At Random: Donna Futch

By Johnna Pinholster

October 05, 2008 10:23 pm

— NASHVILLE — Encouraging middle schoolers to be artistic and creative can be an uphill battle for a teacher. But Berrien Middle School art teacher Donna Futch hopes her own artistic creations inspire her students.
In fall of 2006, Futch was preparing for the birth of her first grandchild and brainstorming for a gift idea. A lover of crafts, she was researching on the Internet when she stumbled upon baby diaper cakes.
Made out of diapers and other baby items, the gift ideas resemble cakes and can be ordered from a variety of vendors.
Instead of clicking and buying, Futch took note of the design, went out and bought the items and made it herself.
“That was the first one I did, with a little duck theme,” Futch said.
But Futch didn’t pick back up the craft until this summer.
A restless sleeper, Futch said making the cakes is soothing, and oftentimes, as she struggles to find sleep, she makes the cakes.
“I love doing crafts, and I’m always coming up with different things, and I just started buying up stuff and started making them,” Futch said.
Her usual work hours range from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., she said.
“It’s peaceful and relaxing,” Futch said. “I will just sit there at night and commune with God.”
Since then Futch said she has made more than 35 cakes and started Angels in the Night Creations.
“It’s just very calming and relaxing to me,” Futch said. “I love to challenge myself to come up with new designs.”
Of course, Futch does not always work alone.
Sometimes — especially when she is working on a tight deadline — she has the help of her daughter, Nyna, and her grandbaby, Jayden.
Word-of-mouth has helped expand Futch’s business, with her daughter’s co-workers at South Georgia Medical Center requesting cakes and her fellow teachers ordering them as gifts.
With the influx of business, Futch has made up business cards and brochures. She hopes to eventually put up a Web site.
For Futch, making the cakes is not about making money. Her husband, Jeff, her son, Thomas, and her daughter constantly tell her to up the price, she said.
The average price for a cake online ranges from $69 to $79, Futch said, with elaborate five-tier cakes costing as much as $300.
The towel cakes are done for wedding showers, anniversaries and house warmings, she said.
Futch uses hooded towels, onesies, brushes and combs, bibs, medicine droppers, bottles, toys, books and picture frames for the diaper cakes.
Each diaper cake has between 40 and 45 diapers.
Wedding cakes can be more elegantly done and resemble an actual cake with roses, ribbons and beads.
“I tend to go broke quickly when I go to buy because I see so much,” Futch said. “It’s hard to decide and narrow down.”
In some cakes, Futch has included personal hygiene items that the couple can take and use on their honeymoon.
“They are all different. No two cakes are alike,” Futch said.
Futch has yet to go larger than three-tier cakes and has no plans to charge more than $50, unless a request to make a bigger cake comes along.
“Honestly, I make $10 to $15 off a cake,” Futch said. “It takes about two and a half hours to do one that is very involved.”
Typically, Futch said the orders are pre-made, though she does do specialty orders when people request a certain theme.
While Futch purchases the items that end up in the cakes, she is open to the idea of a person selecting the items and giving them to her to use.
Both the baby cakes and wedding cakes each have their own appeal, but Futch said she really likes the elegance and glamour that come with designing a wedding cake. The baby cakes are much more whimsical, Futch said.
Everything Futch uses to decorate and make the cakes is usable.
Futch prefers a week or two notice when placing an order, but she has produced a cake on a tight deadline in two or three days.
All cakes come wrapped in tulle or clear gift wrap.
After receiving the cakes, some people refuse to use the items and place them in bathrooms or in their kitchens as decorations, Futch said.
A teacher for 22 years, the Lanier County native has always been interested in crafts. From sewing to drawing, something new is always catching her attention, but Futch said this is the first time she has enjoyed an experience so thoroughly and seen it be so successful.
After displaying the cakes one day in her classroom and having her students scratch their heads in wonder, Futch took the opportunity to encourage them to go after any goal they may set for themselves, because, she said, with dedication it can be achieved.
“They need to realize if you put your mind to something and are willing to take the time and put forth the effort you can really accomplish great things,” Futch said.
Eventually Futch said she would like to put some of her designs on consignment and see if they sell, and when she’s up for retirement in a few years, the little business could become a full-time job.
“I am not a person to sit still and sit at home and do nothing,” Futch said. “I have to be doing something.”
Futch can be reached at (229) 686-3831 or (229) 686-0405.

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