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Saturday, August 29, 2009

For this to be a diaper cake blog....

I realized today that, for this to be a diaper cake blog, there sure aren't many pictures of my diaper cakes on here! So, here are a few of the cakes I have made for you to enjoy! Please visit Diaper Cakes by Wendy for even more boutique spiral style diaper cakes, and also washcloth lollipops, washcloth candies, diaper cupcakes, washcloth butterflies, diaper butterflies, and much more!






Monday, August 24, 2009

Craft Show Pictures

As promised, here are photos from mine and Linda's first craft show together! My table definitely looked much better this time than my first show! Both of us were super tired though, as we had been up all night just doing the finishing touches and making a few things, maybe we would have done better had we not been so tired! Well we know for the next show to get plenty of rest, also if we do this one next year, we won't be staying the night out there, we will just leave home super early to get there in time, that will save a lot of money! let me know what you think of everything!



Sunday, August 23, 2009

Soo tired!!

Well, the craft show I have been talking about forever is over now, it was yesterday and I am beat! All that planning, all that freaking out about not having much stuff made, all that excitement, and I ended up bringing most of my stuff back home and not making a profit after booth fee, travel costs, etc...

But it's okay, I am not giving up and I have another craft show in less than a month, the 2009 Lexington FunFest. I guess I need to start keeping notes on what shows are like once I participate in them. I would do this show over again, I just would not put near as much into it next time, that way I am walking away with a profit, not a loss.

I will be posting pictures later, right now I am just too tired!!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Just So You Know

I joined a message board the other day, it is a place where people can just chat with other people in their area. Well someone was asking about how it is to live in this town so I replied to their post and told them a couple things I have experienced living here, including the bad things. Well apparently I pissed someone off and they have decided to go around posting fake reviews about me saying I suck and I am cheesy and my cakes are awful. I am ashamed that this person even lives where I live, shows how mature the folks around here are. Anyways, please let it be known that these reviews are fake and just the acts of some childish person who did not like the fact that I said something not nice and sunshiney about a couple of businesses in this town.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Beautiful Rainbow!!

I was just outside after a small storm and looked up to see this HUGE rainbow, I have never seen one so big, I couldn't get the whole thing in one picture, but here are a couple of pictures to show it off!





Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Factory Road Solutions Review

I love the idea of not using chemicals when at all possible so for the longest I have been looking for a good chemical free deodorant that actually works. Well boy have I found it! I was searching on eBay and came across Factory Road Solutions homemade all natural cream body deodorant. In the listing it says it is so effective you can skip a day. Of course I was skeptical because honestly I sweat a lot. I have bought all the super strong deodorants out the store, even tried Certain Dri, and nothing works. I will smell good for about 15 minutes after leaving the house only to smell funky a little later. And let me tell you, funky and flowery don't mix well! Soo I ordered this homemade deodorant, I didn't like the sound of any of the scents listed so I emailed the seller and asked if I could get just plain vanilla and they so graciously agreed to do this for me, much to my delight. I got the deodorant and used it after my next shower. It WORKS, better than anything I have tried. Of course I don't go out and sweat all day and work hard so I got Jimmy to try it too. He is a welder and works in 100 plus degrees all day long. Well, it works for him too, he loves it! I am absolutely taken away by this stuff and will NOT be buying anything else as long as it is available! Please go check it out and consider buying some, you will be doing something good for yourself (store bought deodorant contains aluminum, very deadly plus it can cause breast cancer and other bad side effects) but you will also love the way it works, I guarantee it!! Just go here to see the listing!!

How to Make a Washcloth Lollipop

My original post got buried so I wanted to re-post this for any who need it! All links below on how to make washcloth lollipops, how to make boo boo bunnies, how to make diaper butterflies, how to choose the right diaper cake, how to market and sell your diaper cakes, how to make baby shower punch, and how to throw the perfect baby shower!

Please let me know what you think of these articles, I hope they are helpful and would appreciate feedback on how you like them for all the time I put into them. :)

How to make a washcloth lollipop

How to make a diaper butterfly

How to make a boo boo bunny

How to market and sell diaper cakes

How to throw the perfect baby shower

How to make the perfect baby shower punch

Diaper Cakes by Wendy

Monday, August 17, 2009

Children's Vaccinations

I am one of those crazy people who it totally against vaccines. Of course my children still get them because they are forced to, but I am not happy about it. They are not monitored enough before use and then they are still used even after they kill many children. There is absolutely not enough done to ensure they are safe for our children. Of course I have read all the statistics but they do not make me feel better one bit. The CDC thinks it is okay to kill a few children, give a few autism, and make a few brain dead just because it doesn't happen that often. What if that was your child? Then they say it happens SOO rarely, like 1 in 1.5 million children. This is bull, as I personally have spoken with several people whose child has gotten Autism from the MMR vaccine. I do not know 1.5 million people, so how is this possible? Anyway, here is some information I got off the CDC website.

