Diaper Cakes

On top of all the onesies I've been making lately I also managed to squeeze in a diaper cake for the baby shower I went too over the weekend. Not only do they make great gifts, but the double as decor too.  Plus they are alot of fun!

There are tons and tons of tutorials out there on how to make these.  Everyone has their own technique.  I have made several over the years and have used a few different ways of doing it.  This was the very first one I ever did.  I made this for a good friend who's sweet little girl is now 2!! Boy time flies. For this one I rolled all of the diapers.  I like this method, but you don't get that smooth outer layer.

This was the second one I made.  For this one I didn't roll the diapers, instead I layered them.  This gives you that smooth outer finish, but it uses quite a few more diapers.  I think I ended up using about 1 1/2 packs, instead of just one.

 

For my latest diaper cake I combined both techniques. I rolled the inner diapers and layered the outer ones. Here is a picture of the bottom layer.

This allowed me to use less diapers per layer and make it four tiers for more decorating room. Also I like to use large rubber bands to hold each layer together.  They make the whole project 10x easier.

Like I said, these are really fun to make and allow for lots of creativity.  You can go super "baby" or super fancy. I've done some of both.  Here are a few of the others I've made.

 

And Another Baby Gift

Babies, babies, everywhere!

I spent my little bit of free time last week making another baby gift for my friend's new baby girl.  It was nice to make girly things for a change since my last few baby projects have been for boys.  Don't get me wrong baby boys are super cute and lots of fun, but I do enjoy playing with florals and girly colors:~)

I used my silhouette to make the heat transfer with the bird.  Have I mentioned how much I love that machine?

For the faux necklace onesie I cut out 9 little felt cirlces, pinned them to the onesie, and stitched one big line with my sewing machine to form the "chain".  I've seen this done several different ways, many of them start and end way out on the shoulder seems of the onesie which I'm not a huge fan of.  I placed my felt circles where they would hang if it were a real necklace. For the ribbon, I stitched it on first and then tied a knot.  I finished it off with fray check to keep the edged looking clean.

The ruffle onesie is by far my favorite! It was also the most difficult.  Stitching those ruffles in place took some finagling to get them through the sewing machine.  I cut four 2 1/2" strips, sewed them in half, and turned them right side out.  I didn't want raw edges and it was quicker than ironing and sewing eight 1/4" seams.

I really had a lot of fun with these!

Last minute addition

At the last minute I decided that my baby shower gift was missing something and I found this pattern a while back over at Habitual.  So the morning before the baby shower I did a little sewing:~)

I made a few changes along the way, but the basics are the same.

 

Beautiful Baby Gifts

Over the weekend I whipped up a baby shower gift for a friend.  I made some super cute baby booties using Heather Bailey's bitty booties pattern and some felt I had.  I also made some burp cloths using organic cloth diapers and some really great fabric from Amy Butler and Michael Miller. Both were super easy and came together quickly.  The burp cloths also gave me a chance to play with my sewing machines decorative stitches. 

 

 

Purple Princess!

Today was a bit of a play day for me.  My good friend's daughter is turning 3 in a few weeks.  She is in love with pretty much anything purple and, just like every other little girl, anything princess.

I'm one of those horrible people who takes any chance I can get to buy super cute kids clothes, so I don't usually go the toy route.  But, lately I haven't had the need, want, or desire to buy clothes. So I got to thinking about what to get her for her birthday instead of clothes.  Now, on the occasion that I do buy toys as gifts I try to buy something more on the unique side.  I mean really how many dolls or trucks can you possibly have? (Have I turned into an adult or what?) And then it hit me...She has no dress up clothes!!! Not only does every little girl absolutely need dress up clothes, but its a toy and clothes all in one:~) 

Sticking with my "unique" requirement I decided to make an outfit especially for her.  I headed to JoAnne's to find the brightest purple tulle I could find.  Here is what I came home with:
 

The project took me a few hours this afternoon from start to finish and about $10. I used four layers of tulle.  The bottom layer is a nice smooth, sparkly tulle and the top layer is a netted tulle.  I picked up the crowns while I was at JoAnne's for a $1 a piece and everything else I needed I had on hand.  I'm so excited and I can't wait to see her in it. It actually turned out better than I had envisioned, which pretty much never happens.