Dynamic Diaper Cake

I LOVE baby showers but what I don't like is waiting for all those pages of the registry to print out at the store and then going up and down the aisles trying to find the listed items. I recently was invited to one of my former students (HEY LAURIE!) Superhero Baby Shower. Now I have to say I was impressed with the invitation and even more so with all of the decorations that Laurie and mainly her husband had created.

Now Facebook is the highlight reel of our lives and I came across a friends pic of a diaper cake. I actually asked someone if she could find something in the superhero theme and make one for me... as I began to search for a back-up option, I kept coming across diaper cakes but I knew that I wanted to have something unique and that's when i came across some very creative diaper cakes. LIGHT BULB!!!!!

I found a tutorial for a diaper tricycle diaper cake and but decided that I would make a Batmobile motorcycle. With the date quickly approaching, I had to settle for a Superman bib and make it a Superman motorcycle (yes I know he flies lol).

The steps to create a tricycle/ motorcycle cake are quite easy.

You will need:

• Box Diapers (at least 60)
• Rubber Bands
• Ribbon (1/2' in & 1.5")
• 2 Receiving blankets
• 1 Bottle
• 2 bibs
• Baby socks (booties)
• Scissors
• Lighter
• Baby Powder (optional)
• Cake pan
• Tape (Double sided optional)

If you're working on a superhero theme then find the bibs that have capes attached. I bought a superman bib and bootie set that came with socks and a cape attached from JoAnn's.

Step 1:

Line diapers in a circular pattern inside of the cake pan. As you overlap the diapers about 3/4 inch will not be overlapped. You will need approximately 20 diapers per wheel.

Once you have filled the cake pan, stretch about 2 rubber bands over the diapers to secure the circle.

 Adjust the diapers as needed.I rolled a diaper in the center of the circle to help maintain the shape (that'll be removed later).

Repeat 3 times

Step 2:

Cover the rubber bands with the ribbon of your choice. Remember to heat seal the ribbon so it doesn't fray. Secure the ribbon with double sided tape.


For a Superhero theme- check out this cute "Wham Pow Character Satin Ribbon" also from Jo-Ann's.

Step 3:

Align the three wheels side by side. (Don't mistake that I made... be sure that the circular patter is going the same direction.) Push the middle wheel slightly forward. Wrap 1 receiving blanket around your thin ribbon into a complete roll. Next run your blanket/ribbon through the first and third wheel then run the remaining ribbon through the middle wheel. Depending on the length of your blanket you should have just enough fabric to reach the center wheel. Trim the ribbon and heat seal it.
(To secure the formation- I stuck a bottle of baby powder between the two back wheels.)



Step 4:
Roll another receiving blanket into a thin roll. Then run it through the middle wheel.

Step 5:
Place one of the bibs over the front wheel. If you have a cape set, you can lay that over the middle of the back to wheels.

Step 6:
Attach the bike light... a.k.a. the bottle.
Place the bottle with the bottle facing the front on top of the front bib. Then bring the two sides of the receiving blanket up and over the bottle. You will use a rubber band to secure the bottle in its place and hold the two blankets sides together.


Step 7:
Pull the two sides of the blanket in opposite directions and place the socks over the ends. This will form the handle bars of the motorcycle. Use the leftover ribbon to form a bow or just to cover the rubber band on the blanket in the center. (Never mind the Yorkie in the background...)

I adjusted the back cape to cover the bottle.

Now according the number of diapers that were in the box you purchased, you may find (as I did) that you have quite a few leftover diapers.... Well I certainly don't need them so I decided use the additional diapers as a platform for the motorcycle. I cut the diaper box into a tray shape and inserted the package of remaining diapers. Then I took the leftover diapers from the package that I opened and lined the box with them for a more presentable look. I used double sided tape to keep the diapers in place. Then I took some of the thin ribbon and wrapped that around the entire thing. I bought a multi-pack of receiving blankets and I stuffed the remaining blankets between the back two wheels to create the illusion of pipes. I also ran an extra string of ribbon through the back to wheels and tied to the package of diapers so that it wouldn't slide off. Zoom! Wham! POW!

Super Motorcycle diaper cake completed!

How to plan a kids birthday party in 6 easy steps!

To begin planning for a party I searched Pinterest like a hawk and found a lot of valuable resources and ideas. Here's a link to the Monster High Party board I started in case you are planing a Monster High party too. I'll post about that party soon.

