Eric Carle Themed Diaper Cake Tutorial

My sister-in-law Devin is expecting a baby boy this September!  My first nephew!!!  Her shower was this past weekend, and her sister Ashley and I wanted to surprise her with a diaper cake.  The World of Eric Carle has an amazing toy selection, and the mom-to-be loves this classic story so we thought it would be the perfect theme.  We watched a few YouTube's on how best to construct the cake, but formed our own way that was really simplified yet effective!  

Want to make one? Here's how:

Supplies:

*84 pack of diapers

*Rubber bands of assorted sizes (84 smaller ones, and about 10-15 larger ones) 

*Floral Wire

*Decorative Ribbons

*Assorted Toys to decorate cake

1.  We used a big range of product, from bath toys, to socks, to finger puppets and clip-on developmental toys.  The quantity of product you use is completely up to you, but we wanted this to be overflowing with cute Eric Carle items.  Unwrap the toys from their packaging and begin rolling diapers.  We rolled each one individually having the #1 diaper size on the inside so that all the diapers would be consistent.  Each diaper was individually wrapped with a smaller rubber band.  

2.  We then formed what I think look like mini flowers with the individual diaper rolls.  Put one in the center and then 6 around it to form the "flower" shape.  One of us held this in place while the other wrapped a larger rubber band around it to attach together.  Rubber bands are such a genius invention.  

3. Add more diapers around the exterior to get the size of the base to be larger.  This can be as large or small as you want. 

4. Repeat the process to make as many tiers of diapers as you'd like.  Out of our 84 size 1 diapers, 4 didn't fit into the cake of 3 tiers, but I'm sure my sister-in-law will be able to put those extra to use very soon!

5.  We then placed the Eric Carle Discovery Cube within the layers to make an extra tier and break up all the white that is the diapers.  This added great dimension to our cake and height.  It also has rings on the cube, which we thought would be great to hang other items from. 

6.  We used floral wire (because it's light and very flexible) to secure elements of the cube down to the rubber bands of the cake.  We were transporting this from Manhattan to Westchester for the baby shower and didn't want any bumps in the road to let the cake fall apart. 

7.  Take a break and watch your husband read a story to your adorable niece.  She was enjoying Eric Carle's Baby Animal Sound Book. 

8.  We then started adding on toys.  And more toys.  And more toys.  I highly recommend using toys with clip-on features because the cute caterpillar shaped clips made the toys easy to attach. 

9.  Secure the toys down with some extra floral wire so they stay in place.

10.  Top your cake! We used The World of Eric Carle's Lion Loop Rattle. 

11.  Cover up the rubber bands with pretty ribbons.  We used a different ribbon for each tier and tucked the knot ends in between diapers so they weren't that visible.  

12. Bring to a baby shower and be prepared for lots of ooo's and ahh's and awwwws! 

Check out The World of Eric Carle's Facebook page. They have lots of amazing craft, recipe, product info, party and DIY ideas along with giveaways!  Their Pinterest page is also great!

We can't wait to see our nephew playing with all these toys in a few months :-)

A Bouquet Commission

I recently took on the really fun commission of making a bridal bouquet for a wedding in North Carolina.  I had made the  bouquets for my wedding, and the bride loved the concept of something to last forever.  She wanted to keep her color palette limited to whites, grays and silvers and sent me some family heirlooms as well as a beautiful base that she thrifted.  Working on this was an absolute pleasure. I do SO much work digitally that sometimes you just wanna whip out the crazy glue and go wild.  And I did…The result is below! I hope she likes it!!

A Centerpiece Story

I've been meaning to share this photo of the centerpiece I made for my niece's christening party a few months ago.  Time flies in the land of babies.  One minute you're waving through the glass nursery hospital window at a teeny tiny newborn and the next thing you know they're sitting in a high chair giggling and trying sweet potatoes for the first time.  The christening was a few weeks after my wedding, and I constructed this the same way I made the "Something Blue" candy bar signage.   