DTaP Vaccine:

Severe Problems (Very Rare)
Serious allergic reaction (less than 1 out of a million doses) Several other severe problems have been reported after DTaP vaccine. These include:

  • Long-term seizures, coma, or lowered consciousness
  • Permanent brain damage.
Influenza Vaccine:

In 1976, a certain type of influenza (swine flu) vaccine was associated with Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS). Since then, flu vaccines have not been clearly linked to GBS. However, if there is a risk of GBS from current flu vaccines, it would be no more than 1 or 2 cases per million people vaccinated. This is much lower than the risk of severe influenza, which can be prevented by vaccination. (If the people who make the vaccine do not even know what they are talking about, how can we trust them?)

MMR Vaccine:

Moderate Problems

  • Seizure (jerking or staring) caused by fever (about 1 out of 3,000 doses)
  • Temporary pain and stiffness in the joints, mostly in teenage or adult women (up to 1 out of 4)
  • Temporary low platelet count, which can cause a bleeding disorder (about 1 out of 30,000 doses)

Severe Problems (Very Rare)

  • Serious allergic reaction (less than 1 out of a million doses)
  • Several other severe problems have been known to occur after a child gets MMR vaccine. But this happens so rarely, experts cannot be sure whether they are caused by the vaccine or not. These include:
    • Deafness
    • Long-term seizures, coma, or lowered consciousness
    • Permanent brain damage

Meningoccal Vaccine:

Severe problems

  • Serious allergic reactions, within a few minutes to a few hours of the shot, are very rare.
  • A serious nervous system disorder called Guillain-BarrĂ© Syndrome (or GBS) has been reported among some people who received MCV4.

Smallpox Vaccine:


Moderate to Severe Problems

  • Serious eye infection, or loss of vision, due to spread of vaccine virus to the eye.
  • Rash on entire body (as many as 1 per 4,000).
  • Severe rash on people with eczema (as many as 1 per 26,000).
  • Encephalitis (severe brain reaction), which can lead to permanent brain damage (as many as 1 per 83,000).
  • Severe infection beginning at the vaccination site (as many as 1 per 667,000, mostly in people with weakened immune systems).
  • Death (1-2 per million, mostly in people with weakened immune systems).

For every million people vaccinated, between 14 and 52 could have a life-threatening reaction to smallpox vaccine.

People who come in direct contact with the vaccination site of a vaccinated person, or with materials that have touched the site, can also have a reaction. This is from exposure to virus from the vaccination site.


Feel free to check out this website here. And notice how every time they say something bad, like it could kill you, they go on to reassure you that it is rare, but rare is not good. People are dying every day from vaccines, I believe they need to be made safer, but then again, like I said, I am crazy. Please share your thoughts.

How to Link to an Individual Tweet on Twitter

My newest eHow article! If you are trying to figure out how to link to an individual Tweet, look no further! Click here to read the article!

Here is my Twitter profile, follow me!

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Stonyfield Farms Toddler Meals Giveaway!

A Happy Hippy Mom is hosting a great giveaway for Stonyfield Farm, go to this link to check it out and enter to win!

Walmart Your Zone $500 Giftcard Giveaway

A Happy Hippy Mom is hosting a GREAT giveaway for a $500 Your Zone room makeover gift card! Walmart generously gave her a gift card to makeover her daughter's room and she got some really cool Your Zone stuff, now she is giving one away to one of her lucky readers! Head on over to this link to check it out and enter for your chance to win!

Thursday, August 13, 2009

We got our spot info!!

Linda and i got our spot information for the Summerfest! I have spot number 100 and she has spot number 101. :) We will be located on the north end of Congress Street, my booth will be the first (or last depending on which way you come down the road) booth on the corner, and Linda will be right next to me. :)

This is perfect for those of you residing in Charlotte, NC who are looking to buy diaper cakes, baby shower favors, little girl hair bows, or any other baby shower needs as both Diaper Cakes by Wendy and Linda's Hair Candy will be here at the York SC Summerfest. It is a short ride from Charlotte, please visit this link for more info!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Why NOT to buy a Birthday cake from Wal-Mart!!

So, Friday was my birthday and my Mom decided to buy me a birthday cake. This is in no way against her, it's not her fault at all, but here is my Wal-Mart birthday cake. What do you see wrong with this picture?






And, in case you didn't catch it, here is a hint!



Apparently the cake decorator at that Wal-Mart is not from America and doesn't speak good English. Go figure.

Digg this blog post here!!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Happy Birthday to Me!!

Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me, happy birthday dear Wendy, happy birthday to me!

