Baby Oh Baby...Domesticated Diva's First Attempt at Making a Diaper Cake

Oh boy, baby fever is among us!  A couple who are very close to us are having a baby, and for part of the baby shower I decided to make a diaper cake.  It was a police themed baby shower, which made it a bit tricky on tying in the theme to the diaper cake.  Here's the final product...

|what you will need|

- I used two packs of diapers (one pack was size 2 and the other was a size 3)
-70 rubber bands (small and larger/longer ones...you will need a little extra because some will snap)
-baby/themed decor (artificial flowers, ribbon, stickers, wooden decoration, baby blocks, stuffed animals, baby toys, etc)
-empty paper towel roll
-a small craft foam cone/cylinder for the third layer
-white foam page
-thin wooden dowel
-double sided tape and glue gun

|how to|

{1} I planned to make a three tiered diaper cake, because it had more of a wow factor.  To make a three tiered cake, you will need two full packages of diapers.  I rolled the diapers semi-tightly and tied/wrapped a rubber band around it.  Wrap the diaper from top (open end) to bottom (where the baby does #1 and #2 lol).

{2} Start wrapping the diapers around the empty paper towel roll using the larger rubber bands.  Stop once you achieve your desired thickness.

{3} Repeat step {2} for the other two layers.  For the third (top) tier stick the foam cone upside down into the opening of the empty paper towel roll.

{4} Now the fun part...decorating!  I used a mixture of toy badges, ribbons, letter stickers, wooden decorative shapes, flowers, printed/decorative paper, and design elements I created myself. 

-my rough draft design sketch-

{5} I made the "POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS" banner using letter stickers and yellow ribbon.  I also made two of the decorative signs used in the cake topper ("Baby M Reporting for Duty" and the Baby Police ID Card.  For the decorative signs, I printed it on regular printer paper.  I then used double sided tape to stick the sign onto the white foam page.  I cut the sign using scissors.  I then hot glued the wooden dowel onto the back of the sign. 

-"POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS" Sign-

-Police Badge "Baby M Reporting for Duty"-

-Baby M Police ID-

{6} Cut the flower from the stem using a floral wire cutter.  Stick the flower in the foam cylinder.  Then, stick the wooden signs and decorative signs in either the foam or in between the diapers (whichever seems more secure). 

-Diaper Cake Topper-

  

Home Sweet Home: Drab to Fab Pumpkin Floral Arrangement

I can not get over the fact that the fall season is upon us.  What better way to showcase the textures and colors of the fall, then by making a floral arrangement using a pumpkin as it's base! 

I just absolutely love the Dollar Tree Store.  They have great holiday decor, and everything is a dollar.  I found small foam pumpkins and a variety of fall colored and themed floral stems.

Floral Stems ($1 each)

5" Foam Pumpkins ($1 each)

I started by cutting my floral stems with a floral wire cutter.  When cutting your floral stems, make sure you cut them in a variety of lengths.  I cut some at 6", some at 4.5", and the rest at about 3".  Remove some of the leaves from the floral stem.  I used the leaves to fill in any bare spots.

 

Now, all you have to do is poke the flowers through the foam pumpkin.  Use a low heat glue gun to adhere some leaves to the parts that look bare, and make sure you give your floral arrangement some dimension (i.e. different heights and different textures).

One pumpkin arrangement is placed in our guest bathroom.

The other arrangement is placed in our kitchen counter.

-DOMESTICATED DIVA PRICE BREAKDOWN-

$4 (four floral stems) + $2 (2 foam pumpkins) | $6 total or $3/each arrangement

I have seen completed pumpkin floral arrangements at Hobby Lobby for $10-$20 each.  This is such an easy and thrifty way to incorporate a fall theme to your home.  

Home Sweet Home: Fall Themed Fireplace Mantel

I absolutely love this time of the year.  The weather is slowly cooling down, the leaves on the trees are changing colors, and stores are full of fall decor.  I especially like that last part ;)  I wanted to have touches of fall decor in our home, so I stopped by Hobby Lobby because they had 40% off fall decor...woohoo!  Here's our finished fireplace mantel...

Awesome 40% off Fall Decor Sale at Hobby Lobby

I purchased a "Welcome Fall" table sign, a fall leaf garland, and fall leaf greenery.