Welcome Spring!

Hi everyone!  Long time, no blog!  A lot has happened since the last time I wrote on here.  I gave birth to our son, Zachary, in December, right before Christmas.  Needless to say, I have had my hands full with him and that has left little time for Diaper Cake Making.  :)   I have slowly started to create some new designs and have decided to tweak my diaper cake products a little bit.  I am still in the beginning stages of planning and pricing, but I will be posting more details about all of this soon! 

Basically, if I dont use it, it is not going to be included on one of the cakes I design, unless someone specifically requests it.  As a new mommy, I have found certain products and brands that I love and use on a daily basis.  I want to only include these types of items in my cakes.

I created a couple of large cakes in the last month.  One for my friend Melissa who just had her second daughter.  I made a large 4 tier cake - the largest cake I offer.  WOW!!  IT IS HUGE!  If you want a show stopper and diapers for 2 weeks, this is the option for you! :)   The second cake I made went to a lucky new mommy out in NYC.  It was a Springtime theme and had all sorts of fun colors, a 4 peice outfit and a stuffed animal.   This is just a small taste of the direction my cakes are going in for 2012!

Spring Has Sprung!

Spring has officially sprung here in Indianapolis, Sunny days, stormy nights and blossoming trees -- we are enjoying the outdoors more and have had the windows open to let in the fresh, warm air.  :)  

Some of my cakes have also had more of a Spring flair to them lately.  This ADORABLE large 3 tier cake is full of ducks!  It includes a 4 piece Carter's outfit - Sleeper/Cap/Bib/Socks, an Avent Pacifier, Carter's blanket and a Baby Gund Duck plush animal.  This cake is currently for sale and will make an appearance at the event I am participating in, Ladies Evening Out, on May 5th.  Interested?  Send me an email for pricing smilinggirldesigns@gmail.com.

This other adorable bunny cake just shouts, 'Welcome Spring!  The cute plush bunny atop this large 2 tier cake and all of the fun colors really just make me smile--the bunny looks pretty happy too!

I hope you are all enjoying a nice start to your Spring!

Looking for a hip baby shower gift, but not sure what to get?  Get that mod mom a chic Smiling Girl Designs Diaper Cake!  

This black and white cake is for an Evansville, IN mommy-to-be/interior designer.  I was told black and white and we added a pop of red which really makes it stand out!  This is actually a red collared onesie (OH MY, the cuteness is overwhelming!).  The Zebra is a Mary Meyer 'Pufferbellies'.  I was really happy with this way this cake turned out...ultra chic for the mommy-to-be!

The green and brown cake is for another fashion-forward mommy-to-be.  The shower theme is greens and browns.  One of my good friends had this cake made for her sister in law's baby shower and plans to use it as her table centerpiece.  The blankets are from the mommy-to-be's registry and the onesie matched perfectly (all Carter's brand products!)  Love this!  So simple and elegant.  :)

Great Gift for a Client who is Expecting

What a great way to show your client how much you appreciate their business.  (that is, if they are expecting a baby in the near future)  :)  These two cakes were given to two lucky mommies to be from a local business.

This particular client was very open to any sort of cake I wanted to make.  She told me colorful and fun and set a budget for me of $65.00 per cake.  I had a ball!  The first cake is another one of the popular Jungle cakes I have had lately...I really do love this theme!  I used a Ty Monkey stuffed animal, 3 piece Gerber layette set and a coordinating Carter's flannel receiving blanket. 

The second cake I made was also a Jungle theme cake (surprise!) and full of fun toys for the new baby!  Another Bright Starts cake full of more toys than ever before.  Topped off with a fun Elephant crinkle rattle and adorned with wrist rattles, a bar bell rattle, keys, teething rings and a pacifier and wrapped in colorful ribbon, I think we accomplished 'colorful' on this one.  ;)

New design and a double order!

Phew!  Catching up on some long-overdue blogging.  :)  The other day, I received a request for 2 cakes.  One was for a last minute shower 2 days from the request, the other was to be sent out on Tuesday.

The cake for the shower she was going to was to be a 'Girlie Cake'.  I decided to use pink and brown because I love that color combination and think it is just stunning!  :)  This is a small 2 tier cake with a single blanket flower and a onesie. Super cute!

The second cake was shipped to Texas for a shower gift.  My instructions were to make it 'Under the Sea' theme for a boy.  I found a CUTE set of 3 washcloths with a whale scrubbie for bath time.  I tried out a new type of flower--the wash cloth flower!  I absolutely love this one!  Between the new design and the fun colors, it is so striking and so fun!

Both cakes were ready the following evening and the woman who placed the order was thrilled with the results!  Excited to be working with her again soon!