Hehe! And for those who are wondering, I am 24 years old now! :)

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Huggies Pure & Natural Diapers Review

Since diapers are pretty much my life due to making diaper cakes, I like to stay on top of what is new, what is best, and what Moms prefer. So of course when Huggies came out with a new diaper, Huggies Pure & Natural, I had to give it a try. My daughter it 19 months old and wears a size 5 or 6 diaper. I only saw the Pure & Natural up to a 5 so that is what I got.

First let me start off by saying I do NOT like Huggies at all. I tried them with my son (he is 5 now) and I did not like them then either. But just thought I would give the new ones a try. I liked the fact that they are made with organic cotton and that they are hypoallergenic, although my daughter doesn't necessarily have sensitive skin.

When I first opened the pack I noticed how soft the diapers are. They are soft to the touch (not quite as much so as Pampers Swaddlers though) but they are also squishy soft, almost like a cloth diaper. They are also soft colored, as they use less dyes in it then the regular Huggies. My opinion on this is that if a Mom is worried about the dyes in a diaper, she is unlikely to buy this one just because it has LESS, when she could just get cloth diapers that have NONE, so if this was a concern for Huggies they should have made the diapers white.

So I put the diaper on my daughter, it is the correct size but the fit is bad, just they way Huggies in general are shaped do not conform well to baby's bodies, the back of the waistband doesn't even touch her skin even with the diaper fastened securely. So at the first diaper change I noticed the cotton in the diaper bunched up very, very badly, which is one of the reasons I dislike Huggies. All Huggies do it, but these do it worse. Also, when I changed the diaper, my daughter's skin was very wet. I did not leave the diaper on her too long, it just does not absorb the wetness away from her skin very well at all.

That was how the daytime use went. So I tried it overnight. My daughter sleeps about 14 hours at night, but never wakes ups with an extremely wet diaper. These diapers are a very bad choice for overnight use. She woke up with her pants and bed soaked, her skin extremely wet, and her diaper area smelled foul.

The velcro fasteners on these diapers are also very weak and do not hold well at all.

So to sum it up, I do NOT recommend the Huggies Pure & Natural diapers. If you like to think you are helping your baby or the environment by buying them, please consider switching to cloth diapers. My daughter has 2 cloth diapers and just those save us a lot of money each month, and also save a lot of diapers from going into landfills.

So needless to say I will never be using these on my daughter again once this pack is gone, and I will never be making any diaper cakes with them either. I will be sticking to luvs for my daughter and Luvs for my diaper cakes as well, they are by far THE BEST diapers I have tried, and I have tried them all!

Diaper Cakes by Wendy

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Ohhh My First Review!!

This is so cool! The winner of my most recent washcloth lollipop and washcloth candy giveaway has blogged about me! And she has such a way with words, it was so neat to read this and it be about me! Check out her blog, it is wonderful, with reviews, giveaways, and more!

Diaper Cakes by Wendy Review
Mom Gone Witty

Monday, August 3, 2009

Things To Consider When Buying a Diaper Cake

How to buy a diaper cake

I must admit I look around the internet very often at other diaper cakes and sometimes get pretty mad at what I find. I just want to write a quick guide on what to look for when deciding to purchase a diaper cake for a loved one's (or your own) upcoming baby shower.


First things first, look at the style of the diaper cake. There are pretty much 2 styles you can choose from - the candle roll type, where every individual diaper is rolled up and stood up in the tiers, or there is the spiral type, which can be made in a variety of ways. The best one by far is the spiral style cake. The reason for this is because, if you give a rolled type, the Mom is going to have to unroll every single diaper before she uses it. Most people secure them with rubber bands, some with ribbons, either way, it is a pain having to take every diaper apart (I got one of these types for my baby shower) before using it.
Then there is the spiral style. Different people make these different ways. Some people start in the middle, adding layers of diapers as they go around, until each tier is the desired size. There is nothing wrong with this, but the Mom will still have some work to do before she can use the diapers, as she will have to untie each layer and stack them up herself as she goes.
Then there is the boutique spiral style cake, this is the best kind. But beware, many people call their cakes boutique spiral style diaper cakes although they are not. This may be to mislead buyers, or it may be because they do not know the difference, that is not my call to make, I am just saying beware. The boutique spiral style cake is absolutely the easiest to use, the diapers will have been handled the least, and it is super easy to take apart when the time come. Here at Diaper Cakes by Wendy, I make my cakes so all you have to do is untie the whole tier and there you have a whole stack of diapers, ready to use, nice and neat.