Party Plan:

1. PARTY SIZE: Decide if you are planning to have lots of guests or if you are going to keep it small. For the last two birthdays I kept it simple and had under 15 guests. This year I decided to go bigger and invite her entire class along with family and other friends.
2. SET THE DATE: I am not a fan of having parties before the actual birthday- so if your child's birthday falls during the week, plan the party for the weekend after. Keep in mind that if you are having the party at a venue, you may want to keep your options open about the day and time. Sundays are usually less pricey than a Saturday afternoon.
3. LOCATION: Once you decide what your guests limit will be, you'll need to select a location. We opted for a park this year. I was hoping to get a pavilion at a park close to home but booking only 5 weeks out limited my options. BOOK AT LEAST 6-8 weeks in advance. Be sure to consider the weather in your area. It usually rains a lot during my munchkin's birthday month. Alleviate stress about weather by thinking ahead.
4. PARTY THEME: Let your munchkin play an active role in deciding the theme. As parent we often go overboard spending a big portion of the party budget on themed decorations. As a result we either shy away from a particular theme or go overboard. Pinterest and Google are a big help when searching for "Do It Yourself" decor. The birthday cake or party gifts table can be in the actual theme and the rest of the decor can be color coordinated. 
5. ENTERTAINMENT: Does your child like face paint? Clowns? Bounce Houses? Ask friends and family for referrals. Be sure to ask the entertainment about their insurance and equipment used. When hosting a party at a park make sure to ask if vendor approval is required. It's a good idea to ask for the company's Facebook or website. Make sure that the entertainment dresses appropriately and has good a rapport with kids. 

   

   Ask about the uniform/attire that the entertainer wears!

6. HELP: Ask for help, you'll be glad that you did. Enlist teenagers in your family to do things like take photos or lead the games. Don't forget to designate someone to help with set-up, food and drinks. Most importantly designate someone to take pictures or hire a photographer. Create a list of photos that you definitely want to take before the party is over.

Photo credit Pixabay and WarmSleepy

I'm baaaacccccckkkkkk!!!

One thing I have learned is that you can be a jack of all trades and a master of NONE!

Image courtesy of http://www.clipartbest.com/clipart-KijyMakiq

 My last post was almost 3 ago. During the time off, I have competed a second masters degree, bought our first home and changed jobs twice. The only portion of my business that I kept up an running was the face paining. Well I am not planning on changing my day job any time soon and my school books are list on half.com for sale!!! When we moved, I was forced to face all of the buying and lack of sales, in the form of boxes and containers filled with ribbon, tulle, elastics and the list goes on. Now that I have some time and clear vision about what I want in my business, I am back to give this another try. Future posts about parties, tutu's, face painting and y ups and downs as  working mom with a dream that just won't go away... so let's make the dream come true!!!



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bitty Blue

bitty Blue is a special request bow for my munchkin. Using 5/8" navy blue grosgrain ribbon, I attempted my first 2" bitty bow. I have been using the Brilliant Bowmaker snap templates and I am starting to really love them. I would love to be authentic and hand fold and crease all my bows but... some have talent and some BUY IT till they can MAKE IT!!!

LOL!

Forgive the lighting!

Rickety Rac

Someone posted a really cool link to create a Rickety Rac flower  and I was inspired to follow the tutorial. The only ric rac ribbon I could find was orange but I really like it. I had trouble finding a center for this but I used a fuschia flower center that actually looks orange against the ribbon. This was a quick flower to create. The tutorial added the flower to a snap clip but I haven't decided which kind of backing I'll use for this. I might even make it a brooch.

Wear your heart on your...

Wear your heart on your... head. A cute little clippie set for Valentine's Day. I attached 3/8" red ribbon with white hearts to a single prong alligator clip. I think these are best without a center or an applique.

2 Hearts

2 Hearts become 1 set. It seems I am late jumping on the Valentine's Day wagon. But here is a simple clippie set for the munchkin to don during the month on February. It's a white partially pre-lined white (single prong) alligator clip. I used a sequin heat applique. I arranged it so one can be worn in each side.

Whoo, Whoo made this?

Have you ever had one of those moments where you look at something you just knew was going to be great and then said... Whoo, Whoo made this? well that was me today. I seem to have digressed with today's creation. I did realize that with pattern ribbon and the twisted boutique bow, I would prefer to have a coordinating ribbon so you aren't just looking at the back of the pattern in the bow loops. Well till tomorrow!

7/8" owl printed Xoxo ribbon

My looping was really off- but they are a bit more even so that makes me smile!!!

Hang a bow on it!

It's testing week for me so I had to put together something quick. Don't ask me why but I bought quite a few wooden shapes from the craft stores. Not sure what I intended to do with them. Then a thought came to me... "hang a bow on it." Most bow holders that I really like are made to look like a bodice with the tutu. Others are on boards or wooden letters or frames. I added a few crystal studs to the crown, a golden 3/8" ribbon for the hook and a 1" maroone for the bows to hang on.

Bent and twisted and shaped!

Using 1.5" black grosgrain, I bent and twisted and shaped... and it still looks the same. I will say this is making me learn to do things by hand, which is probably what sets great bows apart from good ones. I didn't attach it to a clip or add a center. I'm waiting till I master the shape and then I'll attempt to dress it up. I will master the twisted bow... if it's the last thing I do... this month!

Let's twist again!

Let's twist again! I think that once i have my gator bite. I will be great at the darn twisted boutique bow. Hand creasing doesn't like me. Anyway, here's my attempt at the twisted boutique bow again. Pardon the camera work. You'd think for all that the iPad cost, it'd have a better camera. But will have to make it work while my Nikon batteries recharge.

