Rose petal votive candle holder

This is a cute little rose petal candle holder you can make out of felt rose petals. Here is what you do:

Materials needed:
Felt rose petals (or silk ones would be just as good)
Glass votive holders
Hot glue gun / glue sticks
General purpose craft glue

Instructions:
1. Start by gluing individual rose petals to the botton of the glass votive in a circular pattern.
2. Keep adding petals until you reach the desired width. This creates a base to work from.
3. Then add petals in a circular pattern on top of the base, working your way up the glass holder. Hot glue the petals to each other - not to the glass. Be careful not to glue the petals too close to the top. You don't want them to catch on fire when the candle is lit!
4. Once you have glued all the petals, carefully peel the entire rose petal holder off the bottom of the glass holder. Using a general purpose craft glue, place a generous amount in the bottom on the rose petal holder and place it back on the bottom of the glass holder. The reason for this is that once you light the candle, the hot glue will not hold the petals to the glass due to the heat of the flame.
5. Place your choice of any votive candle inside and enjoy.

Party Favors -- Hershey Kisses

Who doesn't love chocolate? Hershey's is the chocolate that everyone knows and loves, and so will your guests!

These little drops of yumminess have been putting a smile on people’s faces since the early 1900’s. Sprinkle these treats on tables to add sparkle to your occasion or arrange kisses in unique vases or bowls and use as centerpieces. However you choose to spread these little favors make sure you have enough……after all one kiss is NEVER enough!

An added special touch is to have your customized message printed on a Hershey's kiss. Follow these instructions to make your own personalized labels:

1. Download template from HERE.
2. Open template in Microsoft Word.
3. Insert your own personalized message and/or graphic into the label template.
4. Print labels using Avery label # 5408. I purchased mine from Office Max. There are 24 labels on each sheet.
5. Simply peel and stick to the bottom of Hershey Kisses.

The labels can also be used on Starlight mints, Mini Rolo's and individual wrapped Lifesavers.

Baby Shower Favors

Baby shower party favors are one of those nice touches at the baby shower. Favors do not have to be complicated and can be virtually anything. They can be edible, useful, or sentimental, just be creative as much as you can. The only limitation is your imagination!

I made this bookmark for my sister’s baby shower. The baby stamp is from Stampin’ Up. I printed off the quote and then stamped the image and used colored pencils to decorate. I inserted the bookmarks into a clear plastic sleeve. Guests can add their own bookmarks later and use over and over. I purchased the sleeves here. The tassels are sold separately.

The quote says: "I’m really glad that you could come to my mommy and daddy’s shower. Sit down, relax, enjoy yourself and chat with one another. Sorry I can’t be with you, but you see I’m very busy because I’m growing more each hour. I’ll be arriving shortly. I’m happy as can be, so after I’ve been home a while – please come visit me!"

Other favors I have made include:
Tea Bags – make your own paper wrappers with the words “A Baby is Brewing!” Add the date and name of the mother.

Popcorn – make your own paper wrappers with the saying “Baby (Last Name) is Popping in!”

Candles – make labels for the top of a tin that holds a candle. You can often find these for $1.00 each. Or wrap ribbon/yarn around the outside of the tin. Add a tag with the date and name of the mother.

Seeds – place wildflower seeds in a tiny envelope. Make a label that says, “Please plant these seeds and watch them bloom, just like baby (Last Name) who will be here soon!”

Bookmarks – avid readers always appreciate bookmarks. Print your own with the saying, “This bookmark is given to remember (Mom’s name) new chapter in life. Thank you for sharing in this special day!”

Diaper Cake

A diaper cake is a wonderfully creative gift for an expectant mother. It is a collection of diapers (either disposable or cloth) rolled and stacked together to resemble a traditional tiered cake. There can be 1, 2, 3 or more tiers. The tiers of diaper cakes can also be decorated with baby care items such as bibs, pacifiers, baby socks, bottles, toys, and more.

After seeing all the photos online of diaper cakes, I just had to try and make one.

Here are the directions on how I did it:

Supplies:
50 to 60 diapers
Ribbon at least 2-inches wide
50 to 60 clear, small rubber bands
A sturdy core piece – a heavy cardboard tube, a baby bottle, or lotion bottle
Decorations – silk flowers, baby items such as pacifiers, bottles, bibs, miniature stuffed animals, etc.

A cardboard or plastic cake platter for the base. The base needs to be sturdy. It can be made of cardboard or metal or even glass. It must be strong enough to carry the weight of the cake. You can buy pre-made sizes or cut cardboard to fit. If you are cutting it yourself make sure that you do not use the any box folds in the circle you cut. The fold will not support the weight. You can cut exact size of the finished layers or leave a little extra around it for decorating purposes.

Assembly:
The first thing you need to do is have a way to secure the diapers once they are rolled up. Some people use ribbon, clear rubber bands, or tape; be careful with this so the diapers are still useable. Roll the diapers and put ribbon or clear rubber bands to hold them in place. This will take the most time. The rest of the assembly will go quickly once they are all rolled up.

Roll the diapers in a manner to have any outside edge decoration facing inward. Try to place the rubber bands in the middle of each diaper. The idea is for the rubber bands not to show in the final piece. It will be easier to cover it with ribbon if they are approximately all in the same place.

Putting the cake together:
The bottom of a three tier cake will need 2 layers of diapers around a center focal point. I used a sturdy cardboard tube for the center piece. Tie a ribbon around each layer to make the next layer easier to construct. When you have the center piece and 2 surrounding layers together, tie it with ribbon to keep in one place.

Repeat this with the second and top layers. The top layer will only be 1 circle of diapers. You may need to put an additional center piece in for the top layer if your cardboard tube or bottle is not tall enough.

Decorating:Use ribbon and final materials to give the cake a finishing touch. I prefer the finished piece to look more like a real cake. So I chose silk flowers, ribbon, and tulle as my only decorations. I just tucked the stems of the flowers in between a few of the rubber bands. No glue! You want the mother-to-be to be able to disassemble your gift and actually use it. I used a purchased stuffed animal/blanket combo for the top of the cake.

If you are a visual person like me, watching a video really helps with the construction. I liked this one -- video.

A Quick Baby Shower Invitation

Have you ever needed to make an invitation quickly? That was my dilemma and they needed to be fairly simple since I was making 20. I could have resorted to an e-mail invitation, but there is just something nicer about a traditional paper invitation. Browsing through the racks of scrapbook paper at the store, I came upon an idea of using a clear overlay of baby words from Creative Imaginations. I used a green paper from Die Cuts With a View for the background. For all the inside details of where and when, I printed those out and glued it inside. Done!

Upcycling contest

I entered the Upcycling contest sponsored by Singer/Craft Magazine and was chosen as a runner-up! I created baby shower decorations using a pair of old jeans, stash ribbon and paper napkins. Check it on on their website.

Instructions:

Invitation -- use a blank greeting card, stitch ribbon, jean material, and paper napkin to front of card using zig-zag stich.

Centerpiece -- cut out two squares from old jeans, stitch sides together to create a bag, insert ivy and flowers, tie with ribbon, and cut out paper napkin elephant graphic and glue on front of bag.

Favor bags -- cut out small squares from old jeans and stitch sides together to create small bags, fill with candy, tie with ribbon, cut out elephant graphic from napkin and glue on front of bag.

Banner -- cut out denim squares and paper napkins with pinking shears. Stitch paper napkin squares to denim using zig-zag stitch. Cut small slits in corner of denim squares and thread ribbon through, tying knots at each slit.