items on them, but all the ones I created for this craft fair were the basic buggy design.

2-tier Diaper Cakes:

I arrived in the Dallas area with a gender neutral 2-tier diaper cake. This cake was a bath themed cake that included hooded bath towels, wash cloths and baby bath items. To add to that, I built two additional 2-tier cakes: one boy cake and one girl cake. The girl cake  was a mint green, pink, and lavender cake that had receiving blankets, wash cloths, teethers, and a rattle included to decorate the hand rolled diaper structure. The boy cake meant entering new territory for me since it was the first time I had incorporated a bottle into one of my diaper cakes. The boy cake included receiving blankets, wash cloths, and pacifiers plus the bottle to decorate the hand rolled diaper base.

3-tier Diaper Cakes: 

I had to start from scratch on my three 3-tier cakes since I didn't even have one to start my display for the fair. The girl cake included the most diapers since the blankets used were larger than standard receiving blankets. Hand-rolled diapers formed the tiers for the cake which were then decorated with the blankets. Teethers, socks, and wash cloths were added and a carrier toy topped the cake off. The boy cake looked to be the largest because the diapers I used for it were size 3. I will typically use size 1 diapers in my cakes, but occasionally there will be a reason to use larger ones and that is what I had in stock. The boy cake, again incorporated hand-rolled diapers that were stacked for the tiers. I had a great set of navy blue blankets for this cake and I love the way they look on the final product. I added socks, wash cloths, baby powder, and a carrier toy to finish the cake. My 3-tier gender neutral cake was the standard green and yellow. Hand-rolled diapers created the structure which was then wrapped in coordinating gender neutral receiving blankets. I added teethers, wash cloths, baby bath products and a carrier toy to finish this cake.

 I was happy with the inventory I created for the craft fair and I only hoped it would be enough. I also brought along with me, my product catalog which demonstrates the other baby gifts I can make and a description of the items typically included in each one. My original plan was to bring shrink wrap with me and package the diaper cakes as they sold. I felt, and still do, that once they are wrapped, it is harder to see the detail on each cake, but that the wrapping is really necessary for the finished look. Since electricity was a potential problem (as in, we may not have any), I went ahead and started wrapping as many as I could. Unfortunately, I had a shortage of the shrink wrap, so only a few of the cakes were done. In the end, I decided it worked out better that way so customers could see the detail on the cakes without the wrapping and how the finished product looked. Each of the cakes was also accompanied by a card that listed the items included so recipients would have that information as well as my information which was printed on the back.

At the fair I felt I had a pretty nice set up. My display took of plenty of space without being too cluttered. I had a lot of positive response for my diaper cakes and multiple people asking for my card. Unfortunately, I didn't have any business card with me, but I figured it was just as well since I wasn't local to the area. Many of those interested loved my work, but said they didn't know anyone who was expecting currently, so I missed potential sales in that respect. I do wish that I had done a little bit better, but most of the vendors had low sales over the weekend. The most popular cake seemed to be the 3-tier gender neutral cake. I sold the boy buggy to a young woman whose boss is expecting a baby. I did enjoy my time there and I definitely hope to return in the future with my diaper cakes. In the mean time, I have a decent inventory in stock ready and available for sale. I also hope to find some local show and craft fairs that I may be able to participate in where I can get my name out, and this time, I have business cards ready to go!