How to make a Diaper Wreath

How to make a diaper wreath

My friend Julie is having a baby (Ella) in June. The last weekend in March we are going to Charleston, SC to attend a baby shower. So, we got her a traditional baby gift...but since she and her hubby are special friends of ours, I decided to make a diaper wreath. 

I really wish I would have made one for my new niece b/c I felt bad every time we went to the hospital and her door was bare...I even thought the store bought wreaths were cute on some of the other doors. Sorry Eliza! 

(that's my niece) 

 I will make it up to you in the future by buying you a ton of shoes and letting you do things without telling your parents :)

Materials: 
Wreath (wooden, foam, etc)
Cute diapers...preferably with a design on them (had to order mine online)

Baby accessories (wash cloths, toys, pacifiers)
Letters to spell out the baby's name
Ribbon (to decorate and fasten the diapers to the wreath or the wreath to a hook on the door)
More ribbon to cover up the rubber bands

Rubber bands (b/c the ribbon probably won't hold the diapers that well) 
Spray Paint (white and pink) the pink that I used was relatively hard to find but eventually I found it at Kmart!
Staple gun (not to be confused with a stapler could possibly use a hot glue gun)

So, b/c I wanted Julie to be able to use it at the hospital...I wanted to make sure it had the baby's name on it. 

I needed to find wooden letters (or her name spelled out) to go on the wreath in some way. 

I found my letters at a local craft store for 49 cents each. I found a wooden sign at the same craft store that said "Friends" on it. It was the right size so I just decided to flip the friends sign over and spray paint white. 

Then, I spray painted the letters (E-L-L-A) pink. I sprayed with several coats for the letters and the sign and waited for it to be completely dry. 

 I used Rust-oleum's Gloss Berry Pink.

Next, I spaced out the letters exactly how I wanted them and picked up each letter and applied the glue. I used wood glue (very lightly applied to avoid it running out on the sign) to secure the letters in place. Let this dry. 


Then, I flipped the sign over and stapled one end of my decorative ribbon to the back side of the sign.


For the wreath: I used a straw wreath because it was the right size for me. After I unwrapped it, I realized that the straw was falling out so I re-wrapped it with masking tape.

Then, I wrapped a diaper around the wreath and secured it with a rubber band.

 Repeat this until the entire wreath is wrapped with diapers.

Overlap the diapers slightly so that the entire wreath is full. 

Cover the rubber bands with ribbon and curl the ribbon with your scissors (if possible). 

Lay the name sign on the wreath to get the desired placement. Tie the ribbon (coming from the back of the wooden sign to the end of one of your diapers. 

Make a bow out of coordinating ribbon and attach to the top of the wreath.  

Tie some extra ribbon around the top rim of the wreath and tuck the knot under one of the diapers at the top. This ribbon will be used for hanging the wreath.  

And that's it! More challenging than making a diaper cake...but so cute!

How to Make a Diaper Cake

Sometimes, I just see stuff online and I think, "I could make that..."

Well, that is exactly what happened when I decided to make a diaper cake. I knew I was going to be co-hosting a baby shower for my good friend Carley and while thinking of possible decorations for the party, I decided to try my hand at making a diaper cake.

What you will need:

• Cute package of diapers (I ordered the blue jean diapers online that came as a package of 96...that was too many but I used all but about 30.)
• A bunch of rubber bands (to hold the individual rolled diapers together...oh, and don't even think about using scotch tape it doesn't work!)
• A tray to set the finished "cake" on (I used a cheap plastic tray from the dollar store...just in case the mommy decided to take the tray with the cake.)
• Accessories to decorate the cake with
• Ribbon to cover-up the rubber bands and hold each tier together
• Safety pins (or something to fasten the ribbon with)

First (and most time consuming), roll each individual diaper up and wrap a rubber band around it. I did this while watching t.v. several nights...because it takes a while and it is boring.

After you have rolled most of the diapers, gather the largest tier together. This might take 2 people... I just figured out how large I wanted the ribbon to be around the bottom tier, then fastened the ribbon together. Next I squeezed in as many rolled diapers as I could fit into the ribbon. Focus on making the tiers and decorate last.

After you make your tier with the ribbon around each tier, adjust the position of the ribbon to cover-up all your rubber bands.

