Two Crocheted Baby Blankets

I made these two blankets for my friend at work having twins. The first is a very pale pink blanket, made with a terrycloth yarn. Very simple - I just used a single crochet with three rows of double crochet for the edge. I really loved how soft and cuddly this little blanket was. I accidentally threw away the yarn packaging, but I think it was just Red Heart Baby Terry (also, it is machine wash and dryable - always a plus).

The second blanket was lavender with a white satin ribbon trim. I used the basket weave stitch, which is quickly becoming my favorite stitch for blankets. It makes them nice and thick, and the texture is quite pretty.

Homemade Paper Roses

I'm not making a tutorial for the paper roses because you can find a great one online at Martha Stewart. She even includes a video! I would highly recommend watching it once or twice before attempting this.

You will need very few supplies: coffee filters, sharp scissors, floral wire, floral tape, and watercolors (I used the super cheap $1.99 kind and they worked very well).

Here are some photos of the process - go to the tutorial for the step by step instructions, and if you get a chance, also check out www.mommymakesroses.com to see the original artist's work. Her roses are gorgeous!













This was a surprisingly easy project. It took me three tries to get it right, so I just have a few recommendations:

1. If possible, buy the flat coffee filters like the ones shown on Martha's video (not the kind that I had with the rippled edge). They will work the same in the end, but I ironed mine flat so they wouldn't be wrinkly

2. Be generous with the floral tape, and make sure on the first few layers that you tape down the floral wire at least an inch, and tightly. Otherwise, when you go to fan out the petals, all your layers will slide off the stem (attempt 1)

3. As you add each layer of petals, the tips should be slightly higher than the layer below. If you place them lower, the center of the rose will poke out high in the middle and it just doesn't look right (attempt 2)

4. I used tons of water with the paints to really dilute it. The rose is going to be totally soaked by the time you finish painting it. Use less water to color the tips for a stronger hue. It is okay that the petals stick together a bit - they'll come apart again when it dries.

I hope some of you try this out. I had a great time making them and will definitely make more. The most time-consuming part is just tracing and cutting out the petals. Building the rose is actually a pretty quick process.

Well, I'm off to get my wisdom teeth pulled. eek - I am so nervous.

Diaper Cake Tutorial

UPDATE:  check out my most recent diaper cake for some optional revisions to supplies and instructions.

I. Supplies Needed:


One large telescoping mailing tube (mine was 4 inches in diameter). I found mine at The Container Store.

You'll also need:

• a large piece of cardboard
• white butcher paper or wrapping paper
• doilies
• 2 bags clear rubber hair bands (think Goody) - about 100 bands
• large rubber bands, preferably white (I also found these at the container store - Can Bandz)
• a strong cardboard wrapping paper tube
  
• 2 packs of good-quality diapers, preferably plain white
• ribbon
• decorative paper
  
• safety pins
  
• a hot glue gun
• tape
• rubber cement
  
• sharp scissors
  
• flowers for decoration

• 

First, roll all of your diapers. I bought one pack of pampers newborns (up to 10 lbs) and one pack of size one diapers (8-14 lbs) - approximately 45 diapers total. My friend is having twins, so I thought the smaller diapers would fit better. Roll the diapers with the pattern on the inside and secure around the middle with a clear rubber band. The open end of the diaper should be rolled to the inside.

It will look like this. Continue until all the diapers are rolled and set aside.

II. The Diaper Cake Stand

Since I was planning to transport this diaper cake to work on the subway, I wanted it to be really sturdy. This method makes for a very solid cake.

1. Cut 3 large circles out of strong cardboard. For the largest tier, I traced a dinner plate. For the middle tier, I used a salad plate, and for the top tier, I traced a small bowl.

2. Trace each size again on white paper (I used wrapping paper so it had a nice shine). Cut the three circles out and glue (I used rubber cement) to the cardboard.


3. For a decorative edge, glue doilies around the circumference.


4. Now you are ready to start building the stand. First you will need to cut your mailing tube to the height of your rolled diapers. The larger sized diapers were about 4 inches tall when rolled, so I cut the outer (white) layer of the mailing tube to approximately 4 inches. Using a hot glue gun, glue the outer tube to the center of the decorative side of the lower tier.


5. Cut the inner (brown) tube to approximately 3-4 inches in length. Hot glue to the bottom (undecorated side) of the middle tier.



6. The middle tier will now slide into the bottom tier.


7. Repeat the process with the middle tier.


8. For the top tier, use a strong cardboard wrapping paper tube or something similar. Try to find a tube that does not easily bend (the inner tubes of saran wrap or reynolds wrap work well). Cut to the height of your smaller sized rolled diapers and hot glue it to the center of the decorated side of the top tier.


III. Adding the diapers

1. With the cake stand built, you are ready to start adding diapers. I disassembled my stand and added the diaper layers one tier at a time. Put the large rubber band around the mailing tube first, and it will secure the diapers as you add them. I used two layers of rolled diapers on the bottom tier.


