Bianca's Diaper Cake

I usually like the color gray. It's versatile and complimentary. It's not as stark as black and not as boring as white. It's generally a nice, accommodating color. But not on a diaper cake.

If you remember Margaret Grace's diaper cake, you will remember that I had a difficult time trying to work gray into the cake. Gray flowers are not easy to come by. And I had to paint the topper in silver to help pull the look together. So when I was told that my cousin, Bianca, was having a baby shower and her theme was "modern, zoo, blue and gray", my inner crafter gave a small tortured sigh.

But luckily, while picking up the diapers, I came across a plush gray giraffe. It was the perfect size for a topper, wonderfully soft, and a nice unassuming gray.

Since I wasn't sure the shade of blue that the theme was going to be with, I decided to take liberties and pick my own. Because of the giraffe's neutral pastel shades, I wanted to contrast it with some nice dark navy blue. And then add some punch and brightness with a bit of aqua blue.

Surprisingly, I already had ribbon that included these colors, with a pattern of round flower shapes that was reminiscent of the giraffe's spots. To break up all the round shapes, I used blue and white striped ribbon in the middle of all the other layers for some added interest.

I got flowers in the same colors, including more of the gray tulle rosettes with pearl centers that I had used in Margaret Grace's cake to add more gray to the overall arrangement since the color was only in the giraffe and barely noticeable hints in the background of the ribbon. I love that the ribbon had a bit of orange here and there, which were also seen in the centers of some of the smaller flowers.

To tie the giraffe back again to the rest of the cake, I tied a little bit of blue ribbon around its neck.

Although I had flowers of varying sizes in the cake, I still feel that a large flower would have helped bring a little more focus to the arrangement. Or, adding a bit more pops of orange would have helped with adding some contrast. But overall, I was happy with the cake. And by mere luck, it matched the colors at the baby shower!

Comments

Applique Evening Cape

When we got invited to RJ's cousin's wedding, it was decided that the family would wear black so that we would all be coordinated for family photos. Now I normally wear quite a bit of black, but usually not in formal wear, and especially not for a wedding. It's the one time I like to get super girly and pick out bright colors or florals and go all out with the jewelry. In fact, before learning about the black palette, I had pictured wearing a ballgown with an illusion style bodice embroidered all over with flowers. After a few sessions of trying to find a black dress that wasn't boring or unflattering, I decided that maybe I would try to put together what I wanted. So I spent a few hours combing Amazon and found a sheer black cape and several beautiful appliques in the craft section. I ordered several, most embroidered flowers in various colors, from cherry and magnolia blossoms to orchids and roses. In the end, I skipped the flowers and went with peacock f...

Caleb's Sketchbook

Like all kids, my nephew loves to draw. He scribbles and colors. And every so often I get a present of a drawing made just for me. I wanted to encourage the hobby, and also give him a way to keep it collected and see how his drawing improves over time. So I bought him a sketchbook and decided to decorate it and make it feel special, like each of those wonderful sketches that he gave to me. I had picked the hardback black sketchbook because it was sturdy and durable. But not as expensive as some premium artist sketchbooks can be. Unfortunately, the black color made it near impossible to draw on, so I had to track down some metallic Sharpies, which come in limited colors. I contemplated the design for a while, and because of the metal shine of the markers, I ended up getting inspiration from the stars. I thought it was appropriate, after all, art is only limited by the imagination, as boundless as the expanse space and filled with wonder.

Bakery Themed Wooden Cooking Utensils

My good friend, Danielle, is a master baker of cupcakes. When the Cake Expo came to Orlando last year, we went together to attend some classes, watch some live competitions, and view the amazing entries into the decorating contests. So when her birthday rolled around this year, I wanted to do something bakery themed. Perusing Pinterest for some unique gift ideas, I came across images of wooden spoons with designs burned into them. Quieting the voices in my head that told me I would just end up burning my skin off, I looked into what it took to do Pyrography. Basically, you need a wood burning tool, some tips for the tool, and something to burn. Control of the tool involves managing how long the tool touches the wood. Pressure shouldn't be used to burn the wood because it just causes the tips to bend while they're hot. Some tools allow you to adjust the temperature that they heat up to. It seemed rather simple. So I bought some inexpensive bamboo cooking utensils, a rather...

The Crafty Red Rabbit

Search This Blog