Diaper Cake

Okay, my cousin's baby shower is over, so there's no threat of her seeing her gift before she got it. So I'm going to show you how to make a diaper cake!

Diaper Cake

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Supplies:

-1 pkg size 1 diapers

-an 8 oz bottle

-a 4 oz bottle

-things for fillers (bibs, onsies, pacifiers, etc)

-basket wrap

-ribbon and/or twine

-scrapbook paper

-cardboard cake plate

Put down your cardboard cake plate as your template. Make a slipknot on some twine. This will hold your diapers as you add more. Place the 8 oz bottle in the middle of your cake plate. Start adding your diapers, overlapping just a part each time. Make sure all your diapers are facing the same way!!

You can also tuck in extra goodies once you have the diapers established. This is a good way to add bulk without having to buy another package of diapers!

Once you've gotten a decent girth to it, tie a decorative ribbon around the twine, covering it. Once it's secure, you can pull your twine off.

Start your next tier the same way as the first. It should end up being smaller than the first.

Then make the 3rd tier. It should be the smallest tier. Make sure you are adding the ribbon to each tier!

Then you can begin on the flowers. Cut individual flowers off of a bunch and stick them on the tops of each tier. Then stick them around the bottom of the cake, and lastly, on the very top.

You should end up with something like this...

Then wrap it up in your basket bag and tie off the top with either twine or ribbon. I chose twine.

Then you need to make the tags.

I had this one from a scrapbooking page. This is where I will put the "To and From"

Then I chose this card stock to make my "ingredients" list.

I cut off a strip...

Folded it in half...

Then I wrote my "ingredients":

-bottles

-2 bibs

-short sleeve onsie

-long sleeve onsie

-footed pants

-diapers: size 1

(whatever you stuck in the cake)

I punched a hole in the top, tied the two with the twine, and I had my diaper cake!

Hint: You may need to use masking tape you keep the layers in place, and to also secure the cake to the cardboard cake plate!

Have you entered the giveaway yet?? If not, click the image below! It ends this Friday night! Don't miss out!

A little side note---I noticed that there were a lot of repeat entries to the giveaway. After studying it for a bit, I realized it was my fault.
Let me explain:
I should have said "First vote, Second vote, Third Vote" instead of "1 vote, 2 votes, 3 votes."
Though it was DEFINITELY my mistake, I need to delete some repeat posts to make it a fair game for everyone.
Sorry to anyone/everyone for the confusion!

Island Centerpieces

(sigh)... I can't tell you how much I love having my island functioning as an actual island.
If you missed my kitchen transformation, check it out here:

I'm a centerpiece freak. My coffee table and dining room table must always have a centerpiece on it. Actually, so does my piano...my patio table, my patio coffee table, my bistro table....you get the idea, right?

So with the island in the middle of my kitchen, it gave me a great opportunity to fiddle with different ways to accent it.

You could try a bowl of fruit...

Or a vase of fresh cut flowers...

A cake dome has a way of making even box brownies look good...

For a more permanent fix, you could go with a simple plant...

Or set the mood with a candle centerpiece...

So what do you do for centerpieces??

A Super Giveaway

Does that sound good for a surprise?!

First, I'll show you what you can win, and how I made it.

Country Chic Pegboard

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I went down into my vault to pull out an old unused black frame.

I sanded the edges down to distress it a bit.

I cut my cork to the exact dimensions of the back cardboard.

Then I used spray adhesive to attach the cork to the cardboard.

I also sprayed the front of the cork and laid it face-down onto my burlap.

This frame didn't have any hanging hardware on it, so I added some.

I ended up having to bend the nails because I didn't want the nails to go all the way through. The frame wasn't thick enough for that.

Then I got to the fun part: Stenciling!

Umm....this was supposed to be flowers...

That just looks like spots on a cow.

I need a mulligan!

Ah! Much better!

And every pegboard needs thumbtacks!

But I want some fun thumbtacks!

So I bought a bunch of buttons from Walmart and turned them upside down.

Then I used some epoxy and glued my thumbtacks to them.

Wala! It's perfect!

One lucky winner gets this fun pegboard!

(The winner will only get the pegboard pictured above. The metal stand is NOT included. The back is not finished, like a regular picture frame, so I recommend hanging it! It would also make great artwork!!)

How to enter:

-1 vote---Comment on this post (Multiple comments will NOT receive more votes!)

-2 votes---Become a follower (and leave me a comment saying you are a new follower. You have to be a new follower AS OF TODAY! And no...the comment left about being a new follower does not also cover the "Comment on this post" part. They need to be separate!)

-3 votes--- Post about this giveaway on your own blog and link back to me, using the button I provided at the top of this post.(Then Leave me a comment letting me know about your post!)

The contest will end Friday night (the 15th), and the winner will be announced the next day, Saturday.

Good Luck!

Burlap Pillow

We're almost to the "Surprise!" I hope you guys are excited as I am! Look for it tomorrow!

But for today, I'm going to show you a simple burlap accent pillow that I made.

It started out from a peanut sack. That's right, I kept the burlap bag from peanuts.

First I washed it!

Then I ironed it flat.

Then I folded over an edge and ironed that flat.

I dry-fitted my buttons, figuring out where I wanted them. Then I cut slits (only on the folded part!) for the buttons to go through. I took a sharpy and poked it through the slits to mark where I was to sew the buttons onto the main pillow.

This is what you should have at this point...

Sew your buttons on.

Then begin adding PolyFill.

Once it's filled, push your buttons through the slots, and you have a pillow!

I love it!

Come back tomorrow for the big surprise!!

You don't want to miss this!

Jewelry Frame

I wanted a jewelry armoire for Christmas. Nope, Santa didn't deliver one to me this year.

I really needed a better way to store my jewelry than the 25 cluttered jewelry boxes that I have lying around.

So this is what I did to solve that problem:

Jewelry Frame

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You need:

-a frame (with glass out)

-craft wire

-wire snips

-staples and a staple gun

I wanted to put staples all around the frame for the wire to loop through.

APPARENTLY you shouldn't use a high powered staple gun on a thin piece of the frame....

Ooopsie! We'll have to pry that out...not too much damage, hehe!

I flipped the frame upright so that the staples would go through the thick part. Then I found my husband's file to use as a crutch so that the staple wouldn't go all the way into the wood, making it flush.

I went all the way down the line, moving my file as I went.

Then I twisted an end of my craft wire on the first staple, and began weaving.

I LOVE how squiggly the wire turned out to be. My bedroom is pretty modern, so this fit in perfectly.

This is how it turned out...

Then just add your jewelry!
Problem solved!

Don't have a modern bedroom?? No problem! You can try:

-An ornate fram with chicken wire stapled to the back

-A distressed frame with burlap on the back (but then you wouldn't be able to hand necklaces!

-A frame with lace backing

So go put your jewelry on display!