Baby Shower Gift Idea ~ The Diaper Cake

Earlier this summer, a perfect opportunity presented itself for me to make what I've been wanting to try my hand at for awhile - a diaper cake!

Diaper-cakes have always fascinated me, from the very first time I laid my eyes on them. They are so unique at baby showers, and which mom-to-be wouldn't love having her nursery stocked with diapers? ;)

I found this tutorial on youtube particularly helpful, but I am sure there are many other similar tutorials you can find online. The nicest thing about a creative project like this is that you don't have to use exactly the same supplies someone else tells you to. For instance, this tutorial suggested using an empty milk bottle in the core of the cake, but I used a bottle of sparkling juice and a plastic bib (to extend the height of the cake) instead. So long you have the basic concept about tying individual diapers in rubber bands and surrounding the core of the cake with them, your options are limited only by your creativity.

Basic supplies I used:
3 packs of diapers (in Size 1 and 2)
Cardboard for base of cake
1 bottle of sparkling juice
1 plastic bib
Large Rubber bands
Hair rubber bands around each diaper (so the mom can re-use them later!)

I decorated the cake with:
3 rolls of ribbon
flowers
hair bows
3 stuffed animals
1 rattle
shoes
bath supplies (travel size)
2 onesies
2 pacifiers
foam stickers

My cake turned out taller than I'd initially anticipated, because I purchased more diapers than I thought I would need. Better too many than too few, right? ;)

My mother-in-law, with whom I consulted on this project, suggested I use them all by fanning an extra layer of diapers in between two tiers of the cake, to break up the monotony.

The best thing about having made this diaper cake?
Seeing my cousin's face light up in a smile when my husband brought it in. :)

~ Mrs. Arcfide

Verse Art

One morning after my husband had a very serious conversation with me, I began working on a Word Art that I hope to someday transfer to one of our bedroom walls. It will serve as a constant reminder to me of that late-night discussion. :)

However... I am quite clueless as to how I should proceed on this project. Would cut-out cardstock stuck on the wall appear tacky?

~ Mrs. Arcfide

Recycling our "wedding stuff"

Is frugality to innovation what necessity is to invention?

Since Aaron and I might be entertaining our first guests this weekend, I was slightly more motivated to re-look at the pieces of decoration that have been laying around our home since we first moved. I have been surprised at how long it has taken me to get things unpacked and put away, but we're finally mostly organized.

The focus of our decoration has mostly been relegated to our bedroom, study, bathrooms, and kitchen as those are the most "lived-in" areas of our home. Surprisingly, we rarely use our living room at all --- perhaps its lack of furniture and isolation has everything to do with our disinclination towards it.

Knowing how well I love pictures, my husband generously gave me several gorgeous frames and wall decorations from Hobby Lobby for my birthday. They quickly transformed our bedroom from utilitarianism to homey coziness. I was one happy camper.

Our budget, though, restrained us from purchasing any other items for our kitchen. Yesterday morning, I was inspired to reconsider some of the candles, basket, and roses someone had kindly saved from our wedding. We had a cranberry-red themed wedding, so I was uncertain how red would interfere in our blue and oak-wood kitchen. In the end, the results weren't as tacky as I'd feared. Those different colors appear relegated to separate hemispheres of our kitchen. :-)

I used a silver 5 lights candle stand we purchased from Craigslist, some scotch tape, some porcelain votive candles I already owned, and some creativity to create this look:



~ Mrs. Arcfide