2. The middle tier had a single row of rolled diapers.


3. The top tier also had a single row of rolled diapers.


4. I had extra diapers, so I put rolled diapers inside of the mailing tubes on the bottom and middle layers. This would also be a good place to hide other baby gifts (socks, receiving blankets, binkies, etc.) if you so choose. I also placed unrolled diapers around the mailing tubes to add few more. You can slide them into the middle there without removing the rolled layers.


III. Decoration

1. I taped green velum leaves to each of the cardboard bases to add a bit of interest to the edges


2. Use decorative ribbon to cover the rubberbands on each layer. I pinned one edge of the ribbon to the large white rubberband at the back of the diaper cake with a safety pin, so none of the diapers would be damaged. Then, I wrapped the ribbon around the diaper layer and overlapped it in the back, securing with hot glue (hopefully that makes sense). I love the look of double ribbon, but a single layer would do just as well.


3. Add a decorative cake topper. I used paper roses from a tutorial I saw at MarthaStewart.com. This trio of roses slid right into the opening of the wrapping paper tube in the top tier.


4. Place a few smaller flowers that match the topper on the lower layers. I just slid the wire stems in place under the cardboard base and used double sided tape on the bottom of the blossom to secure.


5. Sit back and enjoy all the oohs and ahhs at your baby shower.



Hopefully this tutorial was helpful! Sometimes I have a hard time putting crafty directions into words. This first-time diaper cake was a series of trial and error, but in the end had a great finished product. My favorite part of this diaper cake is that it is very sturdy, yet each of the tiers slide apart easily. It will easy for the mom-to-be to dissemble when it comes time to put those diapers to use, and the inner compartments are ideal for hiding additional gifts.

Enjoy!

16GB iPhone "SLR" includes high-quality 8MP camera

And it still fits in my pocket:

Garden Tea Party Themed Baby Shower

The baby shower went really well yesterday. Here is a summary of all the crafty details:

I used the tissue paper pom poms from Martha Stewart again. They are just too pretty and were almost mesmerizing to sit under - with the air conditioner going, they spun slowly overhead. It was a nice effect. :) I also make mini poms (half fluffed) as napkin rings - there are instructions in Martha's tutorial for this as well. I put the rolled napkins in the tea cup at each place setting. With the help of my friend Megan, I thrifted all over town to find teacups (silver tea set, which I didn't need, but couldn't resist). There are some nasty thrift stores in Manhattan, but I also found a few real gems.

I also used Martha's pattern for a paper garland. You can use the .pdf of the alphabet in her tutorial, to customize and print your own (I enlarged the letters for mine) or you can buy a kit at Martha Stewart Crafts.


Ah ... my diaper cake. Perhaps my greatest crafting achievement? I think I am just pleased with myself because I didn't use someone else's instructions and came up with a pretty solid method. I photographed each step and will hopefully have the tutorial up by the end of the week.

My favorite parts of the diaper cake are the rose decorations. They look pretty real, right? Well, don't be fooled ... I made them out of coffee filters! Another great project on marthastewart.com. A woman named Cassie Chappell from Seattle showed Martha the process on her talk show, so there is a tutorial and an instructional video. You can check out her roses at www.mommymakesroses.com. I will post more on them later as well, but go to Martha for the detailed step-by-step instructions.


Keeping with the theme, I made a teapot cookie for each guest. They turned out cute, but were incredibly fragile (the spouts just snapped right off). I had 7 extras, but by the time they were iced and transported, I had just enough for an unbroken cookie per guest - phew. I'll post on the cookies later.

This baby shower was at work, and one of the benefits of working at a large law firm is we have an on-site caterer. It was great! The presentation was so nice, and the catering manager saw to every detail personally (he was setting up almost as long as I was!).

1. Turkey sandwiches with Dill Havarti on Seven Grain Bread
2. Roasted Red Peppers with Fresh Mozzarella and Pesto Spread on Foccacia
3. Truffle Risotto in Phyllo Dough

1. Chicken Cobb Salad in a Lettuce Cup
2. Piquant Pepper Stuffed with Fresh Mozzarella
3. Chicken Salad with Mango Salsa on Raisin Bread

1. More of the Chicken Cobb Salad
2. Jumbo Lump Crab Cake with Dijon Remoulade

For dessert:
1. Fresh Scones with Jam
2. Skewered Strawberries with Chocolate Fondue
3. Miniature Tartlets
4. Petit Fours

For hot beverage, they served an assortment of teas, coffee and hot chocolate (for me). :) It was so thick and chocolatey. Have you ever read the book, Chocolat? (It was also made into a movie). My bookclub girls will know what I am talking about, but it tasted precisely how I imagined Vianne Rocher's to taste. I had to dilute it a bit with water because it was so strong. Yum.

I forgot to take a photo of the cold beverage service, but they served pink lemonade and various sparkling ciders (my favorite was the apple-mango).

So, are your mouths watering? Flik (our in-house caterers) really outdid themselves. It was so nice to just pick the menus and let the pros do their thing.


All in all, a wonderful baby shower. It took me who knows how long to prepare and 4 1/2 hours to set up (I fluffed all the pom poms that morning in the office. Can you imagine me walking down Broadway trying to carry those things?). Everyone wanted to take one home, so the room came down in less than 5 minutes - that was kind of sad. But now I can start thinking of ideas for the next one ... another one of my managers is due in January.