Work is a Jungle!

One of my cakes was used last week at a work baby shower and the girl who planned the shower was kind enough to share a photo with me of the table decorations!  (aren't they cute!)   I love how she used the baby wipes as balloon anchors and the rings as the confetti.

This diaper cake is just so fun and colorful!  The mommy and daddy-to-be have decided to keep the gender of their baby a surprise.  My instructions were 'very colorful and gender neutral'.  I used some of my favorite Carter's blankets and a coordinating Gerber onesie and bib (on back of cake) and just love the way it turned out! 

Congratulations to the soon-to-be parents -- I am so happy you loved your Smiling Girl Designs diaper cake!

Future Football All-American

This cake is everything football!  :)  My good friend, Sarah, ordered her second cake from me a couple months ago.  She told me that her friends husband is a HUGE Colts fan--so, anything Blue and anything Football would be great.  

This cake was fun and challenging at the same time.  It is Spring, so there are all sorts of Baseball baby items out--not a whole lot of Football though!  I turned to Amazon.com and found the most adorable knit hat, made by Mud Pie...it looks like a football...really adorable!  My go-to-bear!  I love this Chocolate and Blue Mary Meyer bear.  He comes in pink too and both have been featured as the topper to many of my cakes because they are a great size and they are SO soft!  I also found a 'Little Colts Fan' bib, which is displayed on the back of the cake...Thank you Amazon.com.  :)  

The football rattle and Football themed creeper were a great find when I was out shopping one day!  It was the last football hand rattle left.  :)  I am so thrilled with the results and it reminds me...hard work will ALWAYS pay off in the end.  Sarah loves the cake and that was my end-game goal.  :)

Jungle Fun!

 Monkeys, Giraffes and Elephants...oh my!  The Jungle theme has taken over Smiling Girl Designs this past week (there is one more Monkey cake on the way later this month!) but I just had to write a quick blog about these 3 because they are just so darn cute!

The Jungle/Safari theme is perfect for a neutral nursery.  Not only are the colors fun, but the animals are so adorable and there is such a wide variety of things you can do and add to your cake when you use the generic 'Jungle' theme.

Think about all of the fun things you could do to decorate at a baby shower you are throwing with a jungle theme!  Of course, this would include your jungle theme diaper cake from Smiling Girl Designs.

I have had a few questions about how to order one of my diaper cakes lately.  If you are interested in ordering a diaper cake, go to the 'Request a Quote' page of my website and fill in the form.  I will get back to you quickly with any questions and a quote.  :)

Have a great night!

Packaged up with a Smile

I would suggest the Large 3 Tier cake size to anyone who asks!   It is truly stunning and my favorite cake size!   I love them all but this one just hits me a little differently. :)

This one is being shipped to North Carolina in transit to new parents who welcomed their baby girl into the world earlier this week.  I think they will love it!  The Large 3 Tier cake has 90 diapers which should last them well over a week and a half.  I used my favorite bear again...it is so soft and sweet.   

This month, my husband and I have packaged and shipped 6 cakes around the country!  Virginia, Texas, Florida, Colorado and now North Carolina!   Ah, the wonders of Social Media Marketing.  :)   It thrills me to know that my company is going to be receiving exposure at baby showers around the country and humbles me to know I am helping create something for a new/expecting mother that she will always remember.  A gift she will love.

SGD has been something I have been able to use as my creative outlet...I really enjoy designing each cake and bringing a smile to client's faces when they see it for the first time.  :)  I also love all of the support my husband has given me since I started SGD...from designing my business cards and website to finding shipping boxes and helping out with the 'man stuff' side of the business.  :)  

Thanks for all of the support everyone, it means the world to me!

New Site and a New Cake

Wow, a new look to my site.  I really love it!!  I walked downstairs last Saturday to see what my husband, Basili, was up to.  He was working on designing a new, clean look for my website!  :)  TA DA!

He is so patient with me and is my perfect match (I know, BLAH!  haha).  Being the perfectionist I am, there were lots of little tweaks here and there, but he made it better than I had envisioned! 

Shameless plug time!!!!   If you need a website designed or new logo for your company, I will be happy to put you in touch with my husband or you can check out his website and send him an email.  :) 

One of the cakes I made this weekend was for a girl I grew up with/was in youth groups/choirs with at church.  She saw my cakes on Facebook and submitted an order.  I was so excited to hear from her again after all these years!  She requested a girlie cake with a red and pink color scheme.  I have seen a lot of this color combination lately...the lady bug theme is the 'cute bug' nursery theme of the season.  I knew I had to use it, they are just so darn cute!  I paired the lady bug ribbon and the lady bug blanket flower together with some bright pinks to really set it off...I just love this!