Don't forget to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. tomorrow!

Surround a bow?

In my quest to make the perfect bow. I am attempting to master the twisted boutique bow and the ultimate over the top bow. A lot of the over the top bows, incorporate the surround a bow. I am working on a Valentine stacked bow for the munchkin. Here is part one. Pardon the little clippie. I needed something to display it.

Here is an example- of the damask ribbon I am working on using as the center of the bow. The middle bow needs to be a lot larger to fill the surround portion.

Ordering another gator bit. I find that hand creasing bows doesn't work for me...hence the thread peeking through underneath the applique! 

I used 3/8" red with white hearts ribbon for the surround a bow. Great tutorial on MommyCraftsAlot.

You got me twisted!!!

Sooooo.... I finally attempted the twisted boutique bow, which by far is my favorite style. I received my Brilliant Bowmaker Snap templates today and "You got me twisted!!!" Although I am not a brilliant bowmaker yet... I am quite pleased with my first attempt. I definitely think that using non-printed ribbon will be easier to manipulate. I realized one of my loops was bigger but was unable to adjust because the ribbon is stiff from the printed pattern. Well I certainly have a lot more days to practice... 
353 to be exact!

I used 7/8" green zebra ribbon. I like this ribbon because it is solid green on the opposite side.

Here is the tutorial that I will be watching on a daily basis until I get this one right!!!

She's a Princess!

This bow started with an unfinished 2" classic bow. I adorned it with a Princess Tiana button center. It is attached to a prelined brown alligator clip. The munchkin insists on wearing one of her Princess Tiana shirts to daycare... AGAIN! So I figured, "She's a Princess" and ought to have a princess bow in her hair.

Inside out Part 2

Inside out Part 2... Includes 7/8" pink leopard spikes and 7/8" pink ribbon. I included a Hello Kitty button center... How ironic that my button center is not centered... YET !In my overzealous mode to meet my daily goal. I took part 1 of the bow back to work for an evening meeting. (The plan was to multi-task!) As only the absent minded professor would do, I left it at work. So I'll post the completed top & bottom of this bow with a newly attached CENTERED button center... Goodnight!

Inside out Part 1

My mew favorite channel is MommyCraftsAlot- she' so crafty she makes people!! I love it. today I worked on part 1 of her Inside out bow tutorial. the video is posted below. I'll add the other layers tomorrow. This is a cute bow using a vibrant pink.


I like the bow on both sides actually. A cute bow center or flipped with a bow sitting inside it. I'll figure out what my color combo will be and show you tomorrow.

Puff my ribbon

Finally using some more of that Christmas ribbon that I didn't use and won't need till later this year. I decided to Puff my ribbon aka Loopy puff bow. Using 3/8" white, green and a green with red, white and dark green dots. I attached the puffed ribbon bow to a pre-lined white clip. I think I used about 40 loops. (Sorry I stopped counting.) I think that I can still have the munchkin wear this bow... perhaps during St. Patty's Day.

This really is a quick bow, I think the majority of the time is spent cutting and sealing the ribbon. I can actually multi-task reading or watching TV and complete this style. Considering the munchkin's hair is still short, something like this is a good distractor LOL!!

Country spikes

 Of course I bought this Country spikes (jean inspired) ribbon when I purchased the munchkin some MEGA cute boots from Target. Never did anything with the ribbon and she never did anything with the boots. It seems like most things I am more excited about them than she is. Well I decided to start this bow set but not sure what else it needs. I have to search my thing for some type of bow center... or find my creasing tool so I can top it with a bow. They would also make great pony o's. They measure about 3" in width. It's a 1" brown, jean, and leopard combo. I really like the spiked ribbon. Anyway this is another on my finish list... but at least I started!!!

I'm Blue...

I'm blue is my attempt at the darn twisted boutique bow (TBB). My munchkin actually put in a request for a blue bow for her and her best friends in the whole world! A simple task... or so I thought. During the last year when I was writing the blog regularly, the TBB was always difficult for me so if you look back you won't see it much. But since I would like to chart my growth, I decided to post these bows anyway. See my strengths and my weaknesses.

The first was my attempt at a 3" teal blue using 1/2" ribbon. The center knot looks a lot better than my last attempt. The second I became discouraged so it's not finished. I will probably take it apart and make it again. If I do, I post a new photo. That one is using 7/8" baby blue ribbon.

Let's get fancy!

Let's get fancy... is inspired by my favorite children's book... Fancy Nancy. Although I actually never heard of her when I was growing up, since I had the munchkin, I have to say she is my favorite. Pardon the shadow on the picture. This started with an incomplete pinwheel bow purple 1 1/2 inch bow I bought. I adored it the a fancy button and attached it to a white pre-lined clip. It is made to be worn on the left or the right side. I attempted fancify (not sure if that's a word) the bow ends.


It's official my creasing tool is not where to be found. So  I will be experimenting with headbands until I find it or order a new one.