The glittery "Q" (that stands for Quinn) was purchased at Tinsel Trading, one of my favorite trim stores.  The rest of the items are from my ever-growing collection of knobs, jewelry parts, and paper flowers. 

If you're looking to construct something similar, check out my tutorial! 

Take a Seat

My mom went to the wedding of the lovely Nicole-The-Poet a few years ago, and saved her seat placer she loved it so much!  Nicole had used sand dollars and I loved the idea since Tristan & I were married on the beach.  Also, very early in our relationship Tristan took a family trip to North Carolina and came back with a sand dollar for me. I loved including wedding details that were little nods to our lives.  At the Christmas Tree Shop (heaven in a store) I was able to find T-O-N-S of sand dollars and starfish and so decided to mix them with tags and charms.  Everything was attached with a natural color twine, and you can see the result below: 

I've always been a big fan of beads and charms and had the time of my life scrolling through Etsy to find the perfect ones for this.  Montage Supply was an amazing Etsy shop I worked with to get charms for these seat placers and the bouquets I made myself and my bridesmaids.  This shop is particularly good for specialty wedding themed charms.  The seller was even able to find me charms that said "flower girl" for the flower baskets!  Tristan's Groom heart charm is pictured on the seat placer above.  My bride charm was on my bouquet.  Other shops I ordered charms from were Bohemian Findings and Charm Emporium. 

Overall I am really happy with how these turned out.  They were quick and easy! My big regret is not setting Tristan's and mine aside at the wedding so we could keep them.  Oh well! At least we have the picture! All photos in the post are by Off Beat Productions. 

Something Blue & Sweet

Pretty much as soon as Tristan & I got engaged, I started thinking about the candy bar I wanted at our wedding.  I have been reading the Amy Atlas blog for years and completely adore her work.  I think her displays are original and eye-catching.  Amy was definitely my inspiration throughout the whole process.  I also love pinterest for this sorta thing and spent hours and hours looking for creative ideas and interpretations.

Pretty early on, we decided having it "something blue" themed would be fun and I thought it would look great against our beach backdrop.  After ordering the candy and cookies for it, I got to work on signage for the candy bar itself.  I wanted it to match back to the bouquets I made for myself and my bridesmaids, and I wanted it to be unique.

What I came up with wasssssss…drum roll please….this:

(photo by Jimmy of Off Beat Productions)

I am really happy with how it came out, and photographed the process if you'd like to try to make your own or something similar.

Supplies:

*Glass base (something that won't melt in an oven!)

*Styrofoam ball to fit into the top

*Sculpy Ultra Light oven bake clay

*Assorted knobs, buttons, gems, papers, and ribbons (stay away from plastic items that might melt when heated in an oven)

*Krazy glue

*Florist pins with pretty pearls at the ends

Step 1: Gather your supplies. Make sure to have a large assortment of items and that all your supplies are not too heavy.

Step 2: Place the styrofoam ball (or oval) into your glass base.

Step 3: Cover the styrofoam area that's not in the glass with the Sculpy Ultra Light oven bake clay.  Make sure the layer of clay is not too thin, but no thicker than a quarter of an inch.

Step 4: Start with your large and heavy items and push them into the styrofoam base.  When using knobs, make sure to spread them out so all aren't in one area. Otherwise, your piece will topple over when complete.

 

Step 5: For items that need adhesive, coat them with Krazy Glue and use florist pins to secure down.  

 

 

Step 6: I inserted paper straws into the base that would later hold the sign that I printed, saying "Something Blue." Do not not not use plastic straws. They're thin and flimsy and will melt in the oven.

Step 7: Finish covering all clay areas and make sure all loose parts are secured with Krazy Glue and florist pins.

 

Step 8: Bake for 11 minutes at 275 degrees F. Yes, bake.  In your oven.  Stay close-by and if something smells like it's burning, remove it.

Trust me on this, I burnt an entire bouquet once.

Step 9: YOU DID IT! Now share some photos with me, I'd love to see!

Now all you need to do is supply the actual candy bar with candy and you're ready to go!