I am shipping this to the mommy to be in Florida, so unfortunately, my friend won't be able to see it in person...but she loved the photo!  :)

Have a great Saturday!

'Lil Soccer Superstar!

I was so excited to make this cake for one of my sorority sisters who lives in the Indianapolis area.  She was throwing a shower for a friend and wanted to decorate with a diaper cake from Smiling Girl Designs.  :)

The daddy-to-be loves soccer and the colors for the shower were lime green and blue.  This cake was super cute and I am sure it was a huge hit at the party! 

This 2 tier cake has 30 Pampers diapers, a Gund Plush Soccer Ball Rattle and a onesie. 

All Smiling Girl Designs cakes come wrapped in cellophane with coordinating bow.  A custom ingredient card for each cake is attached to the outside so the parents to be can see everything included in your beautiful gift! 

Thanks Katie!!  :)

All Star Cake

Last weekend, I went to a shower for my friend Marie who is expecting a baby boy in October!  I can't believe how fast time has flown by since she announced the pregnancy at our monthly girls night.  :)  Marie told me she and her husband decided on a Sports theme for the nursery.  FANTASTIC! 

I went shopping and found the cutest 'Travel Pals' that can be attached to a stroller or car seat, a cute plush soccer ball rattle and some fun sporty cloths for the new little all star to wear.  It was a lot of fun to give her the cake I am sure it will come in handy here in the next couple of months!

At the top of the cake in this picture is something new I have added--a recipe card!  Each of the cakes will come with a recipe card which will tell the recipient everything that is included on the cake--contents, sizes, brands, etc.  SO much fun and what a great keepsake!

My friend, Mandy, who is a professional photographer was nice enough to take these photos for me for my site (she kept saying she is not a product photographer, she is a people photographer, so please keep that in mind)--I think the photos look great!  I wish my camera was that nice! 

Congratulations Marie and Steve!  I cant wait to meet your son!

The SUPER cute Mommy-to-Be and her Smiling Girl Diaper Cake!

Gave a Diaper Cake Today...

...and it was a HUGE hit!  :)  My cousin's wife had her baby shower today and I gave her a 4 tier cake with a teddy bear, travel size toiletry items, 2 onesies, a pair of socks, 2 wash cloths and a plush frog rattle and 2 pacifiers that were on her registry.  :) 

The top two tiers of this cake are newborn size diapers and the bottom two layers are size 1 so the new mommy and daddy will have a variety of sizes to use as their baby girl grows. 

Not only is this a great way to display all of your gifts, it is all useful...and useful right away! 

2-3-4-5 tier cakes...you tell me what you want...and I will provide you with a memorable, show-stopping baby shower gift that the soon-to-be mommy and guests are sure to love! 

Baby Shower Planners!!  Dont forget about your table centerpieces!  Check out our 2-tier cakes--these would be the perfect way to accent your tables and will be great for the new mommy to use when the shower is over.  Just let me know your shower color scheme and I will get to work!  :)

Keep smiling and have a great Saturday!!

New Cake for Sale!--Reduced Price!!

Colors?  Yes, Please!   I love bright, fun colors for kids!  The bugs on this cake are absolutely adorable!  One of them can be clipped to a car seat or stroller...the other two are easy to hold--all of them crinkle and are great for teething. 

I made this cake with 60 Pampers (size 1-2) diapers, wrapped it with bright, colorful ribbon and topped it with a fun yellow flower--all which complement the cute bugs!

If you are interested in purchasing this cake for someone, the cost is NOW $45.00.  Just let me know, the cake is wrapped and ready to go, today!

Keep smiling  :)

3 Tier Cake

I had an e-mail in my inbox this morning from a woman who is going in with her co-workers to purchase a diaper cake!  What a great idea!  She wanted a specific kind of diaper, which I absolutely loved working with...I love they way they look on the finished product too.  :)  We ended up using 2 layers of new born diapers and 1 layer of size 1 diapers, so the new mom will have a variety of sizes to use.  We customized this cake even further with a cute teddy bear and travel size toiletry items.

The 3 tier cakes start at $40.00 and include 60 diapers (your choice of size).  Items can be added a-la-carte and you can choose from onesies, socks, stuffed animal, toiletries (set of 5), 2 baby wash clothes, pacifier, bottle brush, flannel blanket, rattle, etc.  If you have another idea, just let me know and we will see about making it happen!

Tonight was a lot of fun, really enjoyed making this cake and I hope they love it as much as I do!  :)

Have a great night and keep Smiling.  :)