The next thing you should be looking for is the brand of diapers used in the diaper cake. If you do not see a brand listed, this is usually a good indicator that they have used low quality, store brand diapers in the cake. If you are unsure, always ask first. I know very, very few new Moms who are willing to use cheap diapers on their newborn, so while your gift may be cute, it will be a waste of money because the Mom is unlikely to actually use the diapers. Huggies, Pampers, and Luvs are all good brands. You may want to ask the new Mom what she prefers, or if you want to surprise her, just make sure you get good diapers. I use Luvs for a couple of reasons. One is because I am a Mom and I have tried just about every diaper out there on my two children. I do not like Huggies because they leaked on both of my children, and the padding bunches up in them badly. I do like Pampers, but not the Swaddlers. They get really puffy and leave gel on baby's skin, which is hard to remove with a wipe. Pampers Cruisers are the exact same diaper as the Swaddlers, they are just made in larger sizes, while the Swaddlers are made in smaller sizes. Pampers Baby Dry are good diapers, they conform to baby's shape and they absorb well without leaving gel on baby or getting too puffy. They don't make a good diaper cake choice though as they have print all over them, making for a cluttered looking cake. Luvs is the EXACT same diaper as the Pampers Baby Dry, but they are white on the back, making for a perfect diaper cake diaper choice. If you do a little research, you will find that Luvs and Pampers are made by the same company, PG. They are the same diaper, sold under a different name and at a better price. This allows me to use excellent diapers while also keeping my prices affordable. I would NEVER use anything on my baby shower creations that I would not use on my own baby.

Next thing to look at is the diaper size. If you have children of your own or know anyone with children, you may already know many babies are born big. My son was born at 7 pounds 15 ounces, and my daughter was 8 pounds 9 ounces, so they were both pretty big! Newborn diapers are only for babies up to 10 pounds, so my son was able to wear them a couple of weeks, while my daughter could never wear them (although she wasn't 10 pounds, they didn't fit her). Many sellers use newborn diapers because they are smaller and more come in a pack, giving the illusion that you are getting a good deal because you are getting more diapers per cake. This is not the case, plus you never know if the baby will be small enough when born to even wear the diapers.
Then there are the sellers who use large diapers, say size 2 or 3. This is good because the cake will be able to stay together longer before the new Mom has to take it apart, but it can be bad too. The cake will just be sitting in the nursery taking up space and gathering dust until the baby grows into the diapers. Also, you will get fewer diapers per cake when these diapers are used.
All reasons listed above are why I use size 1 diapers. They fit babies from 8 to 14 pounds, so the Mom can keep it together for a while, or she can use them right away! A win-win either way!

Now, look at the amount of diapers used in the cake. Sometimes it is hard to judge by pictures how big a cake is. Many sellers use about 25-30 diapers in their 2 tiered cakes, and about 45-50 in their 3 tiered cakes. Not me!! My two tiered cakes contain over 50 diapers, and my three tiered cakes contain about 70!! That is a great deal! And on top of that, my cakes are priced lower than what theirs are, while still offering more diapers!

While I do not add baby supplies to my cakes, some people do, so be sure to look at that too. Sometimes these things that cost you more will go to waste. New Moms are very picky about what they use on their new baby. Many sellers use Dollar Store items to "fill" their cakes. Sad, but true. Not only that, but if pacifiers, bottles, etc.. are on the cake, make sure the Mom will use them before buying the cake. If the Mom plans on breastfeeding or not offering a pacifier, they could just go to waste. Also, with bottles, spoons, and pacifiers, make sure the sellers uses BPA free items for the new baby!

So there you have it, these are very important things to think about when trying to decide on a diaper cake! Please feel free to leave a comment here letting me know what you think! (you do not have to be a Blogger member to comment). Thanks! See links below for my website, where you will find beautiful boutique spiral style diaper cake, all with FREE shipping!

Links:
Sassy8722
Diaper Cakes by Wendy
My Helpful eHow Articles

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Live in Charlotte, NC?

A lot of people who come across my blog are looking for baby shower items in Charlotte, NC, such as diaper cakes, boo boo bunnies, and more. I just wanted to let those of you know that Diaper Cakes by Wendy will be at the York, SC Summerfest in 3 weeks, on August 22, 2009! This is a huge festival which not only features an arts and crafts show, but also lots of yummy food, a car show, live entertainment, parade and much more! Not too far from Charlotte, coming here would give you a great opportunity to see my beautiful diaper cakes, boo boo bunnies, washcloth lollipops, diaper cupcakes and MUCH more in person! I will be teamed up with Linda's Hair Candy as well and we will be accepting not only cash but all major credit cards too! Diaper Cakes by Wendy will be offering a free gift with purchase when you mention this post!

If you came directly to this post and have never seen my items before, feel free to click on the Diaper Cakes by Wendy banner at the top of this page and check out my website, or you can also view the rest of my blog, as I have tons of pictures of actual items I have made so far for the show! I will even be happy to make you a special cake or any special order of my items if you plan on being there, and you can come pick them up!

My website can be seen here: Diaper Cakes by Wendy

My main blog page can be viewed here: Sassy8722

To learn more about the Summerfest, visit York SC's website here.

No Stealing!