Now accessorize! I used coordinating pacifiers to cover the safety pins and an inexpensive bib to cover up the bottom pacifier. I put a stuffed elephant on the very top and slid some jungle themed pacifier holders in the sides to give it some pop.

If you use regular, white diapers, some people will use baby blankets to cover each of the layers. As with any crafty project, it can be expensive depending on what supplies you choose to use! Since I used the blue jean diapers, I really wanted that color to show. This is one of those projects that you need to start working on at least one week prior to the event...otherwise, you will end up scrambling for supplies! I think these are easier to make for girls considering the availability of baby girl accessories.

Bubble Bath Baby Shower Punch

Bubble Bath Baby Shower Punch 

Ingredients:

• 1 packet of blue unsweetened Kool-Aid (I used the mixed berry flavor)
• 1 (2 liter) bottle of ginger ale
• 1 (64oz.) bottle of white grape juice
• 1 cup of sugar ( I used less than this and it was still really sweet...I suggest using a little more than 3/4 cup)
• 8 scoops of pineapple sherbert
• 1-3 rubber duckies

1. Chill ginger ale and grape juice over night

2. Remove sherbert from freezer 30 minutes before serving to soften

3. In a large punch bowl, combine Kool- Aid, sugar, juice and stir

4. Slowly add chilled ginger ale while stirring

5. Add 8 scoops of sherbert on top (this creates a foamy look...you need to do this just before the party starts so the punch will look nice)

6. Add ducks on top (wash them first!) 

Cucumber Sandwiches- Recipe

Cucumber Sandwiches

Ingredients:

Low Fat Cream Cheese (1 package)

Dry Zesty Italian Dressing (1 packet)

Splash of 1% Milk (less than a Tablespoon)

Dill Seasoning 

Cucumbers

Pumpernickel Bread 

1. Set out cream cheese and do not use until it is at room temperature/or soften in the microwave.

2. Mix in dressing packet and milk and stir until well combined.*

3. Peel (if desired) cucumber(s) and slice thinly.

4. Trim the edges off each slice of bread and cut bread into small squares (just large enough to hold one cucumber slice).

5. Take a bread square and spread with cream cheese mixture, place cucumber slice on top 

6. Repeat step 5 until you run out of bread or cucumbers. 

7. Place neatly on a serving tray and sprinkle with dill seasoning. 

*Note: I made the spread the day before and refrigerated overnight and prepared the sandwiches the day of. This saved me some prep time while allowing me to still have the bread fresh and not soggy the day of the party. 

Recovering and Spray Painting a Bench

I've had this bench for over 12 years...it came with an antique vanity that my parent's bought. While the fabric was pretty and the stain was in good condition, I was just getting tired of looking at butterflies in my home office!

(Sorry! No photo...imagine a peach cushion with pink butterflies and dark wood stain legs...) 

 I purchased a piece of scrap, discounted fabric, some white spray primer (Krylon brand), and used some leftover black spray paint from a previous project so, this project cost me less than $5...

First, I removed my cushion from the bench with a drill. Next, laid my fabric over the cushion to make sure it was : a. the right size b. the right pattern direction and c. double check that the edges would fit with enough room to be stapled.

Next, I laid my fabric face down on my table and positioned the cushion. I took my trusty staple gun and stapled along the length of the cushion (note: I just left the previous layer(s) of fabric on there for extra cushioning) leaving the corners for last. Then I manipulated the corners to look just right and held it down while a helper stapled the fabric (not my fingers...). After I had the cushion re-covered, I took the bottom part of the bench outside with my primer and my gloss, black spray paint.

I set the base of the bench face down on newspaper and gave a light coat of the primer. On some projects primer isn't necessary before using spray paint, but I wanted to make sure this piece had nice even coats with little to no splotchy areas. 

I only did one light coat of the primer. It is not necessary to cover evenly with primer. I let this dry completely (5 minutes). Then, I took my black spray paint and applied one light dusting of paint, let this dry again and repeated about 10 times. I know that sounds like a lot but that is the trick to applying spray paint without splotches! 

What do you think? I considered using red gloss spray paint...but I decided to save money and just use what I had in my cabinet. It will be used for my piano that I am refinishing right now...stay tuned for pics of that!